:00:06. > :00:13.Summer in Wales is a time of celebration. Cheese. Holidays.
:00:13. > :00:16.want to see a castle, pubs. Keep rowing. And the great outdoors. A
:00:16. > :00:20.time when many businesses must turn a profit. We have put everything
:00:20. > :00:24.we've got into this. Or face a struggle to survive the rest of the
:00:24. > :00:28.year. You've got to try to keep your head above water. A time when
:00:28. > :00:31.good weather can make all things possible and bad can leave dreams
:00:31. > :00:37.in tatters. The weather could be a little nicer but that is not
:00:37. > :00:42.anybody's fault. This summer was truly extraordinary. Is it a clever
:00:42. > :00:47.time to take it down? It's your laughter. Heartache. This can be a
:00:47. > :00:53.cruel game. Triumph. I came second. And despair. The weather has beaten
:00:53. > :00:58.us again. These are our stories. nice bit of paving. Filmed in every
:00:58. > :01:02.corner of the nation across the summer of 2012. You can't beat it.
:01:02. > :01:12.This is the story of the summer in Wales. Let's get the show on the
:01:12. > :01:15.
:01:15. > :01:21.Late summer, and as rain continued to soak a soggy Wales, events were
:01:21. > :01:25.forced to cancel countrywide. 30 millimetres of rain in a short
:01:25. > :01:31.space of time. Hail and thunder. They will also become heavy and
:01:31. > :01:36.thundery, localised surface flooding. But some hardy souls
:01:36. > :01:39.refused to be beaten. It's raining, not to worry, we are Welsh, we are
:01:39. > :01:45.used to it. After weeks of preparation, Cardiff Carnival is
:01:45. > :01:51.about to take to the city centre streets. But with weather warnings
:01:51. > :01:58.of torrential rain to come, the big day could well be a big a wash-out.
:01:58. > :02:01.Are you scared of rain? I'm not scared of rain. This will be lead
:02:01. > :02:07.costume designer Adrian Spinola's 12th carnival, and it will take
:02:07. > :02:11.more than a mini monsoon to dampen his enthusiasm. We don't mind. We
:02:11. > :02:17.can cope with anything. The atmosphere, you can feel it. The
:02:17. > :02:27.bands, the colour, the rain. A bit of squelchy Welsh weather isn't
:02:27. > :02:31.
:02:31. > :02:38.going to get this bunch down. fine, he's waterproof. At 4:00pm
:02:38. > :02:48.sharp the Carnival procession takes to Cardiff's sodden streets. Soggy.
:02:48. > :02:53.
:02:53. > :02:56.Spaces, guys, keep your spaces, nice spaces. $$WHITEQuestion is,
:02:56. > :03:01.will the 500 hundred performers and paraders make it round the mile and
:03:01. > :03:07.a half route in one piece? It's exhausting, my head feels like it's
:03:07. > :03:17.been ripped off. It's a torture chamber. We've got a problem with
:03:17. > :03:18.
:03:18. > :03:28.the costume at the front. It might A bit of technical difficulties,
:03:28. > :03:30.
:03:30. > :03:33.unfortunately. Hopefully they will Whatever the weather, summer's a
:03:33. > :03:36.busy time for many of the nation's private country houses. On the
:03:36. > :03:39.border between Wales and England stands Bryngwyn Hall. Ancestral
:03:39. > :03:47.seat of the Sandbatch family and home of Auriol, Marchioness of
:03:47. > :03:52.Linlithgow. I have known this house since I was five and I completely
:03:52. > :03:56.fell in love with it. It was shut up. It had been occupied in the war.
:03:56. > :04:01.There was dry rot everywhere, bats, mice, rats, you name it. It was a
:04:01. > :04:05.complete haven for wildlife. But I had this great passion to want to
:04:05. > :04:10.restore this house. It was very exciting, actually, but financially
:04:10. > :04:17.it was extremely difficult. That is my grandfather. He was Curzon's
:04:17. > :04:23.military secretary. This is Gary, an Indian gharial shot in Jogiwala.
:04:23. > :04:26.A wonderful name, Jogiwala. To fund the restoration and running of
:04:26. > :04:31.Bryngwyn and it's 60 acres of parkland, Lady Linlithgow has had
:04:31. > :04:36.to turn it into a money making enterprise. I think I live in
:04:36. > :04:40.paradise here. I say paradise doesn't come cheap. But it's hard
:04:40. > :04:44.work. I haven't had a fairy wave a magic wand. It hasn't all twinkled
:04:44. > :04:49.in. Christine has been part of Lady Linlithgow's household for the last
:04:49. > :04:53.30 years. She loves having people in the house. She loves showing
:04:53. > :04:59.people around. Also it brings in a bit of money. It keeps me in work.
