25 December 2022 (1st)

🎄Christmas Day🎄

Anita is creeping around during the night

In the early hours, Bryntirion is in darkness when Anita carefully comes downstairs and accidentally drops her keys;  an upstairs light turns on 

"No, Ifan, it's not Santa"

and Jason’s voice can be heard, telling Ifan, “No, it’s not Santa – go back to sleep or he won’t come.”

Garry is striding through the village

Later we see Garry in Father Christmas guise, striding along, as a Christmas song is playing;  

🎵“I can’t wait until I get home and see everyone’s faces.   

I’m sorry that I’m still so far away from you,   

Has the holiday started?”🎵

He heads towards the Deri

He turns into the High Street and past number 10, which is still displaying the ‘For Sale’ notice.   

"Thank you"

The scenery changes to Y Felin, when Greta has opened her present, a large doll with an accompanying dog, and she thanks Eifion for it.   

She goes to look at her doll's house

She will go with Siôn to see if the dolly likes her house.

“You’ll have your present from your other Dadi later on,” says Iolo, and Eifion is disappointed that Tyler will be coming over for a short visit.   Siôn encourages his son to come and help with the food, so they can show the feast that the Whites can make.   

Eifion has a present for Iolo

Eifion takes advantage of their absence to put a present for Iolo and the Christmas tree.

Greta sees him

Greta sees him and 

"That's for Dad to open later"

he tells her, “That’s something for Dad to open later when we’re alone.”

Another identical doll

At number 7, we see that Tyler has an identical doll; he is speaking to Mark on the phone, who has apparently gone to see Ricky for Christmas.   

"I've bought Greta a special present"

“I’m going to see Greta later,” says Tyler, “I’ve bought her a special present.”

"Ho, ho, ho!"

Garry walks into the Deri flat, greeting Dani and Gabriel with, “Ho, ho, ho!   I wanted to surprise the kids.”   

"Who's that, Gabriel?"

Dani asks if he dresses up like that all the time, and he had been hoping that she would remember the last time, although he does not elaborate.

Seren and Gwern are pleased to see Garry

Then Seren comes in and is very happy to see him;  she is followed by Gwern, who seems to have grown out of this Father Christmas business.   Garry wishes Seren a happy birthday as well, 

Garry insists on a photo of them all . . .

and wants a photo of all of them, alleging that he has come all the way from Iceland.   

. . . but Gabriel wonders what is going on

Gabriel looks rather bewildered by all this.

"Thanks, Mathew!"

In the shop flat, Ken is very pleased with the rugby kit Mathew has given to him, and Tegwen says that Mathew is spoiling him.   

"Want to make it a Christmas to remember"

“I want to make it a Christmas to remember,” is the reply, “For both of you.”

"Where have you put the turkey?"

Tegwen wants to get started with the dinner, and asks where he has put the turkey;  he was under the impression that she was bringing the turkey.   

"You said you were going to get everything"

“You said that you were going to get everything,” she answers, 

"Our first Christmas – and we don't have any dinner!"

and now he is panicking that it is their first Christmas together, and they do not have anything for dinner, but Tegwen laughs.

Arwen cannot believe it

At Cysgod y Glyn, Arwen cannot believe what her mother has given her for Christmas;  

"Mabli will be so jealous!"

“Mabli will be so jealous!” she says.   Ffion tells her she deserves a good Christmas present, after all that stress with the inspection.

"Do you forgive me?"

“Do you forgive me for being such a bad mother?” Ffion asks, and they hear the sound of Jinx coming up the stairs.

"Guess who's had tickets to see Justin Bieber.

“Guess who’s just had tickets to see Justin Bieber in London in February?” Arwen greets him, and he regards her as very lucky, then wishes them both Happy Christmas.   

Ffion had not been expecting him

“Mam said that you weren’t coming back today,” Arwen informs him, but he points out that he would not miss today, because everyone wants to be home for Christmas.

