Oliver persuades Caroline to help him with arrangements for the hunt ball.

Radio Times: Music is the food of love.

Characters: Caroline, Eddie, Helen, Lynda, Oliver, Pat

• We are in the Grey Gables reception and Lynda is fashioning a “kissing ring” from a coat hanger. On top of the booking of bell ringers from work and the incessant talk of “dumb crambo”, this is too much for Caroline who bans Lynda from making any further preparations for her Victorian Christmas while at work. Oliver arrives to take Caroline to a concert.
• Helen and Pat are setting off back home in the bitter cold from their visit to the Welsh cheese maker whom they found quite inspirational.
• Before the concert, Oliver enthuses about Samuel Barber. Discussion gets round to the music for the hunt ball. Much to Caroline’s approval, Oliver has rejected Jack’s favourites the Tommy Croker Band (“the dance band that time forgot”) in favour of the Red Hot Rhythms. He flatters Caroline into giving advice on the ball, even though she insists that her busy schedule prevents her from being involved.
• Lynda calls on Eddie and places her order for greenery to decorate her Victorian Christmas. She sees a pulley contraption (presumably Black Lawson’s insides) and Eddie tells her it’s a device for hanging up turkeys. Lynda declines to order a turkey – as it’s a Victorian Christmas, she has ordered two geese from Ambridge Organics.
• Helen and Pat have a coffee break during their journey. They talk about Tony’s annoyance at Brian’s Hungarian organics venture. One stumbling block is that much of the information on it is in Hungarian. Brian is trying to get Siobhán to find someone to translate it. Helen talks about how she is happy about Greg going to France on his own, now that they both understand the importance of being completely open with each other …