14 December 2021

Eifion is half awake

Mathew is ready for work when Eifion surfaces and complains, “I didn’t get much sleep.”   Mathew tells him it was probably because of the nightmares, and he demands, “What nightmares?   It’s nothing – just a bad stomach, you know, a bug.  

"Take it out of my pay, if you like"

 “I’ll be in later if I feel better, OK?   Take it out of my pay, if you like.”   

"I'm not going to do that"

Mathew is reluctant to do that and advises him to try get some sleep.

"What are you doing with them?"

Mark is clearing out some of the piles of magazines from the sideboard;  his mother comes downstairs and wants to know what he is doing with them.   “They’re Brynmor’s old magazines – there’s no room in the cupboard, 

"I'm taking them to the tip"

“so I’m taking them to the tip,” he says;  his mother volunteers to take them to the shed, but he protests, “There’s no room in there!”

"I'll make room in the shed"

She is quite confident, “I’ll make room – there’s nothing worth keeping, anyway.”   

"You mean mine and Stacey's stuff?"

Mark is angry about this, as she is referring to his and Stacey’s stuff – also Ricky’s toys.   

"You're a bit old to play with Action Man"

“You’re a bit old to play with Action Man,” she points out.   

“You’re happy to keep Brynmor’s rubbish, but throw away our childhood?” he growls, “The sooner you find somewhere, the better – so I have room to breathe!”   

"Do you want to be the first to buy a raffle ticket?"

Then he changes the subject;  “Do you want to be the first to buy a raffle ticket?”   His mother asks what is the prize, 

"Prize?   Oh, that's a point"

and he realises that is the one thing that he has omitted to work out.   

"It's not a raffle if there isn't a prize"

She reminds him that it is not a raffle unless there is a prize, and he is sure he will find something in the garage, “After all, it is to raise money for Garry.”

"Since when does going to jail make you a charity?"

Kath is not happy about this;  “Since when does going to jail make you a charity?” she rages, and he replies that, as manager, it is his job to boost the profits.   His mother is of the opinion, “Garry Monk is doing pretty well – free bed, free food – how much are you expecting people to pay for these tickets?”   He says that it depends on what the prize is.

Brynmor has more house details

Brynmor comes in, still in his dressing gown, with details of another house;  Mark cannot believe they are still looking at more houses, and is told that they have three to view today.   The latest one has a Jacuzzi, 

"Lady Kathleen, some champagne?"

and Brynmor asks, “Lady Kathleen, some champagne to sip among the bubbles?”

"Only if you jump in with me!"

“Well, only if you jump in with me and help me drink it!” she answers.  

“This butler doesn’t get an offer like that every day!” he goes on.   

"I had forgotten about these"

He looks at the magazines which Mark was going to throw out, and had forgotten all about them.

Eifion tries to get some sleep . . .

Eifion  decides to have some more sleep;  

. . . aided by music on his phone

he plays some music on his phone.

A festive look to the garage

In the garage, which has even a few Christmas decorations, and is full of electric bikes, Mark is on the phone to Garry;  “I’m glad you think it’s a good idea – 

"We'll sell loads by Christmas "

“we’ll sell loads of bikes before Christmas by dropping the price.   I’m glad I can make a difference while you’re stuck in there.”

He is having a half-price sale

He has already prepared the price labels, marked ‘Half Price Sale – £499.99’.   Then a thought comes into his mind, 

"Well, Mark Jones — you're a genius!"

and he chuckles to himself, “Well, Mark Jones – you’re a genius!”

Anita is investigating

At APD, Anita is checking the laptop very carefully, and when Mathew  comes in, suggesting that they have a cup of tea, she declines the offer.   

"It looks like there's money missing"

“I don’t want to upset you, but it looks like there’s money missing somewhere.   According to the accounts, there is a record of a job, but there’s no record of the money going into the account.”

"How much is involved?"

He enquires how much is involved, and is told, “£4,000 – the thing is I’ve looked everywhere but I can’t see it – 

"Perhaps Izzy forgot to pay it in"

“perhaps Izzy forgot to pay it in.”

