Cwmderi Diary 2018: 7 November 2018

Jason experiences the lure of the till . . .

At APD, Jason, looking his usual miserable self, opens the till

. . . he literally has his hand in the till

and is tempted to take out some notes when his phone rings;

Sandra is trying to contact him

he sees that Sandra is phoning, and rejects the call.

"Chips – very healthy!"

Jason comes out of the chippy, and is reprimanded by Sioned; “Very healthy – that’s exactly what you had for lunch yesterday!”

"I miss the fry-up in the café"

His excuse is that he misses a fry up from the café, and when Ricky passes, she tries to get him to smuggle them out a breakfast.

"Sorry you've been banned from the café"

He apologises that they have been banned from the café, and Sioned is still protesting that it is not fair that Kelly and Anita are blaming Rhys.

"Do you have a few hours to spare?"

Jim comes hurrying towards Sioned and asks if she has a few hours to spare; “Cae Glas orders are piling up,

"I'm desperate for help!"

“and I’m desperate for help!” It appears that Colin is off today, so she cannot assist him,

Kath has witnessed this

but must man the shop. “I’m so far behind – Eileen had hoped to get it all sorted before the baby came – but I’ll sort it out myself, somehow!” Kath has been loitering by the fruit, listening to this exchange, and has an idea.

"You can't drive, but you can answer your phone!"

Jason’s phone rings again, but he ignores it; Dai growls, “I know you can’t drive, but you can answer your phone!”

"How is DJ?"

Jason rejects another call, and asks how DJ is.

"He's not well at all"

Dai anxiously answers, “He’s not well at all – he barely goes out. When I got up this morning, he was lying on the sofa – the telly had been all night. I’d give that Bethan a piece of my mind if she hadn’t run away!”

Jason remarks that she seemed so innocent; “Everyone has secrets, Jason,” Dai observes,

"The innocent ones usually have the biggest secrets!"

“The innocent ones usually have the biggest secrets!”

"Sorry, Mam, I forgot them"

Then Diane comes in, as she thought she would do some work on the books, but once again Jason says he has forgotten them.

"Don't worry, Sara has given them to me"

“Don’t worry – Sara has given them to me,” says Diane, much to Jason’s consternation, “All I need now are the till receipts.” He argues that he has not had time to go through them yet,

She takes the till receipts . . .

but she appreciates that he has enough on his plate, and will sort them out herself.

. . . and Jason can see that the reckoning is near

He anticipates that he is about to be found out.

Kelly experiences a lack of customers

At the café, Kelly is peering outside, looking for customers, as only Madge is there;

"I bet it's something to do with Rhys and that lot!"

“It’s dead, Ricky – I bet it’s something to do with Rhys and that lot! Perhaps they’ve been badmouthing us.” Ricky insists that it is not Rhys’s style to do that.

Kelly tries a bit of the 'hard sell'

Kath comes in, and Kelly announces the special for the day, “Brie and grape ciabatta – it’s gorgeous!” but Kath simply wants a word with Ricky.

"I'm only working half a day"

He announces that he is only working half a day,

"Come straight home – I need your help"

and Kath wants him to come straight home as she needs his help with something, but she does not specify what that is.

This time Diane is phoning Jason

Jason sits morosely in the Deri; his phone sounds, and this time he finds it is a call from Diane (incidentally, calling from the same number that Sandra used earlier). Again he rejects the call,

"Have you had lunch, Jason?"

just as Ed comes in and asks if he has had lunch; Jason says he is just leaving, and Ed senses that all is not well with him.

"Fancy a pint after work?"

“Do you fancy a pint after work? I could do with a night out,” Ed suggests, but Jason turns him down.

"What are you doing, Gran?"

When Ricky returns home, he finds that his grandmother is making a stew for Jim and the family;

"It's a friendly gesture"

“It’s a friendly gesture – they’ve got a new baby, Jim is back and forth to the hospital. They don’t have time to cook a decent meal.”

"You don't even cook for us!"

“You don’t cook for us, let alone other people!” protests Ricky, but she insists that this is the perfect time to start,

He is set to work, chopping onions

and assigns him to chopping onions.

"I feel sorry for DJ"

In the shop, Sioned is feeling sorry for DJ, and Rhys says he is welcome to come and share a couple of pints in the Deri.

"How does that fit in with your healthy lifestyle?"

