15 November 2023 (2nd)

Eileen is fly posting

Eileen is attaching a small notice to the post of the Belisha beacon;  it features photographs of free range chickens with the words, ‘Support a local initiative’.   Sioned comes out of the deli to see what she is doing.

"Put these up in Tamed, will you?"

I was just coming to see you,” says her mother, “Put these up in Tamed, will you?   In the window, where people will see them – and in the toilets on the back of the door.”   Sioned protests that she already has one by the counter, but Eileen is eager to publicise her cause.

"Isn't the decision today?"

“Isn’t the committee making the decision today?” Sioned asks, and that is the reason her mother wants to keep it fresh in everyone’s minds.

"Mam will be expecting you to fight for her"

Going back into the deli, Sioned remarks to Hywel, who is sitting there, “Mam will be expecting you to fight in her favour today with the council.”

He points out that he is trying his best, but is only one voice;  

"Make sure it's a loud voice, then"

“Well, make sure it’s a loud voice, then – you don’t want her as an enemy,” she advises.   

He receives a disturbing message

Then he receives a text message on his mobile which does not please him.

Dani has actually had a lie-in

Dani comes in for a cappuccino and tells Sioned she is pleased that she has been able to wash her hair – and dry it, for a change;  “Jinx took the kids to school and I had a lie-in – I feel amazing!”   Sioned will bring her coffee over to her.

"Gaynor can't look after Esther tonight"

Hywel moans to Dani that he has just heard from Gaynor that she cannot look after Esther tonight;  “It’s the first favour I have asked her since – I don’t know when.   I don’t like leaving her with someone she doesn’t know.”

"Jinx and Mark help with my kids"

Dani is glad that things are now easier for her, with Jinx and Mark helping with the kids.

"You've got to be joking!"

Kelly is walking along the High Street when she notices the poster which Eileen has put up;  “You’ve got to be joking!” she snarls, ripping it down, and Colin is watching, as he arranges the fruit and vegetables outside the shop.

"Sounds like a spa for chickens!"

Have you seen this?” she squeals at Britt, who is just opening MFC;  “Completely false advertising – she makes it sound like a spa for chickens!”   Britt tries to point out that the plan has its advantages, 

"It's totally unethical!"

but Kelly protests, “It’s totally unethical!”

"It could benefit MFC"

Britt continues that it could benefit local businesses, like MFC.   “Ah, yes – Eileen’s promised you the world, hasn’t she?   And you believe her.”   Britt maintain she has no reason not to believe her.

"She's been stealing from your husband's salary"

“Apart from the fact she’s been stealing money from your husband’s salary,” Kelly adds, which tends to focus Britt’s attention.   “Do you know – I never thought you’d support her – but there we are – pound signs in front of the eyes!”

"From Colin's pay?   Why?"

Britt would like to know more about this;  “So Eileen’s been stealing money from Colin’s pay?   Why?”   Kelly does not know the answer to this and is surprised that Britt was not aware of it.

"I'll kill her!"

immediate response is, “I’ll kill her!” and she hurries along the street towards the shop. 

"We should organise a childcare club . . ."

Hywel has been waiting for Ffion to come out of Cysgod y Glyn and suggests to her that they should organise some sort of childcare club.   She is not taking much notice, but is more concerned with whether she picked up her phone before she left the flat;  she cannot find it in her bag.

". . . for the children of single parents"

Childcare for the children of single parents in Cwmderi,” he continues, “To pick them up from school and look after them when people are working late – or want to go out to enjoy themselves.”

"Arwen often walks home on her own now"

Ffion has now found the phone;  she points out, “Arwen’s a bit older now – she often walks home on her own – and she’s fine in the flat without me for about an hour.”

He stresses that he was thinking more of at night;  “You deserve a bit of time away from work – it would do you good.   We all need a break from time to time.”   

"That might be good for Iolo"

She points out that the arrangement might be good for Iolo as well, and Hywel suggests that she should contact him.

“No – it’s your idea,” she reminds him, but Hywel is not on the best of terms with Iolo at the moment.   “That’s not my problem,” she replies and has to go, or she will be late.

"Eileen's doing her best . . ."

Outside the shop, Colin is attempting to explain the situation to Britt;  “Eileen’s doing her best during a very difficult time for small businesses.”

She stops him there, demanding, “Has Eileen been keeping your money?” 

