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It's staff appraisal day, and David shows his true management skills. He advises Tim to keep his head down, urges Dawn not to let go of her pipe dreams, and warms up to the new staff by challenging their opinion of Neil.
After Lee apologizes to Tim for assaulting him, Gareth reassures Lee that nothing's going on between Dawn and Tim. He's been watching Tim "like a hawk," and he's sure Lee has been watching Dawn. Between the two of them they've got it covered.
Tim's appraisal is first. Although he has "turned over a new leaf," Tim still plans on returning to uni for a psychology degree. "No point," David says, "we're in our thirties now." Well Tim is just 30 and David is 39. Still, if Tim keeps his head down in a few years he could be in the hot seat like David.
At Dawn's appraisal she confesses she wants to be a children's illustrator. She used to be, but once she took the reception job full time, she's too knackered to do anything else. David encourages her to "keep up the doodling, always, you know. Pipe dreams are good in a way." When it doesn't happen, she can say, "at least I gave it a go."
After doing reviews with the old staff, David asks the new people how they're settling in. Trudy feels there's not much dynamism at Slough. David is shocked. Do they think Neil is more of a laugh than David? Well, yes. David attempts to prove them wrong at lunchtime drinks, but none of the best people show up. And those that do don't really make an effort.
When David and the others return from lunch, a few of the staff �??�?�¢?? including Neil, Tim, and Gareth �??�?�¢?? are playing cricket in reception. David accuses Neil of just trying to be popular, how pathetic!
Later, Gareth asks Rachel out for a drink. She has already made plans with Tim. Gareth would still be interested if she doesn't go all the way with Tim. If she does go all the way and expects him to go in "there" afterwards, make sure Tim uses a condom.
It's the end of the day. Dawn is about to head home when David admits he's fed up. Does she think Neil is funnier than he is? Dawn answers definitely not. He pulls out beers for the both of them and reads her one of his poems, "Excalibur." He hopes she gets the double meanings.
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