Cwmderi Diary 2017: 24 July 2017

Jim's latest idea to pull in the customers

Jim shows Sioned his latest idea, “When the alarm clock sounds, goods will be at half price,” but she does not seem convinced;

"And how often will the alarm go off?"

he says he thought it was different, but she wonders how often he was thinking of sounding the alarm. He tells her once an hour.

"I've never heard of such a stupid idea!"

Then Gwyneth comes in and ridicules what she says is ‘a stupid idea’.

"How's the Reiki business going, Gwyneth?"

Sioned asks her how her Reiki business is going, then leaves, as Jim answers his phone and

She fancies some champagne at half-price

Gwyneth smiles at the notice advertising 10% off Champagne.

"No, I'll be there this afternoon"

Jim assures whoever it is on the phone that he has not forgotten and will be there this afternoon.

Arwen on the swing in the park

Ffion and Macs are in the park, watching Arwen on the swing;

Macs remembers his mother, Doctor Gwen

“Mam saved a man’s life in the park once,” he recalls, “His heart had stopped and everything. It was like being with superwoman. We used to like coming here as a family – those were the best times.”

"I'm not sure how things are with Gethin"

Ffion tells him, “I’m not sure how things are with Gethin, to be honest with you.” Macs maintains that he has never trusted Gethin; “I’m sure he thinks the same about you,” she replies.

"Do you think he's over it now?"

“I heard he didn’t cope well when his father came back – do you think he’s over it now? It’s not long since all that happened.” Ffion assures him that Gethin would never do anything to harm her or Arwen.

Arwen waves to them

Arwen waves to them from the swing.

"This is a shop, not a library!"

Seeing Gwyneth leafing through various magazines, Jim reminds her that this is not a library;

"You get more of a welcome in the library!"

“I know – you get more of a welcome in the library!” she replies.

Gwyneth bags two half-price bottles . . .

Then his alarm sounds, so she dashes forward and grabs two bottles of champagne.

Dai comes in through the door and wonders if it is the fire alarm;

. . . and Dai thinks he will get in on the act, too

before Jim can turn off the clock, Dai has rushed behind the counter and seized a bottle of whisky and box of chocolates..
Eileen wonders what the noise is about,

She is jubilant about her bargain

and Gwyneth boasts that she has just got two bottles for half-price.

"You're not getting that for half-price!"

Dai is angry when Jim informs him that he will not get the same bargain, as the alarm was already ringing when he entered the shop, and only one customer can claim.

"That's not what it says here!"

Dai looks carefully at the paper; “It doesn’t say that here,” he points out.

"Clear off before I call the police!"

Jim is losing his temper; “You had no right to help yourself to this whisky! Clear off before I call the police!”

Dai tells him, in no uncertain terms, where he can put his clock; “And you can stuff the whisky bottle up there too!” Gwyneth is laughing at the spectacle, but Eileen does not share her amusement.

They did not stay hidden for very long

In the shed at Penrhewl, Eifion for some reason looks in the rusty tin, and of course finds the bottle of pills.

"It's a favour for Linda"

Cadno explains that she is keeping them as a favour to Linda. In answer to his question, she explains, “They are to end it all – if she wants to. She couldn’t keep them at Bryntirion in case DJ found them.”

"What if one of the boys got them?"

Eifion is very concerned; “What if one of the boys got them? They play in the sheds sometimes – how long have they been there? How could you be so irresponsible? Why did you offer to do this?

"You could be an accomplice!"

“You could get into trouble for this – you could go to prison. If you gave these to Linda, and she took them, and they are traced to Penrhewl, you’d be jailed as an accomplice!”

Arwen speeds down the slide

While Arwen plays on the slide, Macs remembers that Iolo once found a bird with a damaged wing – “Dad said we should take it home and give it water and seed.

Macs reminisces about his childhood

“Iolo broke his heart when it was time to let the bird go.” Ffion presumes that Macs was playing the tough guy, but he says that he can be sensitive sometimes.

"It hasn't been easy at times"

She says, “Look, I might as well admit it, it hasn’t been easy at times – not having her real father around.” Macs points out that it has not been an option before, but thinks she means that they have not been a proper family.

"We could be a proper family"

He suggests that he and she could be a proper family,

He seems to be getting too familiar, too soon . . .

and tries to kiss her,

. . . and Ffion repulses him

but Ffion is having none of this.

“It could be the answer to all our problems – I can join you and we can be a proper family,” he insists, but she replies that he has misunderstood, and that is not what she wants.

"We'll pretend that didn't happen!"

“Obviously, your head isn’t in the right place!” she exclaims, “We’ll pretend that didn’t happen!” She and Arwen leave the park, but Ffion accidentally leaves her keys behind on the bench;

Macs picks up Ffion's keys

Macs put them in his pocket.

Jim considers that Eileen is laughing at him, as Gwyneth did,

"Well, some of your ideas are better than others"

but she assures him that some of his ideas are better than others.

"Do you have any tuna in brine?"

DJ finds that there is no tuna in brine on the shelf and suggests if they stocked it, it might sell better than the tuna in oil.

"Look, there's nothing wrong with what's on the shelf!"

Jim begins to argue with him,

"Next time I'm at the Cash and Carry . . ."

but Eileen promises to get some the next time she is at the cash-and-carry. The alarm clock rings once more, and Jim smashes it on the counter to stop it; Eileen wonders what is wrong with him, and he blames the customers.

