Sid chickens out.

Radio Times: Sid chickens out.

Characters: Caroline, Julia, Lizzie, Lynda, Robert, Shula, Sid

• Julia’s having some practical problems with her novel, on the one hand the speel chucker on the word processor is proving less than a match for her more purple prose and Lizzie’s less than amused at her use of the machine during office hours. The problems might have an end in sight because, while visiting Grey Gables to have tea with an old friend (whose son just happens to work in publishing), she bumps into Robert who suggests that voice recognition software could just be her answer – and he (foolishly in Lynda’s opinion) offers to acquire and install it for her (before mentioning that he’s jetting off to Frankfurt on Friday, no doubt to leave Julia’s teething problems in the capable hands of Lindy).
• Sid visits Grey Gables’ leisure centre for a trial session in the gym and it isn’t quite what he expected. It seems he was expecting body builders honing glistening pectorals – not Jennifer and Lynda in Lycra^® on exercise bikes. Despite Robert’s presence he feeels slightly uncomfortable amongst the women who lunch working it off.
• Lizzie and Shula catch up over tea and while Lizzie’s concerned about her life (the architect has just visited and being mistress of Lower Loxley is not living up to expectations) they both agree that Brookfield is heading for trouble, especially as tomorrow’s partners meeting is unlikely to be anything other than a head-on collision between Jill and Phil (“squandering the inheritence”) and Ruth and David (“things are not the same these days”).