Happy Birthday Helen.

Radio Times: Happy Birthday Helen.

Characters: David, Debbie, Helen, Pat, Shula, Tommy, Tony

• Shula calls round to Brookfield to ask David what Phil wants for his birthday. David seems to be a bit behind on birthdays, he only just remembers that it’s Elizabeth’s soon. They end up talking about the Great Schools Debate, with David sitting firmly on the fence. Pip goes to Locksley Barratt (sp?) quite happily, but being at boarding school didn’t harm David – apart from failing a few A levels and not going to university, that is.
• Debbie stops off on her way to the marketing consultants to bring some chocolates to Bridge Farm for Helen, who’s still unhappy with the situation there but admits things have improved since Peggy started coming round. However, she’s very blunt indeed about Pat being as good as useless, and not having any authority in the dairy. Debbie recognises that and they both have a moan about being only the boss’s daughter.
• The Birthday Tea: with a massive effort the Bridge Farm Archers manage to get through the evening without Pat breaking down or Helen and Tommy having a fight. They even manage a (vaguely) tuneful chorus of ‘Happy Birthday’, but it’s obvious things still aren’t right…
• Debbie visits David to tell him what the marketing consultants suggested about their lamb. Apparently they should be looking for new markets, for example, ready meals but David isn’t to keen to become a caterer. He agrees with Debbie that they should commission the consultants to do some more research for them though, and then, sensibly, the two of them go off for a pint.
• The Birthday Tea II: Pat has gone to bed and Tommy vanishes off to the Cat now the meal’s over and his duty’s done. Helen is curled up listlessly in front of the TV and Tony tries to rekindle the birthday spirit but she’s not interested. She forces him to admit that everyone was only pretending to be happy and polite to each other at tea and things are still as bad as they were. She vanishes off to bed making dark statements about how things have to imporve because she can’t take much more.