23 January 2024

Very mild winters round Cwmderi way

DJ stands in a field, looking across the rolling acres of Penrhewl, which are remarkably verdant for the middle of winter;  he glances down at his phone.   

"Breakfast is ready"

Sioned approaches to inform him that breakfast is ready, but he says he will have something later.

“Staring at the photo of that fox isn’t going to change the situation,” she warns him 

"It's totally illegal!"

and he protests that what they have done to that fox is totally illegal.   

"There's no need to do anything hasty!"

“I know that, but there’s no need to do anything hasty,” she says.

“You know as well as I do that there’s something going on – if anyone finds out they’ve been killing foxes here, 

"Penrhewl and 'Tamed' could go bust!"

“Penrhewl  and ‘Tamed’ could go bust!”

"That's not going to happen"

Sioned is naïvely confident that will not happen and demands that he come in for breakfast.   He reminds her, “This is your inheritance – yours and Huwi John’s – and the inheritance of any children we may have.”   

"Well, at some point"

He immediately regrets saying that last part, adding, “Well, at some point.   Are you willing to throw all that away just because you don’t want to upset your mother?”

The cleaning crew head for the MFC flat

Britt, Colin and Kylie come out of number 21, carrying various cleaning equipment, and head towards the flat above MFC.   

"Do we need all this stuff?"

“Do we need all this stuff?” Colin asks, and Britt points out that the place is filthy, adding that he does not kind about things like that – and he wears his socks for three days.

"Someone looks as if they're about to do some hard work"

Then Anita comes round the corner;  “Someone looks as if they’re about to do some hard work,” she comments, so Colin invites her to lend a hand, but she has a lot on today.

"We're tidying up the flat"

“We’re tidying up the flat before we move in,” Britt informs her and Anita is pleased to see that they have little helper.   Colin remarks that the flat is filthy, and is told by Anita that some bleach will soon sort it out.

Then Britt reprimands Colin for saying the place is filthy;  he protests that she said the same thing a few minutes ago.  

"There's no need to tell everyone, is there?"

“There’s no need to tell everyone, is there?” she snaps.

"What's going on?"

Hywel happens to be passing and asks Anita what is going on;  “They’re going to tidy up the flat before they move in,” she tells him, 

Up to the flat they go

“And they’ve got plenty of work ahead of them.”

DJ wheels his barrow

Sioned comes out of the farmhouse and sees DJ walking towards her;  

"It's still on your mind, then"

“It’s still on your mind, then – trying for children?” she says.   

"I didn't want to put pressure on you"

He does not want to do anything until she is ready and was not trying to put pressure on her earlier;  he is sorry if he upset her.

"It's a lot to think about"

“You were talking about inheritance, the future of the businesses – it’s a lot to think about,” she continues, 

Eileen has been collecting eggs

as her mother walks towards them, carrying a basket of eggs.

"If we don't stop this hunting"

“What I’m trying to say is, there won’t be any businesses if we don’t stop this hunting,” DJ insists.

"You're beginning to sound like an incomer"

“Well, well, you’re beginning to sound like an incomer, thinking you know better than the people who belong to the land,” sneers Eileen.   

"I've got a photo to prove it!"

DJ points out that she has lied to them, maintaining that the hunt would not kill foxes, and he has a photo to prove it, which he shows to her.

“That could have been taken anywhere,” she shrugs, but he stresses that he took it on Penrhewl land.   

"Come on, stop, DJ"

Sioned urges him to stop, but he continues that Eileen is breaking the law.

"Foxes are a menace"

“Come on, DJ, you know foxes are a menace – you know how many sheep and lambs we’ve lost,” Eileen tells him.   Indeed he does know – one sheep and two lambs, 

"I think Deri Fawr's dogs did that"

and strongly suspects that the dogs from Deri Fawr were responsible for that.

“Have you got a photo of that, too?” Eileen demands.   Sioned begs them not to go overboard, but her mother is in full flow;  

"Maintaining traditions is going overboard?"

“So maintaining traditions is going overboard, is it?”

"You're doing it to line your own pocket"

“You’re not doing anything to maintain any tradition!” DJ exclaims, “You’re doing it to line your own pocket!”   He continues with his wheelbarrow, informing Sioned that now he is going to ‘Tamed’.

