Cwmderi Diary 2017: 17 August 2017

A change of medication seems to have worked

DJ has called out the doctor for his mother during the night, and when she leaves, after supplying new medication, Linda is sleeping.

DJ tells his father he had to call the doctor

Dai comes downstairs and is told that DJ had to call her.

"I've got the Health and Safety inspector coming"

Dai is worried because the Health and safety inspector is coming some time today. He hopes that Diane will not interfere when he talks to the inspector;

"I don't want Diane sticking her nose in!"

“I don’t want her sticking her nose in! I haven’t had much sleep either,

"Changing this place to Brynsomnia!"

“and I’m thinking of changing the name of this place to Brynsomnia!”

DJ is not convinced he is doing a good job

He assures DJ that he is doing a great job of looking after his mother. Just at that moment, Linda feels a sudden pain and cries out,

"I just turned awkwardly, love"

so DJ rushes to her, and is told that she just turned awkwardly.

Gaynor is in a tearing hurry . . .

Gaynor is hurriedly packing some papers to take to school when Elgan arrives;

. . . when Elgan arrives, bringing breakfast

he has brought breakfast for them, but is disappointed that she has to rush away as it is A-levels results day.

"I thought that was next week"

He thought that was next week, but Gaynor corrects him;

"No, that's GCSEs!"

“It’s GCSEs next week!” as she makes a hasty exit.

Iolo is on edge

Iolo is in turmoil; “We don’t know if the baby will pull through, or if Liv is coming back. Please don’t expect me to be sure of anything,

"We have no idea what's in front of us"

“when we have no idea what’s in front of us.” Tyler confirms that he cannot say that everything will be all right, because he does not know, but they have to try at least.

"I'm scared I'm going to lose control of everything"

“I’m just scared that I’m going to lose control of everything,” Iolo goes on,

"That's what being a parent is all about"

but Tyler points out that is what being a parent is all about; whatever the circumstances, you cannot control what is going to happen – you can only do your best.

"You sound like Dad!"

Iolo smiles, “You sound like Dad! But I’m going to help you look after her while we have to.”

Tyler receives a text from Gaynor, reminding him that he should be at school,

Tyler rushes off to school

so he hurriedly leaves.

The gas cylinders are now in the proper place

Dai escorts the Health and Safety inspector around the premises, pointing out that the gas cylinders are now securely stored outside.

"It says they were stored inside"

“The report states that six LPG canisters were stored inside,” he is told, but Dai explains that it was before he had a chance to shift them.

"Do you realise how dangerous that is?"

“Do you realise how dangerous that is, Mr Ashurst?” the officer continues, “They could easily have exploded in the fire.”

Dai reiterates that they had only just arrived, and were ready to be moved, then offers him a cup of tea.

"The café toilet is disgusting!"

Kelly suddenly interrupts proceedings; “The toilet in the café is blocked – it’s disgusting! Can you sort it out for me, please?”

Taking a look at the H&S Inspector, Dai advises her to call a professional;

"I can't get hold of a professional!"

“I can’t get hold of one of them – that’s why I’m asking you!” she replies, “Where is Iolo, anyway?”

Dai tells her that he is probably busy with Tyler’s niece; “You’ve heard about the baby, haven’t you?” Dai is concerned to see the inspector walking into APD, and before chasing after him,

"I have more inportant things to do!"

informs Kelly, “She is his niece, according to Diane, and her mother is a drug addict. I don’t have time for this! I have more important things to do than talk about babies and drug addicts!”

Kelly wonders what is going on

He stomps off in search of his visitor.

Gaynor is happy with the school's results . . .

Tyler arrives at school and compliments Gaynor on the school’s good results; she is not particularly pleased with the results of his students, as they are only ‘satisfactory’ on the whole.

. . . but not those of Tyler's pupils

“We should be aiming higher, and should not be satisfied with average results. If the aims weren’t ambitious enough, they are underachieving. But there we are, your mind has been on other things recently – I was sorry to hear about your sister’s baby. I didn’t realise your family situation was so complicated. Is it you and Iolo who will be looking after the baby now?”

"It's none of your business"

Tyler has had enough of this, and warns her that it is none of her business, but she reminds him that he will have a lot of work pressure next term, and offers a word of advice; “Looking after a sick baby isn’t something you take on lightly.”

"Keep your nose out of other people's lives!"

He in turn offers her some advice; “Keep your nose out of other peoples lives!” and walks away.

Linda has got herself into a tangle . . .

Linda sits up in bed, and tries to put on her bed-jacket, but then she finds one sleeve is inside out; DJ is watching her painful exertions.

. . . and then gives up

She finally sinks back on to the bed, exhausted.

"Make sure you celebrate responsibly"

At school, Gaynor urges the pupils to go and celebrate their success responsibly;

"Sorry, Elgan, I've got a million things to do!"

Elgan appears and tells her she needs to celebrate, but she maintains that she has a million things to do. “An interview on CwmFM at one o’clock, then a live TV interview at three – and I need to analyse these results.” She takes a phone call, and confirms that she is on her way to the meeting now;

And so Elgan is abandoned

Elgan is left on his own.