Griffiths has left it until late

At Bryntirion, Griffiths appears to have left it rather late to wrap presents, and Kelly is rushing around, tidying up at the place.   

"Ieuan, shift!"

“Ieuan, shift!” she shouts, but he points out that he has a lot of presents to wrap, and is celebrating that he and Anita have been together for a year, as well as Christmas.

Kelly is unmoved;  “Well, do it somewhere else, because I want all this space to prepare.   

"I haven't seen one gift with my name on it"

“Auntie Anita’s lucky – I haven’t seen one gift with my name on it.”   

"I can't believe that, Kelly"

Jason cannot believe that is true and goes to check the presents under the tree.

"Of course I haven't forgotten"

Jason assures Ieuan that he had not forgotten and that there are several presents for her;  

"I've hidden them under the stairs"

“I’ve hidden them under the stairs for a surprise later – don’t worry about me – I know what I’m doing – 

"I was going to ask her to marry me"

“I was going to ask her to marry me.”

"Haven't you already done that?"

“Haven’t you already done that?” demands Griffiths, and he replies that he did – and got it all wrong.   

"The timing's not right today"

Jason wants everything to be perfect when he asks her again, but the timing is not right today.   Ieuan insists that it is perfect timing;  “Christmas Day?   Come off it!   After everything she went through with that Howard business?   

"It would be lovely to finish the year on a high note"

“It would be lovely to finish the year on a high note,” he insists, “Have you got a ring?”

When Jason replies that of course he has not, so he is invited to go somewhere with Griffiths 

Kelly brings in the veg for dinner 

and they disappear out of the front door just as Kelly comes in through the back, carrying a box of Cae Glas vegetables.   She is furious at being left on her own.

"She's FaceTiming Mabli"

Jinx tells Ffion that Arwen is FaceTiming Mabli, and that they are good friends now.   

"Where have you been?"

Ffion appears to be a far from good mood as she peels the parsnips;  “I deserve an explanation,” she informs him, “Where have you been?”   

"I stayed with a friend"

When he answers that he stayed with a friend, she continues, “Just like that?   

"I've been worried about you"

“You disappeared for five days – I’ve been worried.”

Jinx maintains that he is surprised that she even noticed;  

"I thought you's be too busy, shopping for wedding dresses"

“I thought you’d be too busy shopping for wedding dresses.”   

"How did you hear about that?"

She wonders how he heard about that, and he explains, “I heard Cai proposing to you the other night.”

"You probably didn't hear my reply"

You probably didn’t hear my reply to him, did you?” she asks, “Because I didn’t have the chance – he was drunk – he fell asleep straight after he asked and he’d gone in the morning.   

"He probably doesn't remember asking"

“I haven’t talked to him since – he probably doesn’t remember asking.” 

"Or he's still waiting for an answer"

Jinx suggests, “Or he’s still waiting for an answer,” but she is sure that he would have been in touch.

Mathew, Tegwen and Ken have come downstairs into the shop, where Mathew insists, “We have to choose a proper food as well, not just crisps and chocolate.”   

"Should we be helping ourselves like this?"

Tegwen is rather hesitant about helping themselves like this, but Mathew will settle up with Eileen later.   “What vegetables do we want?   There’s not much choice.”

"Sausage and chips!"

Ken decides he wants sausage and chips, but is told that is not suitable for Christmas Day, and tells the boy to ask his mother.   

Tegwen has received a disturbing text

She has just received a text which she finds rather unsettling, and agrees to have whatever they want.   

"Right, sausage and chips it is!"

“Right, sausage and chips it is!”

Griffiths' old house

Griffiths has taken Jason to his old house, where he has cleared a lot of the stuff, but directs Jason to the bureau, where he might find something that will suit Kelly.   

"I don't like going through Mami's personal things"

“I don’t like going through Mami’s personal things – it makes me feel a bit uneasy,” says Ieuan.

