Cwmderi Diary 2018: 4 July 2018

Colin is still very worried

Early in the morning, Colin is staring at the laptop, after having been awake most of the night; “I can’t stop thinking of this band,” he groans,

"I can't let Garry down!"

“I can’t let Garry down – he’s expecting a gig in the Deri, and that is what he’ll get!”

"Just explain to him"

Britt assures him that Garry will be OK if he explains, but he insists that the show must go on. “I’ve put up an advert online, like Chester suggested, and I’ve been in touch with a couple of old rockers – friends I used to jam with in Lampeter.”

"You can tidy up the place this morning"

Chester comes in, and his mother tells him that he has to tidy up this morning, as has she has been too soft with him.

"Sorry, I'm going to work . . ."

He says, “Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m going to work, but not in the chip shop –

". . . at Awyr Iach – I start this morning"

“I’ve got a job at Awyr Iach – I start this morning. Sara thinks I’m perfect! I can contribute to the rent now.”

Llinos takes her sandwiches

In the café, Kelly brings a plate of sandwiches for Llinos, then Siôn comes in and sees that there are eclairs displayed on the counter.

"Two eclairs – to eat on the train"

“Can I have two? I will eat them on the train, on the way to a translation conference in Cardiff. Poor Ed will be on his own all day, as he is not working –

"This is the ideal chance for you"

“if you ask me, this is the ideal chance for you to be honest about living together. I know you want to do something special, but perhaps you should just tell him – he obviously misses you. You don’t need to do anything special – a chat over a cup of tea and a cake will do.”

"You're a genius, Siôn!"

Kelly suddenly looks shocked and tells him, “You’re a genius, Siôn! Thank you – eclairs are Ed’s favourites! Why didn’t I think of it before? Strike while the iron’s hot!” she says,

she leaves – with his eclairs

as she grabs the box of eclairs and dashes out of the door,

"Yes, two eclairs coming up"

leaving Gwen to find two more for Siôn.

Chester wears his Awyr Iach uniform

Chester has arrived at Awyr Iach, and dons his uniform; he tells Kath that the job is not rocket science,

"First job is to make the coffee"

and she replies that the first job for new trainees is to make coffee. Sara introduces him to Ceri,

"We don't have a drink until ten – work comes first!"

then informs him that they do not have a drink until ten o’clock; “Work comes first, and one of the first things you need to learn is –

“don’t believe everything that Kath tells you!” She asks Kath to show Chester the ropes.

Britt makes a packed lunch for Chester

Britt is extremely pleased that Chester has found a job, and to mark the occasion she has made him a packed lunch; Colin, on the other hand, is not pleased at all.

"Nobody's available to play in the band!"

“Nobody’s available to play in the band – I’ve tried all the old rockers, and there has been no reply to the advert.”

"It's obviously not meant to be, Col"

She concludes that it is not meant to be, but he is adamant that it is going to happen, even if he has to get up there on his own.

She laughs at the idea of him and his ukelele; however he visualises, “a one-man band extraordinaire.”

"Please take this to Chester"

Britt asks him to take Chester’s lunchbox, but he is reluctant as he has to practise;

"One man band – extraordinaire!"

as he takes the lunchbox, he looks, panic stricken, at his ukelele.

"This is a nice surprise"

“This is a nice surprise!” says Ed, as Kelly bursts into Y Felin; she apologises for not coming over much recently,

She presents him with eclairs

and tells him she has brought some eclairs, his favourite. He wonders what he has done to deserve them, but she replies that she has every right to treat her boyfriend.

“All right, I want to talk to you about something too,” she begins, but he says that he never touches cakes in the morning. “Nor do I, but I fancy being naughty today, and it helps if someone else does too!” Kelly goes on.

"I'll put them in the fridge for later"

He replies that there is no point training in the gym if he eats eclairs in the morning; he will put them in the fridge, and they can have them after their chat.

He takes a peek in the box . . .

On the way to the fridge, he opens the box to see a note inside,

. . . and discovers her ulterior motive

which reads, “I want to live with you,” and he smiles.

"You and Ed have to join Colin's band!"

Britt goes to visit Jason, and tells him he and Ed have to join Colin’s band, but he points out that the gig has been cancelled. “He intends to carry on all on his own!” she complains,

"He's terrible – tone deaf!"

“Have you heard him playing the ukelele? He’s terrible – tone deaf, I think! Everyone will laugh at him he goes up there on his own!”

"Look, we cannot play musical instruments!"

Jason spells it out that he and Ed cannot play musical instruments, so there is nothing they can do, and there is insufficient time to learn. “I don’t care what you do –

"Well, sing, dance or tell jokes, then!"

“sing, dance, or you could tell jokes – but he’s not going up there on his own!”

"It was only meant s a bit of fun"

Jason is sorry that this happened, and it was meant to be a bit of fun, but Britt does not want Colin making a total fool of himself in front of everyone. “You and Ed created this mess, so I expect you to sort it out!” she growls as she leaves.

The staff are working at Awyr Iach, (some more industriously than others);

"Have you finished already"

Sara is surprised that Chester has finished assembling and filling all the boxes already.

"It takes you a whole morning!"

She turns to Kath, “It takes you an entire morning to do one boxful!”

"Here's your lunch, Chester"

Colin comes in with Chester’s lunch, and shows him the flyer he has prepared,

He reveals his new project

advertising Colin’s One-Man-Band. Sara tells him, “Many would have given up after what Ed and Jason did,”

"Your silly husband will regret leaving the band"

and Colin predicts that her silly husband will regret leaving the band.

"Next job – putting logos on these t-shirts"

Then Sara announces the next job – to put Awyr Iach logos on the Eisteddfod t-shirts; she allocates the red ones to Kath and the blue to Chester.

