Because of the distance from Weatherfield, the Watts didn't see much of their son Curly; when he visited in March 1988, it was the first time he'd seen his parents since he started college the year before. Curly had gone there to take his old mattress to his new lodgings at 15a Coronation Street, the Corner Shop flat, but Eunice refused to let him take it when she discovered he would be "living under the brush" with Shirley Armitage.