that wall paper in the Rover's Return has got to go!

ummmmmmmm who has got over their problem? Nope, I do not think that sort of scene has any place in family entertainment, but then I am old :-) The pub still seems to represent the very worst of pubs though, as you say, in its drab decor. I would like to see it spruced up as so much of the story occurs there. You are right about the comedy though, some of the interchanges are brilliant and characters liks Blanche have such brilliant facial comic timing they don't even need words, do they?

Well, if you do not like flock wallpaper (that is wallpaper with a raised design that feels almost like felt, and this has become totally dated in the UK, yes, the paper is awful full stop. However, there are worn and yellowed patches, which you would get if someone rested their head on wallpaper. I have seen this type of wear many times as I used to play darts as a sport and have been in hundreds of pubs whilst I was playing. Since the pub has just been taken over by one of the characters who has bought it as an investment and put his Mother in to run the pub to give her a home and a job, and they had a big party to celebrate the new owners I would have thought the first thing they would have done would be to decorate lol.