Cwmderi Diary 2015: 23 November 2015

Ffion's letter from the NHS

Ffion looks at the NHS letter about today’s scan of her liver; Gethin can see that she is worried and assures her he will be there with her.

"Garry has given me time off"

Surprisingly, Garry has agreed he can have time off on his first day back at the garage. “You’re young and fit – you should be OK,” he tells her.

“But I’ve been drinking a lot more than I should, and it’s the only liver I’ve got!” replies Ffion, as the buzzer sounds

"Arwen is just sorting out her colouring book"

and Iolo arrives to look after Arwen.

Gethin tells him, “She will feel a lot better after getting this afternoon out of the way – and so will I.”

Jim looks at the housing brochure

In the shop, Jim is showing Eileen and Diane the brochure from Elgee Wonder Homes,

Larry Gee, eligible bachelor

pointing out that the Chief Executive is Larry Gee from Shropshire. “If we’re persuading people, we need to do our homework,” Jim tells them, “It says here he’s one of the UK’s most eligible bachelors,” to which Eileen replies that they should introduce him to Anita, but Diane is somewhat scathing about that idea.

Gwyneth is not impressed

Gwyneth comes in for a paper, but after taking a look at the brochure , she throws the paper down, snarling, “Keep it!”

Sheryl refuses Hywels offer to make lunch . . .

When Sheryl gets up, Hywel offers to make her some lunch, but she refuses, saying she will do it herself.

. . . but accepts her mother's offer

However, when Julie suggests making some broccoli and stilton soup, Sheryl agrees to this;

He has had enough of this

Hywel gets up, grabs his coat and goes out.

Gwyneth witnesses a shady transaction

As Gwyneth is at the cash machine, she sees a car pull up outside APD; Jim hands a brown envelope to the driver and says, “Thank you Larry – I think you’ll find it’s all there.”

Where else does Hywel turn, but to Gaynor?

Hywel arrives at the salon flat, to tell Gaynor his troubles;

"I just don't feel part of things"

“I just don’t feel part of things – they have too close a relationship for me to feel part of it,” he complains.

Arwen is quite happy . . .

Arwen is colouring contentedly, and Iolo is about to put on a DVD for her, when Britt arrives. “How’s the prettiest girl in the world?” she gushes,

. . . when Britt comes in to upset things

“Do you want to come for a walk with Mam-gu?” She turns to Iolo, telling him, “She’s seen that DVD dozens of times. We’ll go to the park, and she can have tea with me.”

"I'll go and sort out my pasta, then I'll come"

Iolo naturally objects to this, as Ffion and Gethin will be coming back for her, but Britt will not be discouraged; “I’ll text Gethin that she’s with me.”

While his back is turned, Britt sneaks off

Iolo has to go and see to the pasta that is cooking, and then he will get his coat and shoes. However, while he is busy, Britt gathers all Arwen’s things and hurries her out of the door.

"All they do is talk about Meilyr"

Gazing from the salon flat window, Hywel tells Gaynor, “All they do is talk about Meilyr – well, whenever I’m in the room with them.

"I feel like a dog in a basket"

“It makes me feel that I’m not part of things, like a dog in a basket in the corner of the room. I’m scared we’re going to lose each other.”

Gaynor advises that he has to separate in his mind what he has lost and what he wants to keep. Hywel remarks that Idwal is a lucky man, but she corrects him;

"I've finished with Idwal"

“We’ve finished – I didn’t have the time to make it work.”

"And I'm to blame"

Hywel says regretfully, “And I’m to blame, aren’t I? Still coming to you to get things off my chest, and it takes an emotional toll on you.”

She tells him that he must find a way of talking to Sheryl, about how he feels and must think further than Meilyr. “If Julie stops you doing that . . .” Hywel agrees that she will have to go.

Ffion is rather put out to hear what has happened

Ffion and Gethin return to Number 7, and hear that Britt has taken Arwen away. Ffion worries that she is not dressed to go out in this cold weather.

"She has a problem with children – and me!"

“You know what this is – she can’t let go! She has a problem with children – and me!” Ffion hurries off with Gethin in pursuit.

"Is that enough cushions?"

After fussing over Sheryl,

"We're shutting Hywel out"

Julie mentions that they seem to be shutting Hywel out.

