Cwmderi Diary 2017: 9 January 2017

The return of the wanderer

Kath is dozing on the sofa when Dol returns;

"You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Dol is amazed to see her there, but comments, “It will be nice to have some company.

"No need for the English!"

“By the way, I speak a lot of Welsh now, so there’s no need for English!”

"How come you've got a key?"

Kath wonders why she has a key, and Dol replies,

"I live here!"

“Typical Debs – saves the good news till last! I live here!”

"You live with an ex-con in Ponty!"

“Come off it,” exclaims Kath, “You live with an ex-con in Ponty!” Dol maintains that she threw him out, or possibly he threw her out, but anyway she has now been here for a year and loves it. She is confident that she and Kath will have a great time.

Anita regrets what she said on Friday

Apparently Kelly was very late back to number 10 last night; “Who were you expecting? Kevin, Nansi – or another thief?” she asks Anita, who regrets that she lost her temper on Friday.

"I won't be staying in Cwmderi"

Kelly is adamant she is not staying in Cwmderi; “In case you didn’t know, there are loads of cafés in Cardiff, and a few in London too. I might go back to being a reporter.”

"I don't want to be left on my own"

Anita does not want her to go, and be left alone, but is told, “You should have thought of that before having a go at me!”

"What are you doing back here, Mam?"

Dol has made a cup of tea, turns the radio up loud and sits by Kath. Debbie storms downstairs and turns it off, surprised to see her mother back. “I think there’s something you forgot to tell me, Debbie!” says Kath, and demands where Dol is going to sleep.

"That bedroom is mine!"

Dol points out that the back bedroom is hers, but Debbie rules that they will have to share,

"One of you will have to sleep on the sofa"

or one will sleep on the sofa. Dol cites her bad back, but Kath snarls, “Tough!” and heads up to the bedroom in question. Dol tells Debbie that she is going to have to sort this out.

"Talking about me again?"

Ed comes downstairs in the café, and seeing Tyler and Kelly by the counter, asks, “Talking about me again?”

"I'm terribly worried about Sioned"

After he has gone out, Kelly is worrying about him beating up Sioned again.

Tyler insists, “We have to be there for her, and help her,” then he goes to sit with Ffion,

Gaynor is in buoyant mood, for a Monday

who remarks that Kelly is in a bad mood today. Gaynor comes in, full of herself, and pointing out that it is a big, exciting week.

"You haven't told her yet, have you?"

“You’re very quiet,” Tyler says to Ffion, “You haven’t told her yet, have you?”

"No, but I shall today"

She assures him that she will do so today.

Dol snores like a traction engine

As Dol snores on the sofa, Debbie explains to Kath that she had nowhere to go.

"Run out of men to put a roof over her head?"

“Run out of men to put a roof over her head?” scoffs Kath, “No wonder Ricky got Courtney into trouble, with her around!”

Debbie reminds her, “You’re not much of a rôle model yourself – stealing from Stacey, your own daughter!”

"Put the kettle on, Debs"

Dol is now awake and demands a cup of tea; “You act as if you own the place!” says Kath, then informs her,

"In fact, I own this house!"

“In fact, I own it!” Dol is angry as she has been paying rent to Mark and Debbie. “Are there any other secrets you want to share with me?” Kath enquires.

"There wouldn't be any secrets if you kept in touch!"

“There wouldn’t be any secrets if you kept in touch!” Dol accuses her,

"Oi! That's my bed!"

but is reminded she stayed away for twenty years.

"If only I'd listened to you"

In the café, Anita admits it was a mistake, letting Kevin stay; “I welcomed him so as to feel close to Meic, and feel he was still part of my life. If only I listened to you, and my friends, I wouldn’t be going through this.”

Sioned drags Ed upstairs without a word

Just then Sioned and Ed come in and go straight upstairs; Kelly breaks off her conversation, tells Debbie, who has just arrived, “Two full English for table 3,” and hurries upstairs after them.

"You're looking for sympathy, aren't you?"

In the flat above, Ed tells Sioned, “You’re looking for sympathy, aren’t you? Holding my hand, pretending to ignore Kelly – it’s all for show and to draw attention!”

Then Kelly appears in the doorway

Kelly comes in, anxious to check that Sioned is all right, and Ed leaves them to it, going for a shower.

"It was stupid to tell Tyler!"

Kelly admits she was stupid to tell Tyler,

"It was one of the worst weekends of my life!"

and Sioned whines, “It was one of the worst weekends of my life, wondering what he might do next, and who else you had told.

"You've landed me in more danger!"

“All you’ve done is land me in more danger! He didn’t hurt me, but that’s what he does – messes with my mind – I’d prefer it if he had hit me! I know you’re trying to help me,

"If you really want to help, go away!"

“but if you really want to help, go away before Ed sees you’re still here!”

About to take another tablet . . .

Kath’s medication is in red and white capsules, but she has to hide them as Dolo comes in, and lies that she is looking for her lipstick.

. . . Kath is thwarted again

Dol wonders if she has a young man on the go, but the answer is,

"I'm not a slapper like you!"

“I’m not a slapper like you!”

