Ruth parents arrive, Tommy’s expert witness statements seem promising and a maiden voyage for the women’s raft doesn’t go according to plan.

Radio Times: Solly is no shipwright.

Characters: Hayley, Heather, Jill, Ruth, Solly, Tommy, Usha

• Ruth’s parents have arrived and her dad, Solly, is quick to make a mark. He’s lending a not entirely welcome hand with the ladies raft … meanwhile Heather, her mum, is comiserating with Jill that her injury has kept her from her own home. Ruth is a little reticent in confirming the imminence of the swapping back …
• (With a(n un)surprising lack of topical mentions ….) Usha and Tommy are sifting through some of the expert testimony they’ve received. Most interesting among it is an opinion on geneflow, both with respect to cross-pollenation and to horizontal gene transfer, that is, the movement from, say, plant to bateria or fungus. After all, if the genes introduced into the GM crop are designed to get around some of the natural defences ….. Tommy seems pleased with a lot of the information and they’ve a lot to get through before a schedule conference call with some of the experts next week.
• Hayley’s waiting near the Bull for the rest of women’s raft team and ask Tommy if he fancies sticking around for a drink but he’s off to meet Kirsty and would rather people didn’t know ….
• The raft appears and Solly’s been hard at work, earlier he inadvertantly allowed Sid to take away some oil drums from Brookfield which Ruth had been saving for the raft, but he’s confident that his improvements have improved the seaworthiness. Initially he seems proven correct. Ruth and Usha are on bound and a slightly reluctant Hayley joins them, but a few rocking motions and Titantic II needs no iceberg before it starts to sink … Ruth is not best pleased with her father’s efforts!