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Brotherly love was in short supply this week with the long awaited return of Brodie the Elder. We finally got to catch a glimpse of Michael's life in prison. And boy, what a fetching sweatshirt! It's obviously tough for poor Mickey locked away in there but telling Gabe to get out of Weege town? Glasgow North Prison felt like the OK Corral for a second there as the two brothers butted heads...and fists butted faces. Michael must have started lifting the weights as soon as the gate closed. That was one cracking right hook...

But kids, learn Michael's lesson. Violence doesn't pay. As he inevitably found out at the hands of Shady Sean's henchmen. It's starting to look like the newest gangster on the block is really getting his claws out...first with Michael, then with Lenny! Stuck trying to protect all and sundry from harm, it seems like Sir Gabriel of Brodie is heading towards darker places. But at least he's still got Liz to polish the Arcade machines whenever he's out. Phew!

But Gabe didn't just get a mouthful from the troublesome trio of Michael, Sean and Lenny this week. Oh no. Leyla had to put her tuppence worth in too...it was obviously all a bit much for her as she downed another glass (or six) of wine during lunch with a bemused Zinnie. Bemused because her usual breezy bitchiness seems to be disturbed by this pesky sense of right and wrong and the unsettling, unfamiliar feeling of concern for someone other than herself. One part of her brain is telling her all those bottles in the recycling ain't right, the other is telling her to run to that ATM quick sharp whilst Leyla is three sheets to the wind! Zinster, we can see a conscience lurking somewhere in there. Will we ever see it again?! We can't deny that Leyla's got it tough over there, what with Conor missing his Uncle Gabe, and Nicole being...well...Nicole. But that's a darn dangerous slippery slope you're on Mrs B.

On the upside, romance isn't dead in Shieldinch...it's just gone digital! Loved up Robbie can't bear to see Hayley lonely (plus he's just dying to gush about The Big W whenever and wherever he can!) Watch out Cilla, there's a new matchmaking team in town - Robbie and, erm...Deek. No, we wouldn't fancy them setting us up either. Entrepreneurial athlete Hayley wasn't all that happy at first but when Robbie finally realised what an eejit he was being, his lovely words melted her heart. Aww Hayles, we want you to find a nice fella too! They've got hats on sale and we've got our eye on a bargain...

Next week: Leyla's been splashing out and Nicole's desperate to visit her banged up Daddy

Quote of the week:
Lenny: "Course he cannae keep his hands off his brother's wife! How's he gonnae keep a secret, eh?" Oooooh, burn.

Does anybody else think that Molly could be the next Bond villain with a laugh like that? That was one moustache-twist away from being maniacal when both Big Bob and Gabriel got on the receiving end of the Mollinator's sharp tongue. What a shame she couldn't cow down Shady Sean as well. We're not best pleased to see this nasty figure start to encroach on the good folk of Shieldinch. Judging by our very own Don Lenny's reaction to him, it seems like he's seriously bad news. So, Gabriel! What are you doing?! Shieldinch's last remaining adult male Brodie was not making the best kind of decisions this week when he got into bed (metaphorically) with this Sean character. Not to mention the foot-stomping strop he had when Lenny asked him to pick up his lucky suit. Come on guys, why are you fighting over your glad rags? You're supposed to be hard-living gangsters!

Here's hoping that dashing DC Cooper closes the net round the dastardly Sean sooner rather than later. Though he maybe needs a wee bit of practice sneaking up on people. Switching your mobile phone off is surely Rule No. 1 closely followed by Rule No. 2 - Don't let wee neds bash your head into a brick wall. Poor Will. He managed to make DCI Donald royally peeved with his off-the-cuff investigation techniques AND got some war wounds in the bargain. But the idea of his man in action made Robbie swoon with delight and rush home to tend to his manly scrape. It looks like the lovebirds are taking the next step and moving in together! Can't wait to see how Zinnie and Deek get along with this new arrangement.

But speaking of trouble brewing, it looks like Big Bob's self-esteem hasn't improved since last week's pity-hire from Iona. With Tattie looking stunning in her new birthday top, all our favourite mini-market cashier wanted to do was hide away from the world. And who hasn't had that horrible moment when we walk into the pub and feel like everybody's laughing at us. Here's hoping the big yin is feeling perkier about himself next week. We know you can do it, Bob!

Coming up next week: Stop the presses!! Did we hear that Michael Brodie is back?!

Quote of the week
MOLLY: You better get changed before a button flies off and takes somebody's eye oot. Ahahahahahaha! AAAhahahahahahaha! AAAAAhahahahahahaha!!

This week's blog was brought to you by guest editors MAMY.

So, random poll, who else was very excited to see Stevie Burns back on the streets of Shieldinch? Need we ask?! The cheeky-chappy-recovering-druggie was back and with a spring in his step in search of his beloved Nicole. Though, don't know about you, but Stevie's idea of romance left a little something to be desired. Sure, his heart was in the right place but his idea to attack-gift Nicole with a bunch of flowers in the middle of the street was more alarming than anything else. Surprise!!!!!! Anyone else would have had a heart attack but our Nicole didn't bat an eyelid. No one's sneaking up on her.

