10/08/2025

It’s the day of the village fête and a stressed Dane is struggling to enlist help with last minute tasks. Kenton’s pulled out of refereeing duties for the tug of war, and the Grey Gables team is looking patchy. Lynda boasts the Ambridge side has a full house. She extolls the virtues of mindfulness; good management starts with a calm mind.

Susan’s bottle stall starts slowly, though Neil assures her it will pick up as the day goes on. She hopes so. The shop needs money coming in and a proper plan. Tracy comes up with the bright idea of selling the wine at a lower price with paper cups, to be consumed at the fête itself. Grateful, Susan runs with this and it’s a huge success. Lilian teases Susan that her stall has ruined the day for the Bull’s beer tent, until oblivious Tracy exclaims the beer tent’s rammed, blowing Lilian’s joke out of the water.

Lilian picks up the baton as referee and the tug of war gets underway. After a close tussle and some motivational talk from Lynda, Ambridge are the victors. Lynda sees the competition as a metaphor for the true soul of a village – succeeding by collaboration and communication. Dane laughs that his team will be unbeatable next year. Lynda admires his fighting spirit. However, Lynda makes an error in the closing speeches by omitting to thank Akram for his help with the fête. Akram assures Zainab he’s happy to fade into the background, but Zainab declares Lynda shouldn’t be allowed to get away with this.