12 August 2021

Mark appears to be sleeping on the sofa permanently

Mark is once again asleep on the sofa when his phone wakes him up;  

"No, Debbie Collins doesn't live here any more!"

“Hello – what?   No, Debbie Collins does not live here any more, OK?   And I don’t want to buy insurance either!” he growls.   Then he opens the laptop and, after putting on his glasses, 

He looks at a website . . .

looks at a webpage about living with HIV, which makes him think.

. . . scrolls to Andrea's number . . .

He picks up his phone again and scrolls through the contacts to find Andrea’s name, 

. . . but is undecided

then debates whether or not to ring her.

Iolo visits his father at Y Felin;  “I was just on my way to Y Winllan,” says Siôn, but his son has called to see how he is after their chat yesterday.   

"I'm fine – the accounts look very healthy"

Siôn insist is that he is fine;  he has been going through the accounts and things look very good.

"What about Tesni?"

“What about Tesni?” he is asked, “Have you decided what you’re going to do?”   

"I don't want to talk about that now"

Siôn is reluctant to discuss this now, 

"So you're still denying your feelings?"

so Iolo concludes, “So you’re still denying your feelings.”   He is told that Ryan is expected at the shop with new stock, so Siôn has to go now.

The asking price is revealed

Mathew and Izzy reach the point where they ask Hywel how much he is asking for the house, and are told, “£170,000 – if I put it on the market, the price would shoot up.”   

"That's a fair price"

Mathew appreciates that it is a fair price, 

|But can we afford it, Math?"

although Izzy maintains that they cannot afford it.

“You’ve got a deal!” decides Mathew, explaining to her that if it went on the market they would not have a hope.   

Mathew is jubilant that the deal is done

Hywel congratulates them on buying their first home, and they are ecstatic.

As Eileen spoons chutney into jars, Sioned is looking at her phone and complaining bitterly, “The whole thing is disgraceful, isn’t it?”   

"That council would do anything for money"

Her mother is not surprised, as that council would do anything for money.   

"Do you have a cheque for me?"

Eifion walks in, uninvited, on the pretext that he is expecting a cheque to be sent to Penrhewl;  “They have no shame, do they?” Sioned goes on, 

"The council are going to use an old statue"

“The Owain Glyndŵr statue – the council is going to use one it’s already got, instead of a new one, without telling anyone!”   Eifion jokingly hopes that all his ‘bits’ are intact.

"I'm going to ask Hywel Llywelyn for answers!'

Sioned now has the ‘bit’ between her teeth and insists, “I want to to know what they’re going to do with the public money that was supposed to be spent on the statue!   I’m going to ask Hywel Llywelyn for answers!” and she marches out of the farmhouse.

"I didn't realise she was such an activist"

Eifion did not realise she was such an activist, but Eileen points out, 

"Some pf us don't just worry about ourselves"

“Some of us worry about the community, not just ourselves – haven’t you got work to do?”   He replies that Jason has been in a terrible mood lately, with Ifan keeping him awake at night, and Eileen feels sorry for him.

"Super Nanny's living with them now . . ."

Eifion adds, “I don’t know why he’s complaining – Super Nanny’s living with them – Anita – didn’t you know?   She’s moved out of Y Felin – 

". . . keep up, Eileen!"

“keep up, Eileen!”

Gaynor looks at her Twitter account

Gaynor is looking at the responses to her latest tweet, but informs Hywel when he comes in that she has a lot of work to do at the moment.   

"I've sole my house to Izzy and Mathew"

“I’ve got some good news for you,” he announces, “I’ve sold my house to Izzy and Mathew.   £170,000!”

"You didn't tell me, Hywel!"

She is not at all happy about this, moaning, “You didn’t tell me you were selling your house!”   

"I didn't know I was supposed to"

He did not realise that he was supposed to do so, and she continues, “About something so important?”   He points out that he is telling her now, and she should be pleased that Izzy has found her new home.

“That’s not the point, Hywel,” she rages, “Why didn’t you talk to me first?   

"What about Rhys?   Where will he go now?"

“What about Rhys?   Where will he go now?”   Then there is a knock at the door, and Ieuan Griffiths has come to see Hywel.

Councillor Griffiths has bad news

“You haven’t seen it, then?” Ieuan enquires, cryptically, and displays the Western Post on the table.   

The council is being slated by the Western Post 

It bears a scathing attack on the council about the statue, and Hywel wonders what has been going on.

"Eifion and his big mouth, was it?"

Eileen goes to visit Anita, who comments, “It was Eifion and his big mouth, was it?   People would have found out sooner or later.”   

"Is Siôn with someone else?"

Eileen appears eager to know whether Siôn is with someone else, but Anita denies this, 

"There was no point after we split up"

insisting, “There was no point living in Y Felin after we split up.”

Eileen decides that what she needs is a night out catching up with her friends, but Anita sighs that she has lost touch with everybody now.   It is suggested that as she is on Facebook, 

"Put a message on your Facebook profile"

she should put a message on her profile saying, “Siôn’s gone – and I’m looking for a friend.”   

