7 December 2017

"There's a grotto in Llanelli"

Gethin notices in the Western Post that there is a grotto in Llanelli this weekend, and says that Arwen would love it.   

Ffion has a letter from the hospital

Ffion is not listening, as she is reading a letter which has just arrived;  “The operation is next week,” she tells Gethin, “That was quick, wasn’t it?” 

He replies that it is a good thing, and the sooner the better;  

"Everything's going to be OK"

“Everything’s going to be OK, do you hear?” he assures her.

Siôn walks in on Ed's weight-lifting session

Siôn returns to Y Felin and hears loud music playing;  he is surprised to see Ed doing some weight training, and he smiles.   

"I was just finishing"

He apologises for disturbing Ed, who says that he was just finishing anyway.   Then Siôn adds, “Look, I have been back and forth this week, doing translations, and we haven’t had a chat yet.   It would be nice to catch up – it hasn’t been easy for you lately.   

"How about going for a cup of tea?"

“A translating job has been cancelled, so I have a few hours – we could go for a cup of tea somewhere.”   

"Yes, OK, why not"

Ed thinks that it would do him good to have a break.

"I was so sorry to hear about Arwen"

Ffion walks round the corner just as Anita comes out of number 10;  “I was so sorry to hear about Arwen,” she says, “I heard about it in the shop, 

"I haven't stopped thinking about you"

“and haven’t stopped thinking about you since then.   But it’s not cancer, is it?   Thank goodness for that.”

Siôn meets a young lady friend . . .

Ffion turns to see Siôn and Ed walking past Bethania;  by the barriers outside the vestry, Siôn meets a young woman, 

. . .while Ed sits on a bench

and Ed goes to sit on a bench opposite.   

Gwyneth approaches him.   “Guess who I’m going to see today – Sioned!” she grins, 

"I'm sure to have a warmer welcome than you did!"

“I’m sure to have a warmer welcome than you did!”   

Ed stays silent

Ed does not reply, 

He sees Kelly along the road

but then sees Kelly outside the café.   

"We must have that drink sometime"

“Thank you, Julie,” Siôn says to the young lady, “We must have that drink sometime – what was your favourite?”   As she goes, she tells him it was Malbec.

"The operation is next week"

Ffion comes across to tell Siôn that they have a date for the operation – next week;  

"If I can do anything, you only have to ask"

he assures her that if he can do anything to help, she only has to ask.

Ed is still watching Kelly, but then she goes back into the café, and Siôn rejoins him, saying that they will go to the café;  

"Yes, OK, Siôn"

Ed is slightly hesitant about this.

Inside the café, Anita tells Kelly, “There’s nothing worse than a sick child,” 

"Are you all right, Kel?"

then, seeing Kelly’s gloomy expression, she adds, “Are you all right Kel?   You seem a bit flat.”   Of course Kelly protests that she is fine.   

"Worried about anything – like Ed?"

“You’re not worrying about anything are you?” Anita continues, “Like Ed?”

At that moment, the very same Ed enters the café with Siôn, 

Then he walks in

and they greet each other politely.   

Kelly cannot stop looking at him

Kelly finds it difficult to keep her eyes off Ed.

"Why don't we write a letter to Santa Claus?"

At Cysgod y Glyn, Ffion suggests to Arwen that they write a letter to Santa Claus [OTHERWISE KNOWN AS 'SION CORN' IN WELSH] 

Arwen cannot wait to get stuck into the task

and she finds the necessary crayons.   

"Tell him you've been a good girl"

Gethin advises, “Don’t forget to tell him that you’ve been a good girl.”

"She might not see Christmas Day!"

Ffion worries, “She might not see Christmas Day – it’s true – if only there was something we could do!”   

"We must just take one step at a time"

He replies that the only thing they can do is to put one foot in front of the other, and there is no point in getting ahead of themselves.   

"But my mind does what it wants!"

“But my mind does what it wants,” she admits.

"Things are awkward between Kelly and me"

In the café, Ed explains to Siôn, “Things are bit awkward between Kelly and me – we haven’t been in touch, but we need to see each other more often.   I don’t want to hurt her more than I already have.”

No prizes for guessing who she is looking at

As Kelly takes another sneaky look at Ed, 

"Don't you feel the same?"

Siôn says, “I heard what she said in court – don’t you feel the same?”   Ed answers that it is not as black and white as that – 

"I can't be in a relationship with anyone"

he cannot be in a relationship with anyone, after all that happened with Sioned.

