Cwmderi Diary 2017: 1 December 2017

Gaynor awakens . . .

The next morning, Gaynor wakes up

. . . and Elgan is not there

and finds that Elgan is not there in bed; she looks puzzled, and goes to find him.

"A couple more turkeys are sick"

Eifion walks into the kitchen at Penrhewl, looking grim and announcing that a couple more turkeys are sick. Cadno has assembled two turkey boxes to take with her when she collects orders at the Christmas event,

"You will have to cancel"

but he insists that she will have to cancel.

"Not until the results come back"

“I’m not cancelling anything until the results come back,” she tells him, “If I pull out now, people will think there’s something wrong.” He points out that there may well be something wrong, but she replies, “I’m only taking orders, and it won’t be the end of the world if I have to cancel them.

"You're worrying about nothing!"

“You’re worrying about nothing – I know you’re thinking back to the time we had TB, but let’s keep an open mind about this.”

When Gaynor comes downstairs, she finds her breakfast of boiled egg and toast have been prepared by Elgan, who yawning, and obviously tired.

"Did you sleep on the sofa?"

“Did you sleep on the sofa?” she asks, and he explains that he did not want to disturb her. “Is everything all right?” she continues, “That nightmare seemed to be a nasty one.”

Elgan is evasive and leaves for the surgery . . .

He says that everyone has nightmares sometimes, and that it is time he went to the surgery; he has loads to do before the patients arrive.

. . . while Gaynor is concerned

Advising her to take it easy, eat and drink properly, he leaves the house.

Sheryl has been let down by Sara

Sheryl complains to Hywel that Sara promised to help her her with today, but now has texted to say she is not well.

She does not know how she will cope

She panics, “I’ve only got to decorate the salon, make the mince pies, take photos, so all the businesses are promoted online!”

Hywel will decorate the salon

Hywel says that he will go and decorate the salon for her. Sheryl predicts that today is going to be awful, as five people have already told her that they are not coming; he advises her to just wait and see, but she grumbles, “Roll on January!”

Greta seems to be interested in something up there

In the Deri, Dani is telling Greta how beautiful she is, then hands her back to Iolo;

"Try this mulled wine for me"

“Try this mulled wine for me,” she asks Tyler, “I’m not sure if I’ve got the balance right.”

Iolo remarks that the mothers in the crèche were wondering when Dani’s baby shower will be, and saying that they are more popular than christenings these days. She replies that nothing has been organised,

"It's a load of nonsense, anyway"

and in any case maintains that it is a load of nonsense.

Tyler then makes something of faux pas

On the spur of the moment. Tyler informs her that he has organised one for her; of course she is delighted, but does not want anything over the top.

He does not seem to be impressed with the mulled wine

Tyler takes a sip of the mulled wine, and grimaces; Dani will add quite a bit more orange juice.

Gaynor tidies up . . .

Tidying up at Llwyncelyn, Gaynor discovers

. . . and comes across the empty bottle . . .

an empty bottle behind a cushion on the sofa;

. . . which concerns her even more

she now wears a worried look.

Geraint has booked his Christmas turkey

Out in the street, the Christmas event is under way; Cadno has just taken a turkey order,

Cadno smiles for the publicity photo

and Sheryl shoots a publicity photograph of her, urging Cadno to smile.

"I have to be somewhere, Hywel"

Gaynor is rather preoccupied as she walks along the street, and tells Hywel that she has to be somewhere;

"She's acting rather oddly"

he tells Sheryl that Gaynor was acting rather oddly.

"Eileen has a surprise for us"

It transpires that Eileen has a surprise for everyone, and Hywel indicates the coverings over the shop name behind them.

"Today is a fresh start for the shop"

Then she emerges from shop and asks for everyone’s attention. “Today is a fresh start for the shop,” she says,

The new title; "The Village Shop"

and pulls a cord to unveil its new name.

"Give a warm welcome to Colin and his reindeer!"

She adds, “It also has a new mascot – give a warm welcome to Colin and his reindeer!”

Colin cavorts around

Prancing around in his costume, to the delight of the locals, Colin informs them that Rudolph has had a demotion;

Sheryl captures a photo of him

Sheryl is of the opinion that this will get plenty of likes online. As she raises her phone to capture a picture of him,

"Watch this go viral!"

he comments, “Watch this go viral! And we need to do a video,” but Eileen tells him he has to go round, selling the items in his basket.

No longer any mention of Sioned on the shop

“Happy Christmas from the village shop!” he shouts,

Eileen is making a new start

while Eileen tells Sheryl that this is a new start for her.

"Are you fit to be here, Elgan?"

Gaynor marches into the surgery to confront Elgan; “I’ve just found an empty bottle – are you fit to be here?”

He does not want anyone hearing this

He closes the door, so that no-one will hear; he admits that he did not get much sleep last night, and yes, he did have a glass.

"I know how much was in that bottle!"

“A glass? I know how much was in that bottle!” replies Gaynor, “Is there something you’re not telling me? The concussion, the nightmare – now you’re drinking.

