A Child's Christmases in Wales
- Year:
- 2009
- 59 min
- 100 Views
1
Silent night
Holy night
All is calm
All is bright...
Silent night
Holy night
Christmas 1983 was much the same
as every other year round our way,
with the "oh-so-sweet" voices
of the Cadwaladr boys
and the imminent arrival
of my father's family.
In fact, they rarely were.
Uncle Haw was usually detained having
had an argument with another driver.
And Uncle Gorwel...
Well, Uncle Gorwel didn't have a car.
Or a bike.
In fact, we were never
absolutely confident
he'd still have the use of both his legs.
They were due at our house by 3.30,
the place ready well before that,
and by "well before that"
I mean September.
Alphabetical order.
Cream...
Then lilac.
These days, they call this kind of thing
obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Who's been using the sink?
At that time,
it was known as housekeeping.
What's it going to look like
if they all turn up and the sink's wet?
Do you want people to think our family's
washing its hands all the time
cos we're always holding grubby things?
What are we, robbers?
Might as well be talking to myself here.
She is talking to herself.
One day, it'll be me
sitting around with my feet up.
I'm not sitting around,
I'm watching a film.
What are you watching?
Close Encounters Of The Third Kind.
What's it about?
Aliens come down,
cause a bit of bother, go home again.
- Any good?
- Er...
I didn't think much of it, to be honest.
Unrealistic.
Hallelujah
Hallelujah...
Not the most exciting verse, this one.
Wasn't too bad when
there was just the two brothers.
Didn't I tell you we'd all regret the day
when Shirley Cadwaladr had quads?
Mum had been through eleven Hoovers
in the past five years.
When she went into Rumbelows,
she just asked for "the usual".
Your brothers are late.
They'll be here. Probably the traffic.
Gets busy Christmas Eve.
...Hallelujah!
Carol singers! Settle up!
We've got a lot to get round.
If your uncles were the Three Wise Men,
waiting for them now!
Ah!
Merry Christmas, Hywel. Boys.
- How are your parents?
- Merry Christmas. That's 5.20, please.
5? You're joking!
You heard Hark The Herald Angels,
that's 3.80, and Silent Night is 1.40.
I thought the spirit of Christmas
was you give whatever you can.
Yes, we obviously agree with that,
but we do have to balance it
with turning a profit.
Er...
That's 5.20, please.
Merry Christmas.
Same to you.
We'll be back Christmas Eve next year,
around quarter past three?
Right, boys, let's go, let's go, let's go.
I blame the Tories.
Dad was always annoyed
at having to pay for things.
At church, he only put money
in the collection plate
if the vicar did a good joke
in the sermon.
- 5 that cost me.
- Oh!
Unbelievable.
Still, I suppose it's Christmas, eh?
Come here, Brenda.
Oh, Geraint, stop your nonsense,
haven't time for that.
Your brother will be here in a minute.
Put the kettle on.
Oh!
Uncle Haw was dad 's older brother.
Merry Christmas, Geraint!
He ran one of the biggest carpet firms
in Wales
and was now involved in one of
the country's most bitter divorces.
Bren! Ha-ha!
One of his favourite phrases was,
"All's fair in love and war."
Another was, "I hate my wife."
Merry Christmas one and all.
Apart from one.
One exception, in a blouse
and high heels, eh, boy?
Hey, Maurice has been looking forward
to seeing Owen all week.
Maurice had hardly ever spoken
in the six Christmases I could recall.
- He didn't have to...
- Maurice...
...Uncle Huw talked plenty.
So I successfully sued him for 7,500.
Damages.
That's the last time anybody will steal
any milk from my doorstep, eh?
Now, on to May.
Started with a bang.
Got a conservatory built. 3,500.
What is a conservatory exactly?
It's like a garden, but indoors.
They reckon by 1990
conservatories rather than houses.
Oh! Sounds lovely.
Carpets are selling well, then, Huw?
Yes, like hot cakes.
Did you hear the ad on the radio?
If you want a carpet,
buy one from us.
Oh, good, that is.
Why haven't you got an ad
on the radio, Geraint?
Traffic wardens don't normally
advertise on the radio, Brenda.
Yes, we're sitting pretty financially.
Despite his mother's best efforts.
She spends like water, doesn't she, kiddo?
I said she pours it all down the drain,
doesn't she?
I said your mother's
a waste of space, isn't she?
Geraint, why don't you go down
the phone box and call Gorwel?
He's nearly half an hour late.
What, you haven't got a telephone
fitted yet?
No. No need.
Perfectly good public telephone.
It's only minutes away.
Right.
Dad always enjoyed a good walk,
even in the coldest weather.
Most mornings we walked
two miles to school.
It was only a mile away,
but he went the long way round on purpose.
teak quite a while.
To dial an international number,
you'd have to put most of the day aside.
Hello, is Gorwel there?
Right-o.
All that walking and he wasn't there!
Well, never mind.
Had a nice chat with his flatmate.
Why can't people have their own phones?
Sorry?
Why can't people just
have a tiny little phone?
That you could fit it in your pocket
and take it everywhere you go?
Ah, kids!
put a phone in, Bren.
Oh, you know Geraint.
Translation
Translate and read this script in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Citation
Use the citation below to add this screenplay to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"A Child's Christmases in Wales" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/a_child's_christmases_in_wales_1849>.
Discuss this script with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In