Anita is not eager

Anita is not particularly keen on this idea, and goes to make a cup of tea.

"You should have told me about the statue!"

Hywel is furious;  “You should have told me about the statue!   People don’t trust councillors as it is – and it’s my head on the block!   We’ll have to release a statement!”

"A second-hand statue – ring any bells?"

Then someone else arrives at the door;  this time it is Sioned, who is similarly angry.   “A second-hand statue – ring any bells?” she demands, and finding Ieuan already there, 

"This is where your plotting goes on, then?

goes on, “So this is where your plotting goes on, is it?”

"It was just a misunderstanding"

Hywel dismisses the matter as a misunderstanding, because he did not know they had a statue in storage, 

"The point was to save money"

and Ieuan insists that the point was to save money on a new statue.   

"And you stuff the money into your pockets?"

“And what will you do with the money?   Stuff it in your pockets?” she asks.   Hywel maintains that it has been earmarked for another community project, but they seem very nebulous about what the project is, and point out that it is early days yet.

"We shall be canvassing local opinion"

They assure Sioned that they will be canvassing local opinion;  she immediately suggests, “I’ll organise a public Zoom meeting, then – that’s the best way to get everybody’s opinion.   

"Then you can explain who's responsible for this mess!"

“And then you can explain who is responsible for this mess.”   She walks out of the house, leaving both of the councillors speechless.

Mark is apprehensive

Mark paces up and down in a very troubled manner, 

He checks to see who is at the door

and then there is a knock at the door;  Andrea has arrived.   

"Can I get you a cup of tea, Andrea?"

He asks whether she would like a cup of tea, but she tells him, “Cut to the chase, Mark – 

"Your friend wasted my time the other day!"

“your friend wasted my time the other day!”   Mark apologises for that, although he knew nothing about it.   He confesses that he had a shock when she said she was HIV positive, 

"I didn't know how to handle it"

and did not know how to handle it.

She replies, “Don’t worry – it wasn’t a new experience.   I should thank you – 

"Most men are too cowardly to see me again"

“most men are too cowardly to see me again.”   

"We could meet up as friends"

He suggests that they could meet up as friends, perhaps, 

"I want a boyfriend"

but she emphasises, “I want a boyfriend, not a friend.   If you don’t want that, too, forget about it.”

As he does not say anything, 

She is about to go, but is called back

she turns to leave the house, but he begs her not to go;  “Let’s meet up – a date – you say where and when.”   

"The Deri – at midday?"

She smiles and replies that they might as well go today, as she is there, suggesting the Deri at midday.

Siôn and Ryan discuss books

Siôn and Ryan are discussing a new book;  “A very talented new author – and I think she designed the cover herself,” says Ryan, 

Iolo just happens to come in

and then Iolo happens to come in.   He gives the excuse that he thought his father might like a coffee, then finds that they have just had one.   

"I have to pop out for a few minutes"

Siôn says that he has to pop out for a few minutes, asking Iolo to lock up when they have finished.   

"Your Dad's got a lot in his head"

“I like your Dad – there’s a lot in his head,” Ryan comments, 

"He hasn't passed it on to me"

and Iolo does not think he has inherited any of it.   “Brawn, not brains, is it?   I’m working on a ‘Hunks Calendar’ – part of a new marketing campaign.   It worked for the WI, didn’t it?   

"You can keep your Calvin Kleins on"

“Do you fancy taking part?   Don’t worry, you can keep your Calvin Kleins on.”

"I don't think so"

Iolo does not think so, but Ryan considers that he would make a very nice Mr December;  

"In case you change your mind"

he leaves his card on the table, in case Iolo changes his mind.   

"See you again – I hope"

“See you again – I hope,” he says as he leaves.   Iolo seems to have become interested.

Izzy investigates her new home . . .

Izzy walks in through the back door of what used to be Hywel’s house, 

. . . and finds her mother inside

and is dismayed to be confronted by her mother;  “What are you doing here?” Izzy demands.

“Well, Hywel said he’d sold this place – I had no idea –

"Are you sure you can afford it?"

“are you sure you can afford it?” asks Gaynor, and is doubtful whether her daughter will be able to save up the money.

“What do you want, Mam?” Izzy groans, and her mother just wants to be sure she knows what she is doing.   

"Every time – you want to spoil it!"

“What is it with you?   Every time things go well for me, you want to spoil it – I don’t want your help!”

Eifion is taking an interest

In the Deri, Andrea is waiting for Mark’s arrival, and already Eifion, at the bar, has his eye on her.   She is surprised when Mark actually turns up, 

"Debbie, my ex-wife . . ."

and he tells her, “Debbie, my ex-wife, always said that I was reliable – but I think she meant boring.   But then she’s right, I’m not one to look for excitement – I’m quite happy staying at home.”

In the background, Eifion seems quite fixated by Andrea, 

"She's living in Spain at the moment"

as Mark drones on, “Debbie’s been everywhere – she’s living in Spain at the moment.   My mother likes to travel, too – she’s on a cruise right now with her boyfriend, well, fiancé.   They’ve gone to Alaska – 

"Why would anyone want to go to Alaska?"

