12 February 2025

Rhys leaves number 21

As Rhys comes out of number 21, Ieuan is approaching;  “It’s a bit early for you, is it?   You’re not looking very fresh – have you got a minute?”   Rhys is rather preoccupied at the moment, 

"Mami's house – it has to go!"

but Uncle Ieu insists, “Mami’s house – it has to go!”

"I'm still in touch with a couple from London"

Rhys is still in touch with a couple from London, but Ieuan has not heard a word from them, although they seemed keen.   

"Perhaps not the view they were looking for"

“Perhaps the view of the dam are not quite the countryside views they were looking for,” he says.

Rhys suspects that he might have changed sides, 

"Can you give it one last little push?"

but Ieuan denies this and asks if Rhys could give the house one last little push;  “Share the spec on social media again?”   

"OK, I'll give it a try"

He agrees that he will give it a try, but Ieuan can see that he is worried about something.

“I’m working all hours at Ceffyl Du – the takings are down since the Deri reopened – and I’m worried about this night before Valentine’s as well.   I’ve only sold two tickets – and one of them was to Dad!”

"I'll shift these"

“Right, give them here, then,” he is instructed, “Come on, you sell the house on the socials and I’ll shift these.   Quid pro quo – win-win!   

"You can rely on Uncle Ieuan!"

“You can rely on Uncle Ieuan!”

Rhys is not optimistic

Rhys does not appear particularly confident of this slowly as he walks towards the brewery.

"Wonderful!"

Tom has prepared croissants for breakfast, which Gaynor regards as, “Wonderful!”   

"Tea or coffee, madame?"

He offers her the choice between tea or coffee, 

"Actually, I'm going for a jog"

but she reveals that she is about to go on a jog.

“What – now?   But I’ve gone to all this trouble – and you can’t, anyway,

"Sit down and have a croissant"

“with your pelvis like it is,” he protests.   She says that she believes in listening to her body, but he tells her not to be silly and to sit down and have a croissant.

"I'll only be half an hour"

As she puts on her jacket, she points out that she likes to run on an empty stomach and will only be about half an hour.   He does not like being disobeyed and warns her, “Don’t come complaining to me when you’re in pain.”

Colin brings out bags of firewood

Colin is displaying bags of firewood outside the shop when Ieuan comes along the street towards him;  “Colin – just the man,” he begins, 

"If you're selling something – no!"

but Colin stresses that if Ieuan is selling something, he is not interested.

"A ticket for Ceffyl Du"

“Interesting you should say that – a ticket for the night before Valentine’s tomorrow night in Ceffyl Du . . .”

"Freeze in Garry's garage!"

Colin stops him there;  “I’ve got better things to do than freeze in Garry’s garage, pretending to enjoy Rhys Llywelyn’s ‘cat pee’, but thanks for the offer.   

No sale there, then

With that, he disappears into the shop.

Gaynor has sustained some injury . . .

Then Gaynor can be seen hobbling along the street, obviously having strained something, so Ieuan tries out his selling technique on her, but she does not want to know.   “A ticket for tomorrow night – there’s a raffle,” he tells her.”

. . . but that does not stop Ieuan's 'hard sell'

She appears to be in some pain as he continues, “I’m sure you wouldn’t say no to a night in a five-star hotel.”   

"Did you say 'raffle'?"

By this time, Colin has come out again with some more firewood and, hearing talk about a raffle, is more receptive.   

“Oh, so you’re interested now, are you?” sneers Ieuan.

"Every ticket is a chance to win"

Gaynor wants to know what is the catch and she is assured that it is all absolutely legitimate;  “Every ticket is a chance to win the grand prize.”

Gaynor thinks that it would be nice to have a break in a hotel;  she agrees to take three tickets.   He asks her to transfer the money later, 

The pain seems to be in that region

while she points out to Colin that the third ticket is for him.

"You need a sit down, Gaynor"

As she is still evidently in pain, Colin invites her into the shop for a sit down.

Tom does not like being kept waiting

Meanwhile at Llwyncelyn, Tom is becoming very angry, sitting at the table and looking at his watch.