Pleasing to see that Ffion eats wholemeal bread

Ffion has invited Gaynor to Cysgod y Glyn for lunch; she asks, “Could I have Thursday afternoon off?”

"I thought you'd never ask!"

Gaynor thought she would never ask, as she knew Ffion had an e-mail the same time as she did, and she had heard, from an undisclosed source, that Ffion was on the shortlist.

Chided for keeping the secret for ages,

"I didn't have to tell you!"

Ffion stresses that she did not have to tell Gaynor;

"I don't have to give you the time off!"

“And I don’t have to give you the time off, either!” is the reply.

"Afraid of the competition, are you?"

Ffion wonders if she is afraid of the competition.

“I’ve been honest with you from the start,” says Gaynor, “And all you’ve done is listen, so you could stick the knife in!

"You can forget having the time off!"

“You can forget having the time off – you won’t get five minutes from me!”

"Sorry for being such a stroppy cow!"

In the Deri, Kelly confesses that she misses Meic too, and is sorry for being such a stroppy cow. “I’m not the right person to give advice – I always seem to mess up,” she wails.

"I'm going to swing for that Kath!"

Dol joins Debbie by the bar, growling, “I’m going to swing for that Kath before long!”

"She's being totally unreasonable!"

Ffion meets Tyler in the alley and tells him that Gaynor is being totally unreasonable, not allowing her the time off. Tyler reminds her, “I told you so,”

"Grovelling is the only way!"

but then recommends that the only way is, “Grovel like you’ve never grovelled before!”

"Ponty's full of talent!"

Dol describes Ponty to Anita, “It’s full of talent – tattoos and muscles everywhere!”

But not exactly Anita's sort of man

but Anita is not sure she likes that sort of man. Dol suggests that Debbie could accompany her next time, but she points out she already has her new man.

"No way she's coming!"

As Kath joins them, Dol snarls, “No way she’s coming!”

"Cuckoo in the nest!"

Kath then tells Anita, “It’s strange being home with a cuckoo in the nest!”

"Better than being a Grinch!"

to which Dol replies that she would rather be a cuckoo than a Grinch, and at least she is happy all the time.

Kath gets up and walks out of the pub, with Dol commenting, “If she can’t take it, she shouldn’t dish it out!”

Kelly makes her feelings clear to Tyler

Kelly goes to see Tyler, complaining that he has made matters worse by confronting Ed,

"It just made me so angry!"

but he argues, “It made me angry, trying to be friends when I know what he was up to at home!” Kelly dreads to think what might happen if they do not do something quickly.

"I'm going out!"

Ed announces that he is going out to the Deri, and Sioned enquires if it is with his new friend. “Tyler and I don’t speak any more, thanks to you!” he moans,

"It doesn't matter who told him"

“It doesn’t matter who told him, all that matters is that he believed your lies – I’ve never touched you!”

"That's not quite true!"

“That’s not quite true!” she reminds him,

"That's when I was on the steroids"

but he he points out that is when he was on the steroids and lost control.

"You've forced me to keep Cwmderi's biggest secret"

“You’ve not just hit me, you’ve forced me to keep Cwmderi’s biggest secret,” insists Sioned, but he says that it was her choice to keep quiet. “No, it was to protect you and save you from going to prison!” she continues.

Ed has heard enough and goes . . .

He will not listen and leaves the flat, despite her orders, “No, you’re staying here with me! Ed, don’t you dare!”

. . . so Sioned self-inflicts her revenge

Furiously she rolls up her sleeve and repeats the painful self-inflicted injury to her arm.

Another tablet for Kath interrupted

Kath, about to get a tablet again, is disturbed by the arrival of Debbie and Dol. She offers to make a cup of tea,

"A splash of arsenic, probably!"

eliciting the comment, “With a splash of arsenic, probably!” Debbie admonishes her mother,

"Watch it, or you'll be sleeping on the street!"

warning that any more nonsense will result in her sleeping on the street, rather than the sofa.

Ffion puts the grovelling advice into action

Ffion goes to Llwyncelyn, where she makes an abject apology to Gaynor; “I wanted the job so much, but I should have been straight with you.

"I'll withdraw my application"

“I’ll withdraw my application if that is what you want.”

"You've got no chance against me!"

Gaynor superciliously replies, “Go to the interview – it won’t make any difference, not with me up against you!”

"The job is as good as mine!"

It appears she is quite convinced this job is in the bag.

"Sorry, Kath, but I'm very tired"

Dol also apologises to Kath, explaining that she is tired after all the partying. Kath seems sympathetic;

"You can't keep up like you used to"

“You’re getting old, and can’t keep up like you used to. Why don’t you go up for a nap now, and you can come back and sleep here when I go to bed?”

"I won't hear a bad word said about you!"

“Do you know what? I won’t hear a bad word said about you, Kathleen!” Dol tells her, and as soon as she is gone,

Why all the tablets?

Kath takes another of her tablets.

"You need to pack your bags!"

Kelly and Tyler visit Sioned, Kelly urging her, “You need to pack your bags and leave – we’ll help you! You can stay with us until you find somewhere.”