Episode 3 Cardigan Bay Coastal Lives

Cardigan Bay - the sweeping west coast of Wales.

This is just something else.

Home to the largest population of bottlenose dolphins in the UK.

It really is the New Zealand of the northern hemisphere.

And the only place in Wales where you can buy a pier...

It is up for sale if anybody out there wants to buy the pier.

..and even a zoo.

Don't forget to wash your hands after you've played with the snakes.

Over spring and summer, we followed the rich and varied lives...

This is just not Elvis enough.

..of the locals who call this coast home.

"Toilet lady from Ceredigion" will do me.

Quite proud really that I'm going to start a business here again.

Why on Earth would you want to live anywhere else?

This is their Cardigan Bay.

Cardigan Town, and after a four-year renovation,

its 900-year-old castle is weeks away from opening to the public.

Once everyone's got the high vises and the hats,

we'll go outside and make a start.

And probably the castle's biggest super fan, Glen Johnson,

is training up volunteers to be tour guides.

In the Middle Ages,

people used to hang their clothing in the privy,

with the idea that the ammonia fumes from the urine deterred the moths.

All it really did was to deter their friends

and do an awful lot for the French perfume industry.

While Cardigan Castle may not be the largest or best preserved

medieval castle in Wales, its unique for a number of reasons.

It is the first stone castle ever built by a Welshman,

it's the birthplace of the National Eisteddfod,

it was besieged more times than any other castle in Welsh history.

There is also an arrow slit halfway down the castle wall.

Now, that is to a chamber that is completely buried.

I'll be the first man with a trowel in his hand going,

"Whoopee! I'm going down to the bottom of this one."

Glen's obsession with Cardigan Castle and the buildings

within its walls started long before he met his wife, Catherine.

Pretty much before he set foot in the castle he was interested,

and according to Glen, due to a school project.

I passed the castle every day on the way to school, and I thought,

"Everybody knows of Cardigan Castle,

"but nobody seems to know anything about it."

Back then, the castle was lived in

by local aristocrat and eccentric Miss Barbara Wood.

That's 1990, and this is Miss Wood.

A real character, Miss Wood.

It was a little bit like Miss Havisham in Great Expectations,

the house was starting to crumble all around her,

but she still regarded herself perhaps as the lady of the manor,

but the manor was falling apart at the seams.

She ended up taking up the parquet flooring and the floorboards

and ultimately the joists in the dining room,

and burning them on the fire.

Because the tinders in the room were starting to suffer from rot

and they couldn't afford the coal.

With the house deemed unfit to live in, Miss Wood left the castle

in 1999, leaving Glen to delve deeper into its mysteries.

By now, he's a walking encyclopaedia,

knowing each and every owner since 1093.

Believe it or not, these were probably a wedding present.

They are a pair of whale bones.

Captain James Ellis, of Castle Street,

brought them back from the Baltic,

and I can imagine David Griffith Davies

unwrapping these and saying, "Oh, you shouldn't have.

-LAUGHTER

-"Cuff links would have done."

The first group - enthused and trained.

But Glen's work isn't done.

I've got a group of about a dozen people coming in, who are... Sorry.

I just realised my wedding ring has come off.

Not on the floor down there, is it?

Oh, hell.

You know, I've been on-site for half an hour,

could be anywhere round about.

I'm just going to have a little shufty over here

and then I better start with my little group.

Glen isn't the only Cardigan resident with a big problem.

-ALL:

-# Take my hand... #

New Zealander Des Perenara moved to the area nine years ago.

And is better known by his stage name, Elvis Desley.

# ..falling in love with you... #

But while the locals are in love with Des,

he's fallen out of love with his jumpsuit.

CHEERING

Unfortunately, you should have two-way stretch material here,

but I've only got one-way stretch.

And so I actually can't do this move where you have to go

all the way down here.

I can't do that. I can only go to here in this suit.

And with Des planning to compete in the world-famous Elvis Festival

in Porthcawl, he's decided to invest in a new stretchy jumpsuit.

The era that I want to have a look at as is 1969, 1970,

when he was at his most athletic.

So I, ahem, have to lose a bit of weight.

Get slightly thinner, keep up the flexible side of things

so that I can really do the King justice.

So 54-year-old Des is planning to model himself on Elvis aged 35.

# Well, it's one for the money Two for the show

# Three to get ready Now go, cat, go

# But don't you

# Step on my blue suede shoes... #

It's no mean feat, but helping him

achieve his new look is family friend and seamstress Sarah.

So, this is the suit.

Fantastic suit, it's done me well for eight years, hasn't it?

-Yep.

-But we've had to make a few adjustments to it.

Because I just really couldn't go down into that move.

And Sarah, thankfully, put in this gusset, that goes all the way

down the leg, down the crotch, so that I can get to this position.

I can probably get to there.

