28/12/2025

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George? Yeah! Great, well I'm I'm coming down now. Do you need me to hold the rope, Ed? No, no, no, I've got it. I reckon that branch would have come down in the next big storm if I hadn't lopped it off. Been meaning to do it for ages. You alright? Yeah yeah, fine. Still, I suppose that's what's good about this quiet patch between Christmas and New Year. Can get stuff done. So your wrist ain't bothering you then? Oh no.

Still a bit stiff. Sure. But it's a relief to finally have the brace off. It's not a problem. Good. On please. And the bruise in your face. Well yeah, that's gone down and all. Yeah, good. Speaking of New Year's, uh, do you and Amber know what you're up to? Not really. It ain't like we can go to the ball. Ah but I thought you might hit the pubs in town. With what money? I've got to pay for a cab there and back.

It'll be like twenty quid to get in anyway. And I hate Amber having to sub me all the time. Okay, all right. I reckon we'll just have a quiet night in. Dad's going to the ball with you guys. At least we'll have the host to ourselves. Well, there are worse ways to celebrate.

You two certainly seem very cosy on Christmas Day. I'm telling you, her coming back from Ireland in time for Christmas, it's the best present I could have got. Oh well I'll have that Bluetooth speaker back then. Oh no no, I didn't mean that. I'm only pulling your leg. No

Really pleased that things are going better between you and Amber. Yeah. And pleased you're getting yourself some counselling too. When are you going to the doctors? Uh tomorrow, half two. What you see in Dr. Malik? Yeah, I think so. Good. I'm sure she'll be very nice. Hmm, I hope so. Well no, of course she will. She knows what you've gone through. Ain't no shame in saying that you need help. Well, I can't keep on feeling the way I do. No, I'm hurting people I don't want to hurt.

Look, the past is the past, eh? The point is you're dealing with it. By the end of the week it'll be a brand new year. Perfect time to turn the page. Make a clean, fresh start. Yeah, too right. Come on then. We've got a branch that he's chopping up. Can you lift that end? Sure, I'm gonna get the other Uh actually Ed, I I think I can lift the whole thing. Uh it's alright. I can carry it. Ed, what happened? You okay?

No Martha, just because it's the holidays you still have to get dressed. I'll be up in a minute. Oh, Chris. What are you doing here? Uh oh, you're not expecting to have Martha today, are you? No no. I was just out for a walk and I thought I'd drop by. Oh, thank goodness for that. I was worried I'd messed up. If now's not a good time though. Oh no, don't be silly. It's lovely to see you. Come in. All this time cooped up with mum and dad. It's been really nice but

I had to get out. Hm, I know what you mean. It's been lovely having all the family together, but it's been pretty full on. I'm enjoying having a bit of peace and quiet. Ah you probably won't like my idea then. It occurred to me it's the last day of Deck the Hall. I wondered if it might be nice to take Martha.

Oh But no worries if you'd rather not. No no I I was just gonna veg out and let her play with her new toys. But if you want to take her to Lower Loxley I meant all three of us. I wasn't just gonna take her off you. Oh Oh, I see. Well well then that would be great. Yeah? Yeah, absolutely. Oh, let me go tell her. Martha, guess what? Daddy's here. Oh no, poor you, Brad. You've been working at Grey Gables round the clock. Ah, it's all right. It's good for my bank balance.

That we all got paid time and a half on Boxing Day. Aw, and well at least you had Christmas Day off. How was the turkey? I wish we'd had fish fingers. Caused so many arguments. Who do you mean? Well Jazzer kept pestering mum about the best way to cook it. Reckons he hadn't been parading around Borchester Market dressed like a botched animal experiment only for it to end up dried out. Oh no. Every time Mum's back was turned, he'd have it out of the oven to baste it or check the temperature.

In the end she had to shut him out of the kitchen. But did it turn out okay? Oh yeah. Bangin'. Oh good. Well, I'm even more grateful now we've spared the time to help Kira with her mouth. So I can't say she was overly happy when I reminded her you were coming over. Hopefully she's ready. I've been over at the house with Clara. Let's go and find her. Sure thing, Emma. What is that? Blood.

Sure you don't want to bite my brat first? Oh no thank you. I've been way too much up for the last few days. You can have it all to yourself. How's Martha? She looks like she's getting stuck in. Yeah, she's fine. She's busy making a reindeer out of twigs and the pine cone. Chris careful. Thank you. I thought she might have been inspired by your starring role on the tractor run and made a fairy one. Chris. What?

She loves seeing you all dressed up in your wings. Well, I blame Rory. He was the one who suggested the whole angel thing. I look so right, Wally. Rubbish, you look great. I'd put you on top of my Christmas tree any day. Oh, I'll take that as a compliment. You should. Although I thought Brookfield gave you a run for your money. Yeah, to be honest, I thought they were the stars of the whole thing. They collected

So much. Their buckets look pretty heavy. All while being dressed as shepherds. Oh, it's amazing how generous people can be, especially as everyone's running low. Hm, I know. I'm so glad we bit the bullet back in September and put up the fees at the stables.

