The race is on for a seat on the Parish Council.

Radio Times: Caroline enters a race against time.

Characters: Brenda, Caroline, Lilian, Lynda, Matt, Shula, Tom

• As they go for a ride together, Caroline tells Shula about her plans to buy Grey Gables. She realises it’s a race against time, with Peggy being so keen to sell quickly. Caroline tries to persuade Shula to come to the New Year’s Eve event at Grey Gables, but Shula says sadly they don’t feel like going out. They’ll just see the New Year in at home and go to bed.
• Brenda helps Tom deliver veg boxes, and tells him about Mike’s distress over the suit. They’ve had the PM report, too, and the GP said the hospital had taken all reasonable steps to reduce the risk of a second heart attack; it was just one of those things.
• Now that Lynda’s Parish Council campaign is under way, she loses no time in tackling Ruth about traffic calming measures. Ruth makes a joke of it all, to Lynda’s annoyance.
• Lilian is also busy with her campaign, and a grumpy Matt has to let Lynda in. Lilian instantly asks Lynda for help with inserting clip art into her campaign leaflet. When Lynda reads the headline – ‘Lilian Bellamy for a brighter Ambridge,’ she is furious, and loses no time in tackling Lilian about the way she drives round the village. Matt offers her a coffee to ease the situation, but as it’s not Fair Trade, Lynda flounces out.
• Matt rounds on Lilian when he sees that one of her election issues is his habit of removing bridleway signs. He tries some heavy-handed blackmail, but Lilian takes no notice. The bit is firmly between her teeth.
• After the veg box round, Tom offers Brenda lunch at the Bull. She tells him he’s been brilliant, and that she really appreciates what he’s done to help her. Tom asks what she’s doing on New Year’s Eve, and Brenda says she hasn’t thought about it. Tom is understanding; there will be happy new years, he tells her, you’ll see.