Leo’s continuing to keep an eye on his father.  A spot of father/son sailing takes Tom’s mind off his troubles – but only temporarily, as always in the background is the shadow of the broken catamaran.  As I’ve touched upon before, good weather in Tarrant is usually a rarity and this sailing day is no different – so quite why Leo’s wearing sunglasses when they get back to the dock is anybody’s business.

One of my favourite Ken moments occurs about five minutes in when he stares at Sarah’s shapely bottom as she’s bending over doing a spot of filing (typical Ken!).  But Sarah’s backside fades into the distance, as it were, after Mark grizzles that Ken’s entered the big powerboat race (£10,000 to the winner) without informing him.  So Mark vows to enter as well, setting up a juicy head to head between them (not only the race of course, but the question of Sarah too).

One of the more unusual developing relationships (even harder to swallow than Leo and Amanda) is that of Jan and Sir Edward.  After Jan makes her presentation to Sir Edward and the board, he suggests they discuss her work further over dinner.  Uh oh ….

It’s interesting that Jan won’t tell Leo who she’s going to be having dinner with.  Leo’s more forthcoming, telling Kate that he’s heading out for a date with Amanda.  It’s a small world, as Kate is able to tell him that Amanda’s grandfather used to be a beau of hers.

It’s not only a small world but Tarrant is obviously also a small place since Jan and Sir Edward choose the same restaurant as Ken and Sarah.  Sarah’s impressed with Jan’s dinner-date (“not bad, if you’re attracted to the mature type”) but Ken’s convinced that Jan’s interest is purely financial.  The way Ken laughs off Sarah’s suggestion that he’s jealous of Jan’s new companion is nicely done.

Leo might have been a bit quiet on the causes front recently, but the inequality of life clearly still rankles with him.  And Amanda, one of the idle rich, becomes his latest target as he asks her whether she ever feels guilty about her aimless existence.  “Driving around in a fancy car, owning a boat you never use, doing nothing with your life”.

Leo’s clearly not one for diverting smalltalk then, admitting to Amanda that he’s never really had a girlfriend.  He briefly chats about Abby – mainly touching upon the fact that she’s everything that Amanda isn’t.  Then Amanda decides that she’d like to invest her money in Leo – they’d become partners (not only in business, but personally).  This has all the hallmarks of ending very badly ….

The Dixon of Dock Green connections continue.  Last week it was Gregory de Polnay, this time it’s Nicholas Donnelly (here playing Peter Melrose, the solicitor placed in opposition to Jack and Tom).  The general opinion is that there was a design fault with the catamaran – something which Tom doesn’t take at all well (although his spasm of anger is brief).

While Tom continues to suffer, Jan’s upward mobility continues.  After mentioning to Sir Edward that she’s always admired his country house, he spies an opening and invites her for lunch and a guided tour.  Although he claims not to be lonely, the reality seems somewhat different as he rattles around his country pile.  Like Charles, his business is his life, but is Sir Edward looking for something more?

I think that Jack thinks more logically when he’s drunk.  Although he’s weaving dangerously from side to side at the Jolly Sailor, he still manages to come up with a good idea – if they can put the pieces of the catamaran back together then they’ll be able to prove that the break-up wasn’t a design fault.  Glyn Owen was always a top drunk actor (let’s be honest, as Jack he had plenty of practice).  Compared to him then, Maurice Colbourne’s pretty much a novice (he’s not a bad drunk actor, simply not in Owen’s class).  Jack’s attempt to lead the reluctant drinkers at the Jolly Sailor in a chorus of For He’s A Jolly Good Fellow is something of a treat.

It’s all smiles between Charles and Avril as they stand on the quayside as the big powerboat race is about to begin (Charles will be handing over the prize at the end, hopefully to Relton’s own boat).  Simon May cranks up the incidentals – wailing saxophones ahoy – as the boats set off.  But the smiles are soon wiped off their faces as Ken comes in first and Mark second.  Ken – a vision in yellow – can’t help but crow ever so slightly as he accepts his winnings from Charles.

