Brian declares that money isn’t everything. (He really did say that!)

Radio Times: It’s no good crying over spilt milk.

Characters: Brian, David, Jennifer, Phil, Ruth, Siobhán, Tim

• It’s Sunday lunch at Brookfield and the pudding is late arriving to the table. Ruth and David are hosting (but obviously not cooking for) Brian and Jennifer as well as the doting grandparents. The Aldridges have been very generous with the gift of a state of the art car seat, so a slap up lunch is the least they can offer. Phil is waxing lyrical about the weather and the state of the grass. David is less sanguine – the workload, minus Bert is really biting.
• Clarrie, preparing the veg, is moaning about the glut of Baby Spice’s milk to Kathy. Even with Lynda doing the milking, Clarrie is still hard pressed to find any time to cope with it all, and of course the Grundy men are no help at all. She can’t even persuade Kathy to take any buttermilk. The conversation turns to Helen’s cheese, and neither of them are in the least bit enthusiastic – it’ll never sell! Kathy asks a favour – can Clarrie babysit on Wednesday? She’s got a date with a Richard Campbell, very nice apparently – she wouldn’t mind walking into the Bull with him on her arm.
• David will miss the first cricket practice in two years because to Phil’s birthday bash. Brian is just so glad that women cope with all that sort of thing! Something’s gone wrong with the pudding so Jennifer sorts out coffee in lieu. From the kitchen window the two grandmothers and Solly can be seen Benjamin worshipping. Ruth suggests asking Lizzie and Alistair to be godparents at the birthday party on Tuesday – it’ll be much better face to face. They can ask Tim later in the week. Back in the dining room the subject of Tim and Siobhán is mooted – Jennifer really doesn’t have much sympathy with them, while Brian feigns disinterest.
• Luckily the talk turns to the housing development, David can’t understand why Brian is so anti – surely if it goes through Brian stands to make a packet. Brian reminds him that money isn’t everything. David, along with many million listeners, nearly chokes …
• Siobhán is at Honeysuckle cottage when Tim arrives, she hadn’t been able to get through on the phone. She needed some documents and tries being maudlin over a photo of the cottage taken just after they moved in – about three years ago now. Some anniversary! Tim says. He remarks on the fact that she doesn’t look very well, to which she responds in a most ungracious and biting way. He doesn’t like the way that she looks, and he’s concerned. She admits that things aren’t going terribly well for her but reminds him thats its nothing to do with him now. When he tells her that he’s decided not to name Brian in the divorce, even she has to admit to some gratitude.