". . . she's trying to work things out"

but he will not give her a straight answer;  he insists that Eileen is trying to work things out in a way that balances the money on the business side.

"Well, yes – some of it . . ."

In the end he is forced to admit that she has been keeping some of his money, 

". . . but we've settled things . . ."

but he insists that they have settled things.   “Right – so you’ve have your money back?” asks Britt and he agrees that he has – 

". . . not every penny"

but not every penny.   She angrily follows him into the shop.

Iolo is having a burger . . .

Iolo laces his burger with ketchup in the Deri and takes out another tablet, 

. . . and one of his tablets

under the table and out of sight, just as Hywel approaches.   “What do you want?” Iolo groans.

"I want to apologise for that boiler business"

“I want to apologise to you for that business with the boiler,” he replies.

Iolo points out, “You let everyone think it was my fault!   I’ve lost so much business because of you.”   

"I've had a letter – and a fine!"

Hywel alleges that the authorities know it was his fault and that he has had a letter – and a fine.

"You could have killed Colin and Britt"

“You’re lucky it was a fine – you could have killed Colin and Britt!” Iolo reminds him, and Hywel says that he has learned his lesson.    He asks what Iolo is doing later;  “Nothing – because I haven’t got any work, have I?” snarls Iolo, 

"A very exclusive club"

so he is invited to a very exclusive club, something which Iolo views very sceptically.

"I don't want to fall out with her"

“I don’t want to fall out with her,” Colin tells Britt, 

"Exactly how much are we talking about?"

but she is still demanding exactly how much money they are talking about.   

"Couple of hundred . . . a thousand or two"

“Just a couple of hundred . . . a thousand or two.”

"This must have been going on for years!"

Britt computes that Eileen must have been taking advantage of him for years, but he insists there is no need for her to go over the top.   “What do you call it, then?” she shouts.

"I don't want to make a fuss"

“OK, look – you’re right, but I don’t want to make a fuss,” he urges;  however, Britt’s mind is made up.   

"I'm not going to accept this – no way!"

She is not going to accept this – no way.   

"Britt – wait!"

She marches off along the High Street.

They are all at Llwyncelyn 

Iolo has been roped into this childcare business and he joins Ffion and Dani at Llwyncelyn.   

"I'm in a bit of a rush"

Hywel announces that this will not take long, because he is in a bit of a rush;  “Thank you for coming to the first meeting of this new group, the Childcare Club.   It is just a shared calendar, so you can note when you need help with babysitting – 

"Any specific dates in mind?"

“do you have any specific dates in mind?”   

"Thursday is rather awkward for me"

No-one makes any comment, until Dani points out that Thursday is rather awkward for her, as she starts work really early.   

"Well, put it in the calendar"

Hywel invites her to put it into the calendar.   

"Why did we have to have this meeting?"

Ffion suggests that they may be a more informal way to do this, possibly WhatsApp, and Iolo cannot see why they need to have this meeting.

Dani realises this is all about the fact that Hywel needs help tonight and Iolo is angry;  

"What is this?   An elaborate plan?"

“What is this?   An elaborate plan, so that you can go out tonight?”   

"I'll bring Arwen with me"

Ffion agrees she can babysit for him tonight, and will bring Arwen with her – as long as Hywel can help her next week.

“It will be a change, doing school work on a different sofa,” she remarks, 

"I'll see you about seven"

and Hywel will see her at about seven, but has to rush now.   

Dani  wonders if he has a date;  

"The decision on the chicken sheds"

“A date with the council – the decision on the chicken sheds,” he grumbles, “I don’t know how it will go, but Eileen will be after my blood if it’s not passed!”   The three of them quickly leave the house 

He looks quite smug

and Hywel looks quite pleased with what he has accomplished.

Eileen is at the deli

In the deli, Sioned brings her mother a drink;  

"Have people been discussing my posters?"

“Have people been discussing my new posters?   Do they like them?” Eileen asks, but Sioned points out they have not had much chance yet, as they were only put up today.   Eileen is anxious to know, in general, whether people are in favour or against.

"Most people are not interested"

Sioned imagines that most people are not interested;  “Which may be a good thing if it means there will be less opposition.”   Hywel has intimated that Eileen has plenty of support, but the result is still in doubt.   

Britt passes the shop . . .

Eileen sees Britt passing outside 

. . . and Eileen waves to her

and waves to her;  

Britt is determined to get revenge

Britt seems keen to get revenge for Colin.

