After last week’s shaky start between Brookfield and Brian’s new farm manager Stella, we find Roooooth showing her around, and things sound a bit more cordial. Stella wants to agree in advance what fields Brookfield’s sheep will be grazing and when, so there are no ‘communication problems’ in future. The two are getting on famously and settle down over a pot of tea and Roooooth suggests that Stella come to the harvest supper, which Brookfield are hosting, where she will be able to meet the whole village.
The harvest supper is only a week away and David and brother Kenton are going over the details in The Bull. Jazzer joins them as they start to go through the running order but there’s a hitch right at the start - an argument about who’s going to compere the evening. As it’s taking place in David’s barn he wants to do it, but then Kenton’s the traditional go-to-guy for that sort of thing. Poor Jazzer has to referee but diplomatically suggests they do a double act, preparing their routines separately before comparing notes.
It turns out that you can kid a kidder because neither of them can come up with any decent material but each kids the other that they have prepared something brilliant. Kenton seeks advice from Bert Fry, who doesn’t laugh at his jokes, and David goes to see Lynda, who tells him that his script is terrible. In the end they’re rescued by their mother when Peggy suggests that she do the introduction as she’s touched that it is Brookfield where everyone will come together again.
Speaking of coming together, Shula’s been thinking about Lilian’s offer to invest in the stables and has decided that she’d like to give it a go. Lilian’s overjoyed when Shula pops round early to give her the news, with her only disappointment being that it’s too early to open a bottle of fizz. Just how early is it? The thought that Lilian doesn’t always have a bottle on the go is one that’s never crossed my mind. Anyway, Shula has some red lines - she needs to maintain control, earn a reasonable salary and above all the spirit of the business mustn’t change. Oh yes the other thing is that Justin, who at this stage is unaware of the proposed partnership, has to agree.
They wake Justin from a snooze and naturally he’s a tad grumpy saying that there’s no way he’s going to take on “a bunch of excitable children and ponies”. In defence Shula’s pressurised into giving an impromptu sales pitch which, in the best traditions of Dragons’ Den, is simultaneously unimpressive and ill thought through. Shula leaves angrily and Lilian is incandescent at Justin, but all may not be lost as he thinks there’s a germ of an idea, if only Shula could see the bigger picture. Rather than discuss this, Justin goes round to the stable surreptitiously scoping the place out, asking questions and taking photographs. Of course Shula’s not happy at this underhand approach and not only wants an explanation but decides to withdraw from any partnership that might be in the offing. “I’ll swing for that man” exclaims Lilian, and she resolves to get to the bottom of it.
Lilian persuades Shula to meet up with her again in The Bull. Lilian gets the Gin and Tonics in (of course) before telling Shula what Justin’s up to, which is actually quite a lot. He wants to pull down the stable blocks and replace them with an American-style ‘complex’ for elite competition horse jumping and dressage training plus an exclusive members-only clubhouse. I don’t think that’s the last we’ll hear of this as I suspect that Justin will be like a dog with a bone now he’s had the idea.
At Bridge Farm the realities of Bexit are beginning to hit home. There’s a shortage of labour to pick the apples which are in danger of spoiling if they can’t resolve the situation soon. They could always be turned into juice but Tom’s promised his customers apples in peak condition, and after the apples the potatoes will need to be harvested, and you can’t have veg boxes without potatoes. There’s more problems when the Bridge Fresh online store goes down, diverting Tom from the vital task of harvesting the apples, and then torrential rain forces the whole team to finish early. If only there were some unexpectedly available enthusiastic local fruit pickers that could help …
Over at Grey Gables Adam turns up just as Ian’s getting ready for lunch service. He’s not come to find out what the soup of the day is, but rather to offload the fact that he’s just walked out of his job after an argument with his boss, Christian. I have to say that Ian takes it rather well considering all the hassle he’s been put through with Adam changing jobs in the first place, but as Ian says, he’s done it himself before now so understands where Adam’s coming from. However, his failure to tell his mother with such promptness lands him in hot water when word reaches her that he’s quit.
Jennifer hears it from Tom after Tony sees Adam unexpectedly out shopping during the week. But it’s not just the fact that he’s left his new shiny managerial role without saying anything that upsets her, it’s that he’s supposedly degrading himself by picking apples for Tony. She wants him to return to Home Farm but he’s so adamant that he won’t go back that Jenny thinks it must be because Brian forced him out. In order to convince her otherwise her’s forced to tell her that it was his own stupid fault by secretly ‘borrowing’ money out of the Home Farm account, and as you can imagine she’s not impressed.
I continue to be impressed with Jazzer though, as he’s had another success with Blake in persuading him to move back into the hostel, a good base from which to start his new job at Berrow Farm. Blake finds the size of Berrow a bit daunting, but Jazzer’s support gives him the confidence he needs to start with some small jobs. He starts with strimming the verges but loses concentration and thinks he’s broken the strimmer and will be punished. Jazzer fixes it with a new strand of wire and reassures him that there’ll be no punishment, but we get a small insight into the world Blake’s been inhabiting where the slightest mistake by one person could result in the whole gang getting a beating or going hungry. It is probably Philip and Gavin’s only redeeming feature that they didn’t treat their slaves as badly.
However, it seems I might have been speaking too soon last week when I started to believe Martyn Gibson’s own description of himself as “I’m not a monster”. Turns out that he is indeed a monster and it looks like the whole ‘let’s take Blake under our wing’ thing was a stunt designed to get good press for himself and Berrow Farm. He invites a reporter from The Echo to the farm to interview Blake but it goes horribly wrong when the reporter tries to get an angle on Philip and Gavin, and Blake's only rescued when Jazzer notices what’s going on. Jazzer kicks the reporter out and gives Martyn a mouthful, telling him that he’s no better than Blake’s old slave masters, forcing him to do something he didn’t want to do. This sends Blake back to square one emotionally, saying the only people he trusts are Philip and Gavin and he’s determined to clear their names.
I think it might be time for someone else to get involved in Blake’s rehabilitation. A couple of years ago Elizabeth successfully sought the help of a therapist in treating her depression - I wonder if she still has their number? Sounds to me like Blake could use a good therapist to treat the classic case of Stockholm Syndrome he’s acquired.
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