7 June 2023

As Britt is cleaning . . .

As Britt is cleaning behind the bar in the Deri, 

. . . she comes across a photo

she comes across a photograph of herself with Brandon and Garry, which makes her stop and think.  

"Are you ready, Britt?"

Then Kelly comes in and asks if she is ready;  “Not really, no,” she replies.   Kelly is sorry to hear about Garry and Britt continues, “I just feel numb, you know – 

"I'm frightened of when it really hits me"

“I’m frightened of when it really hits me,” and she looks again at the picture.

"You don't have to do this today"

“Britt, you don’t have to do this today – I’m sure everyone will understand if you want to rearrange,” Kelly tells her, but Britt is determined that they are there to sell the Deri, and that is what they are going to do.

“Let’s just hope that the highest bidder is someone local,” says Kelly.

"If he promised that  everything was going to go through quickly"

“The way I’m feeling now, I’d sell to the devil if he promised that everything was going to go through quickly,” Britt groans.

Howard is working on the farm and hears a noise . . .

At Deri Fawr, Howard is working in a barn, when he hears someone coughing;  

. . . coming from under a tarpaulin

the sound seems to be coming from under a tarpaulin which he removes 

Underneath are Gwern and Arwen 

and finds Arwen and Gwern hiding underneath.

"What are you doing under there?'

“What are you doing under there?” he shouts, “Have you been there all night?”

"How can you drink this stuff?"

Arwen is more interested in asking him, “How can you drink this stuff?   It’s disgusting!”   He considers that their parents will be worried, but Gwern explains that he is staying with Arwen;  “And I’m staying with him!” Arwen adds.   When Howard wonders if their parents believed that, 

"They're idiots!"

she simply replies, “They’re idiots!”

"Now hop it!"

He makes it very clear that he is not an idiot, and orders them, “Now hop it – or I’ll be back in jail!”   

"Any chance of a lift to school?"

Gwern enquires if they can have a lift to school, but Howard walks away.

The washing is a never-ending job

At number 7, Dani is once again dealing with the laundry when there is another knock at the door.   It is Jinx, 

"I haven't forgotten another shift?"

and that she immediately assumes that she had forgotten another shift, but he assures her that is not the case.   

"I've come to see how you and the kids are"

He has just come over to see how she and the kids are.

She replies that she has not seen Gwern, but that he texted last night to say he was OK.   

"Was there anything else?"

As Jinx continues standing there, Dani asks if there was anything else.

"They've asked me to look after their allotment"

Do you remember me saying about my friends, Boden and Teifi?   Well, they’ve gone travelling to South America for six months and they’ve asked me to look after their allotment.”

"And?"

Dani wonders where this is going and he explains, “They grow tomatoes there – that could be handy for us if we run out like we did yesterday.   

"Do you want to see the allotment?"

“Do you want to see it – the allotment?   I’m on my way over there now.”

"I'm a bit busy today"

Dani would love to, “Because I do love a good allotment – but I’m a bit busy today, sorry.”   Jinx is disappointed and hopes they can do it another time, then leaves the house.   

Dani has suspicions

Dani suspects that she knows where this is leading.

"You can always change the name"

The buyers from London have arrived and Ieuan Griffiths is giving them the ‘hard sell’ (in English naturally);  “The Deri Arms is of course an old name, but there’s no preservation order – you can always change it.”

Cassie and Kath are standing by the bar, listening to this;  

"What idiot would want to change the name?"

“Traitor – what idiot would want to change the name?” snarls Kath.

Griffiths ploughs on, “It’s still something of a Welsh speaking area, but have no fear, 

"The locals can speak English quite well . . ."

all the locals can speak English quite well.”   

 ". . . well, most of them, anyway!"

With a glance at Kelly, he adds, “Well, most of them, anyway!   As you can see, the bar has been recently renovated and has all the charm of a quiet pub – when I say quiet, I mean no trouble.   It’s very busy most days and very profitable.”

"There was an armed robbery a month ago"

Cassie speaks up;  “Yes, very profitable – that is probably why there was an armed robbery here about a month ago.”

Griffiths proposes that they go and look at the cellar, 

"I know what you're doing . . ."

muttering to Cassie in Welsh, “I know what you’re doing – but it won’t work.”

