Cwmderi Diary 2017: 16 May 2017

Chester has a proposition

Chester goes to to see the head teacher; she asks who else has seen this video.

"I can't reprimand Iolo"

“What do you want me to do? I can’t reprimand Iolo – as he is not a teacher,” demands Gaynor.

Chester replies, “But he’s a teacher’s husband – I don’t want the video to go public – it’s not good for anyone, especially the school.

Then he comes to the point of his visit

“But I will forget about it, if you offer Hannah a place at the school.”

"Are you trying to blackmail me?"

Gaynor smiles, and asks, “Are you trying to blackmail me? You had better go before you make matters worse. Do what you like with this video – it doesn’t reflect badly on the school, or any teacher.

She soon gives Chester his marching orders

“The only person that looks bad is you – so get out!’

"Gateau will not change my mind!"

In the café, Diane pronounces that her gateau looks lovely, but advises Hannah that it will not change her mind. “If Gaynor doesn’t want you at the school, you’ll have to go back to Australia.”

Hannah continues to work on her Gran

Hannah protests that she has plans, and that she is not going to let some boy tell her what to do. She is happier in Cwmderi that and in Sydney – that is not because of Chester, but because of her Gran.

"You'll need a good education"

She insists that she wants to be a human rights lawyer, and Diane points out she will need a good education. Hannah is adamant that she can get that here, if Diane will help her. Diane agrees to have a word with Gaynor, but has no idea what answer she will receive.

Colin hopes things will improve

Colin comes in, and says he is living in hope that things will get better;

"You've been to see a psychic, haven't you?"

“You’ve been to see a psychic, haven’t you?” he enquires, “I'm going to see someone before very long.” Diane tells him she went a couple of times with her friend Glenys, but warns that you have to be careful, and asks Colin who it is.

Swearing her to secrecy, he reveals that it is Eileen;

Colin's answer causes her great amazement

she expresses great amazement, but then Hannah sees Gaynor across the road, and Diane hurries out to see her.

"This unfortunate essays business"

“About Hannah and this unfortunate essays business,” she begins, but Gaynor takes issue with the word ‘unfortunate’, and points out that the little ploy did not work.

"Chester tried to blackmail me!"

“Chester tried to blackmail me today to give you a place at the school!” reveals Gaynor. Hannah swears that she had no idea he was planning that, and Diane weighs into the argument, insisting that Gaynor should listen to Hannah’s side of the argument.

"The essays won't help your case!"

Gaynor answers, “Make an appointment with the school, but I’m warning you that the fact Hannah has been selling essays, with or without Chester Monk, will not help her cause,”

Hannah's future looks uncertain

and she walks away.

"Dad used to wear that a lot"

Colin arrives at the shop flat, bringing with him his father’s scarf; Eileen invites him to sit down.

"What if he says something I don't want to hear?"

He is nervous; “What if he says something I don’t want to hear?” he wonders, “That he doesn’t like Britt, or something about Mam?” Eileen suggests that they try it and see.

Eileen very rapidly makes contact with 'the other side'

She closes her eyes, looks suitably ethereal, and announces, “He’s here! Sam is with us – and he is pleased that you have done so well in your life – he’s very proud of you.”

Sam has allegedly heard what Colin said

Colin asks her to tell Sam that he is so happy he came back into his life when he did, and Eileen confirms that Sam has heard.

Colin breaks down in tears, so she urges him that they should stop there;

"No, I'm happy, Eileen!"

he replies that he is not upset, but happy that he can talk to his father again, and wants to continue.

"I did it for you, Hannah!"

Chester is trying to convince Hannah that he did it for her, but she shouts that he has made matters worse, and Diane joins in the condemnation.

Britt is informed about the blackmail attempt

When Britt comes in, she is told about the blackmail attempt,

"No, I was just 'bargaining' with her"

which Chester prefers to call ‘bargaining’ to let Hannah come to school.

Britt seems to take Chester’s side and objects to people shouting at her son.

"I'd like to do more than shout!"

“I’d like to do more than shout,” rages Diane, “He’s ruined Hannah’s life!” but Britt points out that Hannah was involved in the essays business.

Diane stresses that Hannah did not blackmail anyone,

"No wonder Colin has to see a psychic!"

then turns and remarks, “It’s no wonder Colin’s so depressed, and has to see a psychic! He’s gone to see Eileen – she is psychic, apparently.” Britt immediately rushes from the room,

"Tell the truth for once!"

while Diane urges Chester to tell the truth, for once.

"What about the woman he was with?"

Colin enquires if his father wants to say anything about the woman he was with; he does not want to poke his nose in, but just to know that the woman was nice to him. He would hate to think that, at the end, anyone was nasty to him.

"He had a lot of harmless fun"

“The woman was nice to him – he had a lot of harmless fun that night,” Eileen tells him, “The woman didn’t come forward sooner because she panicked.

"They fell asleep"

“They had drunk a lot of wine, and she helped him upstairs, and they fell asleep.

At last, Colin knows who it was

“When I woke, he was dead and there was nothing I could do about it.

"I was the woman with Sam!"

“It was me, Colin, I was the woman with Sam!”

