13 September 2022

Tesni is apprehensive

Cassie is doing some ironing when Tesni comes downstairs, looking very apprehensive;  

"I'm here for you"

Cassie takes her hands and says, “I know you’re dreading this, but I’m here for you.   Everyone will be waiting for you and the boys in the Deri after the service.”

Aled arrives from London . . .

There is a knock at the door and Cassie finds that it is Aled, 

. . . and hugs Tesni 

who embraces Tesni.

Dylan gets the pram ready

In the Deri flat, Dylan appears to be having difficulties with the pram;  

"I want him there with me!"

“As I’ve said, Gabriel isn’t going to the funeral,” Dani tells him, but Dylan insists that Gabriel is Jaclyn’s nephew.   “He’s too young,” she continues, “He’ll cry and spoil things.”

“I want him there with me today!” Dylan snarls;  

"It's only barrels being delivered"

Dani points out that she has already made the arrangements, and they suddenly hear a noise fron downstairs, which makes him nervous.   She assures him that it is only barrels being delivered, and that nothing is going to happen today.

"The murderer might come back!"

“You don’t know that – the murderer might come back!” he growls, “You hear stories about sickos coming back to watch the funeral.   She replies that DI Fielding, a copper, will be there, but this makes no difference.   Dylan demands, “I want my son with me today!”

"I'm taking the children away tomorrow"

She is unmoved and calmly answers, “No – just come and sit down, please.   I’m taking the children away tomorrow.”   He forbids her from doing that, but she goes on that she needs a break.   

"I don't want Gabriel to go"

He makes it clear that he does not want his son to go;  

"Just concentrate on the funeral, OK?"

Dani urges him, “Just concentrate on the funeral, OK?”

Tyler's ill-gotten gains are on display . . .

In the kitchen of number 7, the spoils of Tyler’s thieving activities are laid out on the table, 

. . . and Mark has Brynmor's ring

and Mark is holding Brynmor’s ring.   When Tyler arrives back from his visit to Swansea, Mark asks, “Did you have a good time?” and Tyler answers that he is really hung over.

“What about you?   Did you have a good time while I was away?”   

"Quiet – but interesting"

Mark says that it was quiet, but interesting, then Tyler notices the array of items on the table.

"You've been setting up Eifion again"

“You’ve been setting up Eifion again, haven’t you?”   

"He deserves everything he gets!"

Tyler simply answers that he deserves everything he gets.   Mark explains, “It’s not just Eifion you are hurting by doing this.   Listen, Brynmor has been very stressed because he thought he’d lost this ring, 

"Poor Ken has been in tears!"

“poor Ken has been in tears, thinking he’d lost his rugby tickets.   Upsetting an eight-year-old boy!”

"I didn't want to hurt anyone else!"

Tyler replies that he did not want to hurt anyone else, 

"He's destroyed my life"

and is vehemently ordered, “This revenge on Eifion has to stop!”   Tyler comes out with the same old story – that Eifion has destroyed his life, and is warned, “You’re the one who’s going to get hurt if you carry on.”

“What do you want me to do then – just let him get away with everything again?”   

"Yes, you should do just that"

Mark advises, as a mate, that he should do just that, but is told, “Well, as a mate, mind your own business, will you?   I’m going upstairs for a couple of hours.”   

What will Mark do now?

Mark debates with himself what he will do next.

"You're back early"

Gaynor comes into Llwyncelyn to find Hywel and Esther back earlier than expected, and he says he came back a day early because of the funeral.   This comes as a relief to Gaynor, as she did not like the thought of going on her own.

She asks Esther, “Did you have a good time?” 

Esther is very subdued

but the girl seems very quiet and reluctant to talk;  she goes to her room.   

"We would have enjoyed it more if you had been there"

Hywel explains that they did enjoy themselves, but they would have enjoyed it more if Gaynor had been with them.

"It isn't 'cool', apparently"

“She felt a little bit embarrassed – she was the only one who had to do everything with her father – which isn’t ‘cool’, apparently.”   Now Gaynor feels guilty.

Tesni tells Aled that she has not seen Dylan since last week;  

"I thought he'd be looking after you"

Aled says, “I thought he’d be here every day, looking after you.   Typical Dylan, putting his feelings before everyone else’s!”   

"I don't want to talk about it"

Tesni does not want to talk about this now.