"It's not the fault of Izzy!"

Mathew is immediately on the defensive, insisting that it is not the fault of Izzy, although Anita did not mean that;  “That is exactly what you said,” he snaps, 

"I was just trying to do my job, Mathew"

and Anita points out that she was just trying to do her job.   “All right, I’ll take a look at it – not now – later.   Just leave it there and, Anita, 

"Izzy would never steal from me"

“Izzy was many things, but she’d never steal from me!”   

Anita has her doubts about that

Anita obviously does not share this optimistic view.

Mark show his publicity material

In the Deri, Mark admires his handiwork, and Cassie is not pleased to see an electric bike in there;  he shows his notice, advertising the raffle.   

"Get that bike out of here, Mark!"

She tells him to get the bike out of there, as she carries two boxes of crisps.

"The garage has moved in here now!"

Then Sioned walks in, commenting, “The garage has moved in here now!” and Cassie is adamant that the bike is leaving now, as people need somewhere to sit.   

"I'm not doing that, Cassie"

Mark refuses to do so, and Sioned orders a lemonade.

“Are you listening?” snarls Cassie to Mark, but he insists that people will come to the pub especially to see the bike.

"It's a bike, not the Cutty Sark!"

“It’s a bike, not the Cutty Sark!” she exclaims.

"Garry told me to use some imagination"

Mark has no intention of moving it and informs her that the boss has spoken;  “No, not me – I spoke to Garry and he told me to use some imagination to sell the bikes.   500 tickets at £5 each – 

"Why wouldn't Garry like it?"

“that’s £2,500 – why wouldn’t Garry like it?”

"I don't believe it!

While waiting for her lemonade, Sioned is working on her laptop and suddenly gasps, “I don’t believe it!   Someone has opposed my planning application!   

Someone has had the audacity to object to her plans

“They say the architect’s plans are amateurish and that the plans go against the sustainability guidelines.”

Cassie remarks that some people are not happy unless they are complaining, 

"Mam's behind this!"

and Sioned jumps to the conclusion that her mother is behind this.   She quickly shuts the laptop 

"What about your lemonade, Sioned?"

and marches out of the Deri, forgetting her lemonade.   Mark asks Cassie how many tickets she wants, and she growls, “Get lost – and take that thing with you!” but he leaves it where it is.

They are back from house-viewing . . .

Brynmor and Kath are back from their house viewing;  “Who would have thought that visiting houses could be so tiring?” he groans, 

. . . which is an exhausting business

“I was disappointed with that house in Cwrtmynach,” as he collapses into a chair.

“That bathroom – there wasn’t enough room to brush your teeth properly,” he continues, 

"Not enough room to sit on the toilet!"

and Kath wonders what is the point of having a Jacuzzi if there is not enough room to sit on the toilet.

"You're stuck with us for a bit longer!"

“The others had a nerve to call the house ‘Trem y Don’ – you had to walk half a mile before you saw the sea!” she goes on, turning to Mark and adding, “You’re stuck with us for bit longer.”

"Oh, it's nothing, Kath"

As Brynmor receives a text message, which makes him smile, Mark points out that his mother might be setting her standards too high, and reminds her that she has not bought a raffle ticket yet.   

"An electric bike worth £1,000!"

He announces that the tickets are £5 each;  “It’s worth it – an electric bike worth £1,000!”

"What would I do with an electric bike?"

“And what would I do with an electric bike?” Kath demands;  Mark replies that she would certainly not wear it on her head.   

Brynmor purchases the first ticket

Brynmor gets out his wallet and pays Mark for a ticket.

"You had no right to turn people against my plans!"

As soon as she reaches Penrhewl, Sioned rants, “You had no right to turn people against my plans!   Don’t deny it!”   Eileen reminds her daughter that her own name is on the application, so how could she object to it.   

"I object to you using my name!"

What she strongly objects to is the fact that Sioned used her name, as she disagrees with half the things in it.

"What have we been talking about the last few months?"

