Cwmderi Diary 2018: 6 December 2018

Eileen looks at the CwmFM webcite

Eileen is looking on her phone at the birth announcement of Huwi-John on the CwmFM website;

"Maes yr Hafod want to buy more land"

Jim comes in and announces, “Maes yr Hafod want to buy more land, so I heard at the market – they’ll own half the county at this rate.”

She is more interested in the picture of Huwi, but Jim suggests that they should think about expanding; “If it’s good enough for Maes yr Hafod!”

"You said that farming was too much work"

Eileen reminds him that he said farming was too much work,

"Huwi has made me feel a lot younger"

and he replies that Huwi has made him feel a lot younger.

Just as Sioned comes into the kitchen,

Eileen makes a shock announcement

Eileen announces that she has chosen a date for the christening; “Christmas morning!”

"You must be joking!"

Sioned says that she must be joking; “Can’t you do it on a Sunday – like normal people? There will be a special atmosphere here – we enjoy eating and watching telly, not dragging ourselves to Bethania!” Jim decides that whatever Eileen wants is what they will do.

"I'm sure I saw someone out there!"

Then Sioned catches sight of someone outside the window; she looks out but cannot see anyone. Jim leaves to go to the village.

Jason and Sara arrive back from the hospital

At number 9, Sara and Jason arrive home with Ifan, glad that it is the last time they have to go to the hospital this year.

"Ifan was a good boy!"

“Ifan was a good boy – we’re very proud of you!” says Jason, “We can enjoy Christmas now – we need to think about shopping. We haven’t bought that Hoover for Mami yet, have we?”

Then he asks Sara, “If you gave me a bit of cash, I could give you something nice for Christmas – instead of a Hoover! You’ve put up with a whole lot over the last year.”

"I don't want you spending money on me"

She insists that she does not want him to spend money on her;

"In case I gamble it away!"

“You don’t want to give me any money, in case I gamble it away!” he answers. She points out that gifts don’t really matter – she is just happy that the three of them are home safe.

"Remember that boy on the ward?"

“Remember that boy on the ward, with blonde curls?” she begins,

"Yes – he stole Ifan's car!"

and Jason recalls that he stole Ifan’s car; “He’s in over Christmas, for at least another six weeks. Children should be at home over Christmas, not in hospital with machines bleeping – I want to do something to help, and give something back.”

"He can start by giving your car back!"

Jason maintains, “He can start by giving Ifan’s car back! Of course I feel sorry for them,

"You need to focus on Ifan"

“but what you need to do now is to focus on making sure Ifan has a good Christmas – you can’t be there for everybody.”

"Someone's been fly-tipping at Pwll Bach"

There is a knock on the door at Bryntirion, and Dai finds that Jim wants an urgent word with him; “I know what you’ve been doing,” he says, “I went for a walk to Pwll Bach yesterday – someone’s been fly-tipping there.”

"There's nothing worse, Jim!'

Dai condemns that as terrible – there is nothing worse, but then Jim shows him one of the things that he found in all that rubbish;

"What does that say? APD!"

“An invoice – now what does that say? APD!”

"Well, it wasn't much"

Dai is forced to admit that he might have taken some stuff down there, but not much; “Nothing that would do any harm – it was landfill years ago, anyway.”

"But it's not quite that simple"

Jim accuses him of cutting corners again, and breaking the law; “But it’s not quite that simple,” he continues, “Pwll Bach is for sale – there are signs on the gate.”

"Nefi wen!"

Dai is troubled, and utters his usual, “Nefi wen! People will be crawling all over it – and I can’t afford another fine! I shall have to sort it out somehow – but not a word to Diane! She doesn’t need to know!”

"Know what, exactly?"

He is unaware of the fact that Diane has come in and is standing right behind him; “Know what, exactly?” she shouts.

"A buffet will not be a problem"

Eileen has gone to see Garry, who is sure that a christening buffet will not be a problem; “I assume you’ll be bringing your own cakes –

"The Deri can't compete with the Queen of Baking!"

“the Deri can’t compete with the Queen of Baking! Which Sunday is it?”

"Christmas Day is our Seren's day!"

When he finds out that Eileen does not want it on a Sunday, but on Christmas morning, his attitude changes. “Christmas Day is our Seren’s day!”

"Mary and Joseph would have something to say about that"

Eileen comments that Mary and Joseph would have something to say about that. Garry adopts a serious tone; “A first birthday is a special day – it’s bad enough that everyone is busy with Christmas – without a christening as well! Sorry, Eileen, you’ll have to find another day.”

"If I want a christening on Christmas Day, that's what I'll have!"

“If I want a christening on Christmas Day, that’s what I’ll have!” Eileen states, quite resolutely,

"There's no room at this particular inn!"

but Garry is equally determined that there is no room at this particular inn.