But poor Stevie. He had such big plans! Moving on with his life. Sprucing up his new bachelor pad with some fake leather sofas, a shag rug and a velour dressing gown (for the laaadies). And he's not home five minutes before Nicole's dragging him into her crazy domestic situation with the Geyla. Nicole went off the uber-brat scale when she discovered her step mum and Gabriel happened to be breathing the same oxygen and slapped the face off Leyla! Tsk, tsk Nicole. You packed an impressive backhand but where did it get you? Promptly kicked out with naught but your stylish hoodie and skinny jeans, that's where. Nicole's woe-is-me-woe-is-me routine was getting a tad old, especially when she turned on her beloved Stevie just for questioning her slap-happy attitude. We will admit that it was more than a little satisfying to see Stevie call her on what she was - a spoilt wee brat! Finally!

In other news, the Geyla are at it again! Who saw that coming? Although, it did not look as though a good time was being had by all. Sir Gabriel of Brodie gave the afternoon delight an overall rating of 'average'. Ouch! That made even us wince and poor Leyla was lost for words. She made so much effort as well with her fluffy blue dressing gown and wine breath. She also continued to be the worst adulteress ever and immediately confessed to an uncomfortable looking Stevie. Listening to his girlfriend's step mum talk about her sex life probably wasn't part of his just-released celebration plans. But he is nothing if not a miracle worker for getting Leyla and Nicole back on speaking terms. Here's hoping the Brodie household becomes a bit less fraught with him around (but who are we kidding.)

Elsewhere in Shieldinch, the winds of change were in the air. Big Bob has a new job working with Iona in the mini-market! The dream team are back together and tackling major social issues like OAP shoplifting. Molly, we salute you and your brave determination not to let age stand in the way of petty larceny. In fact, her attempt was so outstanding we're surprised Bob didn't let her away with it just on gumption alone! Poor Big Bob though. He has a new job and the love of good old Nurse Tattie but you could see the sadness in his face when he realised Iona gave him the job out of pity. Buck up, Bob! We know you can change your life for the better.

Speaking of new jobs, Murray's dream job came up and he asked Raymond to help him realise his ambition to be a bearded loner who manages fish.....really? Wow. Thankfully, Raymond took a leaf out of Stevie's book and gave it to him straight. Good job too. We like seeing Murray and his fancy car probably wouldn't have matched his Stornoway water bailiff hut.

And, awwwww. Poor Dan and Kelly-Marie, we hardly knew ye as a couple. It's sad to see them call it a day but our Kel and Dan were being dead responsible and putting their kids first. But you know what this means.....Doctor Dan is back on the market.

Coming up next week: The cops have set their eyes on Shady Sean and Big Bob doesn't look like he's amused at all. And did we see our Robbie getting dumped??!! Whit?!

Quote of the week.
GABRIEL: What? You think you can turn me on and off like a tap?

Ooooh! Murder most foul! We at RC Towers love a good murder mystery and we're seeing the dark side of Shieldinch with a murder and a runaway turning up on our doorstep. Any of us that live in a big city (or even a small one) will know neither of these things are unusual.

Good old Nurse Tattie to the rescue! But she was getting aggro left, right and centre this week. In trying to help high-heeled runaway Silvie, she's managed to get everyone around her completely peeved! I don't know how she managed it but Doctor Stubbs looks ready to stab her with a tongue-depressor. All she wanted to do was rub some cream on gobby Silvie's burns.

But while she's doing her good deeds with Silvie, she's completely forgotten about our Big Bob. He has taken the words of Dr Miriam quite literally and made big changes in his life.... by jacking in his job at the Subway! Nice one, Bob. The redundancy money should keep the gang in square sausage for a while longer but we're not quite sure this was what the Doc had in mind! Bob - we love you just the way you are but Tattie's just trying to help. So ditch that carrot cake...and send it over to us at RC Towers!

Meanwhile the century's greatest love affair continues at a pace. No, we're not talking Posh and Becks. Not Kate and Wills. WILL AND ROBBIE ARE THE NEW SUPERCOUPLE! Of course, any chance to see our favourite DC is damn fine by us...And it looks like we're going to be seeing the strapping DC Cooper a lot more because he seems to be leading the investigation by....staring at a screen for hours! Come on, Will! We want to see more of you running after ne'er do wells in a gilet, not watching girls in very short skirts walk back and forth and back and forth....well, you get the picture.

Speaking of ne'er do wells, what's this? A brand new villain to put the fear into our cosy neighbourhood? Don't know about you, but we were behind the sofa within seconds of Shady Sean appearing on the scene. Tell you what we're never holding hands with a strange man again! No wonder Silvie was desperate to escape, as this unrelenting rat stalked and sneaked before finally getting her back into his clutches.

On the other side of the fence, The Sassy Hamilton Sisters (ok, we know one's a Donachie but that makes for a complicated name reference) are out on the pull....but not without some reservations. Seems The MurrayMeister has left his mark on our Gina, and despite not really wanting him that way anymore, she's being a total grown up and staying friends. So maybe they're not quite ready for the manhunt yet. Let's face it, if Raymondo and MurrayMeister's attempts are anything to go by, the ladies of Glasgow need to watch out anyway! But great to see these once-warring couples extending the olive branch of affection...

Next week....THE RETURN OF TV's STEVIE! Need we say more?!

Quote of the week:
DONALD: This your first murder then?
WILL: It is, Sir.
DONALD: Right. Well. Look, listen and don't vomit on my crime scene.

**THIS BLOG IS CURRENTLY EDITED BY MAMY**