-Which is, you know, it's OK, but...

-Not as far as you want to go.

So, in the new suit, what I want to do is be able

to go all the way down in that iconic position.

So the new suit is going to be less restrictive

-and enable you to do that move.

-Absolutely.

From the King of Rock and Roll to the Queen of Toilets.

We're proud that Ceredigion is known throughout

the UK as a Mecca for toilet standards.

Jasmine Wilson is in charge of Ceredigion's coastal public loos.

And her toilets have won awards for being the best in Britain.

There we are.

Today is a big day for Jasmine.

She's putting on a seven-mile charity walk from Borth to Aberysthwyth.

So if you like, we are going from toilet to toilet.

Yeah, keep the work element in there as well.

I've got one last T-shirt.

I say "we", I'm just the brains behind it,

I can't do the walk myself, my knee just wouldn't allow it.

I've got family, I've got grandchildren,

I've got friends and colleagues -

some who I didn't even know were walking

and I really, really appreciate that.

You all ready to go? OK, off you go. Ta-ra, Claire.

Jasmine is raising money for road safety charity Brake.

And it is a cause close to her heart.

12 years ago, Jasmine lost her son, Aled, in a road accident.

He was a motorbike instructor and was hit by a car.

Aled was just 31,

and left two small children.

It is an emotional day. There is no two ways about that. But, erm...

Vitally important, seeing as I can't turn the clock back,

to do what I can for the future.

I know that Aled would be very proud of everyone today.

He'd be the first to help out if he could.

So, yes, it is tough, but it's a way of giving thanks, and, erm...

..just being aware how fragile life can be.

Ow!

JASMINE LAUGHS

As the walkers battle on,

Jasmine gets ready to welcome the troops on Aberystwyth Beach.

Yay! Fire going. Better put the beer on to chill, I think.

-Hero!

-First to finish are Jasmine's grandchildren.

HE SIGHS

-Good for you.

-Can we have some food now?

-Food?

It was important for us to do this walk,

because it's a charity we feel strongly about, isn't it?

OTHERS: Yeah.

Thank you for doing that, lovely effort.

Next to arrive - Jasmine's two sons.

-I'll be right behind you.

-Really?

-Yeah. Ready?

-Let's go.

Oh, look, Brett's going into the water.

LAUGHTER

I am in my element, I'm feeding everyone,

they really deserve it, they've worked hard.

These are the people that look after me, day in, day out.

From my grandchildren, to my sons, to my colleagues...

..who are a brilliant support.

Cardigan Castle is nearly ready to open to the public.

It's time for the final touches,

that include a specially commissioned chair to commemorate

the castle having been the venue for the first ever Eisteddfod in 1176.

The fork lift needs to be here,

we need to reverse into there with the forklift to pick it off.

As the 300-kilo chair is inched into place at the castle,

it's a nervous time for sculptor Paul Clarke.

INDISTINCT

OK, yeah.

Cos it's a little top-heavy, I was getting twitchy then.

Down a little bit. Once it's down, it skids. That's it.

It is tilted forward a little bit, I think.

And Glen is on hand to record this historic moment.

Whoever sits on it first,

you're going to end up looking like Ronnie Corbett.

Cos it's huge!

Well, it's nice to be with you once again, isn't it, Ronnie?

LAUGHTER

-Smile!

-Job well done.

-Sorted.

Chair in place, and it's time to welcome the volunteers

and local dignitaries for the opening ceremony.

There's a nice crowd, and it's a bit

of a who's who of Cardigan as well, and most of these people

have personally assisted in some way or another with the castle project.

IN WELSH:

And it's it an emotional time for retired vet Dick Thomas,

one of four local people who formed the trust to save the castle.

Today, to me, is a dream come true after 15 years.

SCHOOLCHILDREN SING

I hope it will be great for Wales and Cardigan.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

And so, for the first time in decades...

..the doors of Cardigan Castle are open to the public.

I'm really pleased, it's been a fantastic day. Quite elated, yeah.

We've taken the next big step. Cardigan's got its castle back!

SCHOOLCHILDREN: Oi!

At the top end of the county, it's feeding time at Borth Zoo.

This can be dangerous for Alan.

I did get bitten once, by the reticulated python in the zoo.

I thought he was asleep, in his hide, and it looked like

he was asleep, and I thought, "Oh, well, in that case

"I'll clean the other end of his viv out while he's asleep."

And he shot across at 100mph, grabbed my arm, refused to let go.

There is the scar. They said the teeth

went an inch deep into the muscle in my arm.

For the past two years,

the zoo has had its eye on another very dangerous animal.

IT ROARS

The African lion.

Finally, zoo owners Alan and his wife Jean have had their

lion licenses issued by the council, and they have a moving-in date.

11th of August, that's next Tuesday.

That's what we're aiming at, at the moment.

-Well, that's the date.