"Anita's running late – with the surprise"

Anita has just sent a message to say that she is running late;  “There have been a few delays – with the delivery of the surprise – so there’s no need to rush,” Ieuan tells Jason, 

Jason is captivated by one ring

who has just discovered one particular ring.

“There are a few nice things in here – I’m sure Kelly would love these,” 

"Well, choose one, then"

so he is invited to choose one.   

"I can't afford anything like this"

“No – I couldn’t afford anything like this,” protests Jason, but Griffiths does not want any money, 

"We're more or less family now"

insisting that it is a gift from him, as they are more or less family now.   

"Do you know what this opens?"

Jason is very grateful, and then notices a key in the box;  “Do you know what this opens?”   

"Oh yes – I know"

Griffiths does know, and looks rather uncomfortable about it.

"You're useless, Mathew!"

They are playing a guessing game in the shop flat;  “You’re useless – it’s Rudolph the red nosed reindeer,” Ken sighs, as Tegwen peels potatoes. 

"Dad's boiler is broken"

Then Mathew’s phone rings, and he discovers that his father’s boiler is broken, and he wants Mathew to sort it out.  “He wants to borrow some electric heaters from APD, because the shops aren’t open.   

"Why did it have to break down today?"

“Why did his boiler have to break down today?”   

"You'll be back by late afternoon"

Tegwen points out that he if he goes now, he will be back by late afternoon and they can have their sausage and chips for dinner, 

Mathew gives her a kiss

then assures Ken that he can have something to eat before then.   

"You practise with this"

While Mathew is gone, he wants to Ken to practise with his rugby ball.

"Just checking you're all right, Cai"

Ffion is leaving another phone message for Cai;  “Just checking that you’re all right, and to say Merry Christmas – it would be nice to talk to you today – 

"Please phone me"

“please phone me.”

"You're supposed to be watching that!"

In the background can be heard the sound of boiling potatoes, and when Jinx comes in, he reminds her that she should have been watching it.   She replies that she has a lot on her mind, 

"You mean Cai"

which he deduces means Cai.

“What if you’re right?” she worries, “What if he has been waiting for an answer?”   Jinx wonders what she would tell him;  “We’d have to talk about it properly – 

"Would it be such a bad idea?"

“but would it be such a bad idea?   What’s wrong?”

"I didn't know you were at the marriage stage"

As Jinx begins to mash potatoes, he comments that he did not know they were at the marriage stage;  Ffion maintains that it would be convenient 

"It would give me a lot of security"

and would give her a lot of security – and stability to Arwen.

"He can't even spare two minutes to talk to you on Christmas Day!"

Jinx regards Cai and stability as two completely opposite concepts;  “Don’t be daft – he can’t even spare five minutes to talk to you on Christmas Day!”

"You're a good one to talk"

“You’re a good one to talk – I still don’t understand why you disappeared for days without an explanation,” she complains.   He regards it as strange that when he stays for a long weekend at a friend’s, he is described as useless.

He reminds her about the six months of stability which he has given her;  

"I'm just a temporary fix"

“I’m just a temporary fix until you find someone better.   I just hope Cai proves us all wrong,” he snarls, as he puts on his coat.   Ffion cannot understand what the problem is 

"Running away to North Wales again?"

and suspects that he is running away again to North Wales.   “Perhaps – perhaps not – I’m not a very stable person!” he says as he leaves the flat.

Dani stares out of the window

Dani is staring out of the window when Garry comes in, moaning, “Have you tried playing that card game with Gwern?   I came eighth – he wins every time.”

"I don't have time to play games"  

Dani replies that she does not have time to play games, as the kids are so fussy – and she even has to make three different types of carrots.   He demands that he should be allowed to help her, so she tells him to get out of her space.

"You didn't mind me being in your space the other night"

“You didn’t mind me being in your space the other night,” he laughs, 

Gwyneth has just come in

and at that moment, Gwyneth comes in, hoping that she is not disturbing them.   Garry will go and fetch Gwern.

"What's going on between you two?"

