Next week on Home and Away in the UK, Felicity’s anger towards Mackenzie leads to a shock collapse, while John is hit by a bombshell as Maz and Irene cut him off.
The day that John (Shane Withington) has been dreading finally dawns next week, as his beloved card for free coffee at the Pier Diner expires.
John has taken full advantage of his free caffeine fix for the past year, after winning the card in Summer Bay’s inaugural (and seemingly last) golf tournament. The grand prize had very nearly slipped out of the hands of Palmer’s Putters, but the revelation that Justin (James Stewart) had sabotaged John’s golf buggy had led to his own team’s disqualification.
Irene (Lynne McGranger) was soon regretting donating the prize when John spent the following days sampling every coffee on the menu, later finding a loophole and offering free coffee to Justin too.
Since then, John has become accustomed to his numerous coffees a day whilst making the diner/coffee cart his second home, but Marilyn (Emily Symons) has a shock for him when he turns up at the cart as usual next week.
John finds the service a little slower than usual, until Marilyn points out that she’s waiting for him to pay her.
John is quick to remind her of his coffee card, but the diner ladies have prepared for that as Marilyn pulls out a pile of cue cards…
“Your coffee card has expired,” the first one states.
John begins to protest but it seems they’ve pre-empted his every move as Marilyn reveals the next card, “No arguments.”
John is sure that his bestie, diner co-owner Irene (Lynne McGranger) will come to his defence, but before John can try and contact her, Marilyn pulls out the next card… “These cards were her idea”
John is immediately regretting his recent movie night with Irene, and nearby, Alf (Ray Meagher) and Roo (Georgie Parker) can’t hide their amusement.
There’s no way round it, and as John admits that he’s been having 3-4 cups a day, Roo points out that it’s going to be an expensive habit from now on.
But as Marilyn asks John to cough up $4.70, it seems that he’s going to go cold turkey instead. “I’d rather give up caffeine than pay that amount of money!” he exclaims, and doubles down on his vow the next morning when his plan to ask any server other than Marilyn or Irene is thwarted, much to the amusement of Roo and Harper (Jessica Redmayne).
Woe betide anyone who gets on the wrong side of John that morning, which is exactly what happens when he meets his latest intake of Bronze Medallion students on the beach. Amongst the newbies are Dana (Ally Harris), and a young man called Banjo (Michael Cameron).
John immediately calls out Banjo after he arrives a few seconds late, and from then on opts to refer to him as “Man Bun”.
Dana had been warned about taking lessons from John, but as she observes to Harper a short while later, she didn’t realise he’d be quite as strict a taskmaster. John isn’t happy to find Harper distracting one of his students, and quickly ushers her away.
As John finishes the session up at the club, his straight talking about how much more difficult it’s going to be from here on in doesn’t inspire confidence in some of the students. As Harper brings John a much-needed cup of coffee, one that she’s paid for, John quickly accepts and dismisses the group.
However, John has no idea of what he has managed to set in motion. He’s perplexed when Alf later informs him that not only has Banjo dropped out, but he has also lodged a formal complaint against him, citing bullying, disrespect, and micro-aggressions.
John is quick to shrug off the complaint and refuses to apologise, but Alf later informs him that he has no choice in the matter. Either John apologises to Banjo, or Alf will have to pass the complaint on to the committee.
Will John be able to swallow his pride?
Elsewhere in Summer Bay, Felicity (Jacqui Purvis) is still at odds with Mackenzie (Emily Weir) over what she sees as a massive betrayal—allowing Flick’s estranged husband Tane (Ethan Browne) to move in with her at the farmhouse.
Flick is desperate for Tane to take her back, and sees Mac’s offer as her showing allegiance towards Tane, making it easier for him to walk out on their marriage.
When their argument spills out into Flick offering all customers their meals on the house out of spite, Mac tries her best to diffuse the situation by suggesting Flick take some time off. Flick takes offence and tells Mac that she’ll do just that, taking some money out of the till so that she can go and stay in a hotel.
Later that evening, an apologetic Flick arrives at the farmhouse and begs to talk to Tane. Mac tells her that he’s not there, and so Flick asks her to give him something from her—the wedding ring that he left behind.
Tane is quick to dismiss the gesture on his return though, and apologises to Mac who keeps getting caught up in the middle. As Tane continues to receive a barrage of messages from Flick, Tane is feeling the strain, and when Harper offers an ear if he wants to chat, he loses it. He informs the whole gym that yes, his marriage is over.
Later in the week, Flick makes another late night attempt to talk to Tane, but again Mac has to act as gatekeeper as she refuses to let her into the farmhouse. However, as she later reveals to Cash (Nicholas Cartwright), she was in fact protecting Flick from the fact that Tane wasn’t even in his bed. He’s been out on the town, sleeping with other women.
When Cash later confides in Eden about Tane, Flick happens to return home at the wrong time and overhears them through the door. Holding Mac responsible for enabling Tane once again, she storms over to Salt and has it out with her in front of the entire restaurant.
Xander quickly calls Cash, who is forced to put off his suspension review with work in order to go and deal with Flick’s apparent meltdown.
His arrival only spurs Flick on even further though, and as she continues her tirade against Mac, Mac begins to clutch her chest in pain.
As she complains of not being able to breathe, Mac suddenly collapses, with Xander and Cash jumping in to break her fall.
As Cash calls an ambulance, Flick can only look on in shock as Mac loses consciousness in Xander’s arms.
Will Mac be okay?