Later, Eileen waits for the verdict

Later, Eileen is back at the farm, when there is a knock at the door;  

"Sit down, Hywel"

her visitor is Hywel, who brings unwelcome news.  

"The application was rejected"

“The application was rejected – I’m sorry, Eileen.   The members felt there was too much of a mixed response and local businesses had a lot of concerns.”

"They had written a letter of recommendation"

Eileen reminds him that local businesses had written a letter of recommendation, but he explains that it had been withdrawn at short notice.   

"Who was responsible?"

Eileen wants know who was responsible, but Hywel is unaware of this, adding that the committee said the matter could be discussed at another time.

"This is not good enough!"

“This is not good enough!” is Eileen’s immediate angry response, 

"I did my best, Eileen"

but Hywel insists that he did his best, which is all that she can expect.   

“Well, you’ll have to do something,” she goes on, “Or you know what I’ll have to do, don’t you?”

"You sent the messages last week!"

He turns and looks at her;  “It was you, wasn’t it?   You sent the messages last week, trying to threaten and frighten me!”   Eileen purports not to know what he is talking about.   “Listen, Eileen, I did everything that you asked me to do – even though I knew it could cause problems in the village.   

"You can't threaten me any more"

“The decision has been made – you can’t threaten me any more!”   

Eileen is not at all happy

With that he walks out of the farmhouse, leaving Eileen with a very sour expression.

A sarcastic message from Britt

A text message sounds on her phone;  she finds that it is from Britt which sarcastically states, ‘I’m very sorry to hear about the chickens’.   She slams the phone down on the table.

"They're upstairs, watching a film"

Hywel returns home, apologising for being late, and thanks Ffion for helping him;  she replies that Arwen has been having a great time.   She and Esther are watching a film upstairs.   Hywel tells her to help herself to everything;  

"There's bit of trifle in the fridge"

“There’s a quiche and a bit of trifle in the fridge – see, I know my way around a kitchen.”

"Are you going to tell me where you're going?"

“Are you going to tell me where you’re going, then?” she enquires, “The council meeting has finished.”   

He admits that he is going on a date and she can see that Dani was right;  

"Do I know her?"

“Do I know her?   Why all the secrecy earlier, pretending you only had a council meeting?”

He tells her that this is the first date since Gaynor and he is nervous;  

"I have to put myself back on the market"

“But I have to put myself back on the market, don’t I?”   Ffion advises him to just be himself and he will be fine;  she wishes him good luck.

Eileen arrives in the Deri

Eileen comes into the Deri and joins Sioned.   

"They're not going to support the chicken shed"

“They’re not going to support the chicken shed,” she glumly announces;  

"Yes, so Diane said"

Sioned had already heard this from Diane.

"I'm sure she was thrilled!"

“I’m sure she was thrilled – she was complaining the most – and laughing at my posters, I suppose!” Eileen moans.   Sioned has now removed all the posters;  

"You didn't want them there in the first place"

“Well, you didn’t want them up there in the first place, did you?” her mother snarls, “It was your idea, but as soon as there was a whiff of opposition, you turned your nose up and let those townies get the better of us!   And now that Tamed’s doing well, you don’t care about anyone else!”

"I'm not putting up with this!"

Sioned is not going to put up with any more of this;  

Sioned is going home

she picks up her coat and is going home.

Eileen continues whining, “I’m upset, Sioned – is it too much for a mother to ask for comfort from her own daughter?”

"You can't talk to me like I'm a piece of dirt!"

“Just because I’m your daughter doesn’t mean you can talk to me like I’m a piece of dirt!” Sioned protests;  as she storms out, Britt and Colin are on the way in.

"Did you get my text?"

“Did you get my text?” asks Britt, “Sorry to hear the news.”   

"You've betrayed me!"

Eileen growls that Britt has betrayed her.   

"Just like you betrayed Colin!"

“Just like you betrayed Colin when you stole money from his pay!” Britt replies, “After all his years of service, that’s how you thank him!”

"I didn't steal anything"

Eileen maintains that she did not steal anything.   

"I don't know how you sleep at night!"

“That’s a lie – I don’t know how you sleep at night!” rages Britt.   

Eileen insists that she does not sleep, but rather tosses and turns every night, trying to sort everything out, 

"These businesses don't run themselves!"

“Because these businesses don’t run themselves!”