"Something is seriously wrong!"

“It’s obvious to me that something is seriously wrong!”

"You had better leave!"

Elgan tells her to leave, but before she opens the door,

"If I do, I'm not coming back!"

she gives him a stern warning, “If I go now, I’m not coming back!” and he looks very concerned.

"Oh – all right"

He is forced to capitulate; “All right – there are things – and you should know about them –

"This isn't the time or place"

“but this isn’t the time or place.”

Trade is going well for Cadno . . .

Cadno is taking many turkey orders when she receives a message;

. . . until she receives a message

“Four turkeys have died.” She then announces that she cannot take any more orders.

"You're not supposed to give them away!"

Eileen reprimands Colin, who has been giving away the items in the basket instead of selling them;

"But it's a good PR stunt, Eileen!"

Sheryl remarks that it is a good PR stunt, and everyone will be talking about the shop tonight. “Colin the reindeer’s video has had 300 likes already,” she informs them,

"There – I must be doing something right!"

so he considers he must be doing something right. Eileen will make him a cup of tea,

"And a carrot for Rudolph?"

and he suggests, “A carrot for Rudolph?”

Tyler is having second thoughts

Tyler is by now having second thoughts about the baby shower, and does not want to do it;

"It's too late now!"

“Too late now!” Iolo tells him, “Just keep it simple, with a small group of people and a lot of fun. Dani said she doesn’t want anything over the top.”

"These nightmares I've been having"

When Elgan gets back to Llwyncelyn, he says, “These nightmares I’ve been having – they’re about the war.

"I went to Bosnia"

“I was in the army, as a medic. I went to Bosnia – Kosovo. We were right in the middle of things – the worst fighting –

"I saw atrocious things . . ."

“I saw things, atrocious things. Things I don’t want to remember,

". . . which are in my head!"

“but I can’t help it, because they’re in my head! No matter how much I try to forget, no matter how much I ignore them, I can’t get rid of them. Faces, noises, screaming – those eyes staring at you, needing your help.

"But you can't do anything . . ."

“But you can’t do anything –

". . . and now I have to put up with it, over and over again!"

“and now, I can’t do anything but put up with it, over and over again.”

Iolo and Tyler report that their steaks in the Deri are delicious, then Dani asks about the baby shower;

"Steaks all right, boys?"

“Don’t think that I’m interfering, but I’ve had some ideas, which I have e-mailed to you – just pictures, ideas about games and invites – stuff like that.”

Now Dani is taking over the arrangements

Iolo is smiling as she goes on, “You’ve got to do it properly – first baby and all that. If you want to chat about it, just phone me.

"I've made a list of people I want there!"

“And I’ve made a list of the people I want there – it’s in the attachment!”

"Why did I open my big mouth?"

Tyler grimaces, realising the enormity of the task he has set himself, and wonders why he opened his big mouth.

"Have you spoken to a doctor about it?"

Gaynor asks if Elgan has spoken to a doctor about his problem, and he explains that there was a debrief when he returned home,

"There is too much shame in it"

“But no-one goes for a one-to-one – there is too much shame in it. I’d wanted to to be a soldier since I was a boy –

"Uncle Morris was in the army"

“my Uncle Morris was in the army, and I wanted to be like him, I wanted to do the right thing. But after I came home I realised that war never leaves you.

The memories go with you"

“The memories go with you wherever you go.”

Gaynor now understands how he feels

Gaynor is looking extremely concerned,

"I hoped starting again in Cwmderi would help"

as he continues, “I hoped starting again here in Cwmderi would help things – ease some of it, but it didn’t.

"There's always something that takes you back"

“There’s always something that takes you back there.”

"Like the ceiling collapsing"

“Like the ceiling collapsing,” says Gaynor, “Right, I understand now.”

"I have to get back to Penrhewl"

In the salon, Sheryl is surprised that Cadno wants to leave, although there are lots of people around, but she insists that she has to go back to Penrhewl.

Beti and Madge descend upon the mince pies

Then Madge and Beti arrive; they are shown the complimentary mince pies.

Hywel considers that the occasion has been a great success,

"No-one has made an appointment yet"

but Sheryl does not know how much difference it has made to the salon; “No-one has made an appointment yet,”

"Can I make an appointment, Sher?"

but the very next second, Madge asks to make an appointment.

"We should get the results within hours"

When Cadno gets back to Penrhewl, Eifion tells her the vet said he must not leave the farm today; “We should get the results within hours,” and then he receives a phone call.

Then the fateful phone call . . .

“I see – right – OK!” he says, gravely.

. . . which confirms that it is Bird Flu

“Bird Flu,” he announces, “The authorities are coming to sort out an exclusion zone. There will be a police officer at the gate over the weekend –

"We are going to lose thousands!"

“we are going to lose thousands – neither us nor the stock can move from here until they say. You’d better tell Mathew – we’re stuck here! The rest of the county will know by the end of the afternoon!”