But peat, lots of people find that the things they've worked hard for (qualifications, a business, a good life in material aspects) don't add up to something that's sustaining and satisfying. And this often takes them by surprise and they flounder. It's like that moment in John Stuart Mill's Autobiography, when he details his crisis, precipitated by the realisation that even if all the things he was working for and believed in were achieved, he would not be happy. Alistair's gambling addiction shows that he's got a high need for excitement and the rush that comes with having something really serious at stake, and he's quashed all that. He went into partnership with Anisha and decided to try and grow the business again because he needed a new challenge, not to vegetate and try to eliminate all 'stress' from his life. Shula just flaps and fusses and frets and doesn't seem to be able to understand that he might want something more for his future than to vaccinate kittens and assist with the more challenging calvings. So there's a good seed of story there about getting older and adapting to the life you have, coming to terms with failure and diminishing horizons - but unfortunately, the script writers aren't Thomas Hardy or George Eliot!