"Don't be rude to our English friends"

She replies in English, “Come on, Ieuan, don’t be rude to our English friends.”

Howard arrives in the village

Outside in the rain, by Bethania, Howard’s 4x4 pulls up, 

"Why aren't you dropping us at school?"

and Arwen wonders why they are not being dropped off at school.   

"So everyone sees us?   No way!"

“What?   So everybody sees us?   No way!” he replies, “Out!”   Then he adds, to Gwern, “I know things are hard for you with your Mam and Dad, but you’ll be OK – so no more feeling sorry for yourself, mitching school 

"Our sleepovers with your girlfriend"

“or sleepovers with your girlfriend.”   Gwern insists that she is not his girlfriend as he gets out of the car.

Jinx is watching

This has been witnessed by Jinx, who is standing outside the pizza shop.

"You'd never think someone was shot there, would you?"

The potential buyers are now back in the bar and are being told by Kath, “You’d never think someone was shot there, would you?   They’ve managed to get the blood right out, look.”

"We'll have all the bids now"

Griffiths is anxious to change the subject;  “Right, we’ll have all the bids now – just to remind you, these are sealed bids and will be your best and final offer.”

"Are you sure it's all in there?"

Cassie demands of Kath, “Are you sure every penny you’ve got is in there?   It should be enough – hopefully.”

"I'll let you know forthwith"

“Thank you,” says Griffiths, after being handed the bids, “I’ll present the bids to the owner, and we’ll let you know forthwith which, if any, have been accepted.”   He and Kelly get down to opening the bids, while Cassie and Kath look on, anxiously.

Mathew is installing an alarm

Mathew is at work in the former bookshop, installing an intruder alarm;  “Thanks for helping out, Math – thousands of pounds’ worth of stuff will be left here overnight, 

"We don't want a burglary"

“so we don’t want a burglary,” says Sioned.

He imagines that she must be excited;  “Yes, but not quite as excited as DJ – he’s like a child when we discuss what we’re going to sell here.”   Mathew hopes that DJ will not be long with the van, because he needs to do a job in Llanarthur.

"You press this button . . ."

Mathew finishes the job and announces, “All you have to do is press this button,” which he does and the alarm starts to sound.   

". . . then put the code in"

“Then you put the code in,” he continues, but she has difficulty hearing him.   “You put the code in – what is the code?”

"What code?"

Sioned has no idea of the code;  “I thought you knew the code – you fitted it – perhaps DJ knows,” she shouts, and he tells her to phone DJ immediately.   

"DJ's broken down"

Looking at her phone, she discovers that DJ has broken down and is not sure when he will be back.   

"It just goes to voicemail"

When she phones his number it simply goes to voicemail.

"Remind me never to do you a favour again"

“Remind me never to do you a favour again, Sioned!” he snarls and Sioned will phone the alarm company instead.

"Probably another break-in"

The sound of the alarm can be heard in the Deri, where Cassie casually mentions, “Oh dear – probably another break-in.”

"There are three bids"

At the bar, Kelly advises Griffiths that there are three bids;  

"One of which is not worth mentioning"

“One of which is not worth mentioning,” he sneers, dismissively, “And the one from Pub Right Ltd, who have offered £50,000 more than Cassie and Kath.   It’s a no-brainer, as they say.”

"Are they going to keep it as a local pub?"

Kelly asks if they are going to keep it as a local pub;  “Yes – or flats, or something,” he answers, “Either way, it’s what Garry would want – the highest price.”

"I really don't think Britt's in the right frame of mind"

Britt goes to the other end of the bar to speak to Cassie and Kath, as Kelly  maintains, “I really don’t think Britt’s in the right frame of mind to make a decision today.”

"Even Britt can see with is the best price"

“Of course she is – she’s always been a bit hot, but even Britt can see which one is the best price,” says Griffiths, 

"Right, off to the toilet"

and slips off to the toilet before the great announcement.   

He gives the thumbs up

On the way, he gives the thumbs up to the Pub Right people, 

"That's not a good sign"

which Kath does not regard as good news.   Kelly appears very upset at this development.

Jinx brings some tomatoes

Jinx has brought some tomatoes from the allotment 

Dani likes the taste

and Danny tastes one;  “Imagine those, all over your pizza,” he says, adding that the allotment is quite big, and she will have to come with him next time.   