“So what have we been talking about for the last few months?” Sioned rages, 

"The chalets were never mentioned, Sioned"

and Eileen stresses that chalets were never mentioned – the application was for a shop and café.

"Your father would turn in his grave"

“Do you know what?   Your father would turn in his grave if he knew you were determined to ruin this place.”   

Sioned does not like her father’s name to be brought into this, and emphasises that tourist farms are the future.   

"If we don't do something soon . . ."

“If we don’t do something soon, the other farms will have taken everything.”   

"We won't have a farm at all!"

Eileen is quite clear that they will not have a farm if that application goes through.

"Hywel Llywelyn is very supportive"

“Just accept it, because Hywel Llywelyn is very supportive and he has a lot of influence on the planning committee,” Sioned smugly informs her mother.

Eileen counters with, “You think so, do you?   

"I think he has more to do with this than I do"

“Because Hywel came over here the other night – and I think he has more to do with the objections than I have.   Get your facts straight, good girl, before you march in here and accuse me!”   

Sioned is on the warpath

Sioned straightaway marches out again.

"None of them were as big as Heulfan"

Brynmor is looking despondently at the Tomos ac Ellis house brochures;  “None of those houses today were as big as Heulfan, were they?”   Kath agrees that none of the others was a patch on it.   

"Plenty of space – an acre of garden"

“Double garage, plenty of space, cellar, an attic – an acre of garden,” he muses, and when she flatly refuses to do any gardening, he adds, “We could get someone in to do that.”

"It was the best house so far"

She admits that it was the best house so far, and he points out that it will not be on the market long.   

"It's lucky – I wanted to surprise you!"

“So it’s lucky – well, I wanted to surprise you.”   Kath warns she does not always like surprises.   “Well, I think you’ll like this one,” he continues, “I put in a bid for Heulfan yesterday – I didn’t want to say anything, in case that nothing came of it, 

"They accepted my offer"

“but I had a text earlier, saying they’d accepted.”

Kath is dumbfounded

Kath cannot believe that he is serious, and this news comes as a great shock to her.

Siôn calls to Eileen 

As Eileen walks along the street, Siôn shouts across from the door of the bookshop, 

"Very ambitious"

“I saw the application on the council website – very ambitious.” She points out that it is nothing to do with her;  “But it’s in your name,” he goes on.

"I didn't send it in"

Eileen makes it quite clear that she did not send in the application, so he should stop complaining;  “I’m not complaining – there’s nothing wrong with healthy tourism.   

"It shows rural Wales at its best"

It shows rural Wales and the language at its best,” he enthuses, “Tame the beast and send it packing!’ he adds [which sounds like a quote from somewhere].

“I call it ruining a farm!” is Eileen’s angry reply, “Chalets rising like mushrooms – is that what you call rural Wales at its best?”   She hurries away.

Kath is reminiscing

It appears that Kath has been trying to make some room in the shed, and has come across some items from the past;  “I’d forgotten all about these,” she reminisces, looking at a pair of roller boots, “Stacey used to live in these, the first summer we moved here.   

"He had fifteen stitches in his arm – good days"

“Mark stole them from her, but he couldn’t stand up and crashed into the back door.   There was glass everywhere and he had fifteen stitches in his arm – good days.”

Brynmor tells her that as a one door closes, another opens, 

"I gave this to Ricky one Christmas"

but then she finds a camera, which brings back more memories;  “I gave this to Ricky one Christmas – 

"He would jump out and take a photo"

“I’d stand in the bathroom, brushing my teeth, or shaving my legs, and he would jump out of the airing cupboard and take a photo.   

"Where have the years gone?"

“He almost gave me a heart attack every time – where have the years gone?”

"I saved £10,000 on Huelfan"

Brynmor informs her, “I got Heulfan for £10,000 under the asking price – but what’s important is that it will be big enough to keep boxes of memories – and I can stop paying for storage as well.”   

"One lock-up's not that expensive"

Kath comments that one lock-up is not that expensive, 

"No, I've got three, Kath"

and he reveals that has three.