There’s a sense that the rather misfiring love triangle between Ken, Sarah and Mark is finally coming to a head. Mark’s apparently set off on a business trip – but that’s just a ruse.  As Sarah and Ken canoodle aboard a boat, he’s standing on the shore, binoculars in hand, wearing a resigned expression (“oh dear” says Ken when they spot him).  But given how far the boat is away from Mark, they must have extremely good eyesight ….

Since the Tarrant weather once again isn’t very appealing, you have to give top marks to Sarah Varley for wearing a bikini without shivering.  As for the cuckolded Mark, he’s failing to exhibit much in the way of hurt or anger – mild inconvenience yes, anger no.  Will he finally decide to give Ken a well-deserved duffing up next time?  Fingers crossed ….

It’s interesting to see how Bill’s moved more into the office this year (effectively replacing Avril as a – less attractive – buffer between Tom and Jack).  Tom’s not a happy man – the production of Barracuda has been temporarily suspended and he’s convinced that Charles is pursuing a vendetta against him.  Jack’s delightfully laid back about it all, as usual he’s quite happy that something will turn up to save them.

Tom and Avril have another confrontation.  I have to confess that Avril’s puffy sleeves captured my attention for a few seconds, but once Maurice Colbourne started ramping up the drama I snapped back into following the plot.  Tom’s paranoia continues to bubble away. Given the breakup of the catamaran it’s possibly no surprise that the Barracuda also has to be considered suspectl but he clearly doesn’t see it like that. Instead it’s obvious to him that Charles is interested in breaking him due to his relationship with Avril.

The thrusting wheeler-dealer that is Ken Masters has negotiated a deal with Robert McIntyre (Fraser Kerr).  Mark isn’t happy though, he’s convinced that McIntyre’s boats aren’t the sort of thing they should be selling (suddenly Mark’s turned into a mini-Jack, concerned about quality and craftsmanship).  Or does he suspect that his wife is embroiled with Ken? Hmm.

Jan effortless rise to the top continues apace.  Anna’s father, Mr Lee (Burt Kwouk), seemed to be a potential problem – but he quickly agrees that his daughter can go and work for Jan.  This seems all too easy – surely there must be a few roadblocks ahead?  Compared to Tom, who seems to be on an equally effortless rise to the bottom, Jan is leading a charmed life at present.   And then she spies an advert from Sir Edward Frere – offering venture capital for new businesses (her eyes light up at this).

There’s another brief insight into Gerald’s private life when he takes a call from a Dr Reynolds.  Even before we hear what the call is, the soundtrack helpfully (or too obviously, depending on your point of view) makes it plain that it’s bad news.  Polly hears the call (bad news about someone) but once again Gerald can’t – or won’t – share his worries.

But the tightly-wound Gerald can clearly not be wound any further.  When he discovers that Polly’s been on yet another spending spree, he reacts by smashing her latest purchase.  But this is only a pretext – it’s not her that he’s railing against, instead it’s his own internalised pain.  To give her credit, Polly is concerned and wants to help, but at present Gerald still can’t let her in.

Gregory de Polnay, probably best known as DS Mike Brewer in Dixon of Dock Green or possibly D84 (“I heard a cry”) in the Doctor Who story The Robots of Death, pops up as the slightly shady businessman Werner Grunwald.  His accent – I believe it’s supposed to be Swiss – is something to behold.

Do you remember the time when Avril wouldn’t even let Charles through her front door without a shudder?  Maybe it’s the passage of time, but now she’s moved into a swanky new flat things seems to have changed.  She accepts a housewarming present from him – an expensive picture – with an expression of delight (last year she probably would have smashed it over his head!)  But the increasing closeness of Charles and Avril does serve an important plot purpose – it allows Charles to articulate the feelings he has (mainly bad) about his father.

