- Richard must finally come to terms with early retirement which includes spending all day and every day with Hyacinth. But Hyacinth is eager to find Richard a new position, so when she hears that the Henderson's in frozen foods have an opening, she makes plans to get Richard the most executive, senior position.—Nadia Nassar
- Hyacinth is bustling round the house, singing and humming and in a very good mood because today's Richard's last day before retirement. Richard, on the other hand, is less than enthusiastic - he isn't looking forward to having to stay home with Hyacinth all day, and is trying to figure out ways to get out of it. Hyacinth tells him to wear his best suit and look extra smart today, as it's his last day at the office, reminding him how "lucky" he is to have gotten early retirement.
The Milkman comes to the door, being careful to make no noise as he takes the old bottles and replaces them with new ones. Hyacinth comes to the door and says she heard him arrive, to which the frustrated milkman demands to know exactly how she managed that. She informs him she is disappointed that his superiors haven't answered the query she sent in some time past, regarding which cows her milk comes from. As they don't keep records of which bottles come from which cow, the milkman tries to mollify her by telling her all the milk has been tested and manages to escape without too much recrimination.
Hyacinth dresses Richard in his nicest clothes and goes outside with him. He kisses her goodbye, but he is so dazed and confused by the looming prospect of retirement that instead of going to the car he blunders back into the house, inadvertently locking her out. Elizabeth, watching from next door through the window, is shocked by this, but Emmet tells her that he sympathizes with Richard and doesn't blame him for his being in a confused state today.
Hyacinth manages to get Richard to come out again and packs him into the car. He assures her he's fine, shuts the door and starts the car, but then sits there blankly. When Hyacinth knocks on the car to get his attention, he gets back out again and asks her what kind of day she had, as if he just got back home. Now seriously worried, Hyacinth tells him he's in no state to drive, so he walks to work. However, he goes the wrong way and Hyacinth has to call after him and set him right once again.
Next door, Elizabeth has ceased to look out the window, but now Emmet has taken her place. When she asks what he's looking at, he explains he's waiting for the instant Hyacinth goes inside so he can go to work without being "sung at" by her. Elizabeth laughs at his paranoia and tells him just to run past with and not stop. Emmet still doesn't dare to move until Hyacinth goes indoors - when she does, he takes off at a run. Hyacinth returns on the porch and starts singing to his retreating back, but, following Elizabeth's advice, he just speeds up and runs down the street. Elizabeth comes out and Hyacinth invites her over for coffee.
As Elizabeth waits for Hyacinth to serve her the coffee, and tries to settle her nerves so she won't spill it when it arrives, Hyacinth informs her that she has invited Mrs. Henderson over for a formal afternoon tea. Mrs. Henderson's husband has made a fortune in the frozen meat business, and Hyacinth is hoping to get Richard an executive position in the firm. This of course means his retirement would be put off longer but Hyacinth reasons that this isn't as important as the chance to move up socially. She tells Elizabeth to dress up and fix her hair for the afternoon tea - which she is not invited to, she's just simply expected to attend - and Elizabeth, offended, demands to know what's wrong with her normal hairdo. However, she leans forward in her excitement and sweeps her coffee cup and the entire plate of biscuits off the table, to both her and Hyacinth's horror.
Meanwhile, at Daisy and Onslow's house, Rose comes in to return some of Daisy's laundry that got mixed with hers. She finds Daisy awake and reading but Onslow sound asleep and completely out of sight under the blankets. She expresses concern about Onslow's being able to breathe under the blankets but Daisy is not worried - he does it all the time. They begin to joke about being unable to see who it is and how they can't be sure it's really Onslow. This wakes him and irritably he tells Rose to bring him breakfast the next time she comes in so early, but Daisy and Rose both remind him he doesn't eat breakfast.
At work, Richard's boss has a lot of work to catch up on so he just offers Richard a very hasty send-off. Richard tries to delay, and asks if he can work part-time instead of being cut, but his boss tells him he believes in making a clean break when one retires and refuses to let him even come in on a volunteer basis. Having been foiled in his attempt to avoid spending all day with Hyacinth, Richard leaves the office despondently and goes for a walk.
