Cwmderi Diary 2016: 2 November 2016

When Ed returns to the village . . .

As Ed arrives in his taxi outside the Antur, Sioned comes out and demands why he has not answered her calls; she had another job for him, which has now gone to another taxi company.

. . . he again incurs the wrath of Sioned

“Do you listen to anything I say? It’s about time you learned to communicate!” she snaps.

What are APD doing to the Antur with all this scaffolding?

Cadno and DJ walk up the street with boxes of vegetables, and Ed tells DJ he is looking forward to the match tonight. “Cwm Nant won’t make it easy for us,” warns DJ. Sioned, standing in the doorway with a sour look on her face, hears this.

DJ is fighting fit

Then DJ meets Eifion and tells him he is as fit as a fiddle;

"This is a very important match"

Eifion wants everyone on top form for this important match.

"What size glass?"

Sara is fretting, “It says to drink a glass of water – what size glass – a pint?”

"Come on – we'll be late!"

Jason urges her to get a move on, or they will be late for their appointment. As they are about to leave, Diane comes in through the back door,

Another delay they did not need

asking if Sara wants her to go to the clinic with her, and Sara declines the offer.

"Come over for dinner, about six"

Jason assures his mother that she will be the first to know of any news, and invites her and Dai for dinner, about six; Sara is not particularly happy about this.

At number 7, Iolo has lost his rugby shirt;

Tyler has washed Iolo's shirt

Tyler has washed it and put it in his kit bag, but asks, “Do you have to play tonight?

"I don't want you getting injured!"

“I don’t want you to get injured! You can play as much as you like, but not before Friday!”

"I shall be all right!"

Iolo is quite confident that he will be all right.

"You're not playing!"

Ed is also packing his kit when Sioned announces, “You’re not playing! I need you home with me.” He pleads that this is an important game, which the team has been working up to for months.

"Do I look as if I'm bothered?"

“Do I look as if I’m bothered?” Sioned demands, “I mean it – you’re not playing! I want you at home – there are a load of invoices to do, and I want them done today! Just for the record, you should have checked with me first before agreeing to play!”

"Why are you being like this?"

He argues that she has never made this stipulation before, and asks why she is being like this. “Put that stuff away, Ed!” she orders,

"I'm going out for five minutes"

“I’m going out for five minutes – when I come back, I don’t want to see those bags!”

At Bryntirion, Diane is in a hurry to get somewhere; “I can’t believe that we’re going to be grandparents again – I don’t feel old enough!”

"Of course you're old enough!"

Dai assures her that she is old enough.

Ed looks, disinterested, at the invoices

Ed looks glumly at the invoices, then gets up from the sofa and picks up his bag,

He finds his way is barred by Sioned

only to be confronted by Sioned, who refuses to let him pass. “I meant what I said – you’re staying home!” she snarls.

"I can't let the club down"

He whimpers that he will only be a couple of hours and will come straight back; he cannot let the club down.

"But you can let me down!"

“But you can let me down!” rages Sioned, “Rugby is more important than your wife! What sort of husband would do that?

"You need to think about what really matters!"

“You need to think long and hard about what really matters – rugby or me. Well?”

"You, Sioned"

He mumbles that she is more important.

She triumphantly informs him, “Right – that’s the storm over – put that bag away and get changed, and we’ll go to the Deri. You can think of an excuse on the way!”

"Why not have battered sausage and chips?"

Diane is cooking at Jason’s and Sara’s house, with Dai complaining, “It would be much easier if we bought chips and battered sausages!” Diane is insistent that she has to cook something wholesome, as Sara has to eat properly, hence the casserole.

"I've made a start on the casserole"

Jason and Sara are shocked to find them there, but announce that all is well,

Sara points out the baby to Dai . . .

and show the scan photo, which Dai has difficulty in understanding. “I can’t wait to give him a cwtch!” says Diane,

. . . but he seems to be having difficulties

and asks if they are allowed to tell people now.