The ever-optimistic Leo decides to set up in business by himself as a general boat handyman.  And his first customer?  Amanda, of course.  Amanda is still madly keen on Leo, whilst he’d sooner just repaint her boat (he’s a strange lad).  She tells him it’s such a lovely day they should be enjoying themselves (that’s stretching it somewhat – it’s typically overcast in Tarrant).  So they go dry skiing – Amanda’s good, Leo’s not so good.  But he seems to be smiling a little more – which suggests he’s slowly coming round to her charms, although he initially refuses her later invitation to kiss him (he doesn’t refuse for long though).

Dulcie Gray’s husband, Michael Denison, makes his first appearance as Admiral Francis Redfern.  It’s only a brief appearance here, but he adds a touch of class to proceedings.

Tom’s moved out of The Jolly Sailor and is currently living in the paint store at the Mermaid Yard.  This – along with his wild-eyed, unshaven appearance – is a good indication just how far he’s fallen.  Jack knew about his problems but didn’t offer to give him a bed at his house.  So it falls to Leo, so often the conscience of the family, to step in.  He’s concerned about his father and wants to help – which leads into a nice moment of father/son bonding.

Jack’s wearing a suit, so he and Tom must be on their way to the inquest.  For those who need this to be spelled out, walking in front of them is a barrister in a white wig.  The drama of this storyline isn’t milked very much as we don’t see inside the courtroom – instead Tom and Jack simply trudge wearily back to the yard later, with Tom breaking the bad news that an open verdict, pending a surveyor’s enquiry, was delivered.  So the waiting goes on …

Before this we see Bill fielding calls from interested parties, concerned about whether the inquest will impact the yard.  Possibly this is another example of cost-cutting – much cheaper to have Bill on the phone, pretending to be speaking to someone, than it would be to hire a couple of extras, as reporters, to mill around the yard asking questions.

Charles isn’t able to visit Relton for another round of icily polite fighting with Avril, so Gerald is sent to deputise.  He’s as affable and friendly as Charles is brusque and unforgiving.  But whilst Gerald claims that he’s merely here as an observer and has no wish to interfere, it could very well be that he’s of the same mind as Charles – it’s just that his style is much more conciliatory.

Where’s Charles?  Off for a painful meeting with his father.  Based on what we know of this family so far, it’s entirely in keeping that Charles should tell Sir Edward’s butler that he has a meeting with his father at ten o clock.  The notion that Charles could simply turn up for an unscheduled chat is clearly unthinkable.

It’s quickly established that they haven’t seen each other for some considerable time, although exactly how long isn’t clear.  The constantly shifting power dynamic between the two of them is established right from the start and over the most trivial matters – Sir Edward was hopeful that they could have lunch but Charles demurs, he’s far too busy.  But Sir Edward rallies and is at least able to offer his son some coffee.

There’s some lovely character building moments as we see Sir Edward attempting to reconnect with his son.  He asks Charles if he remembers the time when, as a boy, he climbed a tree in the grounds of their palatial country house and refused to come down (he was reluctant to return to school).  Charles replies that he does and also recalled that his father was away on business at the time, which leads Sir Edward to formally respond that “I was fully informed of the incident by your mother”.

Like father, like son – Charles has clearly fashioned himself in his father’s image (a driven, single-minded businessman) although he’d no doubt be appalled if anybody attempted to draw this comparison.  Sir Edward wants them to join forces – Charles isn’t interested – but the look on Nigel Davenport’s face as Charles and Sir Edward part makes it clear that a whole heap of trouble is on the way for Frere Jnr ….

Amanda begins her pursuit of Leo and turns up at the yard.  She has a pretext – her boat requires some work – but it’s the unfathomable and mysterious Leo which has clearly drawn her to the Mermaid like a moth to the flame.  Most young men would be flattered by her approach, but Leo continues to glower at her.  Maybe it’s the poolside dip he enjoyed or possibly it’s her playful nature, but at present there seems to be no connection between them.  The fact she later unwittingly dupes Leo into sailing a boat which she doesn’t own (the arrival of the police confirming this) is another example that she’s a rollicking loose-cannon and just about everything that he isn’t.