Hyacinth and Elizabeth work to clean the mess up, when the phone rings. The call is from Violet, detailing some more of Bruce's exploits. Hyacinth quickly ejects Elizabeth from the house so she can listen without danger of Elizabeth overhearing. She reminds Elizabeth to dress up when she comes back, and goes in to speak to Violet.
Back at Daisy Onslow's house, the phone rings in the living room. Daisy goes to answer it, but Onslow has the television on so loud she can't hear what the person on the other end is saying. She tells Onslow it's too loud but he won't get up to turn it down, so she has to go turn it down herself, much to her annoyance as he was far closer than she was. As it turns out, the call wasn't for her anyway, so she and Onslow settle down to watch the TV again while Onslow shouts for Rose to come answer the phone. As it's Roger, her latest beau, she insists she has to fix her hair first before she talks to him.
Hyacinth, having finished her phone call with Violet, sets up her house for the tea with Mrs. Henderson when she arrives. She goes outside and gets Elizabeth to come in and offer her opinion. Elizabeth doesn't dare answer any other way than in the affirmative - Hyacinth is pleased, and sends her off a second time so she can get dressed up for Mrs. Henderson.
Rose answers the phone finally and she and Roger have a lengthy conversation, Rose's side of which is filled with untruths suggesting she's not the aging vamp she really is. Finally, Roger asks to pick her up, and Rose panics because she doesn't want him to see the slovenly mess Onslow and Daisy's house is. She tells him she lives with her sister, but then decides to tell him that the sister she lives with is Hyacinth, not Daisy. She gives him Hyacinth's address and tells him she'll meet him there.
Roger arrives early at Hyacinth's house, bringing along with him his huge Newfoundland dog. However, Olive is a very disobedient and stubborn dog, who stops and goes whenever she feels like it, and he has a great difficulty getting her just to walk up the door to Hyacinth's house. About halfway up the drive she sits down and decides she doesn't want to go any farther. Roger tugs and tugs but to no avail - Hyacinth hears the commotion and comes out. She demands Roger remove Olive from the premises at once, as she is expecting guests. Roger tries to explain he's called for Rose but Hyacinth, since Rose isn't there yet, doesn't know about their assignation. She demands again that he leave and he, thinking she is Rose's mother, decides not to antagonize her further and again tries to tug Olive along. Olive refuses to budge, so Roger drops her leash and walks away. Hyacinth is appalled, but he explains he's going to get another dog from a neighbor - Olive plays with this little dog at the park, and she'll surely follow him when she sees her friend. He then leaves a horrified Hyacinth saddled with Olive and walks off down the street.
Hyacinth, knowing Mrs. Henderson will arrive any second, is desperate to get Olive off her premises. She tries shouting at Olive, but the dog continues placidly sitting there. She goes next door and gets Elizabeth, explaining the problem and asking for help. Elizabeth agrees to assist her, but is daunted by the sheer size of the dog. They ponder how to handle the problem, and then Hyacinth gets the idea that if she tugs from the front and Elizabeth pushes from the back, they can at least get Olive out of her yard and into the street. They try this scheme, with Elizabeth shoving and Hyacinth wrapping the leash round her hand and tugging as hard as she can, but Olive is too heavy for either of them to move.
Mrs. Henderson comes walking up to the house with her little Yorkshire Terrier while this is going on. Olive, mistaking Mrs. Henderson's dog for the little one she plays with at the park, jumps up and runs to him. The terrified Yorkie yanks his leash out of Mrs. Henderson's hand and flees down the street, with Olive barreling after him. Unfortunately, Hyacinth still has the leash wound round her hand and she is tugged along helplessly after Olive, past her guest and down the street. Elizabeth and Mrs. Henderson watch in horror, the former trying to comfort the latter, as Hyacinth and both dogs disappear into the distance.
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