“What’s going on between you two?” Gwyneth demands, “What was that about you not wanting him in your space?”   

"We kissed the other night"

Dani confesses that they kissed the other night, but makes it quite clear that they are not back together.

“Do you want to be?” is the next question, and Dani is not sure about that, admitting that she made a list the other night, 

"Garry Monk's pros and cons"

which Gwyneth can see is of Garry Monk’s pros and cons.

“He doesn’t put the Fairy Liquid back where it should be,” she reads, “Are you serious?   Snoring – unpredictable – I can agree with that.”   

"I'm just confused"

Dani stresses that she is just confused.

Garry comes back in and reports that Gwern is just finishing a virtual game with Aaron.   

"What have you got there?"

He sees the list in Gwyneth’s hand, which she explains is Dani’s list of ingredients for today.

The way up to Griffiths' attic

The rather diminutive key which Jason found is for the door leading to the attic, 

Jason leads the way . . .

and they carefully climb the stairs, 

. . . and turns on the light 

where Jason pulls a cord to turn on the light.   

They investigate the contents 

They investigate further.

Greta is playing . . .

Greta is playing on the stairs at Y Felin 

. . . and Eifion is not happy

while Eifion is sitting, looking morose.   “Greta, look who’s here!” says Iolo and Tyler comes in, much to Eifion’s disgust.   The present from Tyler is unwrapped and Greta is told that it is the doll she has wanted for a long time.

"It's the same as the one I've already got . . ."

“It’s the same one that I’ve already got,” she tells him, 

". . . from Uncle Eifion"

“From Uncle Eifion.”   Predictably, Tyler is furious, pointing out that he has been saving for months to get that.

"She asked for that doll!"

“She asked for that doll – and you knew that!” he rages at Eifion, 

"This is not the time or place, boys"

but Siôn warns them that it is neither the time nor the place for an argument.   

"I worked so hard to get my daughter something nice"

“Sorry, Siôn, sorry Iol – it’s just that I worked hard to get my daughter something nice.”

"Dadi's going now"

He tells Greta that Dadi is going now and will see her soon.   

Greta has some serious doubts about him

He walks out of the house.

"It's obvious she thought the world of you"

Up in Griffiths’ attic, Jason is looking at historic photographs of Ieuan as a baby and comments, “It’s obvious she thought the world of you.”   

"Well, I didn't know"

Griffiths was not aware of that fact, 

There are cuttings of Ieuan's achievements

as he looks through newspaper cuttings of his time as a councillor.

"She said 'very good' only once"

“I can only remember Mami saying ‘very good’ once – I won the egg and spoon race in the school sports day, when I was about seven.   After the trophy, we went out for ice cream – 

"I got two scoops!"

“I got two scoops!   My father couldn’t make it – I think he was ill at the time.   He died not long afterwards, after that, nothing was good enough for her.”

"It must have been difficult for her"

Jason appreciates that it must have been difficult for her, raising a son on her own like that, 

"You have so many questions, don't you?"

and Griffiths continues, “You have so many questions, don’t you?   

Jason puts a reassuring hand on his shoulder

“I regret not having asked her more.”

"He'll be fine until dinnertime"

Outside the shop, in the street, Tegwen is speaking to Mathew on the phone;  “Yes, he’s all right – he’s had his toastie, so he will be fine until dinnertime – you did the right thing, helping your father.   That’s what I like about you – you’re so kind.”

Ken is preparing to kick his rugby ball when he hears a voice behind him, and Tegwen turns to see Ioan, who sent the text.

"Dad!"

“Dad!” shouts Ken, and runs to him.

This is not what Tegwen wanted

Tegwen is not looking at all happy as Ioan wishes them both, “Merry Christmas – you always liked surprises, didn’t you?”

"We'll do the clearing up, Dani"

After the Christmas meal in the Deri flat, Gwyneth volunteers that she and Garry will do the clearing up;  “You’ve done enough today – you need to enjoy yourself, too.”   