"I'm going to miss her so much"

“I’m going to miss her so much,” Aled continues, but then there is another knock at the door;  

Gerwyn arrives

it is Gerwyn, and Aled expresses his condolences;  

"I still can't believe it"

he cannot yet believe it.   Tesni asks how Guto is, and Gerwyn sadly shakes his head.   

Aled goes to find Guto 

Aled will go out to him.

“I thought you’d be ready by now,” her father tells Tesni, “You’d better go and change.”   

"I'll be out in a minute, Dad"

She says that she will be out in a minute.

Guto prepares a bit of 'herbal' smoking material

Round in the back street, Guto is rolling himself a ‘spliff’ when Aled finds him, 

"Do you think that's a good idea?"

and asks, “Do you think that’s a good idea – today?   What if someone sees you?   

"Your father would go nuts"

“Your father would go nuts if he caught you!”   Guto sneers that it is only a ‘spliff’ .

"Give me a drag, will you?"

Then Gerwyn comes round the corner, looking for them;  “Give me a drag, will you?” he says, 

"We need something before getting to the chapel"

“We need something before getting to the chapel.”

The DI is being asked a lot of questions . . . 

Outside the Deri, DI Fielding has attracted a group of villagers who want to know how the investigation is progressing;  

she replies that they are following a couple of leads, 

. . .and a constable is standing by

and we can see that there is a police presence in the village for the funeral.

“Who would do such thing?” wonders Gwyneth, 

Dylan and Dani emerge from the Deri

and then Dylan and Dani come out of the Deri.

He takes issue with one of the onlookers

He sees a journalist with a camera on the other side of the road, and angrily demands, “What do you think you’re doing?   My sister is being buried today – get lost!”   Dani attempts to restrain him, and the man with the camera makes a hasty retreat.   

Then he sees the rest of the family . . .

Dylan notices Gerwyn, Guto and Aled coming out of the alley 

. . . and they see him

and they all look at each other.

Dani reminds Dylan that they are under strain, all of them;  “Please remember that.   

The hearse comes round the corner

Then they hear a sound and the hearse (123DLE, hired from David L Evans of the Rhondda) comes round the corner by the Deri.   The family join the cortege, 

"Your mother would want you you be strong"

with Gerwyn encouraging Guto, “Your mother would want you to be strong.”   

The cortêge proceeds along the street . . .

Some onlookers watch the hearse proceed slowly along the High Street.

. . . with Tesni watching from a window

At this stage Tesni is watching from inside the house 

"I don't think I can do it!"

and tells Gwyneth, “I don’t think I can do it!   I can’t go to the chapel and say what a bad person she was!”   

"Why would you say such a thing?"

Gwyneth expresses surprise at this, and wonders why she would say such a thing.

“Because it’s true!” insists Tesni, but Gwyneth maintains that Jaclyn was not a bad person.   

"She did terrible things with Dylan"

“She wasn’t the woman I thought she was – I’ve found out that she did terrible things with Dylan – terrible things that no-one should do!”

"You're not making any sense"

“Like what?   You’re not making any sense,” says Gwyneth.   

"Deceived by the person closest to me"

Tesni continues that is is not easy to admit that you have been deceived by the person closest to you.   Gwyneth suggests, “If you’re finding it difficult to tell me, perhaps you shouldn’t be telling anyone.   Standing up in Bethania isn’t going to be easy – I’m just thinking of you.”

"If I don't do it now, I never will!"

Tesni is determined, “If I don’t do it now, I never will!”   Gwyneth is anxious that she should not regret what she does, but Tesni decides, “Yes – I have to!”

"And I want you to come with me"

As she goes to the door, she adds, “And I want you to come with me,” which comes as a complete surprise.

"Perhaps I'll come back with you to Rio"

Outside the chapel, Aled says, “Perhaps I’ll come with you if you go back to Rio;  Gerwyn predicts that he would love the carnival, and Guto recalls that there were plenty of half-naked men in the parade.   “I’ll book my tickets straightaway,” Aled jokes.

"Mam would have enjoyed it there"

“It’s crazy out there – like one big party – Mam would have enjoyed it there,” adds Guto.   As they hear the music playing from inside the chapel, ‘And playing turns bitter,’ Aled remarks that ‘Chwarae’n Troi’n Chwerw’ [Playing Turns Nasty] is a weird choice of music.

"Jaclyn loved that song"

“Perhaps – but Jaclyn loved that song,” sighs Gerwyn.

"Flowers from the family only, OK?"