"They weren't good enough for Gaynor!"

Back at number 7, Tyler is not in a good mood; “There was nothing wrong with the results,” he tells Iolo, “But they weren’t good enough for Gaynor. Then she started sticking her nose in, and warned me not to take responsibility for a sick baby.”

"Who told Gaynor, then?"

Iolo wonders who had given her the news.

"Well – is it true about the baby?"

Kelly arrives, demanding, “Well, is it true? That the baby dumped on your doorstep is your niece? And your sister’s a drug addict?

"Great – you don't need me any more, then"

“Great – you don’t need me any more, then. A ready-made family – you’ll adopt her and live happily ever after.”

Tyler tries to tell her that she has it wrong,

"That's what people are saying"

but she insists that is what people are saying. “Well, they’re wrong!” shouts Tyler, “You have no right to come here throwing accusations around!

"If you listen to people round here, you're a fool!"

“If you listen to people round here, you’re a fool. Liv’s baby is fighting for her life – and you’re standing here feeling sorry for yourself! Grow up!”

"That was a bit harsh, Tyler"

Kelly rushes out of the house in tears, and Tyler moans to Iolo, “Someone had to tell her –

"Kelly is not ready to be a mother!"

“I’m certain of one thing – Kelly is not ready to be a mother!”

Dai is reminded about what happened eighteen months ago

The H&S inspector tells Dai, “Unfortunately for you, the LPG was stored inside the building, despite the council’s recommendations 18 months ago.”

"Yes, we followed the recommendations"

Dai insists that APD followed the recommendations at the time. “Yes, I did that inspection,” the officer goes on, “You met the requirements at the time –

"It's easy to slip back into old habits"

“but it is easy to slip back into old habits, isn’t it?”

“But nothing happened,” Dai replies, “Nobody’s been hurt.” The inspector reminds him that he has been extremely lucky,

"Oh – is that all?"

and that he will receive a letter with further recommendations in the next few days.

Dai is very relieved that this appears to be the end of the matter;

"Thank you very much, Tony"

“Thank you very much, Tony,” he says, and shakes his hand warmly.

Dai is full of elation . . .

When Tony has left, Dai triumphantly sounds the bell on the counter

. . . but is he celebrating too soon, one wonders

and then jumps up and down, shouting, “Yes, yes, yes!”

Elgan is less than enthralled with Gaynor's interview

At Llwyncelyn, Elgan watches some of Gaynor’s rather unimpressive interview on the television, but quickly turns it off when she comes home.

Gaynor finds champagne waiting

She is surprised to see a bottle of champagne awaiting, and he asks how the interview went.

"I was rather nervous"

She replies that she was rather nervous, but insists that they watch the recording of it, although he points out that their meal is ready.

When she looks at her broadcast performance . . .

When she watches,

. . . Gaynor, too, is unimpressed . . .

she is not happy with her performance

. . . and soon activates the remote control

and very soon turns it off.

"Well, your hair looked nice"

After a silence, Elgan comments, “Your hair looked nice.”

Linda appears to be resting peacefully,

"Is the new dose working?"

and DJ asks if the new dose has started to take effect. He passes her a glass of water, but she has difficulty drinking,

The glass of water . . .

and chokes on it. He insists that she needs to drink more fluids,

. . . has unintended results

but she coughs uncontrollably.

Kelly comes back to apologise . . .

Kelly returns to number 7, in a rather more subdued state, and apologises, admitting that she was out of order.

. . . and brings a peace offering

“Just to show that there are no hard feelings, I wanted you to have this.” She produces a baby’s hat, which she bought when they were going to have a baby together. “A very premature purchase, I know, but it’s only right that you have it now.”

She assures them of her support

She goes on to assure them, “I do appreciate that things have been difficult for you lately. I want you to know that I’m here to do whatever I can to help you, but I know, after being with Jinx when he was an addict, how difficult it is to wean someone off hard drugs like heroin.”

"We hope Liv can have specialist treatment"

Iolo tells her that they hope that Liv can have specialist treatment when she comes home.

"She might not come back, like, ever!"

Kelly urges them, “You should prepare yourselves for her not coming back, like, ever. What are you going to do then – what would happen to the baby?”

Tyler has heard enough of this

Tyler storms off upstairs,

"We've been under a lot of strain lately"

and Iolo tries to explain to Kelly, “We have been under a lot of strain lately – Tyler is worried about his sister and the baby, and we’re not sure how we’re going to cope. I know you're suffering as well.”

"I can't put my life on hold"

She points out that she cannot put her life on hold for them to sort themselves out, so he tells her that she is free to do whatever she wants. Iolo hopes that things will be clearer in the next few weeks, but they do not know what is ahead at the moment. He suggests that the plans of the three of them should be put to one side for now.

"At least, I know where I stand"

“Right, at least I know where I stand,” she replies, and leaves the house.

"I was hopeless!"

Elgan consoles Gaynor that her interview was not that bad, but she protests that she was hopeless. He stresses that she went on to make some good points towards the end. “So you tried to stop me watching it to protect my feelings?” she asks,