"We haven't had much luck with women!"

Siôn points out that he and Ed have been through similar experiences;  “We haven’t had much luck with women!”   

"Gwyneth is visiting Sioned today"

Ed tells him that Gwyneth is going to visit Sioned today.   

"Birds of a feather, I suppose!"

Siôn’s evaluation is, “Birds of a feather, I suppose!”

"I haven't been an angel myself"

“Listen, Siôn, I haven’t been an angel myself – I’ve done a lot of things I regret,” Ed confesses, but Siôn tells him he has done remarkably well to get through it, and the best thing he can do now is to leave it all in the past.   

"A game of darts and a packet of pork scratchings"

He proposes that they need some fun, and should go to the Deri for a pint this evening.    “Come on, you don’t want to hide like I did after Gwyneth!   We’ll have a game of darts, and a packet of pork scratchings.”

Behind the counter, Kelly thanks Anita for hanging around;  “Every time I see him, I’m just, like, totally tongue-tied.”   

"I really miss him, Auntie Anita!"

Anita says that is only natural.   “I really miss him!” Kelly laments, so is told she will have to keep busy, with no more lazing on the sofa, watching Netflix.

"How about going to the Deri later?"

“How about going to the Deri later, then?” Anita asks, “Why not?   Do you have anything better to do?”   

"All right, then"

Kelly has little alternative but to agree.

"The food is disgusting!"

Sioned smiles at Gwyneth, sitting opposite her in the visiting room;  she says that she is sleeping quite well;  “Waking up is the worst – I’m always shocked that I’m here.   The food is disgusting – I’d do anything for Mam’s Sunday lunch!”   

"I'll smuggle in chicken and roast potatoes!"

Gwyneth says that she will smuggle in some chicken and roast potatoes.

"Why are you so loyal to me?"

“Why are you so loyal to me?” asks Sioned, “You’ve been there through everything.”   Gwyneth explains that she wants to be there for Sioned, 

"I'll repay you when I get out"

and is assured that she will be repaid when Sioned gets out.   

"I hope he brings you all those presents"

“I hope that Santa Claus will bring you all those presents,” Siôn tells Arwen, “If you get everything you want, his sack will be full.”   

They go in search of some more stickers

Gethin takes Arwen to the car to get some more stickers.

Ffion reports that Arwen is coping very well;  “She gets tired, and she’s been asking about the hospital today as well – 

"I wish I could do something!"

“it’s obviously on her mind.   I wish I could do something!   

"I even thought about praying"

“I even thought earlier about praying – to whom, I don’t know – I just wanted to do something.”

"I'm not sure what I believe in these days"

Siôn understands, but is not really sure what he believes in these days;  “Sometimes I feel the need to ask for help.”   

"We could do it together"

Ffion suggests that they could do it together, but feels rather silly for saying this.

Siôn begins his prayer

As they close their eyes, Siôn begins, “We are here today, asking for strength from somewhere to keep Arwen safe over the coming days.   

"We need strength and a lot of love"

“It’s going to be a difficult time for us all, as Arwen faces the operation.   We need strength and a lot of love to face this together.”

"We hope this will help Ffion to be there for Arwen"

He looks at Ffion, who is close to tears, and goes on, “We hope this will help Ffion to be there for Arwen.   And we really hope everything will be all right.”

"I don't want her to be taken away from us"

Ffion adds, “I don’t want her to be taken away from us – I want to be strong for her.”   

"Amen"

Siôn finishes with, “Amen,” and places his hand on hers;  she is very grateful to him.

They have found the stickers

Gethin and Arwen return, and as Ffion wipes her tears, Siôn finds a packet of sweets, made out of fruit, for Arwen.   

Arwen does not look particularly overjoyed at being hugged

He gives her a cwtch.

"It means a lot that you've come today"

“It means a lot that you’ve come here today,” says Sioned, 

"I'll come as often as I can"

and Gwyneth insists that she will come as often as possible.   However, Sioned stipulates that she cannot come to visit any more;  

"It hurts me too much"

“It hurts me too much to see you,” is the reply.   

"Your Mam has renamed the shop"

The bell sounds for the end of visiting, but there is something which Gwyneth needs to tell her;  “Your Mam has renamed the shop – it’s called ‘The Village Shop’ now – I thought I should tell you before you found out from someone else.”

Sioned is not happy at this news

Sioned seems rather displeased at this news, but Gwyneth encourages her, “Stay strong – do you hear me?   I’ve been there – I know what you’re going through.”   