Dylan intercepts a man delivering flowers for the funeral;  “No, it’s flowers from the family only, OK?” he snarls, takes the flowers and looks at the accompanying card, 

They are from Garry . . .

which reads, ‘To Dylan, thinking of you, G’.

. . . and are disposed of in the flowerbed

He discards the flowers into the nearby flowerbed, explaining to Dani that they are from Garry;  “So?   It doesn’t matter does it?   Just cool down, please,” she urges him.

As they stand by the hearse, Aled comments, “You can always rely on Tesni to be late,” but Guto considers it a bit too much to be late for her own mother’s funeral.   

Tesni is on her way

Then she emerges from number 9, followed by Gwyneth.

"You're not going to say anything stupid, are you?"

“You’re not going to say anything stupid in there, are you?” demands Dylan, but she is adamant she does not want to talk to him about that now.

Tesni explains to her father, “I know we said a private service, 

"I want Gwyneth with me"

“but I want Gwyneth with me – I need a friend!”   

Gerwyn protests

Gerwyn strongly objects to this, 

"We don't want to fall out today"

but Guto remarks that they do not want to fall out today, so they should just go in.

"There's more where this came from"

Hywel brings in a basket of washing from their few days away, and warns Gaynor that there is more where this came from.   

"What did you mean earlier?"

She asks, “What did you mean earlier, when you said Esther felt embarrassed?”

"The other girls were doing street dance and ballet"

He closes the door to make sure that she cannot hear;  “Well, the other girls were doing street dance and ballet with their mothers, but Esther couldn’t do that.   She just said that I wasn’t ‘cool’ – but there’s something on her mind– and mine, with this funeral.”

"Because you couldn't come on holiday"

Just then Esther comes in carrying a small bag, which she presents to Gaynor;  “For you, because you couldn’t come on holiday.”   

"It's lovely, Esther"

Inside, Gaynor finds a necklace, which she describes as lovely, insisting that Esther did not need to bring her back anything.   

"I told you she'd like it"

The girl remarks to Hywel, “I told you she’d like it.”

"I can be her mother – if she'll have me"

Gaynor assures Hywel that he does not need to worry about Esther;  “She’ll be fine, because I can be her mother – well, if she’ll have me.   Perhaps it will be a second chance for me as well.”

This comes as a pleasant surprise

Hywel is surprised to hear this, 

"I've missed you, Hywel – I've missed us"

and she goes on, “I’ve missed you, Hywel – I’ve missed us!”

The order of service

As we see a photograph of Jaclyn Parri on the order of service, her voice can be heard singing, “Playing turns nasty when you play with fire.”   

Bethania has changed since the last time we were here

Guto is overcome with grief.

Siôn looks at his watch and is about to begin the service, 

Dylan disrupts the proceedings

when Dylan comes in, carrying a large elaborate floral tribute, spelling out the word CHWAER [sister].   Tesni protests that it is not part of the flowers, but he insists, “Your mother loved flowers – so I had them made especially.   

"I got them made especially for you, Jacs"

“I got them made especially for you, Jacs.”

Dani tries to persuade him to come and sit down and Siôn looks concerned at his behaviour;  “She’s in that box now,” Dylan goes on, 

The DI is watching everyone

and the DI is taking notice from the back of the chapel.

"Can I welcome you here today . . ."

Then Siôn does begin the service, “Dear friends, can I welcome you all here today to say goodbye to a person who was very dear to us all – Jaclyn Parri.”

"Are you going to tell anyone?"

Mark is polishing his shoes when Tyler comes back downstairs;  “Are you going to tell anyone about the stealing?” he wants to know.   

"It depends whether you are going to do it again"

Mark says that it depends whether he is going to do it again;  “Oh, Ty, don’t be stupid,” he warns, but Tyler has no intention to let the matter drop.

"You have no idea how much I hate Eifion!"

“You have no idea how much I hate Eifion!” he rages, and Mark does not want to see him go to jail or anything like that, so he agrees to keep his mouth shut 

"And take all the stuff back"

if Tyler promises not to do it again – and that he takes all the stuff back.

“I can’t do that!” Tyler exclaims, but Mark points out that is the deal.   

"That would look suspicious"

“That would look suspicious,” Tyler says, but Mark does not expect him to take everything back himself, but will assist.   

He reluctantly agrees

Tyler has little choice other than to agree.

