Cwmderi Diary 2016: 26 July 2016

Who is the mysterious stranger . . .

A hooded figure walks past Tomos ac Ellis

. . . who approaches the garage . . .

and round the corner to the garage,

. . . and picks the lock?

where he expertly picks the lock and lets himself in, setting off the alarm.

"Sorry I woke you, Col!"

Britt apologises for waking Colin, but she had been staring at the ceiling for ages, and decided to make a cup of tea. “You should have given me a nudge,” he tells her,

"We could have thought of something!"

“I’m sure we could have thought of something to pass the time!”

"I can't stop thinking about Chester"

Britt’s mind is elsewhere, and cannot stop thinking about Chester. Colin assures her that he can look after himself; “He is a Monk, after all!” Britt considers he is too young to be out there on his own.

Colin . . . in a dressing gown?

Garry comes in and is somewhat disconcerted by the sight of Colin in his dressing gown; he is on the way to the brewery and has come to collect the invoice for last week’s delivery.

"There's not much we can do"

He tries to allay Britt’s fears; “If Chester doesn’t want to be found, there’s not much we can do.” Colin agrees that he will come back when he is ready.

Break-in at the garage!

Then Garry’s phone alerts him to the fact the CCTV at the garage has been triggered, so he leaves, much to Britt’s displeasure, as she wanted to talk about Chester.

The intruder searches

The hooded figure searches the desk in the garage office and find some keys, but then panics when Garry comes in.

Garry finds that it is . . .

“Come on – don’t panic! It’s only me, and I just want a chat,” says Garry.

. . . Chester, who refuses to go home

Chester, for it is he, insists he is not going home, and Garry asserts that he is lucky it was not Gethin responding to the alert message.

"I don't want to go to prison!"

Chester does not want to go to prison, but Garry assures him that Georgina is on the case, and if he is dead set against going home,

"Look, I'll drive you somewhere safe"

Garry will drive him to somewhere safe.

Every woman's essential accessories

Sheryl puts a padlock and length of chain into her bag,

She checks the address of Children's Services

checks an address on the laptop, and leaves Cysgod y Glyn.

"I want answers!"

Outside, she encounters Hywel, and reiterates what she told him last night; “I won’t sit back – I want answers, and I won’t leave the Social Services office until I get them!”

He decides that he is going with her, and urges her to listen to him, but is disregarded;

"The last thing I'm going to do is listen to you!"

“Listen to you? That’s the last thing I’m going to do – from now on, I’m on my own!”

Britt is not relaxing very much

Britt grumbles, “The least he could have done is stay and discuss it!” as Colin massages her shoulders in an unsuccessful effort to relax her. “He has more important things on his mind – like beer barrels and gearboxes!”

"Garry is as concerned as you"

Colin reassures her that Garry is as concerned as her, but shows it in a different way, as everyone has their own way of coping.

"Granny Mwnt, for instance"

“Take Granny Mwnt, for instance – when she swallowed her false teeth, everyone panicked except Grandad. He kept cool – she was choking on them, but he kept his nerve

"He reached in and fished them out!"

and just fished them out! Mind you, she did have a big mouth!”

Britt finds this comical

This cheers Britt up a great deal, and she describes Colin as a tonic, and very supportive to her.

One of Garry's lock-ups

Out in the country somewhere, Garry unlocks a storage building; “We don’t have to do this – we could go back to Cwmderi,” he says,

"I'm not going home!"

but Chester flatly refuses.

"Text your mother"

“Do one thing for me,” pleads Garry, “Text your mother – you don’t have to say where you are – as she’s worried sick about you. She hasn’t had a good night’s sleep for a fortnight.”

"Don't say anything, or I shall go"

Chester will not, and threatens to leave again if Garry reveals any details. “She deserves to know you’re still alive!” Garry adds, “Come on, you need to get settled into your new home.”

"I want to know where my daughter is!"

Arriving at the Social Services office, Sheryl comes straight to the point that she is not here to waste time; “I want to know where my daughter is!”

