Brett Shaw takes a look at Only Fools and Horses Series 7
Episode: ‘He Ain’t Heavy, He’s my Uncle’.
In this episode, John Sullivan touches on the difficult topic of growing older.
Uncle Albert has been given a new lease of life by joining the over 60s club down on the estate and is in hot pursuit of Marlene’s mum. Del is on the up, business is good and he’s bought a new car so Raquel can drive, rather than walk, as muggings have been occurring on the estate. However, Rodney is downhearted, separated from his wife and is unemployed.
During the episode, Uncle Albert is playing in a domino final at the Nags Head against his old school friend, Knock-Knock. However, tempers are frayed as they clash while trying to impress Marlene’s mum, Dora Lane. This is exacerbated when Knock-Knock confidently tells Uncle Albert that he can beat him at anything, but neither men are willing to back down. While walking home Uncle Albert gets mugged, losing his money and pocket watch. Del is naturally angered by this, and aside from the police’s efforts, decides to employ his own crime-fighting tactics.
Meanwhile, Uncle Albert is shocked by the whole mugging situation. To get him back on his feet, Del and Rodders attempt some tough-love, which inevitably back-fires. Uncle Albert feels a burden and is embarrassed, so during the night decides to leave Nelson Mandela House.
Del and Rodney eventually track him down to Tobacco Road where he once lived. After reminiscing about how things use to be they bring him home to Nelson Mandela House. Realising Del’s tough-love was only for his own benefit, Uncle Albert settles back in.
However, this is short-lived when Uncle Albert’s friend Knock-Knock returns his stolen pocket watch and Del discovers that Uncle Albert was not mugged but got into a fight over Marlene’s mum and Knock-Knock knocked him out.
At that point Rodney bursts into the flat saying a fight has occurred at the Nags Head. The Ollie and the Greasers had attacked the suspected muggers, under Del’s instruction and had taken a beating. Unfortunately, the suspected muggers were not muggers at all but police officers who had been put on the estate when the muggings started.
Rodney alerts Del to potential repercussions from the Greasers on discharge from hospital. Uncle Albert confidently stands up cocking his fists, protesting they better not try anything with him around, as he was Royal Navy boxing champion. Del lunges at Uncle Albert, but is restrained by Rodney.
What come across really strongly in this episode are two things. Firstly, the burden older people can feel to wards their family and wider society, and secondly, how as people grow older they can sometimes struggle to make sense of the world they live in.
Uncle Albert is a proud man, who has served his country. As a young man in the Royal Navy he was a boxing champion. Although he has got older his achievements are still important to him, and he shares them freely.
Moreover, his past achievements are put to the test when he meets up with his old school friend, Knock-Knock, who is 3 years, his senior. Knock-Knock says he could beat Uncle Albert at anything, just like at school, and eventually they fight and Knock-Knock knocks Uncle Albert out, causing him great embarrassment. Uncle Albert discovers is not what he once was or what he thought he was. He then lies to Del and says he was mugged, confusingly by 4, 5 then 6 people.
Feeling a burden Uncle Albert returns to Tobacco road, where he was born in London – where he thinks he can recapture the ease and simplicity he once felt as a young man. But, on seeing how his old home had changed into a modern development and was beyond his past recognition, he sadly says, ‘I didn’t realise things had changed so much’.
Recollecting with great nostalgia his childhood days, Uncle Albert says at 15 his first job was on the tramp steamer. He talks with passion about the docks being a hive of activity; ships from all over the world had sailed into these docks with bananas from Jamaica, timber from Canada. The pubs and cafés were filled with sailors from 100 countries. As a youngster Uncle Albert could swear in 10 different languages.
Uncle Albert remembers the camaraderie and spirit of the people who lived and worked around the docks when he was young; people who had great strength and survived on very little during the hard days of the Second World War. Although his memories are as fresh as today, he again notices how much Tobacco Road has changed and sadly says, ‘look what they’ve done to it now’. Uncle Albert is a man with great experiences and memories, which, as he grows old, don’t serve him in the present how they once did in the past.
I think this is a common feeling felt by many people as they grow older, which has been excellently captured by the genius of John Sullivan.
