Gabriel Brodie has a spring in his step. It's the grand opening of Brodie's Arcade, his latest business venture with brother Leo. Nephew, Conor, is distributing leaflets and offers one to Lenny Murdoch who ceremoniously scrunches it up and throws it on the pavement!
The arcade opening has split opinion in the community. Whilst Raymond thinks it might attract new business, many are sceptical about it becoming a ned-magnet, and organise a protest to petition against it, much to the chagrin of Gabriel and Leo.
The brothers vie for top dog status. Whilst Leo believes they should go for a full security package, Gabriel thinks they could do it themselves. But they're not going to let a little thing like security or moaning minnies get in the way of their big day. This is the first brick in the future Brodie family empire.
As they open the doors in grand style, they're met by a sea of protestors, including Murray, Malcolm and Liz. Michael's none too pleased to see his children hanging around the arcade when they should be at sports camp.
Joanne takes up Leo's offer of a guided tour and muses at their 'sole' customer, the recovering drug addict Stevie. She offers her services as a PR guru and turns on the charm as spin doctor, changing the mind of the protesters, bribing them into the arcade with free tokens and refreshments. Leo's impressed and wonders why Gabriel let such a great girl go? A question Gabriel is now pondering himself.
Gabriel approaches Joanne to arrange a date later that night. He's chuffed when she accepts, but gutted to see her half an hour later, flirting with a hunky guy and giving him a telephone number. He challenges her behaviour, upsetting her. It's only when Leo comforts her and offers to take her to dinner to cheer her up that Gabriel hears the truth. The phone number she was issuing was for the arcade and Mr Hunk was a potential bouncer. Gabriel has put his size 11s right in it. Joanne has had enough of him judging her. She's off out with Leo for the evening. Gabriel is gutted.
Leo's and Joanne are getting cosy. She nips out to buy wine and bumps into Gabriel at the Tall Ship. In a heated exchange, he tries to apologise but Joanne's heard enough from him for one day. Frustrated, Gabriel heads to the arcade, inadvertently setting off the new alarm (to which he has lost the code).
The natives are restless as the piercing alarm disturbs the neighbourhood. As Eileen arrives with a hammer to batter it off the wall, defensive Gabriel tracks down Leo for the alarm code. Leo rescues the situation and heads back to Joanne's arms leaving a doleful Gabriel standing. He's lost Joanne for good now.
Zinnie has a crush on Charlie but he only has eyes for new love, Annie. In the first throes of romance, they're desperate to spend time together. Annie has an exciting backpacking trip planned, but when Charlie tries to get time off to join her, the answer is a resounding no from Raymond and Eileen.
The pair conspire to recruit a stand-in barmaid and dupe a gullible Zinnie into applying for the job. Zinnie jumps at the prospect of sharing the gantry with Charlie, but is bitterly disappointed to learn he won't be there... she's been had.
In an act of revenge, jealous Zinnie 'steals' Annie's passport and hides it at the Brodie's house. Charlie visits to say they're looking for it, but Zinnie denies all knowledge. Instead, she comes on to Charlie, suggesting her own passport is up to date and they could go travelling together. Bewildered, Charlie puts her in her place .. he's with Annie, thanks very much. When he's gone, Zinnie takes the passport from her pocket and notices something weird. Annie's surname is Sobatz, so why does her passport say Mackinnon?
Zinnie heads to the Singles flat to return the passport (which she claims she found in the street). As she hands it over to Charlie, she comments on Annie's surname. Charlie's confused. He confronts Annie who tries to play down the fact she's been married before. She appeases love-struck Charlie and they head off on holiday. As Zinnie minds the bar later, there's a phone call: some weirdo asking for Annie.
Raymond's nervous when cocky Stevie wanders in, fresh from the arcade. The pair have history. A few weeks back a riled Raymond punched Stevie then paid him a bribe to stop him pressing charges. Stevie 'blackmails' Raymond into giving him a drink on the house with the threat he could always involve the police retrospectively there were witnesses after all! Weak Raymond gives him a free pint.
Several pints later, Stevie is getting boisterous and Eileen wants rid of him. Raymond has to admit his history with Stevie and an incensed Eileen takes matters into her own hands. She leaves her purse on the bar as a honey trap for Stevie to steal which he duly attempts to do. She threatens him with police or paying up his £17 worth of 'free' drink. As he has no means to pay, Eileen sets him the task of dishwasher for the evening and for good me Show less