Rex helps Anisha to see the world in a different light; Justin’s plans get the go-ahead.

Radio Times: Rex blows away the blues

Characters: Anisha, Emma, Jennifer, Justin, Lynda, Neil, Rex, Susan

• Susan chases after Lynda to return a copy of Moby Dick that she’d left in the café. After some prompting, Lynda admits that reading it is akin to wading through treacle. Discovering that Lynda is off to the village hall to look at the building development proposals before the meeting, Susan offers to accompany her and quickly turns the conversation round to the fact that Caroline had remembered Lynda in her will.
• Jennifer finds Anisha standing by a dead deer on the main road. It’s clearly been hit several times. As Anisha starts to move it out of harm’s way, Jennifer apologises that she can’t offer help but her shoes aren’t up to the job and she’s also on her way to the Parish Council meeting. In the twinkling of an eye, she’s gone. Anisha takes a call from Rex who senses that it’s not a good time to arrange a date for tonight. However, Anisha suggests that he may like to join her for a night in.
• Justin joins Lynda and Susan at the meeting. He makes a literary reference to Lynda’s book, which is lost on Susan. He comments rather airily about the wonderful job done by his architects, Lynda of course, is in no mind to agree. He’s pleased however that they both share a love of a good book; mistake number two. Emma joins the group just as Neil calls the meeting to order, the first item being the planning application.
• The meeting gets underway with Lynda and Justin speaking as expected. However, temperatures are raised when Jennifer speaks of the kind of residents they may end up with in the affordable housing; riff-raff with limited means and unsavoury habits. Emma can stand no more and lets rip with a heartfelt tirade. Does Jennifer mean her, someone born in the village, working in the village and desperate to give her children the chance of a decent life in the village? She claims that Jennifer’s words smack of snobbery and come from someone who married into money, whose words of sympathy for young families mean nothing. Emma’s contribution is well received by her audience.
• Anisha complains to Rex that she’s discovering that Ambridge is a “picture book world hiding a maggot infested carcass.” Her partner, who she once admired, is a gambler and horse doper and her client has done time for fraud. Rex, ever the peace-maker, suggests that she should talk things through with Alistair and not be too quick to judge. She needs to see life rather in grey tones rather than black and white. He suggests a distraction, a midnight run up Lakey Hill. The view from hill works its magic spell, as it has with many others over the years. Anisha sees only beauty, with not a rotting carcass in sight.
• Neil calls in to see his daughter at Grange Farm on his way home. The Parish Council approved the application, which should help it to clear other hurdles. He’s quite sure that it was down to Emma’s impassioned words, they changed many minds. He reckons that she should be proud of herself. After all, he is.