27 August 1996

Characters: David, Janet, John, Richard, Ruth, Tom, Usha

• Ruth and Tom meet in Richard’s waiting room (on account of Pip’s cold and a general check up, respectively), the doctor is running late, for which Tom isn’t too sypmathetic and Richard is obviously crotchety. Later he lets it all out to Usha, the situation with Barraclough is not getting any easier for him.
• Janet is compiling a report on the kids’ visit for the diocese, she wants input from the villagers – both pro and anti – Usha is happy to help (being one of the former).
• John and Ruth, wearing her hat as feed co-op rep, talk numbers over the organic pig feed and big numbers they are too. They reckon that an outlay of around £11,000 is probably required. Ruth hoped that Tony is going to be as impressed with John’s conviction that there’s a market as John obviously is.
• Tom had, in order to listen to Phil’s organ-playing, been to Sunday’s service at St Stephen’s – and people had gratifyingly noticed. Janet, playing the careful shepherd, thanks him for his work with the bats and asks that he continue. He seems to be relenting in his view of her presence.
• Disaster at Brookfield as both combines go down and several lost harvest days look inevitable.

Summarised by: Chris Harrison