Valentine #9 March 1963

Bert’s obsession with space travel has left Lena feeling forgotten, until a clever friend at the Harton rocket facility steps in. Using the Whirlwind—a spinning device that mimics the thrill of flight—she gives Bert a taste of motion that might just bring him back down to Earth… and to Lena.

Jean visits Gran for a reading, hoping to learn what the tea-leaves predict about her love life. While Bill Hodges needles her with his usual card games and jokes, Hugo surprises her with a proposal to marry and move overseas. Back at Gran’s, Jean returns, eager to see what fate has in store for her next chapter.

Audrey Edwards and Ian had planned a future together—until a sudden letter ended their engagement. Now, after he’d spent a year in a sanatorium, they’re ready to reunite, but Audrey’s parents still stand in the way. Their love, tested by distance and silence, must find a way to move forward.

In "null," Debby Carpenter and George Meridew—strangers bound by a shared inheritance—meet in England to restore a house left to them by Debby’s uncle. Though each pretends indifference by showing off photos of their respective romantic interests, a quiet tension builds between them as they work side by side, their guarded smiles hinting at something deeper beneath the surface.

In "Music for Strings," Jacky and Babs plot a quiet escape from their cramped flat, dodging the watchful eye of their landlady, Mrs. Parfitt. With a cello case as their unlikely accomplice and George’s unexpected help at the bus stop, their departure unfolds in quiet, tender moments—though Jacky hides the truth about her lack of love for music.