2 November 2022

"You just missed Arwen"

Ffion says good morning to Jinx, informing him that he has just missed Arwen;  

“Is it OK for me to be here this morning?” he sarcastically enquires, and she tells him not to be like that, but she is grateful to him for last night.

"Chef Cai doesn't do the washing-up, I see"

Looking at the sink, he comments, “Chef Cai doesn’t do the washing-up, I see,” and she asks if he minds doing it – as a favour to her.   

"Are you taking over Hywel's business?"

He takes Dylan’s laptop out of the bag, and she wonders if he is thinking of taking over Hywel’s laptop repair business.

"Just doing Megan a favour"

“I’m doing Megan a favour,” he replies, and Ffion is about to leave;  she will see him later.   He looks puzzled at what he sees on the laptop screen.

"Is something wrong, Mark?"

Iolo comes out of the shop with a pint of semiskimmed milk and encounters Mark, sitting glumly on the bench.   He wonders if something is wrong, and Mark is surprised that he has not heard;  

"I thought Brynmor would have told everyone by now"

“I thought Brynmor would have told everyone by now,” he groans, “I might have prostate cancer – I haven’t had all the results yet.”

"So you might not have cancer"

Iolo stresses that in that case he might not have cancer, 

"I have to listen to Mam and Brynmor going on"

but Mark does not want to talk about it;  “I have to listen to Mam and Brynmor going on and on about it all the time as it is.”   

Iolo points out that they are only worried about him, 

"Sometimes I think they just like the drama"

but Mark answers, “Sometimes I think they just like the drama – they’ve insisted that I go over this afternoon for tea – it’s the last thing I feel like doing today.”

"I know how you feel, you know"

Iolo sits down on the bench, and says he knows how Mark feels.    Mark asks how he coped;  

"Did people fuss over you, too?"

“Did people fuss over you, too?”   Iolo agrees that they did, but the only advice he can give is that Mark should not to be too hard on his mother and Brynmor – because in a strange way, they are going through it as well.

"Make the most of the free food"

“Look, I hope you get good news – until then, make the most of the free food and cakes you get.   I’m here if you want anything,” says Iolo as he leaves.

Eileen is chutney-making . . . 

At the farm, Eileen is stirring the mixture in the preserving pan 

. . . when she has a visitor

when Howard pays her a visit.   “I didn’t think we have anything else to say to each other!” she snarls, 

She sees a very familiar-looking dog

and then sees that he is accompanied by a dog, and does not understand.

He announces that Fflam was not killed but was sold to a breeder;  “He was too valuable to be killed with the dogfighting.   

"He was old and died a few months ago"

“I was hoping to get him back for you, but he was old, and died a few months ago.   

"This is Fflach – Fflam was his father"

“I’m so sorry, but this is Flach – Fflam was his father – I’d like you to have him.”

"How did you get him?"

Eileen is amazed at the dog’s resemblance to Fflam, and wonders how Howard got him.   He assures her that he paid for the dog, and knows that it does not make up for what happened to Fflam, 

"It's the best I can do"

but it is the best he can do.   

Eileen – and the dog – are excited

Eileen is very excited.

"That was the nicest food you've cooked me"

As they finish their breakfast at Y Felin, Eifion remarks that it was the nicest food Iolo has cooked for him;  

"I think the Deri should add black pudding to their breakfast"

“I haven’t had black pudding for ages – I think the Deri should add black pudding to their full breakfast – I’ll have a word with Britt.”

"We're going on a hike up the mountain"

Iolo has arranged for them to go for a long walk today;  “We’re going on a hike up the mountain behind Penrhewl – I’ve made a picnic and everything.”   

"I don't like walking"

Eifion protests that he does not like walking, but Iolo reminds him that he used to be a farmer.

“I had a quad bike to go around the place – I didn’t walk anywhere,” Eifion says, 

"Be romantic, will you?"

and Iolo urges him to be romantic, as he has a blanket and everything, so they can cwtch up.

Brynmor discovers . . .