Diane wonders how this fits in with the healthy lifestyle he is promoting, but is told that they can enjoy treats sometimes.

"Ffion was saying he has magic hands"

“Ffion was praising him earlier, saying he has magic hands,” Sioned tells her, and Rhys explains that he gave her a massage;

"Yes, I'm trained in sports massage"

he is trained in sports massage.

"She said you're a miracle worker"

Sioned pipes up again, “Ffion said you’re a miracle worker!”

"If you ever want a demo, Sioned . . ."

and Rhys replies if she ever wants a demo . . .

Kelly has come in during this conversation and looks at Sioned. Diane says that she could do with a massage, as she moved a few garden pots last week and has had a bad back ever since.

Diane has booked a massage for 15:30

They arrange that Rhys will give her a treatment at half past three.

"Look at all this mess for one stew"

As Ricky stirs the stew, Kath is confident that it will taste lovely; “This is why people don’t cook at home any more – look at all this mess for one stew!”

"No, Gran, let me do it!"

She is about to put the rubbish in the bin,

The evidence falls on the floor

when she discovers an empty red aerosol paint can.

"Ricky Jones . . . ."

She says, “Ricky Jones,

". . . you've got some explaining to do

“I think you’ve got some explaining to do!”

"She can't keep away from her hunk of a husband!"

Diane returns to APD, and Dai mistakenly alleges that she cannot keep away from her hunk of a husband.

"There's almost £15,000 missing!"

She demands, “Jason, what’s going on with the books? There is almost £15,000 missing – you have been taking thousands out and putting cash in. The paperwork is all over the place!”

"It may be disorganised, but it's all there"

He admits that it may be a bit disorganised, but assures her the money is all there; she is quite convinced that it is not, and has checked it several times.

"Remember, you made a total mess of the accounts"

“It’s not so long ago that you made a total mess of the accounts, remember?” he remarks,

"That's why I'm so careful now"

and she replies that is why she is so careful now.

"I'll check it tomorrow with a clear head"

However he has sown the seeds of doubt in her mind, and she thinks he might be right; “OK – I’ll check it tomorrow with a clear head,” she says, “I can’t think straight at the moment. I’ve got an appointment now.”

He has gained a temporaray reprieve

Jason is relieved that he has been – temporarily – let off the hook.

"Right, out with it!"

Ricky and his Gran sit down; “Right, out with it!” she tells him, “It doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to work out that red paint was used at Y Felin and Anita’s house.”

"I was annoyed with them!"

“I was annoyed with them!” Ricky begins, “It’s not fair that people like them get everything they want, just like that, while everyone else has to struggle for the same.”

"No-one ever said life is fair"

Kath reminds him that no-one ever said that life is fair.

"Why do we have to suffer?"

“But why do we have to always suffer?” he demands, “We have to slog our guts out for everything – my friends are University, while I have to work full-time for a year to afford to go!”

"That was your choice, mind!"

He is reminded that it was his choice to do that, and Kath hopes he does not get into trouble over this incident.

"I should tell Rhys it was me"

“Everyone thinks it was Rhys, but I think I should tell him it was me,” Ricky says, but his grandmother maintains that is the last thing he should do; he should keep his mouth shut. She insists that life is not fair, life is not right. If he keeps his mouth shut, everyone will have forgotten about it in a week or two.

Then Kath has the sudden realisation that all is not well

Then she notices that, in the kitchen, the stew has been boiling furiously;

The stew is past redemption

she finds that it is now ruined, and cannot be given to anyone.

Plan B – curry from the fridge

She has to resort to plan B, taking some curry from the fridge.

Diane is highly appreciative of her massage

At Bryntirion, Reese is hitting the spot with his massage of Diane; she is groaning with delight as Dai walks in through the back door.

"What's going on here?"

“What on earth? What’s going on here?” he shouts, and Diane calmly remarks that she was not expecting him home yet.

"That's obvious!"

“That’s obvious!” he rants, and she explains that Rhys is just giving her a massage, as he knows she has a bad back.

"Stop this right now!"

Undeterred, Dai orders them to stop now, and Diane tells him not to be so narrowminded. “No man would be happy to find his wife half-naked with a young man!” he roars.

"Rhys is a professional!"

“Rhys is a professional – and you could do with some help too!” Diane rages at him, then instructs Rhys to carry on.

Kelly closes the café

Kelly closes the café early, and Ed asks, “Fed up, are you?”