"Gaynor's off today"

Delyth comes into the pharmacy and is told that Gaynor is off today;  “You need to learn to say no,” is Delyth’s heartless reaction, “I’ve got more work on the inquiry.”   

"I can't believe it"

Maya still cannot believe that there was a body in that garden all this time.   

"I'll see you later"

Delyth will see her later, after work.

Sioned makes a cup of tea . . .

Sioned is making herself a cup of tea in the kitchen 

. . . notices DK's phone 

when she notices that DJ has carelessly left his phone behind;  

. . . and does a spot of deletion

checking that there is no one around, she picks it up, scrolls to the photograph and deletes it.

"Have you seen my phone?"

After replacing the phone where she found it, DJ comes back in to look for it;  “You left it behind in your temper, did you?” Sioned asks.   

"Sorry I got angry earlier"

He grabs it and apologises for getting angry earlier.

"You should be apologising to Mam"

“You should be apologising to Mam,” Sioned suggests, “Will you just apologise,” but he is adamant that he will not let the matter drop – not until she puts a stop to this hunting.   Then he sets off again for the village.

Cleaning is in full swing

Up in the MFC flat, which we have not seen for some time, the cleaning is going on, 

"You're making a good job of this"

with Colin impressed by the standard of Kylie’s work.   “Well, there’s plenty of bleach, as that lady said,” is her reply.

Colin comments that Anita is a bit of a character;  

"She reminds me of Mam-gu a little bit"

“She reminds me of Mam-gu a little bit,” Kylie adds and Britt is sure that she must be missing her grandmother.

“Yes, but it’s nice to spend the evening in my room, playing with my phone and stuff.” she answers, 

"I enjoy making sure Mam-gu's all right"

“But I enjoy making sure Mam-gu’s all right as well.”

“You wouldn’t want to stay with us any longer, because, as you can see, it’s a rabbit hutch of a place,” groans Colin, 

"There's no room to swing a . . . rabbit!"

“There’s no room to swing . . . a rabbit!”   Britt proposes that she could come and visit them;  “Yes, next time you need a break from looking after Mam-gu,” he adds.

"Any time you want"

Kylie is surprised that they would be willing to have her back and he confirms, “Any time you want.”

Eileen prepares to feed the dogs

Eileen is doling out the food for the dogs and Sioned offers to help;  “DJ went off in a strop,” her mother observes, “I thought you were on his side – that you didn’t agree with keeping the dogs.   

"Don't give them too much food"

“Don’t give them too much food or they’ll lose their appetite.”

"Their appetite to kill, you mean!"

“Their appetite to kill, you mean!” Sioned snarls and Eileen is anticipating another lecture.   

"We could lose everything!"

“We could lose everything, you know, if someone finds out a fox has been killed.”

Again, Eileen makes it clear that they stick to the rules, 

"Howard doesn't know the meaning of the word!"

but Sioned is very well aware that Howard does not know the meaning of the word ‘rules’.   “What if someone went to the police?   Have you thought about that?”

"You're just under DJ's thumb"

She is simply accused of being under DJ’s thumb, but insists that she is not under anyone’s thumb.   “Have you thought about the effect that this could have on our family?   

"DJ and I are trying to think of the businesses"

“DJ and I are trying to think of the businesses.”

Eileen maintains that she is doing the same, “You know yourself that foxes are a menace – 

"How much more stock do we have lose?"

“how much more stock do we have to lose?”

"I though it was time to clear the air"

As they are about to continue this argument, Maya arrives;  “I thought it was time that we tried to clear the air, after that little misunderstanding we had last week.”   

"Come in for a cup of tea"

Sioned invites her in for a cup of tea, with Maya remarking, “Tea – the answer to everyone’s problems.”

"I though you'd be more interested"

In ‘Tamed’, DJ is being reprimanded by Diane;  “I thought you’d be more interested – it’s a big step for your father and me, leaving Bryntirion and starting again in a bungalow.”

He says, without very much conviction, that he is happy for them, 

"There's a lot on my mind at the moment"

but has a lot on his mind at the moment.   

"I took this photo up at Penrhewl"

He gets out his phone, explaining, “I took this photo up in Penrhewl – a fox that’s been killed by the hunting dogs up there.”