"Tom said this would happen"

Colin brings Gaynor a glass of water and she groans, “Tom said this would happen – that it was too soon to venture out.”   

"Hasn't he learned yet nobody tells you what to do?"

He wonders if Tom has learned yet that no-one can tell her what to do.   

"How were things between you and Britt at the start?"

She asks him, “How were things between you and Britt at the start?   You know, in the early days?   Did you argue a lot?”

"She's a very difficult women to live with"

“Well, I can tell you she’s a very difficult woman to live with at the moment,” he answers, “There’s a lot of bitterness and hatred towards the Whites.   Heavens, she lived with them for years, didn’t she?”

Iolo comes in

At that moment the door opens and one of the Whites – Iolo – comes in.   

"You can phone any time, Colin"

Gaynor thanks Colin for the chat and tells him that he can phone her any time.

"Are you all right, Iolo?"

Colin asks Iolo if he is all right, but he is staring at the magazine rack, 

This cover has significance for him

particularly at the words on the front of one, reading, ‘my dad had a secret family’.

“Iolo, what’s wrong?” Colin asks 

"I've got another brother"

and he replies that he has another brother, which comes as rather a shock to Colin.

Tom's patience is running out

Tom has cleared away the breakfast things and when Gaynor returns to the house, he looks at his watch.   

"Where's breakfast gone?"

“Where’s the breakfast gone?”   

"I had to throw it away"

He says that he had to throw it away as it had gone dry;  she did say half an hour.     

"I was chatting to Colin"

She protests that she was not much longer than that, adding that she was chatting to Colin.

"Because you were chatting to your ex-husband?"

“Sorry – you didn’t have breakfast with me because you were talking to your ex-husband?” he demands.   

"He's having trouble with Britt"

She explains that he is having trouble with Britt;  “And he comes to you for comfort?”   Gaynor says that they are friends.

"I've bought three tickets"

She announces that she has bought three tickets for some night at Ceffyl Du tomorrow night;  “And Colin’s coming with us, so it will give you a chance to get to know him.”

"I'm working tomorrow night"

Tom maintains that he cannot be there tomorrow night as he is working, covering a shift for someone;  he is obviously not at all happy.

Anita is washing-up

Anita is doing the washing-up at number 7 when Ieuan comes in through the back door;  he asks how the piano lesson went, but he is told that Iolo cancelled.   

"I was looking forward to that"

“It was a shame, because I was looking forward to it.”

He announces that she has something else to look forward to now – they are going out tomorrow night to Ceffyl Du.   

"Where's that – in Llanarthur?"

At first she wonders where that is, possibly in Llanarthur, so he points out that it is Rhys’ new brewery just up the road.   

"Night before Valentine's"

“He’s having a night before Valentine’s event tomorrow – I’m sure he’d be glad of the support.”

"Will there be a lot of people there?"

Anita is not sure about that, wondering, “Will there be a lot of people there?” and he says that it will be a great opportunity for her to socialise.   They have hardly seen anyone since coming back from their honeymoon.

"Why don't we go to the Deri for a drink

Then he suggests, “I tell you what – why don’t we go to the Deri for a drink tonight?   It’s bound to do you good – we have to show this condition that we won’t give up.   The last thing you should do is lock yourself up in the house.”

"We'll see about tomorrow night"

She agrees that she will go with him to the Deri tonight, but they will see about tomorrow night.

"My head's all over the place the place, Col"

In the shop, Colin brings Iolo a cup of tea and he moans, “My head’s all over the place, Col – it was one Christmas when Tyler and I decided to buy one of those DNA things just to find out more about our roots.   

"This e-mail came last night . . ."

“Tyler was completely obsessed by it, but I forgot about the whole thing until this e-mail came through last night from the company, 

". . . saying they found a strong match – 50%"

“saying they had found a new DNA match – a strong one – 50%.”

"That doesn't mean you've got a brother"

Colin does not consider that 50% means he has got a brother, but Iolo insists that only the closest family can be 50%, “Which means either I’ve been adopted –and I’m pretty sure I haven’t – 

"Or Dad's been lying for years!"