"I have to take Ifan to the optician's"

“Kath will show you how to do it – I have to take Ifan to the optician’s.”

"Right, kettle on and feet up!"

As soon as she has gone, Kath says, “Right, kettle on and feet up while Madam’s out – you take advantage of every opportunity you get!”

"What did you want to talk about"

Ed brings Kelly a cup of tea and wonders what she wanted to talk about;

"Just go and get the eclairs!"

she replies that she just wants an eclair, and tells him to fetch the box. Winding her up, he demands, “What is the big deal with those eclairs?” She admits that she wants him to open the box, and if he does so, he will find out what it is about.

But then there is an interruption

Of course, at that inconvenient moment his phone rings; it is Jason, who says they urgently needs to sort something out with Britt,

"Thwarted again!"

so Ed leaves the house.

Lunchtime at the Deri

The staff of Awyr Iach have their lunch break in the Deri, and Kath tells Chester not to worry as she will look after him, but he insists he needs no looking after.

"It was a mistake to sit with her"

“It was a mistake to sit with her,” she begins, “You don’t want to spend time with your boss outside work hours. You have to keep them at arm’s length, or they take advantage.”

Then, looking more worried,

Kath encourages him to slow down

she goes on, “You worked hard this morning – do you think you can keep up that pace? If you come out of the blocks at 100mph, Sara is going to expect more from you, and you won’t have another gear to step it up.”

"The day goes faster when you keep busy"

Chester points out that the day goes faster when you keep busy, but she is adamant that he has to slow down; “You won’t get paid any more for working flat out,”

"I might get promotion!"

but he replies that he might get promotion.

"I didn't know you played the harmonica"

Britt says that she did not know Colin played the harmonica as well, and he tells her that he does not – yet. “I have to add layers to the sound,” he explains, “As there is no one else in the band.”

"Some prefer a more 'stripped-down' sound

She replies that some people prefer a more ‘stripped-down’ sound,

"What? You mean I play in the nude?"

which he takes to mean performing in the nude, and thinks that would pull in the crowds – or perhaps not.

"You need more time to practise"

Then she suggests postponing the gig to give him more time to practise.

His resolve is unshakeable, “No, Britt, I have to do this.

"I'm going to show Jason and Ed I'm not a joke!"

“I’m going to show Jason and Ed that I’m not a joke!” She advises him that they were not really being mean, and cannot see this gig being the best plan of action.

Britt produces a couple of random notes . . .

When he cannot be dissuaded from his ambition, she says that she is going to join the band, too. She wants to be part of it, and grabs the harmonica, after emitting a couple of notes, pronouncing it easy.

. . . then they both produce many more

They start rehearsals, each sounding repeated chords.

Chester production speed shows up Kath

Sara watches the application of the Awyr Iach logos, and tells Kath, “Chester is doing two to every one of yours!” Kath queries whether he is doing them right.

"If you had a computerised machine . . ."

Chester suggests that the machines are a bit clumsy; “If you had a computerised one, we could do these in half the time. I’ll look for a secondhand machine online – there are bargains out there, if you know where to look. I’ll have a go – leave it with me.”

"I like commitment!

Sara whispers to Kath that commitment is what she likes.

Unpleasant sounds emit from the chippy flat

As Jason and Ed approach the chippy, they hear discordant sounds coming from the flat above.

"We go up there and tell him straight!"

Ed proposes, “We go up there and tell him straight – if Colin wants to make a fool of himself, fair enough, but I don’t want any part of it!”

Jason has a better idea, and sends him back to Kelly

Then Jason has a bright idea, and gets out his phone; “Go back to Kelly, and leave this to me,” he says, “I’ll sort this out.”

"Andrew, what are you doing on Tuesday night?"

When the phone is answered, Jason says, “Hello, Andrew, this is Jason. Listen, what are you doing on Tuesday night?”

"You and i need to have a chat"

At the end of the day, Awyr Iach closes, and Kath accosts Chester; “You and I need to have a chat. You’ve only just started –

"You have to slow down for the rest of us"

“you should learn lessons from someone who’s been here a while. You’re a good worker, but you have to slow down for the rest of us – you do twice the work I do – it makes me look lazy!”

"Perhaps you are lazy"

Chester replies that perhaps she is lazy, but Kath does not want Sara to start keeping tabs on her.

He walks away, laughing

He simply walks away, laughing.

Colin is under the impression that he is improving

Britt is cooking the meal, while Colin twangs tunelessly on the ukelele, confident that he is improving. Chester returns from work, reporting that the day went well,

"I worked too fast for Kath's liking"

although he worked too fast for Kath’s liking; now he is going to do some research into equipment that will make the branding work easier.

"Don't take any notice of Kath"

Sara drops in to see him, just to advise, “Don’t take any notice of Kath – getting on with your colleagues is important,

"It's more important to keep me happy!"

“but it’s more important to keep me happy!” Chester tells her he does not listen to Kath; he meant what he said at the interview –

"I'm taking this job seriously"

“he is taking this job seriously. Britt is highly impressed.

Ed comes up with a 'cock and bull' story

Ed returns to the café, and in order to get Kelly upstairs tells her he has seen smoke coming from the flat windows; he follows her upstairs,

He slips another note in with the eclairs

after putting another note in the box of eclairs (which now look in a rather disreputable state).

"What are you talking about – smoke?"

Of course she finds no smoke whatsoever, and is rather angry with him;

"I'd love an eclair!"

Well, it’s the afternoon now, and I’d love an eclair,” he says.”

She finds Ed's declaration inside

She opens the box to find the note, which declares, “I want to live with you too.” He admits that he saw her note when he took the box to the fridge, but wanted to play a joke on her,