23/12/2022

Neil finds George outside the village hall. George is adamant he’s not singing tonight. He has friends in there and it’s embarrassing. Neil says that’s fine – but George has to tell Fallon. Inside the hall, Fallon and Jolene compare notes and nerves, and admire what a great job Jill’s done with the décor. Fallon’s relieved to see Neil and George, and George bottles out of telling her he’s quitting. Instead, he shares some Christmas headgear Susan’s given him to distribute. Fallon makes him wear a novelty Christmas tree headband, to Neil’s amusement, and the show gets underway. In the break, George declares he couldn’t ditch Fallon when she needed him. He asks Neil not to tell Emma he nearly bailed out. Neil agrees as long as George stays until the last song. George admits he’s quite enjoying it. Jolene’s hoping Lily and Adil’s duet will go smoothly – she feels responsible having thrown them together. She admits dealing with her choir has sometimes been like pulling teeth. Fallon assures her they’re sounding great so far. Mother and daughter laugh at their respective plights. They decide the last carol should be a joint effort between their two choirs. The evening is just the tonic David needs. In the break, he spots Ben and Ruth have disappeared. Ben reappears and takes David to where Jill’s sitting at the back of the room. Ben acts as peacemaker, and Jill agrees to come to Brookfield for Christmas lunch. David admits it wouldn’t be Christmas without his mum, and Jill exclaims she’s missed them all.