Cwmderi Diary 2018: 22 January 2018

Does DJ need a helmet and riot gear?

Diane asks DJ, “Is that jacket going to be enough to protect you today?” and he thinks he should wear a helmet and riot gear as well.

"When are you going to face the music?"

Dai is sitting morosely with his cup of tea; “When are you going to venture outside to face the music?” Diane enquires.

He replies that he does not feel well, and something is wrong;

"I think I'm in for a dose of flu"

“I’ve got the shivers – I think I’m in for a dose of flu.”

"The trouble is you're terrified!"

She points out that his problem is that he is terrified, and that is a product of his conscience, not that he has had much experience of that over the years.

"You're coming to APD with me, now!"

“Right, that’s enough sympathy – you’re coming to APD with me, now!” she orders.

"You've been hiding up here all weekend"

In the café flat, Debbie tells Mathew that he has been hiding over the weekend; he replies that he has been focusing all his attention on Vicky. “And making sure I don’t get a chance to tell her,” Debbie adds,

"There's no point in ruining it all for her now"

“She’s happy – there is no point ruining it all for her, now she’s pregnant,” Mathew insists, “No good will come of telling her – moving on is the best thing to do.”

"The best thing is for her to know the truth"

Debbie answers that she has been thinking about how he deceived Vicky, and considers that the best thing for Vicky is to know the truth.

"I love her and I want to be with her!"

He pleads “Look, I’ve told her that I love her and I want to be with her – Debs, I mean it!” Debbie does not trust him, but he goes on, “Please, give us a chance to move on, now there’s a baby on the way.” She is not inclined to forgive him just like that,

"You've never had a worse enemy than me!"

and warns that he may have had enemies in the past, but none as bad as her.

Vicky comes in

When Vicky walks in, her mother says that she has a card for her to sign to give to Mark before he goes into hospital tomorrow. Mathew will also sign it, as Vicky describes him as, “Part of the family now.”

"Proud of what you did, then?"

At APD, Eifion asks Dai if he is proud of what he did, and scoffs at the name ‘Ashurst Park’; “You wanted us to name the rugby pitch after you, before we found out –

"Field of Shame would be a better name!"

“the ‘Field of Shame’ would be a better name for it. How many people donated money towards this Dry January? That will be a lot of people angry with you, and there won’t be any new equipment for the club now.”

The phone rings, but Dai flatly refuses to answer it,

"Hello, APD"

so Jason does so; it is Emma, phoning from Australia, and,

"Emma?"

looking concerned, he passes the phone to Diane.

Britt has large quantities of ironing to do

Britt is at the Deri flat, collecting washing to be ironed for Dani;

"I once considered being a midwife"

“I once considered being a midwife, working with babies all day – I’d rather do that than run a chip shop! At least babies don’t give you a lot of aggro!”

Garry has been on night duty recently

Garry comments that he would not say that, as he has been doing the night feed the last few nights; “Who would have thought – Garry Monk, the modern father?” laughs Britt.

"Receipt from the Cash and Carry"

Mathew comes in with a receipt from the cash-and-carry;

"Right, where's that letter?"

Dani wants to know where the letter is, and he tells her that she does not need to worry about it. “I do, because I don’t trust you to keep it,” she replies,

"I threw it away"

and is anxious when he tells her he threw it away.

"Are you an idiot?"

“A DNA letter with our names on it? Are you an idiot?”

"Er, no, I burnt it"

Then he changes his story and says that he burnt it; “I didn’t want it in the flat – and I didn’t get the chance to give it back to you. We can forget all about it, all right?” Dani does not seem convinced by this story.

"Emma has broken her leg . . ."

Diane ends the phone call, and explains to Dai and Jason that Emma was out in the harbour on one of those jet skis when she had an accident and broke her leg. She is in hospital, and hoping to come out tomorrow, but she cannot move.

". . . and there's no-one to look after her"

“Now that she and Dirk have separated, there is no-one to look after her. Hannah can’t go, as she is getting ready for her AS levels.”

"That leaves you or me, Mam"

“Well, that leaves you or me, Mam,” concludes Jason, “But Sara is not going to let me go, is she? Not with Ifan and Awyr Iach.”

"You know the country, Jason"

Dai reminds him that he knows the country and has contacts. Diane is doubtful if she could leave Hannah with Dai and DJ – it could be a disaster.

The card has been signed

Debbie signs the card for Mark, and Vicky has insisted that Mathew sign it too;

"Mathew has tried his best to fit in"

“He has tried his best to fit in – I’m happy, OK?” she says.

"But how can we avoid losing the money?"

Hywel and Eifion come in, trying to work out some way of keeping the sponsorship money and ensure people keep supporting the club.

"A lot of public apologies"

“They will have to make a public statement, apologise on the club’s website and in the press,” Hywel points out, “And we will have to apologise and find a way to raise the money we’ve lost.”

"A public punishment would be worth seeing"

Eifion maintains, “A public punishment would be worth seeing, wouldn’t it?” and Hywel thinks this idea might have promise.

"We shouldn't tell Hannah"

Diane has gone round to number 9, to persuade Sara; she does not think that Hannah should be told her mother has a broken leg, until they have the necessary help organised. “That way she won’t panic and want to go back there herself.”

"You're playing with fire, Diane"

Sara considers that this idea is playing with fire, but Diane is quite adamant that she knows best.

Jason lists why he should not go

Jason says that this is an important time for Ifan and they are very busy at Awyr Iach.