"Didn't you learn your lesson last year?"

“Dai! Didn’t you learn your lesson last year?” roars Diane, “A fine of thousands – and we are here again!”

"A lecture isn't going to help, Diane!"

He maintains that a lecture is not going to help, but she goes on, “APD’s name will be mud if this comes out – it’s one thing after another with you!”

"We could buy Pwll Bach"

Dai has the idea that perhaps they could buy Pwll Bach, but she calls that a bit over the top;

"Buying a coal mine? What will you do with it?"

“Buying a coal mine? What will you do with it?” she demands, and he does not have an answer at the moment, but is concerned to keep APD’s good reputation –

"We'd avoid a fine of tens of thousands!"

as well as avoiding a fine of tens of thousands of pounds.

"Garry had the nerve to tell me to change the date!"

Jim and Sioned are unloading bags from the car as Eileen tells them, “Garry had do the nerve to tell me to change the date! He wants all the attention to be on Seren – she’ll grow up to be a real madam, if he’s not careful!”

"Well, why don't you, then?"

Sioned advises her to just change the date, but Eileen’s mind is made up; “No – we’re going to Bethania, and that’s that! We can have the tea here – I can offer a better spread than the Deri!”

“If you insist on having a house full of people, scoffing sausage rolls when I’m watching ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’, I’ll stay in the flat!” Sioned warns her.

"This is important to your mother"

As Jim reminds her how important this is to her mother, we are aware that someone is watching from round a corner.

"I'm sure somebody's by the shed!"

Again Sioned is sure that she detected some movement; “Someone’s here – I’m sure this time – somebody’s by the shed!” she says, but Jim advises them that Eifion has been at an implement sale since this morning. “Who did I see peeping through the window this morning, ?” Sioned demands, “Somebody’s here!”

"Allt Wen had a break-in last week"

“Allt Wen had a break-in last week,” Jim mentions, and is detailed to go and check the shed;

Jim cautiously opens the door . . .

he cautiously approaches the shed and peers inside.

. . . as Eileen tells him to be careful . . .

Eileen urges him to be careful,

. . . but he finds no-one there

but he reports, with a sigh of relief, that no-one is there;

"I know an empty shed when I see one!"

“I know an empty shed when I see one!” he tells Sioned, but she is still sure that she saw someone.

Dai and Diane go to number 9

Dai and Diane go to visit Jason and Sara; they hear that the hospital visit went well, then

Sara explains her idea . . .

Sara explains her idea. “What do you think of having a gift collection for the children who have to stay in hospital over Christmas?” she asks, “To show the families that they are in our thoughts.”

Diane thinks this a good idea,

. . . but Dai has something more important on his mind

but Dai says he has more important things to discuss; “How would you like to own Pwll Bach?”

"Why would I want a coal mine?"

Sara wonders why she would want a coal mine, and he points out it would be a joint investment with Diane and himself. “The possibilities are endless – use your imagination!”

Sara is not interested,

"We haven't discussed it yet, Sara!"

but Jason points out they have not discussed it yet; “We’re about to buy a house!” she angrily reminds him.

"Crikey Moses!"

Dai gives vent to his frustration; “Crikey Moses!” but is told by Diane that it is his own fault – as he should not have been fly-tipping.

"You haven't been dumping APD's rubbish at Pwll Bach?"

Jason exclaims, “You haven’t been dumping APD’s rubbish in Pwll Bach, have you?” Sara describes it as a stupid thing to do, as he will be fined if he is caught. He explains that is why he is trying to buy the place, but Jason suggests that they could just move the rubbish.

"You'll be there until Judgment Day!"

“There’s too much rubbish – you’ll be there until Judgement Day!” Dai groans,

"Better than appearing before a judge!"

but Jason maintains it is better than appearing before a judge. He will find some lads to help out, lads that he can trust,

"It's worth a try"

and Diane considers that it is worth a try. Jason will get a lift there, as Dai has done enough damage as it is,

"See, Sara – I'm not utterly useless!"

and stresses to Sara that he is not utterly useless.

Garry does not want Huwi Penrhewl getting in on the action

“It’s bad enough that Seren shares her birthday with Jesus Christ, without Huwi Penrhewl getting in on the action!” moans Garry,

"In Britt's eyes, he is the Messiah!'

but Britt points out that in Eileen’s eyes, he is the Messiah. “I want Seren’s birthday to be special – but now people will be fussing over Huwi,” he adds.

"Leave it to me – I'll arrange it!"

Britt tells him to leave it to her, and she will arrange things, but he asks how are things with Colin; “Forget about him – Seren is the important one,” she replies

Garry wonders what she will do

and walks out of the pub.