Brynmor arrives back at Maes-y-Deri 

. . . someone interfering with his treasures

to find an unfamilar child looking through his boxes of acquisitions, 

"Out, now!"

and demands, “Hey, leave those alone – what are you doing?   Out – now!   I’m phoning the police!”

"This is Nicky"

Kath comes in through the back door and stops him;  “He’s not stealing anything – this is Nicky,” 

"What's going on?"

and at that moment Vicky comes down the stairs, wondering what the noise is about.

"The nasty man's shouting at me!"

“The nasty man’s shouting at me!” Nicky complains 

Brynmor is perplexed

and Brynmor is at a loss to know what is going on.

"So you have nothing to do with them now?"

Over a cup of tea in the farmhouse, Eileen learns that Howard does not have anything to do with those people any more, and he regards them as nothing but trouble.   

"I want to do something honest"

He wants to do something honest, with less stress.   

"Can I trust you?"

Eileen suspiciously asks, “Can I trust you?” and he says that only she can answer that.

"I do know how to work"

“I’m not good with words, but I do know how to work.”   Eileen does not know if she is doing the right thing, but maintains that everyone deserves a second chance.   

"You'll have to behave and work hard"

She warns that he will have to behave and work hard, but if he wants to work as a farmhand at Penrhewl it is all right with her.   Howard is very grateful.

"Vicky decided to come instead of him"

In the kitchen at Maes-y-Deri, Kath explains that she also had a shock when they turned up;  she had phoned Ricky to come back, “But he couldn’t come, so Vicky decided to come instead of him.   I couldn’t turn them away, could I?”

Brynmor would have appreciated a text when they arrived, 

"I want to concentrate on cheering Mark up"

but she just wants them to concentrate on cheering up Mark now, and it is nice that Brynmor has had a chance to meet them.   He is not so sure about that.

"Shall I start on the sandwiches?"

Vicky breezes in, asking if she should start on the sandwiches;   Kath says that they do not want Mark to get there before everything is ready.   

"He's playing with some toy cars"

Vicky mentions that Ricky is in Mark’s old room, playing with some toy cars, 

"They'e antiques –worth a lot of money"

and Brynmor exclaims, “They’re antiques – can you ask him not to touch them?   They’re worth a lot of money.”   He mutters, “Kids these days!”

"Operation Cheering Up Mark"

Kath tries to calm matters by emphasising, “Today is ‘Operation Cheering Up Mark’.   Can we agree on that?   Go and sort Nicky out and then you can start on the sandwiches.”   Brynmor is detailed to get out the plates.

Megan arrives at Cysgod y Glyn 

Megan visits Jinx to see if he has had any success with the e-mails;  he invites her to sit down and offers her a cup of tea, 

"Sorry I haven't washed the dishes"

then apologises that he has not had a chance to wash the dishes.   

"He's not coming, is he?"

“Are you going to tell me?” she rather impatiently asks, and can see by his face that it is bad news.   “He’s not coming, is he?”

"It's worse than that . . ."

“Megan, it’s worse than that – it doesn’t look as though Dylan has been in contact with anyone – 

". . . he has deceived you"

“he has deceived you.   I’m so sorry.”   

All Megan's hopes are dashed

Megan is devastated.

"So you and Cadno wanted to build here?"

As they walk across a field, Iolo discovers that is the plot Eifion and Cadno wanted to build upon;  

"It could be a project for us"

“It feels like ages ago now, but it could still be a project for me some day,” Eifion suggests, “Or for us.”

When Howard is spotted, working nearby . . .

Then they hear the sound of someone nearby chopping logs, 

. . . Eifion makes a hasty exit . . .

and when Eifion sees who it is, he immediately turns and hurries away, much to Iolo’s surprise.   “What about the picnic?” shouts Iolo;  

. . . followed by Iolo

he looks at Howard, and then follows Eifion.

