1 May 2025

A scene of devastation

It is the morning after the night before at Penrhewl and when Sioned walks into the room, 

Sioned picks her way through it . . .

she trips over all manner of discarded cans and boxes.   

. . . to the sink

She goes across to the sink to make the two bottles for the twins and meanwhile Dani comes quietly into the room, 

"I fell asleep on the sofa"

apologising, “Sorry, I fell asleep on the sofa – I’ve phoned a taxi.”

"Good!"

“Good!” snarls Sioned 

"Sleep deprivation is a killer"

and when Dani continue that sleep deprivation is a killer, tells her to go home.   

Dani leaves the house

She picks up her belongings and does as she is told.   

Sioned notices something . . . 

Then Sioned notices a lady’s blue under-garment 

. . . lying on the floor . . .

which has been left on the floor;  

. . . and has a fair idea of what it means

when she realises what this means, she has a look of considerable surprise.

"Good morning, Megan"

Megan is in the shop, where she is charged £5 by Colin;  Hywel is also there, buying his paper, and wishes Megan good morning.   

"Did you manage to find a present for Cassie?"

She wonders if he managed to find a present for Cassie and he says that he did.   “Is the shop open this morning?” he asks, so she imagines that he is looking for another present.

"I heard the rugby club have collected a lot of clothes`"

“No, but I heard that the rugby club has collected a lot of clothes for Apêl Maenan and no-one has been to get them yet,” Hywel tells her.   Megan is concerned that no-one has mentioned that to her.   “I would run you up there to get, them, but the car is having its MOT today,” he says.

"I have to open the shop in ten minutes"

Megan worries that she has to open the shop in about ten minutes and Hywel uncharacteristically volunteers to look after the shop for her – something which Colin finds rather strange.

"You're one in a million!"

“You’re one in a million!” she says and hands him the key, “I won’t be very long.”   

"You could have looked after this shop"

Colin comments that if he knew Hywel was free, he would have asked him to look after this shop.   

"First come, first served, Colin"

He is told that it is a case of first come, first served.

Then Lleucu comes into the shop and Colin says, “Just the very person – are you free now?”   

"What have you got in mind?"

She would like to know what he has in mind before she answers, so he explains that he has a few things to do;  

"Can you man the fort?"

“Can you man the fort?”

Colin bribes her with Easter eggs . . .

She advises that she has not got a shift today and was out late last night;  he tries to bribe her by promising that she can eat as many of the half-price Easter eggs as she wants and this persuade her.   

“Lleucs – you’re a star!” he exclaims, 

. . . grabs some chocolates and leaves

then picks a box of chocolates from the shelf and rushes out of the shop.

Dani is back at Maes-y-Deri 

Dani arrives back at Maes-y-Deri, where she hears Mark shouting at Gwern, “If you knew where your school trousers were, you’d be in school by now!”   

"Where the hell have you been?"

When he sees Dani, he demands, “Where the hell have you been?   You’ve been out all night!”

"Don't shout"

She tells him not to shout, but he continues, “Look at you, Dan!   You’ve got children!”

"There's a law against it, is there?"

“There’s a law against mothers enjoying themselves now, is there?” she shouts back.   

He points out that enjoying yourself is one thing, but he has had to look after Gabriel and Gwern this morning.   

"Gwern has lost his trousers!"

“Gwern has lost his trousers and his maths book – Gabriel is sobbing and doesn’t want to go to school, asking where his mother is.”

Dani is surprised by this, because he usually loves school.   Mark can tell that she is still drunk and demands how much she drank last night.   

"Yesterday was a difficult day"

She comes to the realisation that she has really messed up, “But . . . yesterday was a difficult day.”   She takes out the framed picture and shows it to Mark, 

She shows him the picture

explaining that she found it in Yr Antur.

"Shower and a large cup of coffee!"

“Well, I suggest you have a shower and a large cup of coffee!” he instructs her.

Lleucu is having trouble

In the shop, Lleucu is running into problems with the card reader;  Llinos tries her card several times, but it does not register.   

"Pay Colin another time"

“Sorry, I don’t know what’s wrong with it,” Lleucu grumbles, “Take your shopping with you and you can pay Colin another time – just don’t tell Eileen!”

"Where's Colin?"

Then Britt comes in, looking for Colin;  “I need him to shift some boxes in MFC.   I tried to phone him, but there’s no answer.”   

"I have no idea!"

Lleucu has no idea where he is, explaining that he asked her to keep an eye on the place and she has not seen him since.   He did not say when he was coming back, and she is rather irked because the card machine is not working.

