David breaks the bad news

Radio Times: Kathy will have her day in court.

Characters: David, Eddie, Kathy, Mike, Neil, Ruth, Usha

• Usha is on cloud nine as she teasingly releases to Ruth, bit by bit, an account of last night’s activities with Adrian the brief. In summary: went to Chamber do; lovely dinner; good speakers (Ruth is squeaking in anticipation) Adrian was charming, witty, well-read etc; they went on somewhere else afterwards; then back to his place (Ruth can hardly bear the anticipation); then…they had coffee (really), he booked her a cab and they said good night. He’s sent her an e-mail saying he’s going to call her tonight. That’s poor Ashok out the window.
• David finds Mike in the milking parlour and breaks the news that he’s laid off with effect from Sunday afternoon because that’s when the contract herdsperson starts. He takes it well.
• Eddie and Neil are loading a trailer of horse dung at the stables. It’s for Bert’s prize onions. Eddie urges a reluctant Neil to pack more manure into the trailer. Eddie goes off with the load and leaves poor Neil to clean up the yard.
• Usha is on the blower to Kathy. Sid’s not budging on the divorce settlement. He wants a clean break after six months and will not agree to years of maintenance for Kathy and Jamie. Usha tries to get Kathy to realise that Sid isn’t a terribly high earner and this will limit the value of any settlement. If neither side budges, it will have to go to court.
• David catches Neil on the Green. He tells him about the new milking arrangements and that he won’t be needed after Sunday. Having got this out of the way, David enquires as to why there is a trailer next to Neil’s house. Neil expresses surprise: it should have been returned to Bridge Farm. What’s more, where’s the tractor?
• Eddie appears and spins a cock and bull story about the tractor running out of diesel just below Marnie’s, then going to Brookfield to get some diesel, having to bleed the system, calling in at the Bull to see if Bert was there, having to move the tractor from the car park, Bert not being there but stopping for a pint anyway, then it got dark – and so on. Then he reveals that the trailer’s got a flat and he can’t find the jack. He’ll do it in the morning. Mike finds it all incredibly funny.