3 January 2024

"I'm going to get rid of them today"

Jinx is on the phone to Dani, informing her that the rats are back, “But I’m going to get rid of them today, I promise –

"Open the door?   Why?"

“What do you mean, ‘open the door’?   OK.”   

Seren rushes in

He does open it and Seren rushes in, as Dani tells him that she wants to see the rats before they go.

"I'm not going to let her give a rat a 'cwtch', am I?"

“OK – I’m not going to let her give a rat a ‘cwtch’, am I?”   

"I saw one under there"

Seren is already enthusiastically searching for a rat, and he tells her that he saw one under the sink, so she has a look in there.   

"There's nothing there"

She is disappointed not to find anything.

“The plan is to buy traps today and get rid of them,” he continues, 

"You're not trapping them?"

but she is horrified at the thought.   He reassures her that they are humane ones;  

"We can release them out in the countryside"

“They won’t hurt them – they trap them and then we can release them out in the countryside.”    Seren is eager to help him with this.

"The leak is worse, Col"

At number 21 a plastic bowl is in the middle of the kitchen floor, catching the drips;  Britt calls to Colin and points out that the leak is worse.   

"We won't have to use the electric again"

He concludes that they will not have to use the electricity again today.

"Why is this happening now?"

“Why is this happening now?   I just want the place to be perfect by the time this foster child arrives!” Britt exclaims, “It would be awful if we missed our opportunity because of the house!”

"It must be the shower, guaranteed!"

Colin goes back upstairs to check, confident that it will be the shower.   “If it’s that simple, why didn’t you sort it yesterday?” she shouts, 

She finds a bucket . . .

then goes to the cupboard to find another receptacle to catch the water.

“Do you have any idea what is causing it?” she yells, and he thinks he has found the problem.   

. . . but then there is a deluge

However, after a brief pause when the dripping does stop, a large quantity of water suddenly cascades down, causing Britt to scream.

"Mathew, I want to ask a favour"

Anita arrives at the shop flat, wanting a favour from Mathew;  

"You'd better not want a day off"

“You’d better not want a day off – we’ve been so busy since the storm,” he replies.

"Louise is hassling me"

Disappointed, she informs him that Louise is hassling her to buy more stock and Mathew wonders what that has to do with him.   “You know how much stock I have already – I don’t want to buy more – not until I’ve got rid of what I already have!” she wails, “I need some time to make a plan.”

"Why don't you just give up?"

Mathew declares that the more he hears about that company, the worse it is;  “Why don’t you just give up?”   

"They won't take any stock back . . ."

She would like to do that, but they will not take any stock back, 

". . . and I have to get rid of everything"

so she has to get rid of the stuff she has.

"You don't have to affect APD's work"

Mathew insists she has to do that without affecting APD’s work;  “Now, come on – we’ve got work to do!”

Lengthy instructions for Colin

In the shop, Colin is looking at a notebook and appears very upset at what he reads, 

As he stock the shelves . . .

then begins to restock the shelves, 

. . . he notices an unsavoury odour

suddenly realising that he does not smell too fresh.

Rhys has a rat problem

Rhys is in APD, buying mousetraps as Anita is telling him how people who bought ‘Meddal’ products have been giving them as Christmas presents, 

"It's bound to be quiet, this time of year"

so he points out that it is bound to be quieter at this time of year.

"The sooner you get rid of these, the better"

When Mathew walks in he instructs her, “The sooner that you get rid of these, the better.”   

"Is that the stuff that gave Cheryl a rash?"

Rhys takes a sniff at one of them, and asks whether it was the stuff that gave Cheryl a terrible rash.   

Anita simply puts that down to sensitive skin, “But you’re right, she and her big mouth didn’t help things at all!   

"I want to concentrate on selling to men now"

“As I was saying, I want to concentrate on selling to men now.”

"The boys in the gym always use them!"

Rhys does not take this seriously;  “Yes, good idea – because the boys in the gym always use hair and skin products after their workout!”