"Well, he said he was coming"

DJ and Eifion are moaning that Ed has not turned up, but have to leave for the rugby ground;

"Sorry – I've sprained my wrist"

then Ed arrives, with a pathetic excuse that he has sprained his wrist and cannot play.

"Tyler, can you help us out?"

Eifion is in dire need of a replacement player, and calls upon Tyler, who readily agrees;

Tyler is enthusiastic

this irks Iolo, as Tyler had been pleading with him not to play earlier.

"Is he under the thumb?"

As they all leave, Eifion comments to Sioned, “Are you the bodyguard, or is he under the thumb?”

DJ is in a bad way . . .

Later at Penrhewl, after the match, DJ staggers in, after being injured in the first five minutes of the match.

. . . with a shoulder injury

He is in considerable pain with his shoulder,

Eifion is less than sympathetic

but Eifion recommends, “Tuck the baby up in bed with a couple of paracetamol, and he’ll be fine in the morning! I’m off to celebrate – we thrashed them, 23–8!”

Cadno is worried about the work not getting done

Cadno is perturbed that DJ will not be able to work tomorrow, and there are fences to put up.

There has been another rugby injury!

In the Deri, Iolo applies an ice pack to Tyler’s black eye, acquired during the match, and tells him optimistically, “It will get worse before it gets better – good timing for the wedding photos!

"You should have listened to me!"

“I knew this would happen – you should have listened to me!”

“What, like you listened to me this morning?” demands Tyler. Iolo tells Ed, who happens to pass, that this injury should have been his.

"See, you were right not to play"

When Ed returns to his seat, he is told by Sioned, “See, you were right not to play – they all get injured. I know what will cheer you up – another drink!”

When Jason and Sara come in, Jason says it feels weird announcing their good news there.

"We're having a baby!"

He offers Iolo and Tyler a drink, saying, “We’re celebrating! We’re having a baby – not me – Sara!”

"There's the head – just down there"

Sioned looks at the scan photo, and Dai, who has now worked it out, points out where the baby’s head is.

"There are risks, having a baby at your age!"

“You’ll have to be careful – there are risks, having a baby at your age!” Sioned warns.

"I'm sure it was deliberate!"

At Penrhewl, DJ reveals, “Did you notice that Eifion didn’t mention how I was injured – it was him, barging into me, and I’m sure it was deliberate!”

"He wouldn't do that"

Cadno is dismissive of this, but DJ continues,

"He hates me!"

“He hates me – and has done since we started dating. He’s always making a fool of me.”

Cadno accuses him of being jealous of Eifion;

"Stop behaving like a child!"

“He’s going to be part of our lives, like it or not. I don’t want to hear any more of this nonsense – stop behaving like a child!”

"Wrist all right now, is it?"

While Sioned is not there, Eifion tells Ed about the game, and remarks, “Wrist all right now, is it?” when he sees Ed lifting his pint without any trouble.

"A friend of mine told me . . "

Then Eifion goes on, “A friend of mine told me about a bloke who was beaten up by his wife. He kept it secret for years – mind, I would have done the same – the shame of it!

"What happened, then?"

“He went to the police in the end – it went to court, and she was jailed for five years. She pleaded right up to the end that she loved him!”

Sioned is back

Sioned comes back and sits down as Eifion adds, “He finally saw reason, or who knows what might have happened.

"That sounds mighty familiar"

“I don’t understand how any man could let a woman do that – it’s not as if he can’t hit back – maybe that would have sorted out his problem.”

Sioned seems to be rather uncomfortable, asks Ed if he is ready to go home,

Off home goes Ed

and they leave.

"Then you'll know what tired means"

Sara is exhausted when Dai and Diane have gone; “Wait till you’ve got a baby – then you’ll know what tired means,” Jason encourages her.

"Will I know what to do?"

She hopes that she will know what to do when the baby arrives, as she has not had much experience with babies.

“Can we send it back?” Jason asks,

"You'll be a fantastic mother!"

but then assures her that she will be a fantastic mother. She expects that Jason will let him have his own way and will spoil him. Jason concludes, “We are very lucky to be having this baby, and he is lucky to have you and me as parents.”