The Excitement Is In Tents

Alison Dowling (Elizabeth Pargetter)

For someone who didn’t really fancy going to a music festival, Elizabeth soon got the hang of things - a few ciders, a G+T, some loud music and all her inhibitions were out the window; or rather, out the tent flap. Roy and Lizzie were fumbling their way back to their tents late at night, somewhat the worse for alcohol, when she stumbles. Roy catches her and there are sounds of a kiss. “I promised that you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to” Roy tells her. “But I do” the little minx replies. More kissing, then Roy says “Elizabeth, that’s my tent.” “I know” she says and the week’s episodes are over.

So, did they or didn’t they? Is this one of the good ideas that Elizabeth says they can incorporate into Loxfest? Indeed, will Loxfest be renamed Shagfest? I suppose Roy could always claim that the boss is always right and he was just obeying orders. And not just Lizzie’s orders either as, as Roy and Elizabeth set off, Hayley told him “Make sure Elizabeth has a good time at this festival, Roy.” Somehow, I don’t think that’s what she meant.

As for Lizzie, it wasn’t so long ago that she rejected Iftikar’s (and what’s happened to him?) much less full-on advances and here she is practically carrying Roy back to her cave. Is this any way for a 47-year old (11 years older than Roy) widow with teenage twins to behave? I can’t wait to hear about the morning after as, whether they had sex or not, there has to be a change in their relationship now. Maybe Roy will get a raise (no jokes please).

Elsewhere, my heart leapt when Fallon was talking to PC Burns (or ‘Harrison’ as she finally called him after he’d bought her a birthday present) about Jolene’s attempt to recruit for the new Midnight Walkers. Fallon said, almost in passing, that her Dad was going to play “but his girlfriend put her foot down.” Yes! Result! Give that (unnamed) woman a medal, or at least the freedom of Ambridge. She has shot straight to the top of my ‘Most Likeable Character’ charts.

PC Burns tries to get Fallon to go out for a drink sometime, but we are left on tenterhooks as she doesn’t give him an answer. Stick with it Harrison - she’s weakening.

We saw how far Brian has fallen from the powerful heights at Borsetshire Land when he and Annabelle have a drink to discuss Justin Eliot’s latest plans. Brian is appalled that Justin proposes to convert 50 acres of arable land into a solar farm, plus he plans to install another anaerobic digester and import waste to keep it going.

Annabelle isn’t impressed and tells Brian that this is how it’s going to be, so get used to it. Brian predicts vehement opposition and the whole community up in arms, to which Annabelle reminds him that he’s the face of BL in Ambridge and it’s up to him to convince people that renewable energy is the future and a good thing. The fact that the new solar farm will be visible from space and lorries will be trucking in waste on a continual basis could take some explaining away, but never mind - it’s Home Farm that will be surrounded by baying mobs with pitchforks and flaming torches, not BL.

David and Rooooth said ‘goodbye’ to the refugee sheep and the grateful owners gave them a bottle of champagne - that’s on top of the Scab. It’s Rooooth’s birthday and David takes her for a meal at The Bull. Charlie Thomas comes over and says he feels bad that things between him and David were left as they were. He then proceeds to make things worse by saying that, if Route B is adopted, it could be an advantage, as the compensation for cutting Brookfield in two would allow them to invest serious money in the farm. Rooooth has a go at him, accusing him of regarding land as only an asset to be squeezed, while David says “There’s not enough money in the world to compensate for our home being destroyed.” Details, details.

David had the idea earlier of a Midsummer bonfire on Lakey Hill to get the whole community together against Route B. It might be a good idea to invite Charlie, whose last words could be “Oh look - a wicker man; how unusual.”

Things aren’t going too well for Peggy - last week she struggled with the self service tills at the supermarket and this week her cat, Ben, was poorly. Peggy called in Alistair, who diagnosed a brain haemorrhage (a stroke would have been easier to spell). “Will he get better?” she asks, to which Alistair says not only will he not get better, but the kindest thing would be to put him to sleep. Peggy agrees and sits there holding Ben while Alistair administers the fatal injection.

When Alistair has gone, Peggy tells Ben (her remaining cat) that they will have to be strong for each other. Later on, Jill comes round to see how she is and they talk of how Bill and Ben were feral kittens found by Will Grundy and how Jack (who was a dog lover) came to love them. The thought of Jack is too much and Peggy dissolves in floods of tears, saying that she feels so ungrateful - she should be counting her blessings, but she feels so very lonely. Tell you what Peggy, put it about that you are thinking of changing your Will again - you can be sure that Tony would be round like a shot, although, thinking about it, loneliness might be the better option.