Britt walks out again

Britt turns round and walks out of the shop;  on her way remarking, 

"I have no idea where he is"

“I have no idea where he is  – that’s why I’m here!”

"I hope you know it wasn't me"

At Penrhewl, Mathew tells Sioned, “I hope you know it wasn’t me who went with Dani last night.”   

"I found Howard's jeans on the floor"

She replies that she found Howard’s jeans on the floor and he gasps, “Howard and Dani?   Who would have thought it?”

Sioned adds that they were both ‘hammered’ and they both know that Howard has not been with anyone before.

Howard is in a very good mood

At that moment, Howard comes in, whistling cheerfully;  “Good morning, are you all right?”   

Mathew replies that they are all right, but wonders about him;  

"It looks as if you and Dani had a little 'party'!"

“It looks as if you and Dani had a little ‘party’ after everyone left,” he goes on and Sioned says that she is surprised.

"Not the best way to lose your virginity!"

“Sleeping with Dani when you were both ‘hammered’ isn’t the best way to lose your virginity!” she rather pointedly continues.

"I had the best night ever!"

“I had the best night ever, if you must know,” he assures them, “And you should be happy for me.”   

He snatches Mathew's toast . . .

He grabs a slice of toast from Mathew’s plate,  

. . . and the garment

picks up the blue garment Sioned found last night and leaves the room.   Sioned can hardly believe her eyes. 

Lleucu is still at work

As Lleucu continues working in the shop, Colin comes rushing in, offering his profuse apologies.   

"Where have you been?"

“At last – where have you been?” she demands.   

"The crowds and traffic were terrible"

He says that there were crowds and terrible traffic, as he wonders if everything has been OK in the shop.

"Britt is looking for you"

“No – I’ve had a lot of problems – and Britt is looking for you as well!   I couldn’t tell her anything, because I didn’t know anything.”   Colin regards that as a good thing.   She asks, “Do I get an explanation, or what?”

"Promise you won't tell Britt"

Colin realises that he has to tell her;  “But you have to promise me you won’t tell Britt.   I took Kylie to acting lessons – Britt has been coaching her for the Urdd Eisteddfod – 

"Britt 's methods don't suit the piece"

“but her methods don’t quite suit the piece.   Kylie and I don’t want to upset her, so we haven’t told her anything about these professional lessons.”

"How about the box of chocolates?"

Lleucu can understand that, but wonders what the box of chocolates was for, in that case;  “Well, that was a little sweetener for the drama teacher,” he answers, “She’s ‘chock-a-block’ with children wanting to rehearse for the Eisteddfod – and she’s also a chocoholic!   

"You won't say a word, will you?"

“You won’t say a word to Britt, will you?”

Lleucu appreciates that he does not want to hurt Britt and he confirms that is the last thing he wants to do;  he wonders if he is forgiven.   

"If you can mend this card machine"

“Yes, if you can mend this card machine,” she replies.   

"It's always on the blink"

He remarks that it is always on the blink, but is looking furtive and hopes that Lleucu has fallen for his explanation.

"I expect I'd better get it"

Dani is asleep on the sofa in Maes-y-Deri when there is a knock at the door;  Mark, who is getting his breakfast, thinks that he had better answer it.   

She hears Howard's voice

Dani perks up when she hears Howard’s voice.   He asks how she is and she answers with a single word, “Rough!”   He says that he had a good night as well 

"Do you want a cup of tea?"

and Mark offers him a cup of tea, 

"I've got that 'thing' to do"

but Dani replies that Howard will not be staying;  “I’ve got that thing to do!”

Mark does not know what ‘thing’ she is referring to and she mutters something about a new work contract.   

"You don't keep me in the loop these days"

“Oh well, there we are – you don’t keep me in the loop these days,” he sighs.

"How's the hangover, Dani?"

Howard cheerfully asks, “How’s the hangover?”   She demands whether he wants something, because she is busy today.   “I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed last night,” he goes on, 

"Don't worry about Sioned"

“And don’t worry about Sioned – it’s not like she’s never had one too many, is it?” 

The details are slowly filtering back into Dani’s mind – and she finds them quite horrifying.   

"I wanted to give this back to you"

He continues, “Oh, I wanted to give this back to you as well,” 

He hands Dani her property . . .

as he takes the blue garment from his pocket.   

. . . with Mark taking an interest

Mark stops, with the milk bottle in his hand, to look at what is being exchanged.

“I thought perhaps we could meet up again some time,” Howard proposes;  

"I'll see you around, OK?"

Dani vaguely replies that she will see him around and he takes the hint that it is time for him to go, 

"Phone me!"

inviting her to phone him.

