Getting to Know You - Again

"Getting to Know You - Again" is the second episode of the first season of As Time Goes By. It originally aired on 19 January 1992.

## Plot

The scene begins with Jean arriving at the office in a cab while speaking to the driver about the traffic as a result of student protests. Jean sends Sandy to Lionel because they had previously sent an incompetent secretary and as an apology they are sending their best secretary, Sandy. Sandy leaves for Lionel’s hotel as Judith enters the office. Judith eagerly asks for details about Jean and Lionel’s reunion, though Jean is more dismissive of the Judith’s romantic interpretations and hopes of the encounter. Jean receives a phone call from real estate agents about a place in Richmond to open another branch.

Lionel is at reception checking out of the hotel he was staying for the revisions and complains and makes light of the categorization of peanuts as miscellaneous confectionary on the bill. Alistair comes to talk to Lionel and Lionel invites him to a cup of coffee. Once they have left, Sandy arrives to work for Lionel but is told that he has checked out. Annoyed by Lionel inconsiderate action, she leaves.

Alistair persuades Lionel to continue the revisions to his book immediately in order to finish the book for an autumn launch, though Lionel is annoyed that he will have to move back to the hotel as he need secretarial assistance for the revisions. On a lighter note, Alistair invites Lionel to a party to network with people in the book industry that can help promote his book. Lionel agrees to go to the party and asks Alistair to stop calling him ‘mate’ in return. Alistair agrees and immediately comes up with his new nickname for Lionel, Li. Lionel’s face drops when as Alistair says it.

Judith comes back to the office from lunch and asks Jean why Sandy was back as she was supposed to be helping Lionel with his edits. Jean explains to an incredulous Judy that Lionel checked out of the hotel and didn’t phone to explain.

Before Alistair leaves Lionel at reception, he invites Lionel to bring someone to the party. Lionel goes to reception to check back in to the hotel, much to the front desk clerk’s dismay. The front desk also informs him that Sandy had arrived an hour ago and informed her that Lionel had checked out.

Lionel arrives at the Type for You office to talk to Jean and Judy informs him that Jean has gone for a walk in the park. Sandy and Judy act coldly to Lionel as he tried to disappear from Jean and wasted Sandy’s time.

Jean is at the park when a jogger stops to rest and talks to her. The jogger tells Jean that she that is married and trying lose weight because her tubby husband called her chunky. When the jogger sees Lionel, thinking that he is a peculiar man looking at them, offers Jeans to jog away with her, though Jean reassures the jogger that she can manage and the jogger leaves. Lionel comes over and offers the excuse of Sandy being mistaken about him having check out with the reasoning that all modern young girls were airheads. Once Jean comes to Sandy defense, Lionel gives half hearted explanations before admitting he had checked out because of Judy’s insistence that Jean and Lionel should pick off where they had left off 38 years ago. They admit that both of them had no intentions of contacting each other and Lionels asks for another secretary as he needs one to finish his book, though Jean is distracted by a young soldier and nurse walking through the park and they begin to reminisce their romance 38 years ago. Lionel had asked Jean where Curzon Street was and admitted he only asked that because it was the first street name he could think of. On their first date, Lionel swung from the branch of a tree, trying and failing to impress Jean and Jean tried not to laugh. Jean and Lionel agree not to see each other anymore and that Jean will send another secretary to his hotel to help with his revisions. They say goodbye and Jean leaves for the office.

Jean is walking back to the office when someone is chasing her and she picks up her pace. An exhausted Lionel stops and yells out to Jean to stop. Lionel explains he is unable to run and call out at the same time and they sit down at the office. Lionel invites Jean to the party that Alistair had invited him to though Jean is reluctant and admits he doesn’t want to go alone. Lionel points out the business aspect of it as Lionel needs to go to the party to network with people that can help with the promotion of his book pre-release.

An exhausted Lionel and Jean are walking up the stairs of Alistair’s apartment because the elevator is broken. Once the reach the outside of the apartment, they decide to leave though Alistair comes out and invites them inside before they able to do so.

Alistair announces Lionel and Jean to the party and Tanya, who is in aromatherapy, introduces herself to them and advises them to try it before Marcus finishes it himself. Tanya leaves and Alistair brings Lionel and Jean two glasses of punch based on a recipe brought back by Marcus from Zaire, which Jean says it was the most awful drink that she has ever had in the whole of her life. Alistair’s eyes light up and tell Lionel that he should meet Chas, a book cover designer, as Chas will probably design the cover of Lionel’s book. Alistair takes Jean away. Chas and Lionel discuss ideas for the cover of My Life in Kenya. Chas suggests cheongsams and Zulus to an exasperated Lionel who explains that those did not originate in Kenya.

Alistair is chatting up Jean. Lionel comes over and tells Alistair that he and Chas did not mesh ideas particularly well. Alistair introduces him to Sean, an outlet that distributes the books to the end consumer. Alistair takes Jean away again.

Jean is talking to Tanya again, thinking they are talking about breeding puppies while Tanya is talking about raising a child. Lionel comes over and Tanya leaves.

Lionel and Jean are walking in on the street talking about their experience at the party. They talk about the rosewood pencil box that Lionel had bought for Jean 38 years ago in an antique shop in Chalfront St Giles.