"That hand stuff was all right"

Mathew does point out that the stuff he and Jason put on their hands was all right, so Anita takes that to mean he will help her with the selling.   

"I can't go in the men's changing room"

She protests, “Look, I can’t go into the men’s changing room at the gym to sell!”

"They'd think there's something wrong with me!"

“Neither can I – people would think there’s something wrong with me!” Rhys answers and Mathew stresses that he does not have the time for this.   She continues pleading that it will not take up too much of his time, 

"Just take one box up to the flat"

so Mathew tells Rhys to take just one box up to the flat;  he is not promising, but they will see if they can help.

"You brag you're a natural salesman"

“Just do it!  You’re always bragging about being a natural salesman – well, prove it!” he snarls.   

Anita is told to get on with her work

Then he turns to Anita, “Don’t you dare order any more stock after we sell these.   Now, please do some work.”

"Mathew –  need your help!"

Britt comes rushing in;  “Mathew, there’s water coming through the kitchen ceiling and I’m worried about the electrics.   The house is freezing – I need your help!   

"I was hoping the place would be perfect"

“I was hoping the place would be perfect by the time the foster child arrived, and now this!”   Mathew will go over there now and take a look.

Colin – in a state of undress

Colin is in the shop flat, clad only in his underpants after taking a shower, 

"What are you doing here?"

when Rhys returns, and is rather surprised by this sight.   

"I can explain, Rhys . . ."

“I can explain,” he gasps, “I would have asked, there was no-one here and I was desperate for a shower.”

". . . I've only been here five minutes at the most . . ."

Rhys enquires what is wrong with his shower and is told, “There are all sorts of problems with the water and electrics – we can’t have a shower.   I’ve only been here a few minutes – five minutes at the most – 

". . . and it won't happen again"

“and it won’t happen again.   We have to sort things out at the house pretty quickly, 

"A foster child is coming"

“because a foster child is coming to stay with us and we want everything to be perfect.”

"I didn't know you were doing that"

Rhys did not know that they were doing that and Colin is looking forward to it;  Rhys now does not mind Colin using the shower, 

"Could you ring or text first?"

but would like him to ring or text first.   

“The thing is, I was downstairs in the shop earlier after running around like a madman in the panto last night and repairing things in the house this morning – 

"I'm telling you – not pretty!"

“I lifted my arm – and I’m telling you – not pretty!”

"This smells nice . . .~"

“Try this, then,” Rhys invites him, and Colin tries it, remarking on the pleasant smell;  however, 

". . . but I don't want to pay for it"

when he is told that it is £5, he changes his mind.

“You’ve used it now, to have to pay,” he is told, and as Colin fumbles for his wallet, 

"I hear you were great as Eileen last night"

Rhys says that he has heard Colin was great as ‘Eileen’ in the Panto last night.

"No, just a normal farm wife"

“Eileen?   No, I was just playing a normal farm wife, that’s all,” Colin naïvely corrects him.

“Even though you didn’t call her ‘Eileen’, it was pretty obvious!” Rhys explains, “Come on, Col – didn’t you realise?”   

Colin grabs his belongings

Suddenly Colin comes to the conclusion that he is right;  he frantically gathers together his clothes and boots.

"That's why she left me a long list of things to do!"

As he runs towards the door with bare feet and still wearing the towel, he shouts, “So that’s why she left me a long list of things to do – how did you know about this?   You weren’t even there!”   As he leaves, Rhys is laughing.

Number 21 is very cold

Britt is huddling under a duvet in the armchair when Colin returns home, now fully dressed, and she comments that he smells nice.   

"Did you see any similarity?"

He anxiously asks her, “Did you see any similarity between me and Eileen in the Panto last night?”

"Of course – that's why out was so funny!"

“Of course – that’s why it was so funny!” she answers.   He declares that he was not trying to be Eileen, but is told not to worry about that now, as they have other things to sort out.   