"We could go for dinner or something"

“And afterwards we could go out for dinner or something,” he tentatively suggests.

"Are you asking me out on a date"

Dani smiles and remarks, “Are you asking me out on a date, Jinx?”   

"Would it matter if I was?"

He wonders whether it would matter if he was;  

"You're sweet . . ."

“You’re sweet,” she begins, 

"But?"

and he detects that there is a ‘but’ in there.

"I just need a friend at the moment"

“I just need a friend at the moment,” she says, and he acknowledges that it was bad timing.   “But – you know – I hope it won’t be the last time you ask,” she goes on.

"So you might in the future?"

He looks confused;  “Just to be clear, you don’t want to go out with me now, but you might in the future, after things settle down?”   She agrees and he thinks it an opportune moment to leave.

"I saw Gwern getting out of Howard's car"

“Oh, by the way, was there a reason why I saw Gwern get out of Howard’s car this morning?” he asks, and that she cannot understand why Howard would be giving him a lift, 

"He was at your place last night"

as he stayed at Cysgod y Glyn last night.

"No – Arwen was here"

“No – Arwen and Gwern stayed here, didn’t they?” Jinx replies, “Oh, Ffion’s going to kill me!”

"It is my delight to announce . . ."

Griffiths makes the announcement, “With the highest bid coming from Pub Right Ltd, it is my delight to announce that the new owners of the Deri Arms are indeed . . .”

"I don't want to sell to them . . ."

Britt stops him there;  “I don’t want to sell to them – 

". . . I want to accept Kath's and Cassie's offer"

“I want to accept Kath’s and Cassie’s offer.”   

"They're offering £50,000 more!"

He points out once again to her that they are offering £50,000 more, and asks what Garry would say.

"I decide, not Garry!"

“I decide who I sell the Deri to, not Garry!” she growls at him, “This place is too important to the village to give it to people who only care about money.”

"You're a top girl!"

Kath is highly delighted;  “I don’t care what anyone says – you’re a top girl!” she exclaims.

"It's an old Welsh custom . . ."

Griffiths can see his commission slipping away and so maintains, “It’s an old Welsh custom where you pretend to accept . . .” but again Britt silences him.

"Sorry to disappoint you . . ."

She addresses the Pub Right gang, “I’m awfully sorry to disappoint you, 

". . . I'm going for the bid from Kath and Cassie"

“but I have decided to go with the bid offered by Kath and Cassie here – so safe journey back to London and thank you.”   

The Pub Right team leave . . .

The three of them file out of the pub, with Griffiths fussing after them, 

. . . with Griffiths chasing after them

“She’s always doing stuff like this – I’m sure she’ll come to her senses.”

There is a lot of jubilation

Kath embraces Britt and they are all very jubilant, including Kelly; 

"Brynmor won't believe it!

“Brynmor won’t believe it!” Kath squeals.

Mathew finally turns off the alarm

Mathew is on the phone to the alarm company, and at last manages to turn off the alarm;  “Thank heavens for that,” Sioned sighs and Mathew reckons that he will have tinnitis for a week.

"I was roasting, waiting for the mechanic"

At that moment, DJ returns, advising Mathew that he needs to get the air conditioning fixed in the van;  “I was roasting, waiting for the mechanic.   I told them to bill APD.”

"What's that awful smell?"

Sioned is very concerned about what he has brought, which she maintains smells peculiar.   

"This is 'epoisses'"

“This is ‘epoisses’ [a particularly pungent French cheese, reputedly ‘packed full of bacterial organisms of the listeria group, making it one of the most dangerous foodstuffs on earth’] – this is how it’s supposed to smell,” he tells her, but she describes it as smelling like feet, and thinks that it was in the hot van too long.

"You'll be in the crem if you east that!"

DJ on the other hand insists that it is the ‘crème de la crème’ and Mathew suggests, “You’ll be in the crem if you eat that!”   

DJ samples the stuff . . .

DJ cannot resist trying some of it, 

. . . and Sioned banishes him to the spare room

and is banished to the spare room tonight by Sioned.

Howard is having a quiet evening

Howard is sitting quietly at Deri Fawr when the farmhouse door bursts open and Dani comes in;  

"Do you want to explain what's going on?"