Polly’s back at the boutique, snapping up clothes like they were going out of fashion (sorry).  This ties back to the previous episode which saw a distraught Polly railing at the futility of her empty life to a concerned, but ineffectual Gerald.  He suggests a charity job – but this didn’t go down well.  It seems that, for all their fighting, she’s missing Abby (at least when her daughter was at home she had someone to talk to, even if the conversations were rarely civil).

Gerald does do his best to be supportive, but – as ever – finds Charles in his way.  Gerald’s plan for a quiet dinner with Polly is shattered after Charles demands his presence elsewhere.  Polly doesn’t take the news well.  “I fully understand. Your business is clearly far more important to you than you wife”.  Relations at Chez Urquhart look set to be distinctly chilly from now on, especially since Gerald has personal problems of his own – although he’s unwilling to discuss them.  The sight of Gerald and Polly, sitting in their comfortable living room, drinks in hand, unable to connect to each other is a slightly chilling one.

You have to accept that a few plot contrivances will occur from time to time, but the way that another totally unknown, very talented, designer drops into Jan’s lap is a little hard to swallow.  There are several things in Anna Lee’s (Sarah Lam) favour though – she doesn’t have a silly French accent nor does she posses a ponytail.  Maybe somebody on Howards’ Way was a fan of The Adventure Game – Sarah Lam had been a regular during its final series whilst Charmian Gradwell, who would appear throughout HW’s sixth and final series, had been another Adventure Game regular.

There’s been a distinct lack of Jack so far this series, but there’s a nice scene in this episode.  A downcast Jack, still smarting at the inquest verdict, is alone in his office, bottle of whisky at hand.  Everything that we know of him suggests that he’ll shortly be drowning his sorrows but no – he heads out into the other office for a coffee instead.  It’s an impressive act of self-control, but how long will it last?  Answer, not very long.

It’s very marked that the closer Jan and Tom get to their divorce going through, the closer they seem to become on a personal level.  They share another convivial meal whilst Tom’s later dinner initiation to Avril looks set to be a more sticky affair (she agrees, but doesn’t look delighted).  Tom seems to conduct most of his conversations these days with a knife and fork in his hands although when Avril tells him that it’s over between them he doesn’t have a mouthful of food, which makes a change.

The tangled Ken/Sarah/Mark triangle hots up a little more.  Mark finally seems to have twigged that Ken’s been making googly eyes at his wife whilst the unexpected arrival of Jan (keen that Ken should sell his minority shareholding in the boutique) makes Sarah just a little jealous.

Meanwhile Tom and Jack have a stand-up row in the yard about the state of the Mermaid’s finances.  We’ve been here before of course, but this time it seems that there’s no other option than to lay off some of the men.  And since that means last in, first out, Leo will be set for the chop.

When we left Tom and Jan at the end of the second series both were suffering business traumas – the collapse of the catamaran had damaged the credibility of both Tom and the Mermaid Yard whilst the death of pony-tailed clothes designer Claude Dupont seemed to have halted Jan’s attempts to conquer the fashion world.

Polly’s looking on the bright side though.  Now that Claude’s dead, his designs are bound to go up in price, so she pops over to the boutique to snap a couple up before they all disappear.  Kate, once again stuck behind the counter, views her with politely-bred disdain.  Kate’s still very good at that sort of thing.

Tom’s rather down in the mouth about the catamaran and for new viewers who need to be brought up to speed there’s a handy moment when Jack picks up a newspaper report about it.  But since the camera only lingers on the newspaper for three seconds you would have either have to have been a fast reader or gone back later and paused your VHS recording.  Still, it’s a nice way to info-dump without having the characters laboriously spell out the ins and outs of the current situation.

The triangle of Sarah, Mark and Ken continues to simmer away, although Mark’s still totally oblivious that there is a triangle whilst Ken continues to eye the cool Sarah with longing.  His interest is so obvious that it’s a wonder that Mark hasn’t twigged yet, so maybe he really is a man who only lives for his racing.  Ken’s later pawing of Sarah (he kisses the top of her shoulder in a way that only Ken could) doesn’t quite bring him the result he was looking for though ….

