Original subtitles

Thank you.

Clive, a divorcee, and Margaret, a widow, have just got married.

And Margaret's child, Alison, now becomes Clive's stepdaughter.

Together with Clive's own son, Roger, they're now for the first time all on

holiday together in a remote Welsh valley, keeping house for them are Nancy

and her son, Gwyn, and the gardener, Hugh Halfbacon.

For some reason, Nancy doesn't want Gwyn to have anything to do with Hugh.

She's furious when she finds that Gwyn has discovered a dinner service hidden

in the roof of the house.

Alison has traced the floral pattern on the plates and rearranged it to make

paper owls. She grows obsessed by the need to make them.

Roger hears strange noises in her room at night and goes to investigate.

Moving and talking in her sleep, Alison reaches towards him and scratches his

face.

plates again then.

Those plates you bought down from the attic.

You changed them for plain white ones didn't you? I did not.

What's that about plates?

How did you know about the plates?

I went into your room last night.

Oh.

You weren't half carrying on.

When?

About one o'clock.

One o'clock? Yes.

You were asleep.

Why did you?

Well, like I said, I could hear you carrying on.

But you said I wasn't asleep.

Yes, you were.

You should think.

Wasn't I supposed to see the blank plates?

Were you supposed to come into my bedroom at one o'clock in the morning?

When I traced the hours last night, the pattern was on the plate.

This morning, the...

Well, the plates were blank.

Pull the other one. It's got bells on. I didn't touch them.

Ring-a-ding-a-ding.

What did you use? Pumice? No, did you?

Eh? Didn't you use a mirror for shaving, then, eh? Yes.

Blast! Tried using a razor?

Eh?

Who?

Who?

Who?

come harp of my madness.

come summer come.

she's coming.

she won't be long now.

listen ma'am wants a board to nail up the loft with. have you got one?

you're wanting a board to nail up the loft? is that what you said?

yeah but we need time to bring the plates down without ma'am finding out.

be careful.

don't you worry.

I'll do that for you.

why has mum taken against you?

perhaps she's afraid.

eh? in the English way.

afraid of the plates?

ask her.

she had hysterics.

perhaps there's always talk in a valley.

anything we need for the yard while I'm shopping?

no sir we're not wanting any stuff.

there's a there's a stone with a hole in it down by the river.

It is the stone of Gronow.

Oh, what's that when it's at home, then?

There was a man being killed in that place.

Old time.

Was there now?

Yes. He has been taking the other man's wife.

Well, that's a bit off, I must say.

I suppose the stone is some kind of memorial, eh? But who made the hole?

You can see those trees through it at the top of the ridge.

He's standing on the bank of the river, see?

and the husband is up on the brin with a spear and the spear is going right

through the stone and him and he stood there and let it happen

because he killed the husband the same way earlier to take the wife

tit for tat eh?

well these old yarns I must be off

yes sir.

that is how it is happening.

all the time.

he does his job properly doesn't he? he never does

anything. he just moons about with that rake. I don't know though. he visits his

family once a week.

all of them.

no wonder he's got no energy left.

oh very close family they are.

No trouble at all.

Look out!

It's coming!

You know, we're getting hit up all over nothing.

Why can't we leave it as it is and nail the loft up?

There's something in this valley and my man's onto it.

She's been like the kiss of death ever since she saw them place.

Fine, so nail the loft up. If you'd seen Ali last night, you wouldn't be keen.

Look, I was only telling you half when we were playing billiards just now.

Hit up over nothing, you just said.

But there was something else just now.

And that's why I shifted them plates.

We've got a disconnector.

Disconnect? That's about it.

Batteries can't work without wires.

You know, when you see them, they're just plates.

You've seen a cage trap before, haven't you? You know how it works.

One way doors, what goes in, can't come out.

Right, yes.

Have you caught anything?

I think I've caught a mouse.

Think.

I think it's a mouse.

Owls aren't fussy.

They swallow straight off. What they don't want, they cough up later.

That's an owl's pellet. But I think it was a mouse.

It's taken you long enough to fix that door, hasn't it?

Is that all you've been doing?

What do you want that trap for?

I've just finished measuring, ma'am. I'm going to put a board over it.

How about time?

You go round the shop and get some flower tea skulls and look sharp.

You has pocket money Saturday Do you think I need a money? There's nothing as

can't wait Saturday boy, but now the shopper less cheek.

I'm not chicken you man. You are now

You're not going to nick it, are you?

No.

Do you have pocket money every week?

Yes. Bit quaint, isn't it? Is it?

Well, if that's how you're fixed, I suppose it's okay to take some early.

You're not pinching.

Just anticipating.

Not even that.

I'm giving.

A poor thing but mine own.

well you might give a heart failure.

after all she is your mother.

after all she is.

what do you want the money for? ten lousy fags for her.

ten stinking fags. look if that's all it is I can lend you. no thanks.

If you needn't give it to me back, I get plenty. Congratulations.

