Ideas abound: Neil has one about a new home and Amy has one about people without a home.

Radio Times: A big decision for Susan and Neil.

Characters: Alan, Amy, Brian, Jennifer, Mabel, Neil, Susan

• Following Luke’s disappearance, Alan is preparing to preach a strong sermon about caring for young people like Luke. Amy is very upset and cannot understand how he could just run off like that; it would be easier if she hadn’t started to care about him.
• Jennifer and Alice are home after their skiing trip and is all set to go round to see Lilian straight away; Brian insists that tomorrow will do. He is very pleased with his present, all the more so because Debbie helped to choose it.
• Neil has been surfing the web and is now fired up about a self-build home; they already own the land so, if they can get Mike and Betty on-side, it could be the answer to Susan’s moving ambitions. Mabel calls into the shop for emergency rations of ice-cream to cheer Amy up. Susan is not very sympathetic about Luke and his ilk but Mabel is quick to defend what Alan has done for the boy.
• At Home Farm Jennifer tells Brian all about the holiday; Alice has gone to do the same to Amy. Brian announces that he has a surprise lined up for her birthday.
• Although initially excited, Susan’s pessimistic streak is now showing and she can see nothing but problems for self-build.
• Amy has been talking to Alice about Luke and has had an ace idea – a sleep-out in the village – to bring it home to people what sleeping rough really means and to raise money for a Borchester hostel. A compromise is quickly reached which should not result in too many deaths from hypothermia and will give time to do some publicity: it will be a week on Friday, in the church with no heating.