Cwmderi Diary 2017: 28 August 2017

Breakfast-time at Bryntirion

At breakfast time in Bryntirion, Diane asks Hannah and DJ if there is anything else they want, as she has to go to APD to sort out the gas store. “Health and Safety officers are like a dog with a bone!” she remarks,

"I'm going to Ty'n y Waun"

as Dai comes in to inform them that he is off to Ty’n y Waun. Diane warns him not to go into the lounge, as Linda is asleep;

Then Chester arrives . . .

then Chester comes in, and DJ comments that the afternoon shift has arrived.

. . . followed by Linda

Linda has now woken and comes into the kitchen, assuring Diane that they did not wake her;

"I'm going for a walk in the park"

“I’m going for a walk to the park,” she announces,

"Not on your own, you're not!"

but DJ protests that she is not going on her own, and offers to go with her tomorrow, as he promised Sara he would do a stocktake today.

"I'm sure Hannah will go with you"

Diane has to sort out the health and safety officers, and is sure that Hannah will be willing to go with Linda.

Hannah does not have much choice

However, she and Chester had arranged to go into town, and Linda insists that there is no need, but eventually Hannah agrees.

Eileen is very complimentary about the cabbages

In the shop flat, Eileen admires the two cabbages, which won ‘Best in Show’ at Llanarthur; Kath took the first prize, and Jim the second.

"You've obviously got green fingers"

“I’m surprised you managed to grow something like this so quickly!” says Eileen, “You’ve obviously got green fingers.”

"They have an effect on my stomach"

Kath gives the cabbages to Eileen, as no-one eats them in her house, and Eileen promises to cook a meal with them. “You can give us some tips about growing them,” she adds,

"You could write an article on how to grow them"

“You could take a picture of them for Cwm Ni, and write an article on how to grow them.”

"The people round here wouldn't be interested"

Kath doubts that anyone in the village would be interested, but Eileen suggests Colin could take a photo with that fancy camera of his. Jim cannot see that happening; “You sacked him last week, remember?” Nevertheless, Eileen is insistent that Jim should organise it with Colin.

Diane has invited the inspector back on Friday

At APD, Diane has just sent an e-mail to Tony the inspector, asking him to come back on Friday,

"I shall be late tonight"

but Dai does not want to discuss it, and says that he is going to be home late tonight.

"Don't leave me with this mess!"

“We need to sort out the gas store!” shouts Diane, “Don’t leave me with this mess! You spend all your time at Ty’n y Waun to avoid this – you don’t even want to be at home!”

Then he admits what is really bothering him

“You’re right there!” he replies, “I don’t want to be at home because of Linda – seeing her suffer, deteriorating from day to day, and not being able to do anything about it gets me down – and that’s the truth.”

"Yes, I feel the same"

Diane confesses she feels the same.

"You can come and work in the Deri tonight"

Britt tells Catrin that she can come to work in the Deri tonight, to clear tables and collect glasses;

Catrin looks somewhat less than eager

“It’s better than playing on that thing all day.”

"Little job for you, Colin"

Jim pays them a visit, to offer Colin a job, but warns him not to get his hopes up.

“I want you to take a photo of Kath and me for Cwm Ni – we won the show on Saturday – I can only offer you a tenner!”

Colin is not inclined to agree . . .

Colin does not appear to be willing to do this, reminding him that Eileen sacked him last week, and Jim is secretly relieved, but then Britt steps in.

. . . but Britt makes the decision for him

“He’ll do it!” she states quite conclusively, “He’s got this smart kit, and it’s an advertisement if he wants to take photos professionally.” She also offers the use of the Deri for this photo shoot,

"I'm not doing this for Eileen!"

but Colin stresses he is doing this for Jim and Kath – not for Eileen.

Diane explains she is trying to act normally round Linda, and so is Dai,

"I keep putting my foot in it"

but he puts his foot in it every time he opens his mouth. “It’s not a normal situation, is it? When I come home, I want to put my feet up in front of the telly and relax – but I can’t because she’s lying there –

"And then I feel guilty about it"

“and then I feel guilty for feeling like that in the first place!”

"Remember we're doing this for Linda"

Diane urges him to bear in mind that they are doing this for Linda – and DJ, too.

Texts are speeding back and forth between the lovebirds

Linda is struggling to put on her cardigan while Hannah is texting on her phone.

Linda is now ready to go

Checking that she has bag, money, phone and stick, she is ready to go.

"OK, I'll call you later"

Then Chester phones, and she promises she will call him later.

Linda can see that he is keen, and suggests, “Why don’t you go over and see him?

"I can't – Gran said . . ."

“Your grandmother fusses too much – I shall be fine on my own – I would prefer it actually. It drives me mad being in here, everyone on top of each other.

"You go and see Chester"

“You go and see Chester – I shall be all right.

"He can't go half an hour without seeing you!"

“I don’t think he can go half an hour without seeing you!”

Hannah is indeed eager to go and see him

When Hannah has left, Linda’s phone rings, and when she sees that it is DJ who is calling,

Linda rejects DJ's call . . .

she rejects the call.

. . . which DJ finds disturbing

DJ, who is sitting in the Deri, is concerned; Kath comes over, with her two cabbages, and supposes that he must miss working at Penrhewl.

"I'm sure you know a lot about growing things"

“It’s a shame that you don’t get a chance to show your skills – I’m sure you know a lot about animals and growing things,” Kath says,

"If it was not the frost, it was the slugs"

and he replies that they did not have much joy with growing cabbages, as if it was not the frost, it was the slugs, and Penrhewl is an organic farm.