-Yeah, that's the date.

Unless something goes wrong, that's the date.

"Unless something goes wrong."

11th of August for the lions to arrive, the lions of Borth.

-The pride of Borth...

-Yeah.

-..we like to call them.

Currently, "the pride of Borth"

reside over the border at Noah's Ark Zoo in Bristol.

Zulu, he is a bit of a grumpy old boy,

but he's very protective of his girlfriend.

They're very much in love, he'll follow her everywhere,

and if he thinks there's a threat at any point

he'll be there in front of her, looking after her.

You going to play chase? Come on then.

Big cat keeper Mark has been with Zulu and Wilma for almost six years.

In short bursts these guys can do 22 metres a second.

So they're literally twice as fast as the fastest man on Earth,

so you're never going to outrun them.

Back in Borth, the excitement is rising.

And the job of looking after Ceredigion's lions

will be down to Tom.

I essentially haven't slept since about three o'clock

this morning, cos I'm on an adrenaline high,

let's put it simply.

I... Oh, can't believe it's actually happening. It's unbelievable.

But zoo manager Joe is a little more apprehensive.

At the moment, I'm, eh, pretty nervous.

We've gone through this a lot of times, practised a lot,

put all the protocols in place,

and hopefully everything is going to go absolutely fine.

But I won't be happy until they're in the enclosure

and it's all safe and it's all done.

LION ROARS

Crack of dawn next morning, and the big move begins in Bristol.

It's early in the morning, so let's try and keep our sharpness about us.

We're going to bring Zulu and Wilma into den five,

which is this one here.

We'll probably have to go round to get the cats to come in,

then we'll get the trailer in and get in position, and go for it.

-STRAINED:

-Three...

MAN GRUNTS

With the lions loaded into their travel cages...

..back in Borth, the team are making final preparations.

Everyone just wants it to go smoothly,

I guess that's the main thing.

No drama, no cockups.

HE LAUGHS

We have three of us who are gun-licensed.

We have to have the guns on-site, obviously,

cos this is a major weak point in any of these plans,

the actual transferring them from a secure cage to a secure cage.

So, yes, the guns will be on-site. There's customers in already,

which is a bit of a worry.

Nothing's going to wrong, nothing is going to go wrong!

At the other end of the county...

Could be anywhere round about.

..Cardigan Castle historian Glen still hasn't found his wedding ring.

THEY LAUGH

But he has finally come clean to his wife Catherine.

When he told me he'd lost his ring,

mainly I felt really, really bad for him.

I keep going to play with the ring and it's not on my finger.

-That's one of your nervous habits.

-Yeah.

He was so distraught by it, I think

he was worried about telling me that he'd lost it.

It was cute, how upset you were by it.

The loss though, has given them the opportunity to

celebrate their love by getting new rings especially made.

-After you.

-Thank you.

-There we are.

-(There's my ring.)

-One for you.

-Try it for size.

-It's pretty. Yay.

-There we are.

I'll have to make sure I don't lose this one.

-They're good fits.

-That's a good fit, yeah,

that one's not going to come off like the last one did!

-That's good.

-How's yours?

-Mine's gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous.

Bizarrely, for me, it's actually really nice to have

the visual representation of being his.

Because it doesn't normally bother me, that kind of thing,

but actually, it feels really good.

With romance in the air, where else does a man take his wife?

Do you ever get that feeling of deja vu?

CATHERINE LAUGHS

The castle, of course.

And while they're here,

the couple have an impromptu renewal of their vows.

With this ring, I thee wed - again.

CATHERINE LAUGHS

The first man since Richard Burton to say that.

And like any old romantic, there's only one thing on Glen's mind.

I mean, hopefully it won't be such a struggle for the castle

or for Cardigan from here on.

It's now the story of the castle's great success.

Seamstress Sarah has been burning the midnight oil

to get Des' new jumpsuit ready for the big competition in Porthcawl.

DOORBELL RINGS

-Sarah!

-Hi, Des!

-You OK?

-You got my suit?

-Yeah.

-You got my suit!

-You ready to try it on?

Oh, I'm so ready.

-The moment of truth has arrived.

-Oh, yeah. Is it going to fit?

Will Des' new suit give him the freedom to bend

into Elvis' classic poses?

Yeah, I feel quite responsible for his performance.

If he can't move in it, then...we're in trouble.

-Hey, Sarah.

-Wow.

-Look at this, baby.

-What do you think?

-I like it, it looks good.

-It looks fantastic.

-This is the critical thing, is it?

-Look at that. Look at that!

-I can...

-Without reinforcements.

Now I can actually do the real movement. Thank you very much.

-You're welcome.

-SARAH LAUGHS

-That's good, you're a good customer.

-I can just... I'm just...

-So free!

-As Des gets limbered up...

Porthcawl, baby, here we come.

..the pride of Borth has finally arrived.