"It's a rubbish day, Ed!"

She describes it as a rubbish day, and admits,

She needs a full-body massage session

if it were not for the fact she was at war with Rhys, she would ask for a top to toe session.

“I’m telling you, Ed, standing up in these boots all day is murder!”

"Arguing with Rhys is not good for your stress levels"

As Ed massages her shoulders, he tells her that the argument with Rhys is not good for her stress levels. Sticking up for private enterprise like this is not like her,

"She's not a capitalist – she's my aunt"

but she answers, “Auntie Anita is not a capitalist, she is my aunt – she’s worked her guts out to be able to spend her money how she likes.”

"But buying a holiday home?"

“But buying a holiday home?” queries Ed, and Kelly points out that bullying a woman in her 60s who lives alone is not on.

"Now you're a business-woman"

Ed suggests, “Your views might have changed, now you’re a business-woman.”

Now Dai is getting the Rhys treatment

At Bryntirion, Dai is the one now receiving a massage on his legs, and Rhys can feel that it is tight. “It’s an old rugby injury – a game against Cwmllynfell in the mid 80s – a big bloke collapsed the maul deliberately – he was a pig!”

"You should have a few sessions"

Rhys suggests that he should have a few sessions, and then do workouts to strengthen the ligaments, he would feel a lot better.

"Is everything all right, Dai?"

Diane comes to enquire if everything is all right,

"This guy is good with his hands"

and Dai is forced to admit, “This guy is good with his hands.”

"You sure you're OK, Jason?"

Jason comes into the Deri and orders a pint; Ed asks if he is sure that he is OK, and Jason admits that he is not getting much sleep these days.

"Perhaps we should ask Garry to organise another poker night"

“It can’t be easy, with all that’s going on – DJ and Non,” commiserates Ed, “Perhaps we should ask Garry to organise another poker night – a bit of fun would do us all good.”

Ed is in favour of making a profit

Ed enjoys a night out, especially if he makes a profit,

"There's a dead cert running at Kempton"

and is told by Jason, “I’ve had a tip from a customer, a dead cert running at Kempton. I am putting £100 down – do you want me to put one on for you?

"£1,000 in your pocket for Christmas"

“You’ll get it back – it’s 10 to 1 – £1000 in your pocket for Christmas!”

When Ed protests that he cannot take the risk, he is told, “What risk? Don’t you know what a dead cert is? A sure thing – you can’t go wrong.”

"Betting is a mug's game"

Ed decides he cannot throw away money on a bet; “A mug’s game – that's what they say.”

Kath takes her 'home-made' curry to Jim . . .

Kath arrives at Penrhewl, where things are in rather a mess; she has brought him some curry which she has made.

. . . who has no food in the house

“This will come in handy, as there is no food here,” Jim tells her, “And I have to go through all the Cae Glas orders. Eileen wanted to get it all sorted before the little one arrived –

"The doc hopes they can come home next week"

“but Huwi-John had other ideas. The doc is hoping they can come home next week – it will be less chaotic with Eileen home.”

"I think it will be more chaotic!"

“Eileen and a new-born baby? I think it will be more chaotic!” comments Kath, “Do you want some help to catch up with these orders? Just tell me – give me the easy jobs, that’s all.”

Kath will help him with his orders

Jim admits that he needs to make another batch of chutney; he supplies her with the recipe, and she gets to work, saying that it looks easy.

Sioned looks remarkably cosy with Rhys

In the Deri, Rhys and Sioned are chatting when Ricky walks in;

"I've got something to tell you"

“I’ve got something to tell you,” he begins,

"I painted the graffiti"

“I painted the graffiti on Anita’s house and Y Felin. I’m sorry that you’re getting all the hassle.”

"Ricky the anarchist!

Rhys is surprised; “Ricky the anarchist!”

"I'm going to get you off the hook"

Ricky intends to own up to it, to get Rhys off the hook, even though he could lose his job.

"I'm impressed you've got the guts!"

“You don’t need to do that – don’t worry – I’m quite impressed that you’ve got the guts! They were asking for it, anyway!”

Ricky feels much better now

Ricky asks if he is absolutely sure, and feels much more relaxed now.

Jason is poised to cancel his account

Jason is at home with the laptop; he looks at the Jackstar4000 website, where he is logged in as ‘JFrancis 123’, and is poised to press the ‘Cancel Account’ button, but then closes the laptop.