"Shall we go and find some chocolates?"

Dani will take Gabriel to go and find some chocolates.

"Trying to get your feet under the table, are you?"

Garry is instructed that he will be doing the drying up, and Gwyneth remarks, “You seem to be very comfortable here today.”   He reminds her that he did live there for years with Dani.   “Trying to get your feet under the table, are you?” she goes on, “I know you, Garry – you’re not as subtle as you think.   Gwern’s been through so much – he’s happy now with you, me and Dani in his life – I don’t want you to ruin that!”

"You're in no position to give me advice . . ."

“With all due respect, Gwyneth, you’re in no position to give me advice on how not to affect Gwern’s life,” says Garry, 

". . . you've just been released from prison"

“It’s not me you who’s just been released from prison.”

"Put these in the top drawer, will you?"

As an act of revenge, she asks him to put a couple of spoons in the top drawer, where she knows that he will find the list which Dani compiled, 

He studies Dani's list

and she smiles.

Kelly is very frustrated

Kelly is sitting, alone, at the table in Bryntirion when Jason and Ieuan return;  she demands where they have been, 

"I took Jason for a walk"

and Ieuan says that he took Jason out for a walk.   

"You could have let me know"

“You could have let me know,” Kelly growls, “Ifan is sleeping and Auntie Anita is God knows where.”

"I forgot – Anita's running late"

Ieuan realises he has forgotten to tell her that Anita is running late with the surprise.   

"If one of you had actually turned up for Christmas dinner!"

“You know, it would have been a better surprise if one of you had actually turned up for Christmas dinner – which is now ruined!” Kelly groans, but Jason is sure that it will still be very tasty.

"Jason, it's Christmas, OK?"

“Jason, it’s Christmas, OK?   I’m starving!   I’m on my own playing happy families because you’re not here!   

"Do you actually care?"

“Do you actually care?” she shrieks.   

"Jason has a special present for you"

Ieuan tries to defuse the situation by telling her that Jason has a very special present for her.

“OK, what is it?   Just tell me,” she snaps, but Jason maintains that it is for later, not for now.   

"Just tell me what it is, Jase!"

“Just tell me what it is – because I’ve waited all day!” she angrily demands, so, encouraged by Griffiths, Jason does so.

"I thought this was so pretty"

“Ieuan’s right – I do have a special present.   The thing is, Kelly, I saw this and I thought it was so pretty and I immediately thought of you.”   Kelly sees the size and shape of the box which leads her to an inescapable conclusion.

"You mean the world to me, Kelly"

“I couldn’t help myself, sorry,” he goes on, and she is speechless when she sees the ring.   “I know we’ve discussed this before, but we’ve been through so much together, and you mean the world to me, Kelly, 

"Would you be willing to consider . . ."

“so I was hoping that perhaps this time, you’d be willing to consider . . .”

Kelly is by now looking horrified and they hear Anita’s voice, “Yoo-hoo,” and she rushes in, followed by – Dai and Diane.

It's Dai and Diane Ashurst!

“Hallelujah!   Back at last!” declares Dai, and Griffiths asks if they would like a cup of tea.  

"What the hell are you doing in my house?"

“What the hell are you doing in my house?” rages Dai;  

Kelly and Jason look at each other

Kelly and Jason look at each other.

Ken has been given presents

Ioan has brought his son a football and a hat in Wales football colours, as Tegwen remarks that Ken is not used to a round ball.   Ioan insists that every boy likes football, 

"Go and practise outside"

then tells Ken to go out and practise in the street, while he and Tegwen have a chat;  “And don’t break any windows.”

As soon as he is out of the way, 

"Still filling his head with all this rugby?"

Ioan says, “You’re still filling his head with all this rugby,” but Tegwen replies that she does not force Ken, he simply likes it.   

"Mathew doesn't work you too hard?"

“Mathew doesn’t make you work too hard to look after him does he?” Ioan goes on, 

"How do you know about Mathew?"

and she wonders how he knows about Mathew.