"He planted everything in your head"

Jinx elaborates that he has been through the laptop with a ‘fine-tooth comb’ and there is nothing there.   “Dylan planted everything about Gareth Wyn in your head – 

"I can't understand how even Dylan could do that"

“I can’t understand why Dylan – even Dylan, would do such a thing to you.”

However, Megan can understand it;  

"I would have given him a place to stay, anyway"

“I would have given him a place to stay, anyway – he didn’t have to deceive me.”   

"So he did that to get a roof over his head!"

Jinx is outraged that he did that just to have a roof over his head, and now is very glad that they have seen the back of him.

Megan resigns herself to the fact that she will have to live in hope that Gareth himself will get in touch with her;  

"I'll take this laptop to the police"

“In the meantime, I’ll take this laptop to the police – thank you, Jinx.”

Megan leaves the flat

As she is leaving the flat, Jinx’s phone sounds with a message from Petra, 

Petra is looking forward to their date

‘Looking forward to tomorrow night. x’

"I'm starving"

At Maes-y-Deri, Vicky is starving after preparing the sandwiches, but is warned not to touch them until Mark arrives.   

"You do know for sure that he's coming?"

“You do know for sure that he’s coming, don’t you?” Brynmor asks, and Kath replies that he did not say he was definitely coming.

"Posh tea with Mr Paranoid!"

“Oh good – so we’ve come all the way from London to have a posh tea with Mr Paranoid here!” grumbles Vicky, 

Brynmor is not at all happy 

“You thought my son was a burglar,” but then they hear the front door opening.

Mark is astonished

Mark is astonished to see them, and Vicky manufactures a quick excuse that they have come to bring Kath and Brynmor a wedding present, as they could not be there on the day.

"You said we were here because Mark's ill"

Nicky is more to the point, telling his mother, “You said we were here because Mark’s ill.”   Kath denies that she asked them to come, 

"How did you know that?"

and he wonders how they know that he is ill.   

Apparently Ricky told them, and Mark groans, 

"No need to guess who told him, ism there?"

“There’s no need to guess who told him, is there?”

"I want us to have one afternoon together"

“Listen, Mark, all I want is for us all to have one afternoon together, so you don’t have to worry about those test results, OK – that’s all,” says his mother, 

“Come on, Mark – we’ve got tea, coffee – even green tea – that’s supposed to be healthy, isn’t it.”

"A plate of French fancies won't make me worry any less"

“No – listen, I can’t do this,” he replies, “I don’t want you to go to any trouble – a plate of French Fancies won’t make me worry any less about having cancer.   

"I'm going to do this on my own"

“From now on I’m going to do this on my own – without help from you, or anyone else.   Otherwise I’ll have a nervous breakdown!”   He walks out of the house.

Eifion pulls a pint to steady his nerves

In the Deri, Eifion is pulling himself a pint and is reprimanded by Cassie;  

"You can't help yourself!"

“What do you think you’re doing?” she demands, “You might be off duty, but you can’t help yourself – have you paid for that?”   

"Keep the change!"

He throws down a £5 note on the bar, telling her to keep the change.

“Don’t try to be clever with me,” she continues, 

"Perhaps I'll have a word with Britt"

“Your shift starts in ten minutes, so why are you drinking anyway?   If you won’t answer me, perhaps I’ll have a word with Britt.”

"Yeah, go on, talk to her!"

“Yeah, talk to her!” he growls, just as Iolo catches up with him, 

"What was that all about?"

and demanding what that was all about.   

"Leave me alone!"

Eifion simply shouts at him to be left alone, and Cassie assumes they have had a tiff.   

"His shift still starts in ten minutes"

Iolo is told to inform Eifion that his shift still starts in ten minutes.

Jinx is carrying a picture

Jinx is walking along the street, carrying a picture of a pair of Crested Cranes, when Gaynor and Esther come out of the alley, and he tells them that the picture is not his kind of thing at all.   

"Ffion's had enough of it"

“Ffion had enough of it lying around, gathering dust, so it’s an excuse to go over and check on Megan.   She’s been having a hard time since Dylan left.”