“Do you want to explain what’s going on?” she shouts, 

"The kids?"

and he assumes that this is about the kids.   

"Of course it is!"

“Of course it is!”

He explains that he did not invite them and sent them home yesterday.   “So why was Gwern in your car this morning?” she demands, 

"They spent the night in the cowshed"

and he replies that they spent the night in the cowshed – and stole his cider.

"I'm calling the cops!"

Dani intends to phone the cops;  “Isn’t that is a bit extreme?   Come on – 

"Are you telling me you never mitched school?"

“are you telling me you never mitched school or drank a couple of cans when you were their age?” he asks.

"Gwern's just lost his mother!"

“Gwern’s just lost his mother and his father’s in jail!” she rages, 

"Exactly why he deserves some slack"

and is told that is exactly why he deserves some slack.

“They only drank a can and a half – they’re light-weights!”   

"I don't want him here again"

Dani points out that she does not want him there again, and as she turns to go, Howard informs her, “I don’t want them here either – but that’s your responsibility, not mine.”

"To the Deri"

In the Deri, the celebration is in full swing;  they drink a toast ‘To the Deri!’ 

"And up yours, Griffiths!"

and Kath adds, “And up yours, Griffiths!”

"Just to see Griffiths get a smaller cut"

Britt is glad the Deri is staying in familiar hands;  “But if I’m totally honest, I would have accepted a lower offer, just to see Griffiths get a smaller cut!”

"He's lost more than that"

Kelly advises that Griffiths has lost more than that;  

"The company said for a dirty weekend for him and Anita!"

“OK – that company paid for a dirty weekend in a spa for him and Anita, on the understanding that they would get the Deri – serious – 

"Now he'll have to pay it all back!"

“and now he’ll have to pay it all back!”   

"The village can't lose the Deri"

They all laugh uproariously;  “Quite right, too – the village can’t lose the Deri – I wouldn’t have let that happen!” says Kath.   They drink another toast ‘To the Deri!’

DJ is feeling under the weather

DJ seems to be suffering from some stomach problem and Sioned knows the reason why;  

"I told you, didn't I?"

“I told you, didn’t I?   That cheese is off!”   

"It's just a bug"

He maintains that it is supposed to smell like that, and he has simply caught a bug.

Sioned insists that they are going to throw away the cheese first thing tomorrow, but he protests that it is worth a fortune.   

"We'll be in prison if we sell that!"

“DJ, we’ll be in prison if we sell that to our customers,” she protests.

"I wanted everything to be perfect"

He sighs that he just wanted everything to be perfect for the grand opening;  

"It will be, if we don't sell that"

“And it will be – just as long as we don’t sell that cheese to people,” Sioned insists.

He still cannot believe that they are doing this, 

Then he suddenly dashes from the room

but is then troubled by ominous noises in his stomach and rushes from the room.

Kelly clatters for the alley . . .

Kelly walks through the alley, carrying some papers;  she looks around to make sure no-one is about, 

. . . tears up some papers and disposes of them . . .

then tears up the papers and puts them into a nearby green bin.   

. . . and realises that she has been watched

Rhys happens upon the scene and she is surprised at being caught.

"All right, Kelly?"

He asks if she is all right, and as she walks away, 

"Another day, another dollar"

she remarks, “Busy day – another day, another dollar.”   

What always happens to things put in bins?

He looks suspiciously at the bin.

Gwern and Arwen are back at number 7

When Gwern arrives back at number 7 with Arwen, 

"We need a word with you two"

Dani and Jinx are waiting for them.   “Right, we need a word with you two,” Jinx begins, and they are aware that the children skipped school yesterday, also that they stayed in Howard’s shed last night, drinking cider.

"Do you have anything to say?"

When they are asked if they have anything to say, 

they remain silent;  

"You can't put yourself in danger like that!"

“Gwern, I know this is a difficult time for you, but you can’t put yourself and Arwen in danger like that,” says Dani, “Listen, we’re willing to forget about it this time – if you have learned your lesson.”

Jinx adds, “And if you agree never to do this again!”   

They look rather sheepish

The two of them have little choice but to agree.

"Dani is cool"

Arwen comments that Dani is cool;  

"But she's not my Mam, is she?"

“Yes – but she’s not my Mam, is she?” Gwern replies as he goes upstairs.