“Wanted to keep him a secret, did you?” she is asked, “Were you worried about what I would say about him?   You know I’m not an aggressive person.”

"You were in prison for GBH"

She rather scathingly points out, “You were in prison for GBH,” 

"I was protecting you from that swine"

but he insists that he was protecting her from the swine that had been sniffing around her all night and making her feel uncomfortable.   Tegwen is confident that she could have handled it herself.

“So what?   I’ve spent years in prison for no reason?”   She explains that is not what she is saying, and he goes on that it was hard in there, especially when she stopped coming to see him and stopped Ken coming as well.   “Well, I’m out now and it’s really nice to see you.”   

Tegwen could not look less pleased to see him

Tegwen replies without any conviction that it is nice to see him.

At Bryntirion, Jason cannot believe that his mother and Dai are there and wonders how long they have been planning the visit.   

"Nefi Wen, Anita!"

Dai merely remarks, “Nefi wen, Anita!   You two?   I’ll be damned!   Come on, Diane, we’re going back down under – everyone in Cwmderi’s gone ‘doolally-pop’!”

"I've known about it for almost a year"

Diane reveals that she has known about Anita and Griffiths for almost a year, but she does point out to Jason, “I did tell you that I didn’t want anyone else to stay here, apart from you, Ifan and Kelly, unless they were paying rent – nothing personal, Anita.”

"I've been paying rent to Jason"

Anita is quick to point out that she has been paying rent to Jason, and demands, “If your mother didn’t know, where has my money been going every month?”   

"You're not gambling again, Jason?"

Diane jumps to the conclusion that Jason is gambling again, 

"I've been sending money to Sara"

which he vehemently denies, and is forced to admit that he has been sending money to Sara to help with her living costs.

"Sending money to your ex?"

Anita regards it as rather strange that he is sending money to his ex, but he insists that it is only a temporary loan to give her time to get back on her feet.   

This is getting too much for Kelly

Kelly is listening carefully to all these revelations, 

"Do wen have to discuss this now?"

and as Jason wonders if they have to discuss this now, she has had enough, 

She escapes through the back door

grabs her coat and walks out of the back door.

"I could eat a horse!"

Dai wants to discuss this another time;  “I’ve been on my feet for almost two days, I’m so hungry I could eat a horse, if you wiped its nose!”   Diane tells him that sorting this out is more important than his belly.

Garry hoped that he might stay

Dani is pleased to see that Gwyneth has gone, and he thinks that they may get a bit of peace now, just the two of them.   “You were only supposed to be here for lunch,” she tells him, but he had hoped that she might like him to stay for a while.   

"I put the Fairy Liquid under the sink"

“Because – how can I put it – I’m ‘never around’.   I put the Fairy Liquid under the sink, where it’s supposed to be – and I’ll try to sort out the snoring as well – but you’ll have to let me stay overnight to see if that improves.”

"Have you been through my stuff?"

Dani demands, “Have you been through my stuff?” and he says that she left the list lying around and has no right to judge him.

"How would you like it if I wrote a list about you?"

“How would you like it if I wrote a list of things about you?”   She says that she was confused, and after that kiss, she was angry with herself – angry about giving in to his charms, again.   

"My 'bad boy' charms, is it?"

“My bad boy charms, is it?   I’ve moved to that to the ‘pros’ column,” 

"You've moved almost everything"

and she discovers that he has moved almost everything.   “Well, I’m a bad boy, aren’t I?” he stresses, 

"Dangerous, unpredictable men"

“And you always go for them – dangerous, unpredictable men – Dylan, Wilko!”

"They didn't leave me for another woman"

She makes it clear that unlike him, they did not leave her for another woman, 

"What the did was much worse!"

but he snarls, “What they did was much worse!   Yes, I’ve made mistakes – stuff I’m not proud of – but I’ve never lied to you about who I am, 

"Don't use that excuse"

“so please don’t use that as an excuse to stop us getting back together.”