Gwyneth leaves

The bell rings again, and Gwyneth has to leave.   Sioned is left looking frightened and vulnerable.

Ed sympathises with Ffion 

In the Deri, Ed says that it must have been a comfort for Ffion, and Siôn appreciates that it is a very worrying time for her.   

Julie and Helen turn up

Then his friend Julie arrives, with another girl, who is introduced as Helen;  

"This is Ed, my new lodger"

Siôn says that this is Ed, his new lodger.   

"Please, Siôn, don't say you've arranged a double date!"

As the girls go to sit down at a table, Ed sighs, “Please don’t say you’ve arranged a double date!”   Siôn explains that he has done some translating for Julie’s company, and thought it would be fun to have a drink with her and her friend.   

"Go on, ask them what they want to drink"

He urges Ed to go and ask them what they want to drink.

Ed approaches the two girls

Reluctantly, he does so;  

"Siôn's offering to buy a round!"

“Siôn’s offering to buy a round – which you should never refuse!” he says.   

Kelly is rather unnerved by Ed's presence . . .

At that point Kelly and Anita arrive;  although Anita points out that they could go somewhere else, Kelly is insistent that she will stay.   

. . . and is irresistibly attracted by him

She sits down, but once again cannot take her eyes off Ed.

"I'm tired, after that prayer"

Ffion has packed all the materials back into the box, and Gethin reports that Arwen is fast asleep.   Ffion thinks the steroids are making her tired – and she is also tired now, after that prayer.   He wonders if it helped, and she confirms that it has given her some comfort.   

"All I think about is that ten-hour operation!"

“Maybe I should try it,” Gethin ponders, and she says that it might give him some peace of mind.   “I need to do something – because all I think about is the operation – and the fact that it takes ten hours.”

"Arwen will love seeing the reindeer"

Ffion points out that thinking like that will not help Arwen;  “I think we should go to the grotto in Llanelli on Saturday – we need to keep busy.”   Gethin predicts that Arwen will love seeing Santa Claus’s reindeer.

Arwen would like a doll called Lowri

Ffion shows him Arwen’s letter, which reads, “Dear Santa Claus. I would like a doll called Lowri.”   

"That's the girl in the book"

She says that it is the name of the girl in the book, and it is obviously on her mind, but they will do their best to get her what she wants.

Gethin asks what Ffion wants for Christmas;  

"There's only one thing I want!"

“There’s only one thing I want!” she replies, “No, we’re going to look forward to Saturday – 

"Our little family"

“Santa’s grotto and our little family.

"I'm going to have a word with Ed"

Later in the evening, Anita is ready to leave the Deri, but Kelly decides she is going to have a word with Ed, because it was awkward earlier.   

"I'm a big girl now"

“I’m a big girl now – I’ll see you at home.”   She plucks up her courage and goes over to Ed at the bar.   

"Have you had a good night?"

He asks if she has had a good night;  “Me and Auntie Anita?   Yes, laugh a minute!” Kelly replies, “You look as if you’re enjoying yourselves.”   He answers that they are Siôn’s friends, and he cannot wait to go home.   

"I bet hanging out with Siôn White is a bundle of laughs!"

“I bet that hanging out with Siôn White is a bundle of laughs!” she comments, but he concedes that Siôn has been very supportive.

"You coming to play darts, Ed?"

Then Helen comes over and asks if Ed wants to play darts with them;  

Kelly feels abandoned

he agrees, and leaves Kelly.

Gwyneth, sitting nearby . . .

Gwyneth is sitting nearby, 

. . . seems to have a crush on Sioned 

looking through the photographs of Sioned on her phone;  then she gets up and goads Ed, 

"She didn't ask about you"

“Sioned was in good spirits today – she didn’t ask about you, though.”

He casually replies, “Do you know what, Gwyneth?   

"I don't really care, Gwyneth!"

“I don’t really care!   Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a game of darts to play.   

"Stand well away from the dartboard!"

“Oh – and stand well away from the dartboard!”   

Gwyneth is offended

Gwyneth appears rather deflated by this comment.

"Our friendship is over"

Kelly arrives home at number 10 and tells Anita, “It’s over – mine and Ed’s friendship.   You saw him, laughing with his new mates.   He had a chance to invite me over, but he didn’t, 

"Ed wants to move on . . ."

“because he wants to move on.   I know it’s petty, but these things matter!   Ed and I aren’t part of each other’s lives any more – 

". . . and I just have to accept it!"

“so I have to accept that, and get on with my own life.”