There’s a changing of the guard at The Bull, and Zainab surprises herself.
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13:12
19/02/2025
Helen visits Celia Sparrow about the milk deal with trepidation. Their last encounter was when Helen deliberately gave Celia’s cheese a low score at a food fair. Now Helen hopes for a fair price for their waste Montbeliardes milk. Celia makes Helen sample her cheeses, so that she can taste how the milk will be used. One of them is the Cordwell Cream that Helen marked down in the competition. Helen has to agree it’s excellent. Using this as leverage, Celia offers way below the recommended rate for the Bridge Farm milk. Helen pushes for more but has no luck and they agree on a disappointing price. Later, Helen and Tom reflect on the deal. Helen recognises that her previous behaviour has cost them dearly. Tom reassures her; it’s a short term deal and better than nothing. They both agree they need to come up with something big to get business back in the shop and Tearoom. Tom’s sure they’ll think of something.At The Bull, Tracy and Fallon discuss Wayne’s valuable skills, and fear customers will go elsewhere when they discover he’s to be sacked. They ambush Jolene with a plan: a soufflé Pancake Day promotion. Wayne would be the perfect person to cook this difficult style. Jolene reluctantly agrees that he would – adding that she’d been hasty in her decision to fire him on his return. Still excited by the promotion, Jolene receives a text from Wayne. She’s furious as she reports to Fallon he’s not coming home – after all they’ve done for him!
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13:03
18/02/2025
Joy and Mick are dazzled by the opulence and tech at Home Farm. As they look round, closely followed by the robot vacuum cleaner, Joy marvels at the white and shiny kitchen. A bearded dragon in a tank freaks her out, but Mick promises he’ll take responsibility for feeding duties. Joy needs a cuppa, but everything in the house is operated from a master controller, which they can’t find… With no heating or cooking facilities, they’re forced to snuggle under a duvet with takeaway pizza. This isn’t quite what Joy expected.Kirsty confides to Fallon it wouldn’t surprise her if the sale of Beechwood fell through. Fallon tries to reassure her. Fallon admits she’s starting to miss Harrison. She’s hoping to take her mind off it by focusing on getting her dad’s job back for him.Clarrie can’t work out why Bridge Farm has failed its cleanliness tests. As far as she’s concerned everywhere’s spotless. She hints that the blame might lie with Chelsea, but later apologises to Pat for her meanness. She shouldn’t have said it. Pat tries to rally her; it’s been an awful time for everyone. Later Helen points out some dirt on a freezer to Clarrie. Clarrie’s affronted and they bicker. Pat interrupts them with the news that Summer Orchard has had a cancellation from a longstanding customer. This situation is destroying everything. Finally Helen receives good news; they have a taker for the waste milk. But then she discovers the offer’s from Celia Sparrow.
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13:03
17/02/2025
It’s half term and Khalil is bored at Ambridge Hall. Robert’s plan to get him to reorganise the library books isn’t going down well with Khalil, so Robert suggests he helps feed the llamas instead, (which cheers him up). Khalil notices a graze on Constanza’s leg, so Alistair is alerted and Khalil watches with interest as the injury is treated. Zainab joins them and is unimpressed as Constanza spits in indignation. Robert observes Khalil has an affinity with animals. He’s grateful to Khalil for spotting the cut leg, and suggests he might have something in mind as a thank you treat.
The Tearoom’s open again, and everyone’s exhausted and grateful not to have to do any more deep cleaning. Emma remarks to Clarrie that Chelsea in particular feels there are other things she’d rather be doing. Emma reports that Keira’s had a letter from George. She’s still had nothing though. Clarrie reassures her – it’s a start. Natasha suggests to Clarrie that with the no work in the dairy perhaps Clarrie could bake for the Tearoom, while Susan helps with some planting on the farm. Clarrie’s miffed at the inference that she’s too old for outdoor heavy work – Susan’s no spring chicken herself! Alistair remarks on the smell in the Tearoom, leading Clarrie to suggest putting jars of herbs out on tables to freshen things up. Natasha thinks it’s a nice touch. Their momentary optimism turns to despair when they discover Bridge Farm’s failed the lab tests. They’ll need to deep clean all over again. It’ll take days.
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13:02
16/02/2025
The clean-up at Bridge Farm continues. Helen expresses her gratitude to Joy for her help. She’s welcome to stay in the farmhouse as long as she needs. They speculate as to whether everywhere still seems to smell, or whether they’re imagining it. Helen reckons they’ll know tomorrow, when the Tearoom reopens. Joy worries that Rochelle might come back and find the house in a state. Helen’s surprised Joy hasn’t told Rochelle about the sewage leak. Joy brushes it off. She thinks Rochelle might be having trouble with her phone.Tom’s concerned his dad’s taking on too much. He seems to have the weight of the world on his shoulders and isn’t even up for celebrating his birthday. Tom resolves to have a word with him. Helen tells Susan she can’t find anyone yet to take the waste milk for their calves. Susan senses the strain they’re under and offers to bake Tony a birthday cake, which proves a huge success. Mick has great news for Joy – he’s found somewhere for them to stay. She can’t believe it when he takes her to Home Farm. The owners have gone away, and Mick’s secured a house-sitting gig. Helen and Tom report that Tony was cheered by their birthday gift of an airbrush, and an interesting hat from Jack and Henry. Joy and Mick return with their news – they’ll be out of the Bridge Farmers’ hair by Tuesday. Susan feels a smidgen of envy, but the others are delighted things are looking up.
New Zealand