As Colin looks very shocked, Jim’s shouts can be heard; he comes in with Britt.

"I told you not to do this!"

She reminds Eileen that she warned her not to do this,

"What are you talking about?"

and Jim demands to know what is going on.

"Why didn't you call an ambulance?"

Colin still appears devastated as he shouts, “Why didn’t you call an ambulance?

"How did you know he was dead?"

“How did you know he was dead – you’re not a doctor! You don’t have a medical background!” She confirms that he was quite obviously dead.

"And you knew all the time"

Then Colin turns on Britt and cannot believe that she knew; Eileen wanted to tell him, but did not know where to start. Colin walks out, followed by Britt.

"What has happened to you?"

Jim demands what has happened to Eileen; she replies, “If you sat down and listened to me, I could explain,”

"I can't listen to your lies any more!"

but he says he cannot bear to listen to her lies any more, and he too walks out, leaving her in floods of tears.

Chester admits it was all his fault

At Llwyncelyn, Chester tells Gaynor that Hannah’s confession was his idea, and that he does not want her to miss out; “She had nothing to do with me blackmailing you either.

Gaynor is somewhat sceptical

“I realise that you will not want me at the new community school – that’s OK, I’ll go to one of the local sixth form colleges. That doesn’t mean Hannah and I can’t be together – some time in the future, when I’m not grounded. I’m really grateful for the chances you’ve given me.”

Gaynor is surprised about his intention to go to college;

"She won't want to go out with a thicko!"

“Hannah is brainy – I don’t think she’ll want to go out with a thicko!” he says.

A text from Elgan

As he leaves, Gaynor receives a text from Elgan,

"Pick you up at 7?"

saying that he will pick her up at seven.

"I was desperate to find out who she was"

Colin tells Britt that he was desperate to find out who the woman was;

"I didn't want to hurt you, Colin"

she admits she did not tell him as she did not want to hurt him, not because she enjoys lying to him. She was so disappointed in Eileen when she found out that the truth,

"But pretending she was a psychic!"

and when she heard Eileen was pretending to be psychic. “But the last thing she wanted to do was to hurt you.”

Elgan's imposing residence

Gaynor marvels at the large and imposing house,

"It's only rented, mind you"

but Elgan points out that it is rented; she is extremely jealous.

He appears to be an ornithologist too

Then she finds two pictures of wild birds; “You must have waited hours to get those photos,” she says.

The fourth from the right is Elgan, apparently

She looks at a photograph of Elgan and other college students, and asks, as he has mentioned the wedding,

Gaynor enquires about the hotel arrangements

whether she needs to book a room for herself. He answers that it is all done – a five star hotel.

Chester tells Hannah she is 'off the hook'

Chester arrives at Bryntirion, where he informs Hannah that he has confessed to the essays business, and that she had nothing to do with the blackmail, so she should not have a problem with going to the school.

"I've had more second chances than anyone"

He intends to go to a sixth form college somewhere. He admits, “I’ve had more second chances than anyone – and I’m really sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused.

"And he has done that for me!"

“The last thing I wanted to do was hurt people I think a lot of.”

“Aren’t you staying for a cup of tea, then?” asks Diane, “Hannah bought a cake at the café – I’d rather you ate it than me!”

"It's still closer than Australia!"

“Wherever I am, it’s still closer than Australia!” Chester tells Hannah.

"You left a man for dead like that!"

Jim is incredulous; “I can’t get my head round the fact you went off and left a man for dead like that! You wouldn’t have any reason to panic unless you had something to hide!”

She knew that he would react like this, as he has been so fragile lately. “We haven’t talked properly since Courtney died, and you know that.”

"Don't use Courtney's death as an excuse!"

He objects to her using Courtney’s death as an excuse for her affair.

Britt finds herself in the middle of something here

As Britt walks in, he growls, “It’s no wonder Sioned and Angela turned out the way they did – the three of you are exactly the same! You ruin the lives of people who love you – I don’t want to be in the same room as you any more!”

"Shame you weren't honest from the beginning"

Britt comments that it is a shame Eileen was not honest from the beginning. Eileen thought that the seance would help Colin, and she was trying to give him peace of mind.

"He'll never forgive me for this, will he?"

She predicts, “He’ll never forgive me for this, will he?”

Elgan did not study psychology formally, but has an interest in the subject.

A cosy sofa and a log fire

As they sit in front of the wood-burning stove,

Gaynor asks his psychological opinion

Gaynor asks, “Do you believe someone who has always been bad can change? Lying, getting his friends and family in trouble to save his own skin, hurting people who try to help him?”

Elgan enquires if she is talking about an ex-boyfriend,

"I saw another side to him"

but she reveals that it is a pupil, who was about to be expelled today, but she saw another side to him, and does not know what to do.

If she expelled him, she would feel as if she had failed, and would like to save him – if possible. “A lot of the teachers hate him – and a lot of the pupils!”

"Make him part of the decision process"

Dr Pritchard advises, “He’s so used to people telling him what he can and cannot do, he won’t expect the chance to make up his own mind. Make the punishment part of the same choice, but give him all the responsibility.”