And with the lions, a nurse, a vet, a police marksman

and a team of other experts.

Behind closed doors, they start the tricky task

of moving 57st of feline muscle into their new home.

You can't do things willy-nilly where lions are concerned.

First to emerge and to sniff the sea air of Borth is Wilma.

She's a very beautiful animal, isn't she?

She's so confident, loads of character.

And she's admiring the view.

It's a momentous day for big cat keeper Tom.

I'm still not entirely sure it's real.

HE CHUCKLES

Two weeks later, and the reality has finally sunk in.

It feels fantastic to finally have them here, after 20 months

and everything we've been through,

all the conditions and red tape we've had to fulfil.

To finally have the lions in feels amazing.

Big relief more than anything else.

There were times when we thought it wasn't going to happen.

But they're finally here.

And with them, Zulu and Wilma have brought new hope for the zoo.

The zoo's doing better than ever, more customers than I've ever known.

I believe we're something like three-quarters numbers up

on last year, which is just incredible.

Two years ago we first started this process.

It's taken that long to get the lions actually here.

We did get to a point we thought we'd never have them.

But there they are. Aren't they brilliant?

Aren't they playing the game?

Ceredigion has finally got its lions.

From the king of the jungle to the King of Rock and Roll.

Elvis Presley!

CHEERING

It's the world-famous Porthcawl Elvis Competition.

And 15 of the top tribute acts gather nervously

backstage at the Grand Pavilion.

They're all independent judges, their decision is final.

But Des is late.

-..their decision.

-Sorry, mate.

-You will be.

LAUGHTER

With stiff opposition from across Europe,

the usually cool Des is already feeling the pressure.

-I'm just texting Fi to let her know that I'm number ten.

-Elvis Desley?

-Yes? Yes?

-Which folder are your tracks in?

-In the music folder. I'll come up with you.

-You sure?

-It'll be easier.

And to add to Des' nerves, there's a problem with his backing tracks.

So I put the songs on the stick, but they're in a certain file.

SNIPPETS OF MUSIC PLAY ON COMPUTER

And Jack's just trying to organise it

so I can actually get to sing today.

Which would be quite nice after all the stress I'm going through.

JACK LAUGHS

As Des battles with technology, Fi arrives with his posse of supporters.

And the competition gets underway.

# I remember too... #

I think Des is probably feeling quite nervous already,

cos he's texted me to say he's on tenth in the running order.

And he said that he thinks the other ETAs are really strong,

so he's not entirely sure he's going to make it to the final this year.

# If you find your sweetheart

# In the arms of a friend... #

I just wish I could see myself all the time,

cos then I'd have a lot more confidence in myself.

I look great, and I know it's really vain to say it, but when

I can't see myself I feel like me, Des, who's just an ordinary bloke.

But when I see myself, I think, "Oh, yeah, that ain't bad."

So I can see why I should be confident,

but I don't feel it inside all the time.

It's time for Des to gather his nerves and show what he's got.

All the way from Auckland, New Zealand...

CHEERING

..Elvis Desley!

AUDIENCE: Woo!

# So if an old friend I know

# Stops by to say hello

# Would I still see suspicion in your eyes? #

ALL: Woo!

Why am I doing this? Why am I doing this?

Why am I doing this?

-FEMALE BACKING SINGERS:

-# Too much, baby

# Caught in a trap

# Woo-ooh, woo-ooh

# I can't walk out now... #

I guess I'm doing it because other people believed in me

before I believed in myself.

So I did it on their faith in me rather than my faith in myself.

And now I'm so far down the track.

# Caught in a trap... #

So I guess that's why I do it. Cos I can now.

# Polk salad Annie

# Gators got your granny

# Everybody said it was a shame

# That your mama was-a workin' on the chain gang... #

Des' suit has held together,

and he's wowed the crowd into a frenzy with his final number.

CHEERING

But what will the judges have made of his performance?

If I got into the top three, I'd be absolutely stoked.

It'd be a fairy tale ending.

Fairy tales don't happen very often,

so I'll be shocked if it does happen.

..reverse order. Third place, Mr Peter King.

CHEERING

In second place...

Elvis Desley!

CHEERING AND WHISTLING

The winner, Michael Glaysher.

Among tough competition, Des has come second.

-There she is.

-That was amazing. That was amazing.

And there's only one way

for Cardigan's only Maori Elvis to celebrate.

HE PERFORMS THE HAKA

CHEERING

-Next time...

-Oh, wow.

-On Aberystwyth Pier,

Natalia has something to prove...

I'm not this ditzy, dumb person

and I can actually pull off something quite big.

..dolphin wars rage off New Quay...

Could have got some goose fat and a big shoehorn

and squeezed a few more on.

..and Gethin races to build his cafe in time for summer.

It's critical really that I get this open for

the six weeks' holiday coming up soon.