Clare In The Community

Control freak Clare likes nothing better than interfering in other people's lives on both a professional and personal basis, so making friends is not easy. However, on this occasion she manages it.

While on a night out at the pub with Brian (another suggestion from the couple counsellor), Clare has met up with some new people with whom she has instantly made friends (being on their 'wavelength'). Brian is sulking until the next morning, as he was left alone in the pub for three hours while Clare was enjoying herself. Clare though has no current interest in anyone aside from her new friends, Vanessa, Roger and Tim (a man with Mission Impossible for his ringtone).

While on break duty again, Brian is worried that his relationship with Clare isn't getting any better, and that baby Thomas seems to be the only thing keeping them together. Simon advises Brian to think of Clare as a business: not putting work into it is going to make it fail. Simon suggests Brian should book him and Clare into a luxurious suite in a country house, drinking champagne and gazing out at the countryside to boost their affection for each other. On the subject of relationships, Simon says he is getting on extremely well with Nali. Simon thinks she is 'the one', but little does he know that Nali is planning on dumping him.

When Clare hears about the weekend away with Brian, she begs Megan to go with her. Brian does whatever he can to try and get the cheapest price, asking for rooms without coffee sachets and one directly under the flight path.

Clare invites Megan on one of her house visits. Megan thinks it is just a standard visit, but Clare reveals that the visit takes them to the Albert Johanneson Tower, the location of Megan's first house visit with Clare when Megan was still a student (refer to series 1 episode 1 'Babysitter').

The client in question, Chloe, a fifteen year GCSE pupil, hasn't been attending school because she is looking after the family. Her dad has left the family and her mother has died a day or two earlier. Chloe says she is left to look after her brothers and sisters, having to feed, clothe, wash them and take them to school. The mother is in the bedroom under a duvet. Clare announces that she and Megan have to check the body for pulse to be certain. Megan is scared as she has never seen a dead body before. Brenda's hamster died, so Clare assures her that a human is the same, just with less fur and on a larger scale. As they check the body, the mother wakes up shouting at Chloe 'have you been telling people I'm dead again!' It turns out Chole doesn't have any brothers or sisters and she does have a father. Megan needs a change of clothes after the ordeal.

Brian is so unsure about the weekend away that he puts his effort into buying a kitchen whisk for Clare, saying she's always wanted one. Simon practically forces him to put his nest egg into the whole weekend idea, saying that there is no point in cutting corners. The school playground overhears Brian shout "it's so small it's not worth putting in to her."

Clare and Brian go on their getaway weekend and, after about one sentence, they both want to go home. Ray, Irene and Helen want to know how the weekend went. Clare says it was fun and agrees to talk about it over a drink, but she is then called up by her new friends inviting her around for a drink. She lets down her office friends in favour of her new ones.

Clare meets up with her new friends and is pleased to say she is finally one of them. She is told to down her drink and throw the glass in the fireplace along with everyone else. When everyone celebrates, one of the new friends gives a speech about how proud he and his equals are about being "young, attractive, white people with racial purity". When they reveal their dog is called Himmler, Clare realises she is definitely mixing with the wrong kind of people!