“or Dad has been lying for years!   That’s the only explanation.   

"The only that that makes sense"

“The only thing that makes sense to me now is that Dad had a child with someone else and didn’t tell anyone!”

Rhys is even more worried

Rhys looks even more downcast as he sits in the brewery, but informs Ieuan that his inbox is about to explode, for which he is very grateful.   

"The tickets are going well"

“The tickets are going well,” adds Ieuan, but when asked how many have been sold, 

"Only five?"

he replies, “Five – and there’s the small matter of a raffle as well.”   

He begins explaining

He sits down to explain to Rhys.

"There's always a chance it's a mistake"

Colin points out to Iolo that there is always a chance that it is a mistake, 

"They're pretty spot-on"

but Iolo is adamant, “They’re pretty spot-on with these things.”   

"It might not be your father"

Colin continues that it may not be his father who is guilty.   “Well, he’s lied in the past – 

"He had an affair with Mrs Jenkins, piano"

“he had an affair with Mrs Jenkins, piano.”

"Siôn White isn't whiter than white, is he?"

“Well, Siôn White isn’t whiter than white when it boils down to it, is he?   Mind you, to have another child and kept it a secret for all these years – have you considered that he might not know?”   Iolo wonders if he should phone his father to tell him – or perhaps tell Macs and Huw.

“You need to be pretty certain of your facts before throwing accusations around,” Colin advises, “What exactly did the e-mail say?”   

"It said his name is Alex – and there's a date of birth"

Iolo replies that it said the match was 50% and his name is Alex;  “But there’s more, Col – there’s a date of birth – he’s two months younger than Macs, which means Dad was cheating on Mam when she was pregnant with Macs!   

"Sorry, Col – I have to go!"

“Sorry, Col – I have to go!”

"I'm sure you'll be happy if . . ."

As she comes downstairs in Llwyncelyn, Gaynor is saying, “Tom, I’m sure you’ll be happy if we won this raffle – you might forgive me for the breakfast,” 

Tom is not there . . .

but then she finds that he is nowhere to be seen and cannot understand where he has gone.

. . . he is marching into the shop

At that moment, he is actually walking through the door of the shop, 

"Good morning!"

where Colin wishes him good morning.   

"I'm worried about Gaynor"

“A word to the wise,” says Tom, “I’m worried about Gaynor – she hasn’t been the same since Cheryl disappeared – she breaks down, crying without warning.   She can’t sleep, she’s not eating properly.”

"She seemed perfectly all right earlier on"

Colin points out that she seemed perfectly all right  earlier on;  “Yes, I'm sure she did,” Tom goes on, “She works very hard to give the impression that everything is fine.”

"I like to think she can tell me things"

“I don’t like to think she can’t tell me things,” sighs Colin and Tom understands that the two of them are good mates – but that is the problem, in a way.   She thinks too much of Colin to say anything, but the truth is she finds it very difficult to talk to him at the moment.”  

"Your sister disappeared a while ago"

Colin cannot for a moment believe this, but Tom continues, “Your sister disappeared a while ago, didn’t she?   So seeing you reminds Gaynor of her situation – 

"Opening old wounds about Izzy"

“and between you and me, all this is opening old wounds about Izzy.”

"She would have said something"

Colin is very concerned about this but insists, “Oh, no, she would have said something, guaranteed.”

She’s adamant that you shouldn’t know,” Tom assures him, 

"She couldn't stop crying"

“Everything got too much for her again this morning – she came home and couldn’t stop crying.   Through all of this, she’s putting everyone else first – she’s got it into her head to look after you – to take you to this night before Valentine’s, tomorrow night.   

"I'm just worried it's too much for her"

“I’m just worried that it’s too much for her.   

"Can you keep your distance?"

Can I ask, as you think so much of her, to keep your distance just for now?   I knew you’d understand.”   

He has got Colin very worried

He walks out of the shop, leaving Colin very worried.

"He needs to offer something worth winning"

Ieuan explains to Anita that if Rhys wants to attract customers, he needs to offer something worth winning.   Anita simply wants to know who is paying for the hotel;  when told it will be Rhys, 

"With the profits from five tickets?"

she wonders how that can be done with the profit from five tickets.