"You should check the outside wall"

She thinks they ought to check the outside wall, to see if the leak is coming from there.

"There's a rat, the size of a fox!"

He goes outside to take a look, but quickly rushes back, shouting that there is a rat out the back;  “It was the size of a fox!” he yells, 

"Don't open the door, in case it comes in!"

“Don’t open the door, in case it comes in!   It was brazen – standing there in the garden as if it owned the place!”

Eileen will put that on the list of jobs for Mathew, and Colin is surprised that he is available;  

"He'll be back to fix everything"

“Yes, he’s just gone to get a few things and then he’ll be here to fix everything.”   

"You're an angel!"

Colin describes her as an angel.

"Then the door closes behind it"

As they peruse the rat traps in APD, Jinx explains, “With this one, if it goes inside to eat the food, the door closes behind it.”   Seren is worried that it might hurt the rat, but he assures her that it does not.

“It gets locked in there until you release it later – in a field – wherever you like, 

Seren is excited at the prospect

“as long as it’s far away from the village.”   

APD are having a run on rat traps

He takes it to the counter, just as Colin comes in, also wanting something to deal with the rats.

"Perhaps I should call you 'Eileen'!"

“Oh here he comes – Colin, ‘star of the stage’ – or perhaps I should call you ‘Eileen’,” Anita jokingly remarks and he wants a rat trap.   

"Make sure it's a humane one, Colin"

Jinx insists that he should get a humane one, as stipulated by Seren.

"As long as it gets rid of the swine!"

“I don’t care which kind, as long as it gets rid of the swine!” says Colin, and Anita quickly changes the subject, pointing out that the storm may have caused the rats.

Colin had been hoping that there was only one, but Anita reminds him, “If you see one, there’s a plague!”   

"You mean there are more?"

Seren is very excited by the prospect that there are more of them and they leave for the shop to get some cheese for the trap.

"Chocolate or peanut butter!"

“You don’t need cheese – chocolate or peanut butter,” recommends Anita, “There are instructions on the box.”   Colin invites Seren to come over later if she wants to help, 

"Mathew said to put everything the same bill"

then informs Anita that Mathew said to put everything on the same bill.

"Anything for the star of the village!"

“Anything for the star of the village!” comments Anita and Colin seems concerned.

Mathew has quickly solved the problem

Matthew is up a stepladder in the kitchen of number 21 and announces he has now finished the repair;  he advises Britt that the problem was tiles on the roof which had probably moved during the storm.   “The water came in through the bathroom and then down here – 

"Don't worry, it's sorted now"

“but don’t worry, it’s sorted now.”

Britt is so happy that she says she could kiss him;  he tells her that he will have to put another coat of paint on the ceiling when it has dried out.   Now they can put the heating back on, and Mathew imagines that it will be a lovely house for a child.

"Hallelujah!"

Colin comes in and she tells him, “Hey, we’ll have a warm house tonight, Col!” which he greets with some relief.   

"Are you paying cash, or . . ?"

Mathew asks how they are paying;  “No, we’re not paying – 

"Hywel Llywelyn will pay"

“Hywel Llywelyn is the landlord, so he pays for things like this.”

Mathew does not want to get caught up in any dispute;  she is confident that she will give Hywel the invoice and he will sort it.   

"And put these on the bill as well!"

“And remember to put these two rat traps on the bill as well,” Colin adds.

"Did you speak to Hywel about it?"

After Mathew has gone, Colin asks Britt if she had spoken to Hywel about this, as he is still convinced that he was the cause of the problem.   

"Don't worry about that now, Col"

“Don’t worry about that now – we’ve got to set these traps – well, after I put the heating on,” Britt tells him.

Jinx cannot see any rats under the sink

Jinx peers cautiously into the cupboard under the sink, but cannot find any sign of wildlife.

Rhys tries his sales technique

At Llwyncelyn, Rhys is trying the hard sell on his father;  “You’re supposed to use it after having a shower.”   

"How much is this going to cost me?"