"Howard?   Serious?"

Mark looks disparagingly at Sioned;  “Howard?” he says, “Serious?”

Hywel plans his new office

In Megan’s absence from her shop, Hywel has called Mathew to Apêl Maenan and he is taking notes.   “I thought that perhaps the desk could go here,” Hywel tells him, “We shall need a plug socket over there.”

Mathew is surprised by the size of the premises

Mathew is surprised that Quantum Hydro Works cannot afford a bigger office for him, but it is explained that this is just a convenient office;  “You should see their head office!”   Mathew also finds it odd that Megan has not mentioned Apêl Maenan closing.

"I don't think Megan knows"

“Well, I don’t think Megan knows,” says Hywel, “It’s her employer’s job to tell her, not mine.   Listen, Mathew, don’t tell anyone about this, right?   Not until the official announcement next week.”

"Throwing an old woman out of her shop!"

“You’ve got some guts – throwing an old woman out of her shop!” Mathew exclaims, but Hywel reminds him that he is also  taking Quantum Hydro Works’ money, 

"You're just as guilty, Mathew"

so is just as a guilty.   Mathew is not at all happy about the situation.

"I heard about the acting lessons"

As Lleucu passes the bus stop, she sees Kylie coming out of the MFC flat;  “I heard about the acting lessons – how’s it going?”   Kylie seems not to know about any lessons, 

"Colin mentioned it"

but Lleucu says that Colin mentioned it;  she will not tell anyone.

“It was very sweet of Colin to take me – and to try and protect Britt’s feelings – but that’s the kind of bloke he is.”   

"He's one of the good ones"

Lleucu agrees that he is one of the good ones.

Lleucu wonders what she learned today;  “How to act like a tree?”   

"There was no lesson today"

Kylie is puzzled and confirms that there was no lesson today – the teacher sent a message to say it was cancelled.   

Lleucu is puzzled

Now Lleucu is the one to be puzzled, but reminds Kylie to mention her when she does her speech at the Oscars.

She is going to want some answers . . .

Lleucu looks along the street 

. . . from Colin Evans

to where Colin is organising the fruit outside the shop and would like some answers.

Dani arrives at Penrhewl . . .

Dani is back at the farm and 

. . . and Sioned is less than pleased to see her

meets Sioned, who is taking the twins for a walk.   

"If I had a white flag, I'd wave it"

“Look – if I had a white flag, I’d wave it,” she says, “I want to apologise.   I should have said something this morning, but . . .”

"But you were still drunk?"

“But you were still drunk?” suggests Sioned.   Dani acknowledges that she was awful last night – at least she thinks that she was, because she cannot remember a lot.   

"I know I was nasty to you"

She knows that she was nasty to Sioned and upset her.   

"You're about right there"

Sioned emphatically confirms this to be true.

"Will you forgive me, please?"

“I’m sorry – us single mothers need to stick together, don’t we?   Will you forgive me, please?”

Sioned is very aware that Dani is going through a lot, 

"That doesn't give you the right to upset people"

but that does not give her the right to upset other people.   Dani maintains that she did not mean what she said.   “I thought you didn’t remember,” Sioned reminds her. 

“Well, a lot of last night is coming back – with horrific clarity at the moment, so . . .” Dani goes on.

"He was a virgin, Dani!"

“Look, I know that this is none of my business,” Sioned warns, “But don’t hurt Howard – he’s a lot more sensitive than he appears – and that was his first time – he was a virgin, Dani!”   

Dani looks rather 'gobsmacked'

This revelation seems to have stunned Dani.

"It was a late night – but worth it . . ."

Meanwhile, Howard walks into the Deri and asks Mathew if he is all right;  “I’m a bit tired after last night,” he adds, “It was a late night – but worth it – 

". . . if you know what I mean!"

“if you know what I mean!   We had a real connection, you know?”

"Alcohol was more of a propellant"

Mathew, however, is of the opinion that alcohol was more of a propellant than romance last night.   

"You're just jealous!"

“You’re just jealous because I succeeded with Dani and you’ve failed with Sioned!”

Mathew reminds him that Dani has been through a lot lately;  

"She might not be the most dependable person"

“Perhaps she may not be the most dependable person right now,” and Howard enquires what he is trying to say.   “Just remember that it was one night – that’s all,” Mathew adds 

"That's where you're wrong, good boy!"

“That’s where you’re wrong, good boy – I went over to see her and she wants me to phone her,” Howard protests.

Mathew replies, “Well, I’m very happy for you,” and Howard walks away.

Megan has been on a 'wild goose chase'

Megan comes to number 21 to remonstrate with Hywel;  “The caretaker at the rugby club had no idea what I was talking about!”   

