Tom and Kirsty duck out early from the GM meeting.

Radio Times: Lovebirds play truant.

Characters: Adam, David, Jill, Kirsty, Lynda, Susan, Tom, Tony

• Jill is hoping to scrounge some electric fence wire from Neil, to keep the foxes away. Instead she talks to Susan about her interview today for a school secretary’s job.
• Behind Tony’s tractor is the lazy weeder and on it, not doing a whole lot of weeding, are Tom and Kirsty. She insists that they go to the GM meeting tonight, even though Tom thinks it is a charade and will end in legalisation of GM anyway.
• Before the meeting, Tony tackles Lynda about Foursquare, who has been writing about Tony’s cows blocking the lanes. She gives nothing away. David seeks an assurance from Adam that Home Farm are ready to do his harvest – no problem. There is a good spectrum of opinion expressed for and against: increased yield, less pesticide, cheaper and better quality food, the uncertainties of inter-species gene transfer and the unpredictable effects when released into the environment, the experience of Dolly the sheep – eh!? That’s Lynda holding forth and it’s quite enough for Tom; he and Kirsty are out of here to enjoy a summer evening. The debate continues: the benefits for poor African farmers for whom crop failure is a matter of life and death, the profiteering of the GM companies, the effect on organic farmers …
• Later, Tony finds the young lovers cavorting in the field. Tom explains that they are sorry to have deserted him in the meeting – but they don’t sound it! Tom explains that he and Kirtsy (sic) are practising for the wife-carrying and, it seems, are not doing very well. Maybe with a bit less alcohol …