17/03/2017

Ruth's worried about the cows. Some of them are looking poorly, and the symptoms suggest I.B.R. David calls Alistair who, having examined the animals, also strongly suspects this might be the cause. It's highly infectious. David and Ruth can't understand it. They're hot on bio-security, and they're confident all their cattle tested negative when they bought them. Alistair assures them there are dozens of ways of spreading the disease; they may never know how it got there. They must be prepared to lose some cows, and he recommends they vaccinate the rest immediately. It'll be expensive. Finding a dead calf, Ruth observes ruefully it's going to be a long weekend.

Jim and Robert speak for the first time since their birding skirmish. They spar over whose birdwatching tours had the worst reviews, before unexpectedly bonding over how disappointing their respective guests' lack of enthusiasm and knowledge was. They agree to have lunch together at The Bull.

Also in The Bull, Lilian and Justin meet. In spite of everything they're soon getting along as well as ever. Lilian admits she was thrown by his assumption of marriage because he's never even said he loves her. His reaction to this, however, is to declare, loudly and flamboyantly his undying love. Lilian's mortified, and exits in a flurry of apologies, leaving Justin alone down on one knee, in front of the pub crowd.