:04:59. > :05:03.Which is always good, I suppose. So yes, you have to do whatever you
:05:03. > :05:13.can, haven't you, to keep people coming through and getting a bit of
:05:13. > :05:14.
:05:14. > :05:19.cash. If we can. Grate the cheese. Today, the household is playing
:05:19. > :05:26.host to an etiquette course, run by former newsreader, Diana Mather.
:05:26. > :05:29.Now, ladies, what we don't want is any of this. Our young ladies come
:05:29. > :05:33.on the course to learn social etiquette, which is common sense
:05:34. > :05:37.and mainly good manners. The course is just one of a string of money
:05:37. > :05:40.making ventures which Lady Linlithgow has taken on. We started
:05:40. > :05:50.doing tours of the house, then we started doing shooting and weddings
:05:50. > :05:51.
:05:51. > :05:57.and etiquette weekends. At a steady pace, that's it. Keep your
:05:57. > :06:00.fingertips moving gently. I came from an era when manners and
:06:00. > :06:03.etiquette were very important. We were always, don't rush up the
:06:03. > :06:10.stairs, walk like ladies, not like farmworkers in Wellington boots
:06:10. > :06:16.which is how I used to walk. It's very smooth, moving with you.
:06:17. > :06:20.That's it. I've had to diversify in many ways and I've had to really
:06:20. > :06:25.laterally think about what we can do to keep this house running well
:06:25. > :06:28.and in good condition. We are thinking of doing paranormal
:06:28. > :06:32.weekends and my daughter-in-law suggested we have parties with
:06:32. > :06:42.butlers in the buff, which is an interesting thought at �45 an hour
:06:42. > :06:52.
:06:52. > :06:55.With nearly a million overseas visitors coming to Wales each year,
:06:55. > :07:04.the majority during the summer months, tourism has become a vital
:07:04. > :07:07.part of the economy. In Conway, North Wales, just under a 5th of
:07:07. > :07:10.the workforce is linked to it. Ex- London finance manager Rhian Wyn
:07:10. > :07:14.Jones, who specialises in costume guiding, leads Blue Badge tours of
:07:14. > :07:21.the town. When you dress up when you are doing guiding, you really
:07:21. > :07:24.go in to the part. I go in character. I am a 16th century maid.
:07:24. > :07:30.My friends think I'm having a midlife crisis. They're probably
:07:31. > :07:34.right but I go with the flow. Rhian's giving a private tour of
:07:34. > :07:44.Conway to a group of 26 Japanese visitors on a week long whistle-
:07:44. > :07:53.
:07:53. > :08:01.Unfortunately, nobody seems to have explained to the group why she's
:08:01. > :08:05.dressed as a 16th century maid. Welcome to Conway. Nice to meet you
:08:05. > :08:10.all and welcome to Wales. Worse, hardly any of them speak much
:08:10. > :08:14.English. If I say a couple of sentences and you can translate,
:08:14. > :08:24.then I'll say another couple of sentences because it is a lot to
:08:24. > :08:32.
:08:33. > :08:42.take in. This could be tricky! This is going to be fun. First stop,
:08:43. > :08:46.
:08:46. > :08:56.Conway's medieval Castle. 1282, in And in Wales it was Llewellyn that
:08:56. > :09:03.
:09:03. > :09:09.Ah! Not a good start. Two reasons you would be invited to the Great
:09:09. > :09:16.Hall. The first reason would be for a feast. The second reason is if
:09:16. > :09:26.you were accused of a crime. So if you had done a bad deed, if you had
:09:26. > :09:27.
:09:27. > :09:32.committed a crime. Erm, erm, accused, like a court room. Oh dear,
:09:32. > :09:37.oh dear! There would have been a stream that would have come along
:09:37. > :09:47.here to clean away the waste. You can imagine ten soldiers sitting
:09:47. > :10:09.
:10:09. > :10:14.there together, reading a newspaper OK. They're a polite bunch! Having
:10:14. > :10:18.a good time, aren't we? Another highlight of the tour is St Mary's
:10:18. > :10:27.and All Saint's Church, burial place of many of the Princes of
:10:27. > :10:32.Gwynedd. Now I'm going to tell you Two men standing in the churchyard
:10:32. > :10:42.talking to each other. One says, it's my wedding anniversary coming
:10:42. > :10:42.