Lots of the customers moaned. Tell me about it. It's all I hear from my clients at the moment. Well, fingers crossed, twenty twenty six will be a better year. Fingers crossed I get to move back into my flat. Fingers crossed we still have a cricket team. Um I was sorry about you and Carly, by the way. Oh. If there hasn't really been a proper chance to talk. You're not too cut up, are you? It's a shame it didn't work out. Yeah. Whoa. Yeah.

We'll just have to resign ourselves to being single together, I guess. No way. I'm done with the bachelor life. What? Yeah, there's plenty more fish in the sea. Um it's fine. It's stopped bleeding now. Ed, take the tone away. I'll be the judge of that. You let me see. Oh like I said, it were an accident. Like an idiot. I was trying to carry the branch by myself. That looks really deep. It looks sore.

Didn't the same thing happen the other day? Hey? The black eye Ed had w wasn't that from getting hit by a branch too? That were different. Ow Oh sorry. Oh be careful. No, I never meant to hit him. Blastoise me. What? No, that ain't what I said. Sorry. It just seems odd. I'm just saying this weren't my fault. No, George is right. It was my fault. I shouldn't have been standing so close. Just like I should have been concentrating more the time before.

Turn my head without thinking I'll whack myself in the face. How hard did you hit it? Daft, I'm not going to hospital for a little cut. It's not little. Seriously? It just needs some antiseptic. Put a plaster on it, it'll be fine. But but Ed Honestly, don't make such a fuss. Why would I be joking? Look, here, I'll show you. Hold me hot chocolate for me.

I've got my first date lined up next week. Woman called Naomi. Let me just let me just open the app. Hang on. Uh so how long have you been on it? I signed up Boxing Day. They were offering a fifty percent discount on their premium subscription. Look here we go. There's my profile. Gosh Wow. What do you think of the photo? I didn't want it to be too airbrushed, you know, better to just show me as I am. And I do wear a sleeveless shirt when I'm forging shoes.

You look very rugged. I'm I'm sure you'll get lots of inquiries. Well that's the plan. Life's too short to mope about with a broken heart. When one door closes, another one opens. Just gotta jump back on that horse. Another cliches? Well, you know what I mean. No point worrying about what might have been.

That's great, Chris. I I'm really pleased you're getting back out there. Well, maybe you should do the same. What? Yeah. Why don't you join the data net? We could share notes. No, I don't think so. Why not?

Look, you can always put non drinker on your profile. You don't have to meet in a pub. Well it's not only that. What is it then? I don't know, it it's just not for me. Um but I hope it works for you though. Right, now come on, finish your hot chocolate. Martha looks like she's done making her radius. There. I'm nearly done. How's that? Plaster's not stopping you from opening your eye. No, no, that's fine. Thanks, Em. No problem. Let's hope it heals okay. Right then, George. Yeah?

Well you and me need to finish clearing away that branch. Oh are you sure you'll be all right? You don't need any painkillers. Yeah, if you want to stay here, I can sort the branch myself. How many times? I'm fine, it's just a little knock. All right. Now come on.

We'll catch you later. Hey, I don't suppose either of you know where Kira's got to. Not a clue. George? How would I know? She doesn't talk to me these dates. She's probably over at Glebeland's with Eva. She's around there all the time at the moment. See ya, Brad. Oh She'd better not be at Evers. If you want I can come back another time. No, no, she knew you were coming to help her with her maths. Let me give her a call. Right, if you're sure. That is assuming I can find my phone.

Emma. Can I ask you something? Ed's injuries Do you think they're all just accidents? I I know you said George didn't mean for Ed to fall down the stairs. Brad, not this again. But I saw the look on his face straight afterward. He looked wild. They were having an argument. George tried to shove Ed away and he fell. Except originally they told me he slipped on a book. Well I I'm not sure what you're getting at, Brad. What's that got to do with today?

It seems a bit odd. First there were the stairs. Then Ed gets a black eye. He was hit in the face with a branch. And now the same thing's happened today. Well that's three injuries in the space of what? A month? And George was with Ed each time. So you're saying he's responsible? I don't know. I mean if you calculated the probability, I suppose it could all just be coincidence. Exactly.

Could Ed be getting sloppy? Sloppy? What do you mean by that? Sorry. I'm just wondering. Tree surgery's pretty dangerous. Ed takes safety very seriously. We both do. It's a big part of getting qualified. So He doesn't injure himself often then? No. No, not often. That doesn't mean that George has been doing it. Do you really think Ed would let him hit him? No. No. He wouldn't. Unless he's trying to protect him.

Like I said, Ed lied about slipping on a book, and even after he admitted George pushed him he seemed really desperate to play it down. Just like he was now. Doing everything he could to take the blame off George. Brad seriously He'd get sent back to jail, wouldn't he? If they found out he was being violent. Look Rydyn ni'n ei wneud. Rydyn ni'n ei wneud. Rydyn ni'n ei wneud. Rydyn ni'n ei wneud hynny'n ei wneud. Let's not start accusing George of anything else.

That's enough now. All right. I'm sorry. That's what you think. I I'm just worried that's all. The pattern continues. Then what? Well who knows what might happen next. We focus on the part of the internet that most people don't know about. It's called the dark web. Undercover. The furthest corners of the US special agents. Move in now. From the BBC World Site Secrets. Folllows their shocking investigations. BBC Podcasts.