"I'd be over there like a shot"

Diane admits, “I’d be over there like a shot – I don’t like to think of Emma out there on her own – but if we give it careful consideration,

Jason thinks they are conspiring against him

“it makes more sense for Jason to go. I can be here to support Hannah – and with all this nonsense going on with Dai and DJ, I can’t trust them to do anything right!”

She does not think that help will be needed for more than a couple of weeks,

"Yes, it would be better if Jason went . . ."

so Sara comes to the conclusion that it would be better for Jason to go;

". . . she is your sister, after all"

after all, Emma is his sister. Diane instructs him not say a word to Hannah until he has booked a flight, and all this mess involving Dai, DJ and the rugby club is settled.

They are about to settle down for a chat . . .

Debbie comes upstairs once more from the café, and Vicky says they have not had the chance to talk since she told her mother about the baby. “I’m not 100% sure, but I can feel it!” she confides.

. . . but here comes Mathew again

However, before Debbie can say anything, Mathew is back, wanting Vicky to cover for him at the Deri, as there are a few items he forgot from the cash-and-carry.

Debbie looks at him

As Vicky goes downstairs, they look at each other;

"If you tell the truth – what then?"

“Don’t you see how happy she is? If you tell her the truth, what then? We shall split up, and she will have to raise the new baby on her own –

"Raising two children on her own"

“two children on her own.”

"All the family would be there for her"

Debbie reminds him that all the family would be there for her, but he continues, “You’re wrong – Vicky would lose the happiness she feels now –

"She may never forgive you!"

“you would have taken that away from her – she may never forgive you! You would have made everyone unhappy –

"How much comfort would revenge be then?"

“how much comfort would revenge be then?

"You going to answer that, Dai?"

Dai ignores yet another phone call; Hywel and Eifion come into APD, wondering whether he is going to answer it.

"I've had three anonymous calls"

“I’ve had three calls in the last 20 minutes, calling me names – all anonymous!” he moans.

"There's an urgent meeting to discuss your behaviour!"

Then he is told that there is an urgent meeting to discuss his fraudulent behaviour, but Dai thinks that calling it fraud is a bit over the top.

"Jenkins Pontcothi is not lending us his minibus"

Eifion points out that Jenkins Pontcothi is not lending them his minibus for the Scotland trip, and urges him to imagine how many people are going to complain. The business will not be associated with that Dry January fiasco.

“You’re coming with us to make up for being so underhanded!” Hywel instructs Dai, who calls it a ‘kangaroo court’.

Dai has little choice but to comply

As the phone rings again, Dai thinks he had better comply with their instructions.

"She is the happiest she's ever been"

Still up in the café flat, Mathew informs Debbie that Vicky is the happiest she has ever been, but she refers to his deception. “Not any more – it happened right at the start when we were dating – it was a one-off!” he stresses.

"You even did a paternity test"

Debbie reminds him that he has been sneaking about, and even done a paternity test.

He insists that it is all over now, and he is going to build a life here with Vicky; “When the baby comes, I promise to be a brilliant father!”

"You can't stand the fact that I can make her happy!"

She does not believe him, and he exclaims, “You can’t stand the fact that I can make her happy! That I’m more important to her than you are – that’s what really hurts you!

"It will only break her heart"

“Listen, telling her won’t do anything except break her heart, and I don’t want that to happen –

"I love her!"

“I love her! I want to be with her!”

Debbie concedes that if he really does love her, keeping quiet might be the best thing to do.

"I'm not going to make life easy for you!"

“But don’t think for one moment I’m going to make life easy for you!” she promises.

"What else can I do?"

At the meeting in the Deri, Dai protests that he has said sorry, and does not know what else he can do.

Hywel lists all the public apologies

Hywel proposes that he has to prepare a statement to be broadcast on CwmFM, one for the club’s website, and for the Western Post. “You want everyone in the area to know, do you?” demands Dai,

"You want to humiliate us!"

“You want to humiliate us!”

Eifion suggests, “If you were punished in front of everyone, the whole of Cwmderi, perhaps Penrhewl would consider making a donation of £100.

Eifion's and Hywel's drinks arrive

Vicky brings over two pints, and Dai thinks that he and DJ should have one too.

"I'm surprised you can show your face in here!"

Britt is passing, and remarks that she is surprised he can show his face in here.

"Entrapment – that's what this is!"

Dai snarls that she and Colin are guilty of entrapment; she angrily responds to this, and Diane appears.

"Whatever it is, I support it 100%!"

When told that they are discussing suitable punishment, she enthusiastically replies that, whatever it is, she supports it 100%.

"You should throw them out of the club!"

Britt says that they could throw them out of the club.

Dai is quite confident that will not happen,

"Well, that's a possibility"

but Eifion and Hywel are willing to entertain any suggestions

Vicky takes a sandwich up to Dani . . .

Vicky takes up some sandwiches for Dani

. . . and has a brief cuddle

and holds baby Carol for a minute;

"I think I'm pregnant!"

“Can I tell you a secret? I think I’m pregnant!”

"That's fantastic!"

Dani is very pleased for her.

"You can't throw me out!"

Downstairs, Dai rages, “Throw me out? That would ruin all the hard work I’ve done over the years!”

"That's why it's so fitting"

Eifion points out that is what makes it such a fitting punishment, and Hywel cannot think of anything else more appropriate.

“We’ll accept any punishment – but not this!” Dai goes on, and Eifion says that there is one other option; to take full advantage of the opportunity, they could do what people used to do centuries ago to witches and thieves.