He seems to be having difficulties finding the photograph 

"I don't want to see that!"

and in any case Diane is not interested in seeing it.   

"I knew I couldn't trust Eileen"

“So they are hunting foxes at Penrhewl?” she concludes, “Killing them?”   That is indeed what DJ suspects.   “I knew we couldn’t trust Eileen.”

"Is there anyone on the council who could stop it?"

DJ is eager to do something about it and enquires if there is anyone on the council that could do something to stop it – before it goes too far.   

"It's not me you should be talking to . . ."

“Well, if you want to put a stop to the whole thing quickly, it’s not me you should be talking to – Eileen’s breaking the law – 

". . . it's up to you to do something about it"

“and it’s up to you to do something about it.”

"Watch this"

As Britt is busy vacuuming, Colin and Kylie creep into the room;  “Watch this,” says Colin, then looks upwards in horror.   

"Oh, no, I can't believe it!"

“Oh, no, I can’t believe it – a cobweb, up there, look!”   

"It works every time!"

When Britt looks up, he bursts into laughter, exclaiming, “It works every time!   I think we all deserve a bit of lunch.”

"It's a bit better"

Kylie’s headache is now improving and Britt hopes that she will be able to go to school tomorrow.   

"We'll go back to the house for lunch"

“Let me finish in here and then we can go back to the house to have something for lunch.”

"I'll take this stuff into the bathroom"

As Kylie takes some things to the bathroom, ready for this afternoon, 

"Someone's enjoying themselves"

Colin comments, “Someone’s enjoying themselves, I’d say – it’s a shame she has to go back so quickly – just as she’s starting to settle.   

"We're only just getting to know her"

“I feel like we’re only just getting to know her.”

Britt also anticipates that she is going to miss Kylie terribly;  

"I hope she'll be all right with her grandmother"

“I’ll worry about her as well – I hope she’ll be all right with her grandmother, because she’s so young to have so much responsibility, isn’t she?   

"This is hard, Col"

“This is hard, Col, having to say goodbye so fast!”

He reminds her what they said earlier;  “We’re here for her now, aren’t we?   To help when we’re needed and to support her – I think, deep down, 

"We can make a big success of this fostering business"

“we can make a big success of this fostering business.”

"You're right for once, Colin Evans"

Britt agrees with that;  “I think, Colin Evans, you’re right for once.”

"I misread the situation"

Over the cup of tea at the farmhouse table, Maya says, “I went too far – I just misread the situation – and the fact that I was a bit tipsy probably didn’t help.”   

"I wasn't trying to 'make a move' on you"

Sioned assures her that she was not trying to ‘make a move’ on her.

"It was one too many"

Maya adds, “At the time I thought perhaps – as I said, it was one too many – not that that’s an excuse.   I’m sorry.”   

"I should have thought what I was doing"

Sioned points out that they have all been there and that she is also sorry;  perhaps she should have thought more about what she was doing.   She stops when Maya laughs;  

"I was the one who came to apologise"

“I came here to apologise [ymddiheuro] and you’re the one who ends up saying sorry.”   Sioned remarks that is what friends do and they confirm that they are still friends.

"We're in the middle of a conversation"

At this point her mother comes in and Sioned comments they are in the middle of a conversation, but Maya decides that it is time she was going;  

"People to see, prescriptions to prepare"

“People to see, prescriptions to prepare.”

"I want to discuss this fox!"

Sioned stands up and addresses her mother;  “Right, I want to discuss this fox!”   

"There's nothing more to say"

Eileen tells her there is nothing more to say.   “I’ve deleted that photo to save your skin – 

"What are you going to do to thank me?"

the question is, what are you going to do to thank me?”   With that she leaves the farm.

DJ looks out of the window . . .

In the deli, DJ notices something across the road;  

. . . and sees Delyth approaching

Sgt Delyth, in uniform,  is approaching.   He gets out his phone and again searches for the incriminating photo.   

"Have you seen Maya?"

She comes into the deli and asks if he has seen Maya;  “She has closed the pharmacy and I don’t know why.”

He cannot locate that photo

He is very flustered at the disappearance of the photo, and the DS decides to have a coffee while she is there.   