"I didn't sleep last night, worrying"

Diane has returned to number 9, and brought a gift for the cause; “It was supposed to be for Glenys’s grandson, but I’ll buy him something else,” she says. Sara is very tired, after not being able to sleep last night, worrying about Ifan’s tests.

"We never stop worrying, no matter how old they are"

“We mothers never stop worrying, no matter how old they are,” Diane comments,

"Jason has a right to his opinion"

“I don’t want to interfere, but Jason has a right to his opinion, you know. The gambling is behind him now – you have to start trusting him, and you must find a way.

"Don't let it break up your marriage"

“You’ve suffered enough, thanks to the gambling – don’t let it break up your marriage, too.”

"It won't come to that"

Sara is confident it will not come to that.

"Jacket potato with cheesy beans, please"

Kelly comes to the Deri and orders a jacket potato with cheesy beans; “You do remember that you run a café, don’t you?” enquires Garry, and she replies that sometimes she wants someone to make it for her.

Britt is wearing a Father Christmas beard

Britt comes in, wearing a white beard,

"Step one – christen her on Christmas morning!"

and announces, “Step one in Seren Monk’s first birthday – we christen her on Christmas morning – Penrhewl 1, Monks 1. Before you throw cold water over it, I’ve thought of everything – I’ll be the godmother, I hope.

Garry gets no chance to object

“Afterwards – I’ve thought this through – after the service, a huge lunch for us all!

"You won't have to do anything"

“I’ll do the cooking, you don’t have to do anything – what do you say?”

Garry is not sure about all this, but Britt will not be stopped;

"Step two – Santa procession to take her to the chapel"

“You wanted a birthday to remember – then, step two, a Santa procession, like last year, to take her to the chapel – Penrhewl 1, Monks 2! I will be organising it, and our Seren will be the star of the show.”

"Hang on a minute, Britt!"

Garry tries to object, but she insists that she wants a notebook to write it all down;

"You know it's a nightmare to organise, don't you?"

“You know it’s a nightmare to organise, don’t you?” remarks Kelly.

Jim clips Huwi-John into his seat

Eileen is trying to clip Huwi-John into his car seat, and Jim comes to sort it out. She will be as long as it takes to buy a christening gown,

"It's a shame Sioned refused to come"

and is disappointed that Sioned refused to come with them. “We are doing the right thing, aren’t we?” she wonders, “I don’t want her left on her own in the flat on Christmas Day.” Jim seems confident that she will be with them,

"Look after your Mam, Huwi!"

and tells Huwi to look after his mother. She suddenly realises she has forgotten his dummy, and goes back to the farmhouse to fetch it.

Sara speaks to a counsellor

Sara is speaking on the phone to a counsellor, and explains that she would like to make an appointment; “Yes, gambling – it’s not me, it’s my husband, and he will not be with me.

"I need some advice"

“I need some advice – yes, Thursday will be fine.”

Jason is home for lunch

Jason returns home for his lunch, and tells her that he will not be staying;

"A quick sandwich, and I'll be out of your way"

“Just a quick sandwich, and I’ll be out of your way.”

She emphasises that she does not think it is a good idea to buy a coal mine,

"I would have liked to have had a say"

and he agrees, but would have liked to have a say, that is all.

"I just need to learn to trust you now"

“You are working hard to get over this gambling,” she appreciates, “I just need to learn to trust you now.”

"Is it possible to move the stuff?"

Jason goes to answer the door, and Dai asks him what is the prognosis; “Is it possible to move the stuff?”

"We should be able to shift most of it"

Jason replies that he should be able to shift most of it, but some is too deep to reach. He is sure that it can be hidden, and if they work hard enough to bury it, there will be no sign.

"You could fit half of Wales's rubbish in there!"

“I can see why you were tempted – Pwll Bach isn’t small at all – you’d get away with it for years! You could fit half of Wales’s rubbish in there!”

"Hold on! He's not as stupid as he looks!"

This gives Dai an idea; “Hold on! He’s not as stupid as he looks! The answer’s right here in front of us – we buy Pwll Bach and turn it into an official landfill site! We’d make a fortune!”

"You would never get permission"

Diane takes issue with this, pointing out that they would never get permission, as no one wants a landfill site on their doorstep.

“Nobody can see it from the village!” he insists, but Diane says it would not look good for her as a councillor.

"Where's your vision, Diane? It's perfect!"

“Come on, Diane, where’s your vision?” Dai demands, “We’d be saving our own skins here – and solving the problem of making money! It’s perfect!”

"There's no point in clearing the rubbish, then"

Jason maintains that if Dai is serious about buying Pwll Bach, there is no point in clearing the rubbish out, but Dai is adamant that they must adopt a ‘belt and braces’ approach.