"Ah, yes, the little girl from Uganda"

The officer, Mali Rees, is in charge of the case, and advises that they are awaiting reports from the police. She says that human trafficking is a serious crime, but Sheryl replies, “It’s not trafficking – I adopted her – or tried to, anyway.”

It is pointed out to her that there is a protocol to follow, and that it is not possible to allow Sheryl contact with Esther.

"I realise this is very frustrating"

“I realise this is very frustrating, but if everything works out, she could be home in no time,” Mali tells her.

"I don't know how much more I can take!"

Sheryl wonders how much more of this she can take; “She is missing me, and I just want to know that she’s OK!” When informed that the matter is out of Mali’s hands,

"It's answers I want!"

Sheryl emphasises, “I’ve had enough discussions – it’s answers I want! I’m not moving from here until I know where my child is!

"I'm not moving!"

“Someone here must know where my she is – and I’m not moving until you tell me!”

A Hywel's-eye-view of Sheryl

Hywel appears outside the door, and is admitted against Sheryl’s wishes;

"This is not the solution"

“This is not the solution – annoying Social Services staff!” he tells her, “They’re not allowed to tell you where she is. You’ve had a lot of stress lately, but this is going too far.”

"She will have forgotten who I am!"

Sheryl frantically explains, “I can’t cope any more – I can’t sleep, eat, or do anything without the empty feeling that Esther is out there, thinking I’ve let her down like all the others. She won’t be able to understand where I am! A whole week has passed – that’s a long time for a small child. She will have forgotten who I am! There must be a way to see her!”

"Is this the way you show you're a responsible mother?"

Exasperated, Hywel replies, “Is this the way to show you’re a responsible mother?” She says she is willing to do anything for her child, whatever it takes.

"No way will I give up on Esther!"

She could not be there for Meilyr, and there is no way she will give up on Esther.

"You could do with a bath!"

As they sit in the sunshine, Garry comments, “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you could do with a bath, couldn’t you? We could go to the Deri now – and you could get a square meal!”

"No, it's too risky!"

Predictably, Chester refuses the offer as being too risky.

"I have experience of being on the run"

“I have some experience of being on the run,” Garry tells him, “But I always managed to go home for a shower. You can stay here as long as you like, on one condition!”

"Contact Mam, right?"

Chester deduces that this is that he contact his mother. “I’m putting myself on the line for you!” Garry reminds him, and Chester agrees to the condition.

“Right, that’s enough preaching for one day,” says Garry,

"The cops will be able to smell you out!"

“The cops will be able to smell you out at this rate!” and he leaves.

Britt is still sniggering

Britt is still giggling about Colin’s gran, and he jokes that he will have to attack her, like grandad getting the false teeth.

Their kiss is . . .

The ensuing tussle gradually turns into a kiss.

. . . interrupted by a text from Chester

Then the text alert sounds on her phone, and when she sees it is a message from Chester, she rushes out.

Sheryl is still immovable

Despite other clients waiting, Sheryl still refuses to budge, snarling at Hywel,

"You'd love to see me rot in prison!"

“You’d love to see me rot in prison! You started all this – and haven’t raised a finger to sort it out! At least I’m trying – I care what happens!”

Hywel tells her a thing or two

Hywel is furious; “Have you listened to yourself? Of course I care! I don’t see her face, smiling at me – I keep asking if I did the right thing – feel terrible that I hurt you so badly – feel like a lowlife for going to the authorities! But it was the right thing to do – you, me and Esther – that’s what matters most!”

Chester gets into the chippy flat

Chester makes an appearance by the Medical Centre, and lets himself into the chip shop flat.

Britt has been demanding answers from Chester

Britt rushes into the Deri and shows Garry the message from Chester;

"Oh – you've heard from him, have you?"

he feigns amazement, but seeing the replies Britt has already sent, urges her not to scare him off. “He’ll come home in his own good time.”

"You're a man of the world, Garry"

When she has gone, Colin asks Garry for some advice; “It’s been a while since I was . . . intimate with a woman,” he says, embarrassed, “I might be a bit out of practice – and you’re a man of the world – I feel I need a bit of guidance! Could you give me some tips?”