At that moment Eileen and Jim enter the pub, looking for Colin;

Jim and Kath are about to escape . . .

both Kath and Jim say it is a pity he has not come – and are about to leave

. . . when Colin arrives with his paraphernalia

when he does in fact turn up, complete with his tripod.

Linda sits down on the bench . . .

Linda has walked to the park, and sits down on a bench in the children’s playground;

. . . and watches children on the swings

she watches two children on the swings, and when they get off,

She approaches the swings . . .

she laboriously staggers across, puts down her bag and stick

. . . sits down . . .

and sits on a swing.

. . . and looks as if she is remembering old times

She looks upwards, seemingly with elation.

"How's your mother, DJ?"

In the Deri, Jim asks DJ how his mother is, and the answer is, “That’s what I’d like to know!”

Then Dai and Diane come in and see Jim, nursing his two cabbages; when told that Jim has had his photo taken,

"Are you Miss September?"

Dai retorts, “For the Cwmderi calendar, is it? Are you Miss September?” Diane asks if he can help them with the gas store, but Jim refuses to work on a bank holiday,

"That fire was your fault, anyway!"

adding, “Look, I am a labourer – it’s your job to sort out that gas store – that fire was your fault anyway!”

"I'll give you some time to weed your cabbage patch!"

Dai threatens to send him on gardening leave, and then he would have plenty of time to weed his cabbage patch.

"Please come and help us tomorrow"

Diane asks him to come and help tomorrow, as they want to avoid a court case.

DJ complains that his mother is not answering her phone, and Diane assumes that she has turned it off, being tired after her walk.

"I'm staying with Chester tonight"

When Hannah comes in to advise them she is staying with Chester tonight, DJ asks her if his mother was sleeping when she left, but is told that she was still out.

"Don't blame me – she insisted!"

“She didn’t want me there!” Hannah tells him, “Don’t blame me – she insisted!” Diane says that they will all go home,

Off they troop, in search of Linda

and if she is not there they will look for her, as she said she was going for walk.

An empty swing . . .

In the park, the empty swing is still swinging,

. . . Linda's bag . . .

Linda’s bag is nearby on the ground,

. . . and Linda, lying on the ground

and Linda herself is lying motionless. Her phone rings, inside the bag.

“There is nothing better than having a meal using food you’ve grown yourself,” Eileen tells them, as she serves up the curry with cabbage yoghurt.

"My mother used to grow everything"

Jim recalls that his mother grew everything in the garden when they were young, and he learned a lot from her.

"You have to watch out for frost and slugs"

Kath knowledgeably states, “What you have to look out for with cabbages is frost and slugs, isn’t that right, Jim?” and he agrees with this. Eileen points out that they had the same experience at Penrhewl.

Colin is disappointed by his photos

Colin is not very impressed with the photos he has taken, calling some of them, “Pretty disappointing.”

Chester makes fun of them

Chester comes in, takes a look and describes the subject matter as really cutting edge, drawing attention to the dirty glasses in the background.

“And there are flowers growing out of Kath’s head!” he goes on.

"Mam, send him back to Bryntirion!"

Catrin asks her mother to send him back to Bryntirion,

Britt has to try and mediate

as he is really annoying, and has been ‘dissing’ Colin’s photos.

"I know I'm useless"

Colin accepts that he is useless, and cannot send those photos to Cwm Ni.

DJ scans the park

DJ is searching for his mother; out in the park, he dials her number once again,

He hears her phone ringing . . .

and can hear her phone ringing.

. . . then sees the bag

He finds the bag near the swing, and then sees his mother on the ground.

"Mam, I'm sorry – I shouldn't have left you!"

“Mam, I’m sorry – I shouldn’t have left you! Everything will be all right, I promise.”

Eileen offers useful culinary advice

At the end of their meal, Eileen tells Kath that she can have the recipé, and if she has any more cabbages, she could pickle them. Then she asks Jim to fetch a bottle of wine from the shop.

"You can stop pretending now, Kath"

“You can stop pretending now, Kath,” Eileen says, “I’m not stupid – it’s not true that you and Jim grew those cabbages, is it?”

"Well, not entirely"

Kath concedes that it is not exactly the case, and Eileen continues, “I know you grew both of them, but I’m not going to show him that I know,

"That allotment has done him the world of good"

“because I think going to the allotment has done him the world of good.

"And that's thanks to you"

“And that’s thanks to you, Kath – you’re a kind woman – don’t be embarrassed, I won’t say a word.”

Catrin is working on Colin's photos

Colin looks across from the kitchen and sees that Katrin is editing his photographs on the laptop; he is astounded at the result.

She has cropped them . . .

“I’ve cropped them and got rid of the things in the background,” she tells him.

. . . and he is highly delighted

He describes her as a genius,

"You can e-mail them to Cwm Ni now

and she suggests that now they can e-mail the photos to Cwm Ni; he says he might send them to the Western Post too.

Linda is returned home, slightly battered

Diane is concerned to see Linda returning to the house, accompanied by DJ; Linda has injured her right hand, but will not allow DJ to call an ambulance. “She fell off the swing!” DJ tells them,

"What were you doing on a swing?"

and Dai demands what she thought she was doing on a swing.

“I just wanted to go for a walk on my own,” Linda replies,

"I'm allowed to have some fun!"

“I’m allowed to have some fun!”

"I'm taking you to the hospital"

Her hand is very painful, and DJ is adamant he is going to take her to the hospital, but Linda rages, “You want to get me to hospital, so I can lie there and die!