"It's Noah's Ark next time"

He is looking forward to seeing Esther at the next Sunday school, which is about Noah’s Ark;  

"So you've moved on from this 'family tree business'?"

Gaynor is pleased to hear they have moved on from what she describes as ‘the family tree business’.   

"I'm still waiting to see Esther's"

The answer is that he is still waiting to see one or two of them, including Esther’s.

"They're like the ones on my Ugandan flag"

She looks at the picture and asks if there were two like that on Noah’s Ark;  “They’re like the ones on my Ugandan flag – Rhys showed it to me.”

"The Red Dragon is your flag"

Gaynor is quick to point out that the Red Dragon is her flag, 

"She can choose whichever flag she likes"

but Jinx is sure that she can choose whichever flag she likes;  “She can choose to come from Wales, or Uganda.”   This temporarily silences Gaynor, 

He looks concerned

but Jinx is looking concerned.

"Who was that bloke?"

In the Deri, Iolo goes over to Eifion, and is once more asked to leave him alone.   “Who was that bloke?” Iolo demands, “Have you slept with him?   

"It's obvious he upset you"

“It’s obvious that he’s upset you – Eifion, tell me!”

"Time's up – shift or Britt?"

Cassie comes across with an ultimatum;  “Right, time’s up – shift or Britt?” and Eifion is in tears.   She wonders what is wrong with him, and Iolo does not consider him to be fit for work tonight.

"I don't want him here, scaring customers"

“Well, I don’t want him here scaring customers – take him home,” she says, 

Off they go

and they leave.

"Where's the double-act, then?"

Kath is looking very upset when Brynmor comes in, asking, “Where’s the double-act, then?” 

"When's their train back to London?"

and then adds, “When’s their train back to London?   Are they going back tonight?”   Kath does not know the answer to that.

"I'll put these in the fridge"

He will put the sandwiches in the fridge, not wanting them to spoil;  “I just want to help.”   

"Tell me what I have to do with Mark"

She instructs him that if he wants to help, he should tell her what she has to do with Mark.   

"He just needs time"

He advises, “Just give him time – that’s all he needs.”   

"He may not have much time left"

Kath is very worried that he may not have much time left.

Gaynor is 'hitting the bottle' again

Gaynor is having another glass of wine when Hywel comes in and remarks that it is rather early.   

"Don't you start!"

“Don’t you start!” she exclaims, and he wants to know what is wrong.   “Just people!” she growls, 

"Everybody is criticising me at the moment"

“I just feel that everybody is criticising me at the moment – oh, it doesn’t matter.   

"You do think I'm doing all right with Esther?"

“You think I’m doing all right with Esther, don’t you?”   

"Of course I do"

He confirms that of course he does, and Gaynor turns on the television.

"I thought I was getting over it"

Back at Y Felin, Eifion is still in a very emotional state;  “I thought I was getting over it, but when I saw his face, it all came flooding back.   I thought I was going to die that day.”

"And now Howard is working at Penrhewl?"

“And now that boy, Howard, is working at Penrhewl?” asks Iolo, “Does Eileen know about this?”   He is told that Eileen knows everything, and she is the first person who saw him covered in blood.   This does not make any sense to Iolo, who insists that they have to go over there.

"Don't you go anywhere near him!"

“Don’t you go anywhere near him – who knows what he’d do to you!   He hates gay people,” and Iolo realises that was the bloke who was homophobic towards him at the market.

"We have to go to the police!" 

“He should be in jail – we have to go to the police!” but Eifion will not have that.   “It makes no sense that you don’t want this bloke punished!” Iolo rages, and Eifion confesses that he is scared.

"He threatened to let the dogs kill me"

“He threatened to let the dogs kill me if I reported him – he’s got enough information about me to make the police think that I’m part of the whole thing.”

"Even more reason to go over there"

Iolo is adamant that is even more reason to go over there and see him, 

"He's dangerous!"

but Eifion continues to insist that he is dangerous;  

"I'm begging you –leave it!"

“Please – I’m begging you – leave it!”