"Which flowed on Calvary"

In the chapel they are reaching the end of a hymn, “Which flowed on Calvary,” [‘I hear Thy welcome voice’ written by Lewis Hartsough in 1872] and take their seats.   Siôn invites Tesni to pay tribute to her mother, 

Tesni is hesitant

and she rather hesitantly goes to take her place at the front.   On the way, Dylan tries to attract her attention, but she ignores him, and Dani wonders what is wrong with him.

DI Fielding watches for clues

Of course none of this goes unnoticed by the DI, who is keeping careful watch on the proceedings.   

"Mam meant different things to us all"

Tesni begins, “I never thought I’d be standing here today – and it’s not easy.   Mam meant different things to us all – 

"Someone who looked after us and cuddled us"

“to Guto and me, someone who looks after us and cuddled us when we were small.   To Dad, a wife.   

"We had some good times"

“We had some good times – remember those holidays when we were young in Hafan y Don?   Stuffing candy floss and riding donkeys, before going to the clubhouse and singing karaoke in the night.

"But there was a different side to Mam"

“But there was a different side to Mam – a side I wasn’t familiar with – she made mistakes.”   There are murmurings from her father, but she continues, “She did, you can’t deny it.”

"Tes, remember where you are"

Dylan cannot stand it any more and interrupts, “Tes, remember where you are.”   

"What are you doing, Dylan?"

Siôn is outraged at this interjection, wondering what Dylan is doing.

"I'm going to talk about my sister . . ."

He turns and announces, “I’m going to talk about my sister – she loved you, Tesni – she loved you too, Guto.   She worshipped you – she protected you every chance she got.   She loved you too, Gerwyn – 

". . . she was an amazing mother . . ."

“she was an amazing mother!   She was a good wife.”

He is becoming increasingly emotional, 

". . . Jacs, you were the best sister in the world . . ."

as he goes on, “Jacs – you were the best sister in the world – you were always there for me – 

". . . you're still there for me every day!"

“you’re still there for me every day.”   

Gwyneth's look of grim satisfaction

Gwyneth sits with a look of grim satisfaction on her face.

“You’re the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing at night.”   

Tesni has had enough of this

Tesni returns to her seat.

"I don't know anyone who likes them, Mark"

Some time later, outside the Deri in the sunshine, Mark is glad that they did not have to go to the cemetery;  “I hate funerals!”   Hywel says that he does not know anyone who likes them, which makes Tyler chuckle.

"He made today all about him"

As they walk back from the chapel along the street, Aled growls, “I can’t believe he made today all about him – it was bad enough in the chapel, and then at the graveside, I thought he was going to jump in with her!”

"Tes, can I have a word?"

Gerwyn is following them and would like to speak to Tesni;  they go into the doorway of the dress shop, 

"You were going to talk about the drugs and Bethan"

and Gerwyn snaps, “You were going to talk about the drugs and Bethan in the chapel – what’s wrong with you?”

"Don't you think people have a right to know?"

“Don’t you think people have a right to know?” she asks.   He strongly disagrees, and does not want anyone else to find out.   “Why not?   It’s the truth – and you taught us to be honest, Dad,” she protests.

"Stuff being honest!"

“Stuff being honest!   I don’t want to ruin your mothers good name – everyone in this place will talk about her – about us!”   

"I think that would make me feel better"

Tesni suspects that would make her feel better.   “Today isn’t about you and Dylan,” her father snarls, “I’m serious – Think about someone apart from yourself for one second – 

"I want you to keep your mouth shut – OK?"

“what do you think it would do to me?   So I want you to keep your mouth shut – OK?”   Tesni walks away.

Guto is waiting round the corner by the former chippy and asks why they were arguing;  “She hasn’t found out what I know about Mam, has she?”

"We don't want to open that can of worms, do we?"

Gerwyn tells him to behave, as she would go crazy if she knew that he had told Guto everything;  “We don’t want to open that can of worms, do we?”

The bathroom in the Deri flat . . .

In the bathroom at the Deri flat, where we can see that the bath is almost full of water, 

. . . where Dylan is singing to himself

Dylan is sitting on the floor, 

"I am coming, Lord, coming now to Thee"

singing the words of the hymn, 

♫ “I hear Thy welcome voice

That calls me, Lord, to Thee.

I am coming, Lord, coming now to Thee.”♬

He steps into the bath . . .

Still in his suit, he climbs into the bath 

. . . slowly sinks beneath the surface . . .

and submerges himself beneath the water.   

. . . and this looks like his gruesome end . . .

We see his face, under the water, waiting for death, 

. . . but he could not go through with it

but suddenly he sits up again, and there the episode ends.