"Latté, is it?"

He prepares to make her a latté.

Hywel has called in Mathew 

Hywel and Mathew are at number 21;  “Rhys has probably told you that Esther and I want to move back in here – but Esther doesn’t like the idea – she likes living in Llwyncelyn.   

"I wanted to get this place the way Easter would want it"

“That’s why I wanted to get this place the way she would want it.   A bit of decorating and plastering, a new kitchen.”

"During the next few months"

Mathew will have to have a chat with Jason first to see whether the job can be fitted in during the next few months.   Hywel does not like the sound of this delay, 

"Something like this"

but has found something which he likes in the catalogue.

"What are you doing here?"

At that moment Britt and Colin come in with Kylie and Britt demands, “What are you doing here?”   Hywel replies that he is organising to do some work.

"Come on, cool down, Britt!"

Even before Britt starts her rant, Colin encourages her to cool down, but without success;  “Hywel has no right to come in here without notice!” she shouts, “We’re the tenants!”   

"Let's go and get some chips"

Colin tells Kylie that they will go and get some chips instead.

"You should know better, Mathew!"

Britt warns Mathew that he ought to know better and Hywel explains that he is planning to do some work after they have moved out.   “Because you wouldn’t do anything when we were having problems!” she rages.

"New kitchen and bathroom, after the mess you made!"

“It needs a new kitchen and bathroom, after the mess you’ve made!” he moans and she insists that she has kept the place like a palace.   “Well, a palace doesn’t mean the same to everyone, then,” says Hywel.   

"Right, I'll leave you to it, then"

Mathew will leave and let them get on with arguing.

"It's not good for business"

Delyth has located Maya and scolds her, “It’s not good for business, you know, closing without warning.   

The interrogation continues

“Where have you been?”   The reply is that Maya had a prescription to deliver.   “You’ve been ages!”

“I really don’t know why you’re making such a fuss,” Maya tells her;  Delyth is convinced that she is hiding something.   

"I'm just a bit stressed – and you're not helping!"

“I’m just a bit stressed – and you’re not helping!”   

"Oh – DI Lloyd"

Delyth’s phone sounds with a call from DI Lloyd.

"I am grateful to you, honestly"

“I am grateful to you, honestly,” says Eileen, so Sioned wants her to prove it and put a stop to this hunting.   

"I won't turn m y back on my principles"

“No, I won’t turn my back on my principles,” is the stubborn answer.

Sioned warns that she is not going to save her mother’s skin again;  “Do you understand?”   

"I'm going to the village"

Eileen leaves for the village just as DJ arrives.

"You destroyed the only evidence we have!"

“How could you?   You destroyed the only evidence we have!” growls DJ and Sioned maintain she does not know what he is talking about.   

"You're as bad as your mother"

“You’re as bad as your mother – I felt such a fool earlier when I tried to show that photo to Diane.”

“You told Diane about the fox?” Sioned squeals and he reminds her that she and her mother would not listen, so he had to do something.   

"The story will be round the village by now"

“Great  – the story will be all round the village now!” she shouts, “What good do you think that will do to my heritage?”

"Chips for everyone!"

Colin comes back into number 21, announcing, “Chips for everyone!”   He is shocked to see the sergeant sitting there and asks if everything is all right.

"You need to come down to the station with me"

Britt has not been told why she is there, but the DS says, “You need to come down to the station with me.”

"He's not going anywhere until you say why!"

Britt objects to this, insisting, “He doesn’t have to go anywhere until you say why.”

"We've found items of evidence"

This brings the response, “It’s to do with the body that was found in the village – we’ve found items of evidence and we think you might know something about them.”

Colin will not be getting any chips in the near future

He hands over the chips to Britt and is escorted out of the house.   

"Will Colin be all right?"

Kylie anxiously asks, “Will Colin be all right?”

They approach the police car

Outside as they walk towards the police car parked near the Deri, 

"This nothing to do with Colin!"

Britt protests that this is nothing to do with Colin.   Diane has come out of the Deri, 

They wonder what is happening 

while both Anita and Eileen are watching.   Colin is loaded into the car and, 

Britt watches helplessly . . . 

as everyone is watching helplessly, 

. . . as Colin is driven away

he is driven away.