Hywel is interested in how much it will cost and is informed that he can be given a ‘deal’;  “£20 if you buy three different things.”

He hands over £20

There is a knock at the door and Hywel hands over £20 before going to answer it;  Rhys appears to regard this selling business as ‘a piece of cake’.

The caller is Mathew, who apologises for coming unannounced;  

"I didn't think you wanted to sell those"

when he sees Rhys, he snarls, “Oi – I didn’t think you wanted to sell those!”   Waving the £20 note, Rhys replies that it is just so easy.   Mathew hands over an envelope to Hywel, who finds that it is an invoice for the work at Colin’s and Britt’s house.

"I didn't ask you to do any work"

“My house, you mean – what work?” Hywel snaps, “I didn’t ask you to do any work!”   

"It had to be done, with a child on the way"

He is told that it had to be done, as there is a child on the way, 

"Is Britt pregnant?"

and Hywel incredulously demands, “Is Britt pregnant?”

“No, they’re fostering,” Mathew explains 

"After they made such good job with their own kids?"

and Hywel sneers that they made such a great job with their own kids, again insisting that he is not going to pay the bill.   

"I've done the job – there's the invoice!"

Mathew simply states, “I’ve done the job – that’s the invoice!   I don’t care what the arrangement is with Britt, as long as I get paid by the end of the month.”

Jinx places the trap in there . . .

In the back garden of number 9, Jinx is working out where to put the trap, deciding on the bottom of the small greenhouse-like structure (which is unlikely to get much sunlight) next to the small shed where Gwern hid the two guns some months ago.

. . . checks for any lurking rats . . .

Checking to make sure that there are no rats lurking in the vicinity, 

. . . picks up then table . . .

he turns his attention to the table, overturned by the storm, and a shrub which has been uprooted 

. . . and looks at the uprooted shrub

and which he intends to replant.

"The work's been done – just pay him"

Hywel has immediately gone to confront Britt;  “The way I see it, I’ve taken something off your plate,” she tells him, “What does it matter?   The work’s been done – just pay him.”

Hywel argues that he did not want the work done, so it is up to Britt to pay.   

"You have a duty – you're the landlord"

“You have a duty, Hywel – you’re the landlord – and as you know, we’ve got a child on the way.   It won’t be long until they arrive now – and we’ve had an inspection on the house – several actually – to make sure the house is safe – 

"We'd better make sure it is safe!"

so we’d better make sure that it is!   They can’t come here if there is no heating or electric.”

"I'm not paying the bill!"

Hywel remains adamant that he is not paying the bill   

"I'm sure the Western Post would be interested"

and she replies, “Well, you know what? “I’m sure the Western Post would be interested in a local councillor who lets a foster child live in a cold and damp house – not to mention the carbon monoxide business!”

"You wouldn't do that – would you?"

“You wouldn’t do that?” he demands, 

"I've got the photos and videos here"

and she points out that it just so happens that she has photos and videos on her phone.   She is about to take the phone from her bag when he reluctantly agrees that he will pay the bill, just this once.

"Don't ever go behind my back again!"

“But don’t ever go behind my back again – all right?” he growls;  she advises him to close the door on his way out, 

"Don't want to let this lovely heat out"

“as she does not want to let this lovely heat out.

Before he goes he remembers that there was one more thing;  

"Due to unforeseen costs . . ."

“Due to costs which nobody could have foreseen, the rent might have to be increased by, say, 10% from the first of next month.”

"You can't do that!"

Britt objects strongly to this, 

"Well, as you said, I am the landlord"

but he reminds her that she has confirmed he is the landlord, then leaves the house.

Jinx encounters something solid . . .

Jinx is digging the hole to replant the shrub when his spade hits something solid;  

. . . and further excavation . . .

he resorts to removing the earth by hand 

. . . reveals something shocking . . .

and suddenly recoils in horror, 

. . . human remains

as he reveals in the bottom of the hole what look suspiciously like the bones of a human hand.