Screaming Dreaming Dying Dead!

In late 1990 Mark Butler buys a failed night club in Dorking to add to his two thriving public houses in London. He renovates the new venue to an extravagantly high standard then opens it as Dexy’s Wine Bar and Bistro. The success of his limited company incurs interest from the Winterton Brewery who offer him a hefty loan plus two leasehold pubs in Surrey, in return for selling their beer in all five outlets. Opportunely Mark takes a chunk of the loan for the deposit on a house for him, his wife Hannah and teenage daughter Julie. In line with his unbridled spending Mark goes on to purchase a brand new 500SL Mercedes. By August 1991 his wardrobe of designer clothes is burgeoning, in contrast to Britain’s economy which is shrinking fast. A recession has taken hold signified by the Bank of England continually increasing its rate of interest. Oblivious to the storm clouds gathering the Butlers move into a beautiful house where Hannah becomes friends with her neighbour, Sue Thompson, whose husband Paul is chairman of the Millcroft Golf Club. He reveals that Millcroft is about to have its amenities and golf course upgraded. A keen golfer himself Mark applies for membership but is blackballed by its snooty committee. Soon the recession tightens its grip and bankrupt businesses reach record levels. To tide him over during these difficult times Mark asks the bank to increase his overdraft. They agree but only if the money is secured on his house. Thus far Hannah’s role in their business is to take second place behind her partner’s swaggering persona, but that changes when she catches him kissing their youngest barmaid. A row ensues in which Hannah discovers they’ve been having an affair. She fires the girl and throws Mark out, leaving him to skulk up the road to the Old Dragon where he jumps into bed with the landlady. In turn Hannah seeks comfort in the arms of her cocktail barman. By the onset of 1992 Mark’s profligacy has brought his company to its knees, so is forced to return the Surrey pubs to the brewery. Left with Dexy’s and the two London taverns to fund his hedonistic lifestyle the walls are closing in. After falling behind with the mortgage on one pub bailiffs go in to close it down. Mark is infuriated but appeased when the outcome of an April General Election prompts a boost in consumer spending. Elated that trade has picked up he meets his brewery rep to see if his debts can be repaid over a longer period. The rep shocks Mark by saying that Winterton is calling in the loan and intends to take his other London pub, which they hold as collateral. The next day Mark learns that his best friend is seriously ill. Devastated he drives home drunk, is breathalysed then a repo truck tows away his Mercedes. To compound matters the bank demands that Mark’s huge overdraft is repaid immediately, while the Inland Revenue applies to have his company struck off. Only when Hannah hears that their business is done for does Mark tell her that he’d forged her name on a second mortgage, so their house is lost. Evicted from her beloved abode Hannah moves in with the Thompsons and is delighted when one of Mark’s colleagues invites her to dinner. They fall in love but dreams of starting anew are scuppered when Mark asserts to be a changed man and wants her back. He lies that their friends and daughter have turned against her and so, unable to bear the guilt, Hannah returns to purgatory. When Mark realises that his wife no longer loves him the pain of losing everything he held dear hits home. After stealing a hand grenade Mark heads for Millcroft with designs on obliterating its clubhouse, in which the people he blames for his downfall are attending a dinner dance. Luckily, minutes from committing mass murder, he finally accepts responsibility for the mess his life is in. Half an hour later, with him left for dead in a roadside ditch, the clubhouse is blown apart, posing the question, if Mark didn’t pull the pin then who did?