“You wait until the rumour spreads – the Ceffyl Du will be packed tomorrow night, you’ll see.”

"Heavens – you look shattered!"

Then Colin comes into the Deri, commenting to Anita, “Heavens, you look shattered – are you OK?   Sorry, I was just worried.”   Anita replies that she is fine 

Iolo is by the bar

and Colin goes to the bar, near where Iolo is sitting.

"I must have left my phone on silent"

Tom is back at Llwyncelyn, Gaynor has been getting rather concerned about him, but he says that he must have left his phone on silent.   

"I'm sorry about this morning"

“Look, I’m sorry about this morning,” she tells him, “I should not have gone for a run when you had organised such a nice surprise.”

"Forget it"

He tells her to forget about it and hands her a present;  

He has another present for her

“A little something to help you with your running – or your walking, to start with.”   

"Please stop spending money on me!"

She begs him to stop spending money on her, as he has only just bought her that bracelet.   

"You're worth every penny!"

He insists that she is worth every penny.

He explains that his gift can tell her about her heart rate, how fast she is going and how many steps she has done.   

"What have I done to deserve you?"

“Tom, what have I done to deserve you?”   He wants her to promise that she is all his 

She kisses him

and she naïvely kisses him.

“Right, shall we try it out – if your pelvis is OK?”   She regards walking as a very good idea.   

"We can link it to your phone"

He quickly links it up with her phone, so that they can see how far it is to the middle of the village.

The controlling is coming along nicely

He smiles with satisfaction.

"I won't be going tomorrow night"

As Anita puts on her coat in the Deri, she tells Ieuan that she will not be going tomorrow night.   He protests that she has not seen half the village for months, but she wants to go home to get some sleep, which she says she needs.   

"Right, I'll come with you"

When he offers to come with her, 

"I can get home!"

she snarls, “I can get home!” 

He was not expecting that

which rather takes him by surprise.

Tom and Gaynor arrive

As she leaves, Tom and Gaynor are coming in;  

"Only you and I will be going tomorrow night"

she immediately tells Colin, “Only you and I will be going tomorrow night.”   

"Sorry – I can't come, either . . ."

Colin can see that Tom is watching, so informs her that he is sorry that he cannot come either, 

". . . the best bargains are at night"

because he has to go to the cash and carry.   He maintains that night is the best time to go, as that is when the best bargains are available.

Gaynor cannot get her money back

She finds this response rather strange, so now she goes to Ieuan to explain that she only needs two tickets.   “You paid for three entries into the raffle and I can’t pull out one now,” he protests, “But you’ve got three chances of going to the five-star hotel.”   

"Well, I hope I win, then"

She hopes that she wins in that case.

"How could he hide the whole thing?"

At the other end of the bar, Iolo is demanding, “How could he hide the whole thing from us for all these years?   And why?”   

"Only one person can answer that"

Colin tells him that there is only one person who can answer those questions for him, so Iolo heads homewards.

"I thought you had gone to bed"

At number 7, Anita has been looking at her file when Ieuan returns home, expecting that she would have gone to bed.   “I’m going to have to tell people,” she says, “People will see a difference in me – I’m going to change in the future.   

"I'm going to look and feel ill"

“I’m going to feel and look ill – it says so in this file.”

"You'll always be perfect to me"

He maintains that she will always be perfect to him, but she is adamant that he does not understand;  there is no point denying it any longer.   

"I'm not going to get better"

“I’m not going to get better – it’s better that people know now – 

"It will be easier in the end"

“it will be easier in the end.”   

He agrees that she must do whatever she thinks is best;  

"We'll do this your way, all right?"

“We’ll do this your way, all right?” 

Iolo is composing a reply . . .

At Y Felin, Iolo is composing an e-mail to this newly-discovered sibling;  ‘How are you?   According to the website we are half-brothers.   This has come as a shock to me.   Did you have any idea that I existed?   Warm regards, Iolo.’   

. . . and sends it . . .

He sends the message 

. . . with fear and trepidation

and anxiously closes the laptop.