"I tried to dissuade her"

Cadno emphasises that she tried to dissuade Linda, but Eifion is convinced that she intends to take them, and blames DJ, although Cadno informs him that DJ knows nothing about it, and that it is Linda’s place to tell him.

"You can't keep those tablets here!"

Eifion is adamant that she cannot keep these tablets and walks off with them.

"Someone must have stolen them!"

Ffion returns to the park and cannot find her keys; she concludes that someone has stolen them.

"Can you phone for a taxi?"

She wants him to phone for a taxi, but Macs tells her that there is no hurry to go home, as Arwen is enjoying herself.

"Can't you have Jim back here?"

Eileen goes to APD, and pleads with Dai to take Jim back on there; he thinks that she is joking, and demands why he would do that.

"He's a liability!"

“He’s a liability – you saw how he threatened me with the police.” Eileen explains that she means giving him building work, using his hands.

"I can understand why you want to get rid of him"

“I can understand why you want to get rid of him,” agrees Dai, but she continues that she had hoped that working in the shop would help them turn the corner. “But instead he has driven you round the bend!” replies Dai.

She admonishes Dai for not showing a bit more sympathy,

"You should sack him!"

and he offers the advice that she should treat Jim the same as anyone else who cannot do the job – sack him.

"Oh, look what I've found behind this post!"

Ffion notices Macs taking the keys from his pocket and pretending he found them on the ground;

"What are you playing at?"

“What are you playing at!” she demands. He explains that she left them on the bench, and he was going to call her. “Why didn’t you just give them to me, then?” she rages, “Did you take them out of my bag?

"Gethin was right about you!"

“Gethin was right to warn me about you – I’ve been too hasty, letting you back into Arwen’s life. What do you expect me to say? You tried to kiss me, stole the keys – there was no taxi either, was there?

Macs seems to have 'blown it' . . .

“I don’t think you should see Arwen again! Not until we consider the implications of what you did today.”

. . . and does not look pleased with himself

She snatches her keys from him and leads Arwen away.

"Has the shop gone bust yet?"

Gwyneth is at the bar when Sioned enters the Deri; she remarks that Jim was so keen with his special offer.

"Thanks, I'll have an orange juice"

Gwyneth offers her a drink, and then Macs comes in, looking dejected.

"I warned you not to play happy families"

“What’s wrong?” Didn’t things work out for you?” asks Gwyneth, “I warned you not to play happy families.”

Macs is the butt of their insults

Sioned agrees with Gwyneth’s evaluation of Macs as pathetic, picking on a little girl to get his own way.

He retreats from the Deri

As Macs turns to leave, Gwyneth asks him how many friends he has.

"I'm leaving in two minutes"

Jim is texting someone to say that he is leaving in two minutes,

"I want to talk to you"

when Eileen brings him a cup of tea and wants to talk to him, asking him to turn round the sign on the door.

"I want a word with you, too"

“To tell you truth, I wanted a word with you, too,” he says,

"You're not resigning, are you?"

She asks him, rather too enthusiastically, if he is resigning, but he denies this, wondering why he would do that. He wants to discuss another idea with her first; “There’s something I want to show you – something I’ve written – that is why I have not put this leaflet up.”

"Buy three, get the fourth free"

She reads, “Buy three, and get the fourth free.” He is sorry for the clock business, but is quite sure that this is a no-brainer.

"Yes, OK then, Jim"

She reluctantly agrees to his idea, and tells him that what she wanted to say is not important. Then he says he is going out, and will not be long; Eileen looks rather bewildered.

DJ is engaged in a spot of horticulture

Eifion calls at Bryntirion, where DJ is out in the garden;

"Your mother is going to use these to kill herself"

he says he is returning something to Linda and hands over the bottle of tablets. “Tablets your mother is going to use to kill herself!” he explains,

"Don't talk such nonsense!"

but DJ regards this as nonsense.

Here comes Cadno

“Cadno was keeping them at Penrhewl for her.” Just then Cadno arrives, alleging that she can explain everything, but DJ looks suspicious.

Jim is at the cemetery with Ricky

Jim has joined Ricky at the cemetery

They stand near Courtney's grave

and they stop near Courtney’s grave.

"It was what Linda wanted"

Cadno is adamant that she was respecting Linda’s decision,

"Eifion is always trying to spoil things for me"

but DJ blames Eifion, who he says is always trying to spoil things for him.

"Stay away from my family!"

He is determined that his mother will not use these tablets, and warns Cadno to stay away from his family.

"I had to put a stop to this, Cadno!"

As they walk away, Eifion says he had to put a stop to this nonsense, and that in time, she will know that he did the right thing, as she does not want to end up in jail.

"You would want a fashionable, exotic name"

Ricky speaks to Courtney; “We would probably be arguing about the baby’s name – you would want a fashionable, exotic name, but I would want to name him or her after someone in the family.

"I would be happy with any name, as long as you liked it"

But the truth of it is, I would have been happy with any name, as long as you liked it.”

"Angela wanted to call her, 'Brie'!"

Jim recalls that Angela wanted to call Courtney, “Brie,” after her favourite cheese; “I bet you’re glad I persuaded her not to!”

Ricky has carved a tree, with Josh's help

Ricky has bought a carved wooden tree, which Josh helped him to make; there are several meanings to it, but the one his grandfather likes best is that the tree connects us with the earth and the air – and maybe heaven too.