A radical solution?

Radio Times: A radical solution?

Characters: David, Jill, Kate, Phil, Ruth, Shula, Usha

• Brookfield is preparing for a family meeting and everyone’s a little concerned about everyone else’s reaction to various plans about the B&B situation next week. Jill and Phil want to cancel the bookings, but want to make sure that Shula and Ruth don’t feel like they’ve failed (Jill was initially worried that Phil was concerned about the loss of income). Ruth is willing to admit that she couldn’t cope but is unsure how Phil and Jill are going to react to her saying this. It’s obvious that Hayley’s not just been nannying the kids, she’s been relaying everyone’s opinions to each other, too! David has another idea, but he’s sure that it won’t go down without a bit of a struggle.
• Ruth’s offered to give Usha and Shula a lift to Birmingham on Sunday, she offers to take Shula, too, but she refuses – obviously unsure about spending time in a car with Usha.
• Phil’s been looking at the dairy figures and thinks that less reliance on high priced production methods, like lots of fertiliser, is the only way to combat the long-term drop in milk prices. David’s skeptical and Ruth’s not convinced either – Phil’s desperate to not make it sound like a “it wasn’t like this in my day” proposal!
• The Brookfield meeting, initially greeted with nervousness all round, quickly relaxes when it’s obvious that everyone had the same idea – cancelling the bed and breakfast guests is the only solution. The other suggestion, built to solve the lack of space for all the children in the bungalow and that Jill’s still not very mobile and could use operating only on one level, is mooted. David suggests that the simple answer is for he and Ruth to swap houses with Phil and Jill …..