“who would want to go there?   But there, Brynmor – that’s Mam’s fiancé – he was paying so she didn’t have any choice.”   

This is putting Andrea off

Andrea is becoming rather tired of him talking about himself.

"Oh – I've got a text message!"

Anita has been persuaded by Eileen, and receives a text message on her phone;  she is quite amazed to find it is, 

"Mickey Phillips, my first boyfriend!"

“Mickey Phillips!   He’s the last person I expected – my first boyfriend!   The only time a boy fancied me, rather than Amanda.”

"Very nice, Anita . . ."

Eileen takes a look at his photo and is quite impressed, however Anita stresses that she is not looking for a man.   “But it’s nice to catch up with old ‘friends’, isn’t it?” remarks Eileen, 

". . . right, send him a reply"

“Right, send him a reply, telling him how good he looks – go on!”

Ieuan comes out of the Deri 

Ryan is sitting outside the Deri, reading a book, when Ieuan comes out and sits at the next table;  

He boasts of his responsibilities

he boasts, “Being responsible for the community has its challenges,” then introduces himself.   

"Ryan – book rep"

Ryan describes himself as a book rep, and it is expected that he has come to see Siôn  White.

“That bookshop is the best thing that’s happened to this village – we’re enthusiastic for books,” Ieuan continue, “There’s nothing like losing yourself in a good Welsh book,” 

Now Ryan takes a fancy to Tyler 

but Ryan is more interested in looking at Tyler, who is going about his window cleaning.

He puts Ieuan on the spot by asking which authors he prefers;  

Ieuan tries to think of some authors . . .

“Well, T Llew Jones, of course – Islwyn Ffowc Edwards,” and Ryan agrees that they are classics.   

. . . then goes, before he makes a fool of himself

Ieuan thinks that he had better leave now, commenting that he will probably pop into the shop to buy one of Ryan’s books.

"I thought you encouraged people to read books"

“I thought you were supposed to encourage people to read books, not to belittle them,” says Tyler, and Ryan says that councillors are always so full of themselves;  “Unlike sales reps!” counters Tyler.

Not a very original chat-up line

“How about if I buy you a drink to make up for it – what do you fancy?” is Ryan’s next chat-up line, 

"No – I've got work to do"

but Tyler has work to do.

"It's about time someone put the council in their place!"

Sioned is rounding up support for her Zoom meeting, enlisting Izzy;  “It’s about time someone put the concil in their place!” she insists.   

"We've just bought his house"

Izzy does not want to upset Hywel too much, seeing that she and Mathew have just bought his house.

"Mathew – settling down at last!"

Sioned is surprised;  “Mathew settling down at last!” she says, “You know what he was like – he never stuck with anyone for long – 

"Vicky, Dani, Tesni and now you"

“Vicky, Dani, Tesni, and now you.”   Izzy points out that he has changed, 

Mathew has a celebration bottle

and Mathew comes in with a bottle, to celebrate.

"Are you sure we're doing the right thing?"

When Sioned has gone, Izzy wonders, “Are you sure we’re doing the right thing?” and he cannot believe she is having cold feet.   “It’s a lot of money.”   

"It's an investment – I hop you don't regret it"

He looks upon it as an investment, and hopes that she does not regret buying with him.   She does not seem quite as enthusiastic as she did earlier.

"The only thing I can afford for a while"

“We’ll open this bottle – and hopefully it’s a good one – because it will be the only thing I can afford for a while,” he says.

"He thinks he's so clever!"

Iolo is preparing steaks for dinner when Tyler comes in, asking if he has seen his father’s book rep;  “He’s so full of himself!   He thinks he’s so clever – right, I’ll stop having a rant.”   

"My morning was nothing special"

Iolo says that his morning was nothing special and Tyler goes up for a shower.

Mark is still rambling on . . .

Mark is still going on at length about his family;  “Ricky’s at university in Cardiff – I don’t know where he gets his brains from – not me – nor Debbie, either!   But she’s not stupid – she ran the café.”   

. . . and Andrea's patience is wearing thin

Andrea has had enough of this, and as Mark shows no signs of stopping, she decides that it is time that she went.   

"How about next time?"

He enquires about next time;  

"There won't be a next time, Mark"

“There won’t be a next time, Mark, this isn’t going to work.”   

"I thought we'd started to get to know each other"

He was under the impression they had started to get to know each other and has enjoyed himself.   She explains, “The HIV isn’t the problem, Mark – 

"You're obviously not over you ex-wife"

“this isn’t going to work because you’re obviously not over your ex-wife – and that’s not a good start to any relationship.   

"I hope you find someone to fill her shoes"

“I hope you find someone to fill her shoes.”

With that, he leaves the Deri

As soon as she has left, 

"You missed out there – she was gorgeous!"

Eifion comes over and tells Mark, “Hey, you missed out there – she was gorgeous!”