"It's as if he's on a different planet"

Sheryl sums up the situation; “We’re in the same house, the same room, but it’s as if he’s on a different planet half the time! I’m glad you’re here, otherwise I’d go bonkers! I need to talk about what happened, but he’s not good at sharing emotions.”

Julie suggests that it might be easier if she were not there, but Sheryl rejects this; “I want you here – I can say what I like to you.”

"I'm just going to the shop"

Julie puts on her coat, saying she is going to the shop for some snacks.

"I was about to make chicken nuggets"

Ffion and Gethin arrive at Y Felin to take Arwen home; Britt whines, “You don’t have to take her now – I was just about to make chicken nuggets – she loves them.”

"Arwen loves anyone who makes a fuss of her"

Ffion reprimands her for bringing Arwen here in the first place, and Gethin adds that she loves being with anyone who will make a fuss of her.

Britt mournfully tells them that she misses Arwen,

"Cysgod y Glyn is her home!"

but Ffion emphasises, “Cysgod y Glyn is her home and that’s where she wants to be!”

"It's not as if I was trying to steal her"

Britt protests that it is not as if she was trying to steal the child, but Ffion, with a long memory, accuses her,

"You took Aaron from me!"

“You took Aaron from me! Arwen is mine, and no-one else’s! Let’s go home.”

Julie goes to see Diane

Julie has gone to see Diane at Bryntirion; “All I see is two people who were so close, and now they can’t even talk to each other,” she says. Diane comments that is how grief affects some people.

"I think it's time I went home"

Julie continues, “This is a lot worse – they’ve been through something terrible, and Sheryl wants someone to blame, so she is taking it out on Hywel. I think it’s time I went home; they shouldn’t be talking through me, they need to talk face to face, otherwise they’ll lose something precious for ever, because they’re so stubborn.”

"Command to action repeated is extinct"

As Colin ponders over a crossword clue,

"Command = do, repeated = do-do, extinct = dodo!"

and Jim proffers the answer, Gwyneth arrives in the shop, making an accusation.

"I was watching you and the brown envelope!"

“You’d make a useless spy, Jim – I was watching you, with the owner of the housing company and a brown envelope! What was it? A bribe so that APD gets the work at the site?”

Jim looks rather guilty . . .

Jim looks somewhat downcast and guilty, so she gleefully shouts, “Gotcha!”

. . . but explains the facts of the case

Then Jim explains, “It was not a bribe, but I’ve spoken to Larry Gee quite a lot, and got him to agree to sponsor the club. It’s worth a couple of thousand if the housing goes ahead, enough to buy equipment and sponsor the shirts. In the envelope were pictures of club shirts, the history of the club and the badge, so he can take them to the kit designer. I had to keep it secret or Siôn White would have tried to put the kibosh on it!”

"Get out – you and your poison!"

Eileen directs a withering look at Gwyneth; “You’ve wrongly accused Jim again, Gwyneth! You’ve had one warning! Get out, you and your poison – and this time, don’t come back!”

Hywel deletes photos from his iPhone

As Hywel is going through the photos of Meilyr on his iPhone and deleting them, Julie comes in and he tells her,

"Really, I should look after her now"

“You’ve been a great help, Julie – Sheryl opened up to you in a way she can’t with me. Really, I should look after her now.”

"Things would be easier without me"

Much to his surprise, she agrees wholeheartedly with him, having been thinking the same thing. “Things would be easier without me.”

"What is wrong with Britt?"

Back at Cysgod y Glyn, Gethin wonders what is wrong with Britt, trying to take other people’s children, but Ffion admits she feels sorry for her. “She has bonded with Arwen and can’t let go,” Ffion says, and confesses,

"All those people waiting!"

“I’ve got a headache after the hospital and all that palaver with Britt. The scan was easy, but all those people waiting! That old man could hardly walk, and his hands were shaking.”

Gethin comments that she was the only one there who looked healthy.

"What is down the line if I start drinking again!"

Ffion replies, with conviction, “What I saw was what is down the line if I start drinking again!”

"You, me and Arwen are home and safe now"

He assures her she will not because the three of them are back home safe – “That’s what is important!”

Julie is leaving . . .

As Sheryl looks once more at the picture of Meilyr, Julie appears with her bags and announces she is leaving. Sheryl insists she cannot go, but her mother tells her it is all for the best.