Charles pays a flying visit to Relton Marine and isn’t particularly happy with what he finds.  He tells Avril that things will have to change (their icily polite conversation is an early series delight).  Charles continues to be in a snippy mood when he encounters Gerald later.

The big-money signing for this new series is, of course, Nigel Davenport as Sir Edward Frere.  He tells Sir John that it’s good to be home, which suggests he’s been away for some time.  But now he’s back there’s no doubt that sparks will fly between him and his son.

The other major new cast member debuting here is Francesca Gonshaw as Amanda Parker.  Gonshaw, thanks to her role in Allo Allo!, was a familiar television face and – having left that series – was clearly looking for new opportunities.  Series three of Howards’ Way would be her last regular television role though.

Before we see Amanda for the first time, we observe Leo gazing wistfully at a picture of Abby and attempting to write her a letter.  The number of scrunched-up balls of paper suggests that he’s being attempting this for some time.  I’ve commented before on Jan’s breath-taking indifference to her son and there’s another prime example here – she asks him what he’s doing, but isn’t really interested (she’s more concerned that he moves somewhere else, since the consultant from the bank is due to arrive soon).

But to give Jan some credit, she does attempt to gee him up a bit as she tells him that he shouldn’t spend his time reliving the past.  Especially wonderful is her comment about Lynne.  “She’s not sitting around moping about Claude, and he’s dead”.  It takes real skill to deliver dialogue like that with a straight face.

So Leo, taking his mother’s advice, heads out for a pool party.  You can tell it’s the 1980’s as Leo’s wearing a jacket with rolled-up sleeves.  Nooooooooooooooooo!

Since he’s fully clothed he obviously doesn’t intend to take a dip (at least not intentionally) and instead gravitates towards a group of beautiful(ish) young(ish) people gyrating to the hit sounds of Stevie Wonder.  And wouldn’t you know it, at exactly the point when Stevie sings “Isn’t she lovely?” the camera focuses on Amanda, who is – well – lovely.

There then follows a rather odd piece of direction.  Amanda, sitting with a male chum who’s sporting a rather colourful shirt, decides that Leo’s looking very miserable and the pair go off to cheer him up.  Maybe it was scripted that Leo was down in the dumps – staring wistfully into the distance, moping about Abby – but onscreen he’s talking animatedly to a couple of people.  Mind you, the brief snatch of Leo’s dialogue suggests that he’s pontificating about the woes of the world, so I daresay Leo’s companions were only too delighted to be rescued from his polemical onslaught!

That Leo continues droning on whilst the delightful Amanda is replenishing the others with champagne in characteristic, as is the fact that when she pours him a drink he chucks it away.  And then she pushes him into the pool.  The beginning of a beautiful friendship?  Well since he then chucks her in, possibly (this might very well be a Tarrant mating ritual).  Amanda later confesses that she likes his style.  Takes all sorts I guess.

Jack and Kate – both recovering addicts – compare notes.  Jack’s doing his best to stay off the drink whilst Kate admits that she’s had another flutter and is therefore happy to treat Jack to lunch.  Jack’s appalled – a woman paying for lunch?  But he comes round eventually.

Jan needs a new designer and fast.  She also needs £150,000 in order to open a chain of boutiques.  With no designer currently on board it seems more than a little risky to expand at this point, but Jan’s faith in her own abilities is clearly boundless.  There’s also the problem of Ken.  Jan wants to buy his minority shareholding of the boutique, but will he be agreeable?  Hmm, I wonder.

Avril and Tom have an awkward business lunch.  Charles’ presence at Relton Marine continues to concern Tom, who’s convinced that the interests of the Mermaid won’t now be her top priority.  And Tom’s jealous as hell too, of course (just as well he didn’t know that Charles dubbed him a “loser” in the business world then).

Although Charles and his father have yet to meet onscreen, there’s an early signifier of the battles to come – Charles finds himself outbid on a painting (a snip at a mere £225,000).  And the telephone buyer?  Of course it’s Sir Edward Frere ….