What's wrong with you?

A few fads that have loosened her up.

She'll have

told

me. She always does if I grease her right.

You make me puke.

Hi, Ali.

Do you manage to stash the plates okay?

What plates?

Oh, come on, Ali.

Play the other side.

What are you talking about?

Ha, ha, ha.

Is that better?

Yes, thank you.

Look, where's them plates, you stupid nit?

Please, you're not at home now.

Listen, don't come that with me, girl. And don't you talk to me like that.

You'll be sorry.

And who'll make me?

Bloody you?

You? You and who else?

Give him a lollipop, Roger. He's just like his mother.

You shouldn't have done that.

You shouldn't have done that.

Oh, you shouldn't have done that.

Fine. There's Axiomatic.

Land of my crumbling

fathers.

looks like a wedding doesn't it?

I'm sorry.

confetti by courtesy of the Mabinogion.

oh Gwyn I am sorry.

really.

you shouldn't have lent it to me.

what was it like?

you read it did you?

bits. they were short stories.

fine if you like that sort of thing.

wizards and blood all over the place.

Don't knock our national heritage, girlie. Them ropey old tales is all we

got.

Listen, what do you make of this?

By his magic, created a wife for the youth out of flowers.

And here's another bit.

Transformed into a bird and named Bloody Wed.

which to this very day means owl.

And now all birds are enemies of the owl.

Wait!

There was this wizard or something.

Um... Oh.

Gwydion. That's it.

And he made a woman out of flowers.

And she made this glue claw somebody.

Oh, you mean Llew Llew Guffers.

Yes.

And then she fell in love with a man called, um, Gronwy.

Gronw? Gronw.

And he decided to kill Cleo.

Cleo.

Cleo.

Never mind.

Go on.

And then it becomes terribly complicated.

All magic.

But, um, Gronwy threw a spear from a hill.

when Cleo was standing by a river and killed him.

But Cleo wasn't really dead.

He turned into an eagle, and the wizard found him and turned him back again.

The wizard was his, um, father or uncle, I'm not sure.

And then Cleo and Grunwi changed places.

Cleo threw the spear this time, and Grunwi was killed.

And that's the end of the story.

The Stone of Gronow.

There's a hole in it.

Ah!

Which means we're right in the very place where all this flower power is

supposed to have happened.

As Professor Halfbacon claims.

Very interesting.

But quite ridiculous.

and what happened to the wife?

oh yes well um Gwydion that's the wizard said that he wouldn't kill her.

he'd do worse than that so he turned it into an owl.

I know what she said then.

what? I haven't a clue!

Look,

I'm afraid this is the best film I could get. The chemist only keeps the normal

stuff for tourists.

He said that's a very popular film.

Yes.

It's the same one as my camera now.

Never mind, it'll do.

Thanks, Dad.

I'm sorry if it's a washout.

No, it should be okay.

Well, those fast films don't enlarge as well as the one I wanted.

They're a bit grainy, that's all.

Are they now?

It makes it even trickier with the enlarger.

It's hard enough trying to get a straightforward print.

Why can't we have proper mains electricity?

Well, I suppose Margaret feels it's a bit more natural to have oil lamps out

here in the wild. Well, I had to rig up a doorbell for her, though, didn't I?

Oh, you can't ask people to knock. You must show a bit of style.

It's phony.

Will I go down to the river whilst there's light?

Oh, I might see you down there. I should be able to get in an hour. Margaret's

having a rest.

By the way, is old Ali about?

Probably. Well, I haven't seen her since before tea.

Shall I give her a call?

No, not to worry.

I bought her a little token of my esteem while I was at the shops.

Well, will she like it?

Well, she's mad for owls, anyway.

Why, it does too.

How do you know what the stone was if you've never seen it before?

Feels like every night of my life's been spent in that street in Appa.

Her going on and on about the valley.

She started in the kitchens here when she was about 12.

My mam hates the place, but she can't get rid of it, see?

You think it's haunted, then?

Ghosts don't eat mice.

Whatever chewed that mouse could chew me or you. I give up.

If there's any more of it, I'm off, I can tell you.

How'll you manage?

That's steerable.

When you know how.

And the new missus?

Kind of family honeymoon, is it?

Mind your own business.

What happened to your reel, ma'am?

I told you to mind your own business.

She around, then?

I'll fill you in.

If you open your big mouth once more, I'll fill you in.

Okay.

Right.

Not haunted.

More like still happening.

Think of it, man.

A woman made out of flowers and then changed into an owl.

The plates, man.

It's all there if you could see it.

Where are you off to?

Here with a flitch.

That's what he was on about, the flamer.

Yes, darling?

Margaret?

I'm sorry, my sweet. Do you feel like it?

It's truth.

Hello.

Seen old Halfbacon?

No. I was looking for him. Ah.

Typical Jerry building, this.

That match boarding's warped to hell. I bet old Halfbacon hasn't ordered for

years.

Go and have a look.

Go on.

Go on.