Kathy’s determined to make Sid suffer one way or another be it over money or childcare and Ruth reacts well to the herd problem

Radio Times: A clean break is not so easy for Kathy

Characters: David, Hayley, Kathy, Marjorie, Pat, Roy, Ruth

• Kathy is off to take Jamie to the playground in an attempt to keep him amused at the start of half-term when Pat catches up with her. Kathy explains she is going to look for Hayley to see if she can help with Jamie this week so Kathy can still work in the shop, which she is really enjoying. Pat sympathises and says that whatever Kathy decides is fine, but that Helen really needs to know one way or the other to arrange cover. Kathy is feeling very much on her own but is not receptive when Pat points out that Jamie does have a father who can help, still adamant that Jamie will not spend time with ‘that woman’. Pat goes even further to say that she thinks Kathy is being too hard on Sid, who really loves his son, but Kathy says she will sort something out herself.
• Ruth is ear-tagging the cows when David finds her. Hayley has the kids so Ruth plans to look in on the calves; Bert has told her about the second calf aborting. David had been doing his usual job of trying to protect Ruth from the news until the test results were through and they knew what they were dealing with but Ruth’s new attitude to life means she is very philosophical about what will happen and doesn’t get unduly worked up. In fact, she seems relieved that she’s mean missed as the test was one of the (many) things she looked after. Though Phil is not so philosophical and is, according to David, blaming himself for missing the test and is remembering the problems they had with the TB.
• Hayley is playing with Pip and Josh, and minding a sleeping Phoebe, when Kathy catches up with her. Jamie is keen to play with the other kids as Kathy doesn’t like to invite his friends to Bridge Farm and he is missing them. Kathy enquires about how the move went, prompting Hayley to wax lyrical about the joys of having Roy and Phoebe with her under one roof, ‘like a proper family’. (Probably not what Kathy needed to her but she doesn’t seem to mind). Kathy meanwhile is having no luck on the house-moving front, with no movement on the settlement and no time to look anyway. Which brings her neatly onto asking Hayley if she can look after Jamie this week but she can’t as she’s at Josie’s all week and already has her hands full with Pip, Josh and Phoebe.
• Marjorie startles Roy in their flat when he arrives home but she’s not been snooping – she wanted to leave them a surprise. A fine china tea-set given to Marjorie in Singapore as a wedding present. Despite protestations, Marjorie insists that they take it as a pledge that she will leave them alone – “the tea set will be here all the time, but I won’t be”.
• Pat walks in as Kathy is ending an agitated phone call to Usha. Sid’s solicitor has written again asking why Kathy needs any maintenance as she could go back to full-time teaching and could therefore afford child-care. Also insisting upon a clean break in a few month’s time. Kathy declares to Pat that she has solved her childcare problems – Sid can see how well he copes for the rest of the week looking after a small child with a full time job!