"There must have been a misunderstanding"

Hywel maintains that there must have been some sort of misunderstanding, then, as he hands  back the key.

"People are so willing to help each other"

She thanks him for looking after the shop, commenting, “That’s the strength of a community like Cwmderi, isn’t it?   People are so willing to help each other.”

"You've put a lot of time into his place"

Before she leaves, Hywel thanks her for giving so much to the people in this community for so long;  “You’ve put a lot of time into this place over the years, haven’t you?”   

"It's been a great pleasure"

She replies that it has been a great pleasure.

Howard has a quiet drink

Howard is pondering at the bar and at that moment Dani walks in;  

"Howard"

“Howard,” she murmurs and he offers to buy her a drink, so she chooses lemonade.

"I can't stop thinking about last night"

“I can’t stop thinking about last night,” he continues, “I’m free tonight, if you fancy . . .”

"Last night was a mistake"

Dani stops him there;  “Listen, I want to be straight – last night was a mistake – I’d had too much to drink.   We’ve got nothing in common, have we?   And, if I’m honest, you’re not my type.”

"That's not what you said last night"

“That’s not what you said last night,” he protests, and she explains this by pointing out that she had way over her weekly units last night – and so did he.

"You used me!"

He comes to the conclusion, “You used me!”   

"You were more than happy last night"

She disagrees with this, arguing that he was more than happy with the situation last night.   “Because I thought you fancied me!” he says.

She sighs that she does not know him;  

"That didn't stop you jumping on me!"

“That didn’t stop you jumping on me!” he snarls.

“OK, listen – we’re adults and we should know better.   

"Can't we just forget about it?"

“Can’t we just forget it and move on?”   

Howard regards that as a good idea;  

"As cold and selfish as you?"

“Who would want to be with someone as cold and selfish as you, anyway?”   With that, he marches out of the Deri, leaving Dani to pay for her own lemonade.   

"Can you put some vodka in it?"

When it is brought to her, she asks for some vodka in it as well, explaining that she is having a rough day.

Howard crosses the road . . .

Howard walks across the road outside and leans against the fire escape, thinking about the position that he is in 

. . . and debates his next move

and working out what to do next.

"What if Britt finds out?"

In the MFC flat, Kylie asks Colin, “Why did you tell Lleucu about the acting lessons?   What if Britt finds out?”   

"Finds out what?"

Unfortunately, Britt is coming into the room at that moment and enquires about what she is going to find out.

"It's nothing, Britt"

Colin insists that it is nothing and Britt groans, “Listen – I’ve had a day and a half today – I had to shift the MFC stuff all on my own – 

"I've been trying to find Lord Lucan here"

“I’ve been trying to find Lord Lucan here, who went AWOL all morning!   So, if neither of you are going to tell me what . . .”

"Colin's been taking me to acting lessons"

Kylie stops her there to confess that Colin has been taking her to acting lessons;  

"And I didn't want to hurt you"

he adds “I didn’t want to hurt you, you see – that’s why we didn’t say anything.”

Britt realises that they do not think her lessons are good enough and Kylie says that they thought it would help make the performance even better.   

"A bit of professional help can't do any harm"

Colin maintains that a bit of professional help cannot do any harm.

"Do you know why hurts the most?"

“Do you know what hurts the most?” Britt asks, “Not the fact you don’t think my lessons are good enough, but that you went behind my back.”   

Off goes Britt 

She storms off out of the flat, leaving Colin and Kylie looking at each other.

Dani is back at Maes-y-Deri 

Dani is back home at Maes-y-Deri once more, where we see that Gabriel is sitting at the kitchen table.   

"And he chose the jam sandwich?"

Mark tells her that he had the choice between a jam sandwich and toast;  she guesses that he chose the jam sandwich.

Mark wonders how she is feeling now;  

"You're not the first to make a fool of yourself"

“Don’t worry – you’re not the first person to make a fool of themselves.”

"Is it because Mami wasn't there?"

Dani asks Gabriel, “Were you upset going to school today?   Is there something wrong?   Is it because Mami was not there?”   He nods his head.

"I made a mistake"

“Look, I’m sorry – I made a mistake – lots of mistakes, but I’m not going to make them again, OK?   

"We'll have a chat later, yeah?"

“Right, you eat that now and we’ll have a chat later, yeah?”

There is an anonymous phone call . . . 

Her phone sounds and when she answers it, all she can hear is the sound of heavy breathing.   She demands who is there, but there is no response, 

. . . with a lot of heavy breathing

other than the continuation of the heavy breathing.