Clare In The Community

Clare can't understand why she hasn't been invited to Ray's, so she decides to call round uninvited and gets a bit of a shock.

Ray has finished work for the day and is off home when Clare stops him to tell him that last year's interdepartmental game of rounders against 'Children And Families' is due for a re-match, and Ray has been dropped from the squad. Once Ray leaves, Clare shares an observation with Helen and Irene that Ray seems very insecure and secretive, something she fails to understand because, apparently, gay men get on very well with her. She claims that she has never seen the inside of his home and that he is hiding something.

Later at the pub, Brian prepares to go to his men's group and is proud because everyone is open and in touch with their feelings. Clare says that Ray doesn't seem that gay for a gay man and thinks of reasons why. As Brian leaves, he takes Clare's keys accidentally and Megan offers her to stay with her until Brian is finished. Clare makes her excuses and says she is going for a walk as it is a lovely evening... however she has an ulterior motive: going to Ray's house. At men's group Brian talks about sexual complacency within a long-term relationship.

Clare arrives at Ray's house in the pouring rain. Ray anxiously lets her in and gets her a towel, but he stresses to her that she must not go in the living room. Clare swears she won't but, once he leaves the room, she has a look and is shocked at what she sees. Meanwhile at the men's group, sex is being compared to chips.

Ray reveals his secret to Clare: a miniaturised model version of the Battle of Waterloo. It is what Ray calls 'Military modelling'. Clare is sickened with idea of miniaturised carnage and Ray sarcastically suggests he will paint peace campaigner models instead.

Mark, one of the members of the men's group, is saddened as he has never had a relationship but only a series of endless sexual encounters with twins, triplets and in threesomes, foursomes and fivesomes. Brian argues that it is just fantasy and that the group is just a gathering of pitiless excuses for men.

Ray asks for his rounders place back as Clare is now the captain. He suggests they battle for the place with the Waterloo model, with Ray as Wellington and Clare as Napoleon. Clare loses and Ray gets his place as captain. Later that night, Clare and Brian are in bed and Clare questions that you can't be sure of anyone and therefore we may not be sure of who we are. She says to Brian: "can you honestly say to yourself, I know who I am?" Brian gets up from under the covers annoyingly and tells Clare to concentrate on what they are supposed to be doing.