She returns to her reminiscing;  “I still see him every time I open that cupboard – Ricky and his camera.”

Brynmor tells her that they can all come to stay at Heulfan;  

Kath is most definitely having second thoughts

“A big party in the garden – you won’t know yourself!”   She seems to be disappointed by this thought.

Eifion receives a text messge

Eifion, now lying on the sofa, receives a text message just as Mathew comes in from work, hoping that he is feeling better.   

He seems to have an aversion to work

“I thought I should stay away from work, in case I passed something on – I got a little bit of sleep,” he says, 

"If you want to talk about anything . . ."

and once again Mathew invites him to talk, if there is anything he wants to get off his chest.

"It's a bug, not a breakdown!"

“I’ve got a bug, not a breakdown!” Eifion growls, picks up his phone and goes back to his room.   

As he reviews the accounts . . . 

Mathew investigates the accounts problem on the laptop, 

. . . he becomes very concerned

and soon find something which is very concerning.

"I want a word with you!"

Sioned arrives at Llwyncelyn, demanding a word with Hywel about the plans for Penrhewl.   

"You've spoken to your mother, then"

“You’ve spoken to your mother, then,” he answers, and when she angrily alleges that he promised his support, he points out that he did no such thing.   “I’m not going to pretend to be happy with the application – the road is too narrow to move the chalets, and it means more traffic,” he goes on, “And what will the villagers see?   

"A café and a shop – not Butlin's!"

“I agreed to help with a shop and a café, Sioned – not Butlin’s!”   She is disgusted and makes a hasty exit.

"I wanted you to know straightaway"

Mathew goes to Bryntirion to see Anita;  “I wanted you to know straightaway,” he tells her, “You did the right thing – there’s no point hiding things, and like you said, if there is something wrong, we don’t want the tax man to find out first.”

"If?"

“If?” she replies, suspiciously, 

"There is nothing missing, Anita"

and he assures her that there is nothing missing, which comes as quite a relief.   

"I don't want you to think I'm blaming Izzy"

She does not want him to think she was blaming Izzy, but he admits that it was his fault, as he should have gone back and checked.

"I forgot about the job"

His explanation is, “Izzy made a note of the quote, but – well, what happened, happened – and I forgot about the job, with everything.”   Anita is very pleased to hear this, and he apologises for being so prickly this morning.   

"So are we still friends?"

They agree that they are still friends, 

He thinks that he has convinced Anita

and he leaves the house, satisfied that he has been able to sort things out.   

Sioned is furious to see . . .

Sioned is looking at the laptop in Penrhewl, 

. . . all the objections online . . . 

particularly at the list of objections to the proposed development.   

. . . and storms out of the farmhouse

She slams the laptop shut and walks out of the house.

"I don't want to throw any of this stuff away"

Kath has come to the conclusion that she does not want to throw any of the items away;  

"Keep as many boxes as you like"

“There’s nothing to stop you – keep as many boxes as you like,” Brynmor encourages, but she does not think that the boxes are the problem.

"I didn't realise there was a problem"

Brynmor turns off the television and informs her, “I didn’t realise there was a problem.”   

"I'm just feeling nostalgic"

She says that she is just a feeling nostalgic, but he points out that they have not left yet, 

"Are you getting cold feet?"

and suspects that she is getting cold feet.

“Oh no,” she begins, 

"A little bit, perhaps"

but then confesses, “A little bit, perhaps.”   Brynmor thought this was what she wanted, and she admits that so did she.   “I want you to understand that I do like all the luxuries – the lovely things, the cruises and the holidays – things like that.   

"I've just realised how much this place means to me"

“But I like coming home as well – and I’ve just realised how much this place means to me – just by going through these boxes.”

"This is what happens when I surprise you"

He is disappointed that this is what happens when he surprises her, and she groans, “You said I wouldn’t know myself at Heulfan – and it’s true – 

"This is where I belong, Brynmor"

“this is where I belong – I don’t want to move.   

He simply has to accept the fact

Nothing that Brynmor can say will change her mind.