"One less business to worry about now"

Britt regards the failure of the chicken sheds as one less business to worry about now;  “You shouldn’t have withdrawn that letter!” snarls Eileen.”

“And you shouldn’t pretend to be concerned about Colin’s health.   Come on, Col, I fancy some Prosecco!”   

Eileen glowers at Colin . . .

Eileen glowers at Colin 

. . . who escapes as soon as he can

and he hurries away.

Ffion gets stuck into the trifle . . .

At Llwyncelyn, eats a big spoonful of trifle, 

. . . but finds there is alcohol in it

but then rushes towards the sink where she throws up violently, just as Arwen comes into the room.   She is anxious that her mother is all right.   

"There was a hair in it"

“It’s nothing – I had some of that trifle and there was a hair in it,” Ffion rather unconvincing replies.   

She gives Arwen a glass of water

Arwen has come downstairs for a drink of water.

Ffion is very anxious

When she has gone, Ffion looks extremely worried.

Eileen is still drinking

In the Deri, Eileen appears to still be drowning her sorrows, as nearby, Kelly asks Iolo, “Do you think I was wrong for speaking out about Eileen’s chicken factory?”   

"You did the right thing, Kelly"

Iolo answers that she did the right thing.   Kelly continues, “But Jase has lost work and Eileen’s . . .”

He points out that Kelly has stuck to her ethics – and Jason respects that;  “To be honest, it’s one of the best things about you – on top of everything else, of course!”   

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

Kelly resolves to go across and talk to Eileen, but Iolo wonders whether that is a good idea.

“I’m just going to have a chat and say that there’s no hard feelings, like,” she replies, so he recommends that she wears a helmet.

Kelly approaches Eileen

Eileen scowls at her as she approaches;  

"You and your 'airy-fairy facts'!"

“You and your ‘airy fairy facts’ can trot away, thank you very much!” she drunkenly tells Kelly, 

"You're being ridiculous, Eileen"

who laughs that she is being ridiculous.

“No, you’re ridiculous – and to be honest, you’re all ridiculous!” she shouts, 

Eileen turns her rage on the rest of the patrons

as she rather unsteadily gets up from her seat and addresses the rest of the customers.   

"You have no respect for agriculture!"

“All of you – you have no respect for agriculture – you worry more about the animal than the farmer who rears it!   What happened to loyalty?   

"You should be ashamed of yourselves!"

“You should be ashamed of yourselves!   But there we are – 

"Supermarket zombies!"

“you’re nothing but supermarket zombies, hippies and vegans!”

Colin looks uncomfortable

Eileen storms out of the pub, while Colin, sitting by the bar, looks very uncomfortable.

"Yes, I will, I promise"

Ffion is talking on her phone;  “Yes, I know,” she says, “I will, I promise – and thanks for everything.”

"Everything all right?"

When Hywel returns home, she assures him that everything is fine;  “Arwen fell asleep reading Esther a story.   How did it go?   Didn’t she turn up?”

"All she wanted to do was jump into bed"

“Yes, she did – but all she wanted to do was jump into bed,” he complains;  

"And you didn't fancy that?"

Ffion, with past experience of Hywel, is surprised that he did not fancy that.   

Is Hywel getting past it?

“Well, another time, perhaps,” he sighs.

"I've freelapsed"

he reveals that she is not OK;  “I’ve ‘freelapsed’! [accidentally using alcohol, doing so unintentionally].   I ate something something without realising there was alcohol in it – the trifle!”

"Oh, I'm sorry, Ffion!"

He is very sorry and she accepts that it was an accident;  she has just been speaking to her sponsor.   “He asked me if it made me want to drink again – 

"It didn't – at least I don't think so"

“and it didn’t – at least I don’t think so.   Anyway, I didn’t choose to do it, so it’s different, isn’t it?   

"I don't known what I was thinking"

Hywel does not know what he was thinking, 

"I shall be OK"

but she assures him that it is fine and that she will be OK.

Eileen is in tears

Eileen is sitting at the kitchen table at Penrhewl, in floods of tears;  footsteps can be heard coming down the stairs 

"Do you want a cwtch, Mam?"

and Huwi-John comes into the room, asking her, “Do you want a cwtch?   Sorry about the sheds.”

"Everything's going to be all right . . ."

He hugs his mother and she assures him that everything is going to be all right;  

". . . they're not going to get the better of us"

“They’re not going to get the better of us, you know,” she declares and they hug again.