:10:42. > :10:52.up. 50 years. The other man says, are you going to do anything nice
:10:52. > :10:54.
:10:54. > :10:57.Well, when it was my 25th wedding anniversary I took the wife to
:10:57. > :11:07.London to visit her sister and now it's our 50th anniversary I might
:11:07. > :11:22.
:11:22. > :11:28.go and fetch her back! Bring her I think she's lost them there.
:11:28. > :11:31.difficult with a joke. Just three hours after first arriving, the
:11:31. > :11:36.tourists have 'done' Wales, and it would appear they've enjoyed
:11:36. > :11:46.themselves. How do you say thank you in Wales? Diolch yn fawr.
:11:46. > :12:06.
:12:06. > :12:09.It's been a short but sweet visit. You're welcome. They leave,
:12:09. > :12:16.completely baffled by our jokes, and with a unique take on Welsh
:12:16. > :12:26.history. And still wondering why Rhian's carrying a washing basket.
:12:26. > :12:28.
:12:28. > :12:31.It's not just overseas tourists that flock to North Wales. 50 miles
:12:31. > :12:34.west of Conway lies the Lleyn Peninsula. A finger of land
:12:34. > :12:38.reaching out from the mountains of Snowdonia towards the Irish sea. On
:12:38. > :12:41.its south coast, known as the Welsh Riviera, lies the stylish seaside
:12:41. > :12:51.resort of Abersoch. Famed for its iconic beach huts, it's a popular
:12:51. > :12:55.
:12:55. > :13:00.destination for well-heeled British Jan Atherton's family have been
:13:00. > :13:03.coming here for four generations. My great grandparents came to
:13:03. > :13:09.Abersoch first, then my grandparents and then my mum and
:13:09. > :13:12.dad, so I've been coming before I was born, if you know what I mean.
:13:12. > :13:16.The beach huts are basically up market sheds with hardly enough
:13:16. > :13:19.room to swing a Kiss Me Quick hat. An average nine foot square,
:13:19. > :13:22.they've no running water or electricity, but do come with a bit
:13:22. > :13:25.of beach attached. They're such a must-have for the fashionable
:13:25. > :13:31.holidaymakers of Abersoch that one was recently snapped up for a
:13:31. > :13:35.staggering �85,000. People hold onto beach huts because they are
:13:35. > :13:39.gold dust. Johnny Hancock's family have been proud owners for the last
:13:39. > :13:47.90 years. My great-grandfather had five children and all of those
:13:47. > :13:51.families continue to come down here. I've come to other such for as long
:13:51. > :13:56.as I can remember and it is my summer. It is everything all in one,
:13:56. > :14:02.sailing, usually sun, not this year. This is the heights of my children
:14:02. > :14:08.throughout the years. They go up and up and up. I'm not sure where I
:14:08. > :14:12.am, in the 60s, there in the 1950s. Each August for over a century, the
:14:12. > :14:15.resort's yacht club has staged a week of regatta events for the
:14:15. > :14:22.families which pack the village at the height of the long summer
:14:23. > :14:28.holidays. OK, you can start, three, two, one. Today, it's the fiercely
:14:28. > :14:35.contended sandcastle competition, open to both children and adults.
:14:35. > :14:39.It is history repeating itself. I love it, love it. The children come
:14:39. > :14:43.back year after year. They have put a lot of thought into this. They
:14:43. > :14:48.have drawn little plans. It is strong competition, lots of fun for
:14:48. > :14:53.grandmas to little ones. Dad Andy Bale has been roped in as muscle by
:14:53. > :14:57.his children and their friends. They needed some manual labour. I
:14:57. > :15:01.think it is as simple as that. making a well for a mediaeval
:15:01. > :15:09.village. Apparently I have made it bigger than the houses, so I need
:15:09. > :15:14.to restart. I get the boring job. I get to do the town wall, I believe.
:15:14. > :15:18.A mediaeval village wall builder, that's me now. The ambitious
:15:18. > :15:21.contestants aren't confining themselves to turrets and moats.
:15:22. > :15:27.From a flat piece of sand there's all these wonderful creations
:15:27. > :15:33.popped up and great family competition as you can see. They
:15:33. > :15:42.are lovely. Keep rowing. Who's the captain? It's my friend. Finally,
:15:42. > :15:48.it's prize giving time. Andy's bunch have walked away with a third.
:15:48. > :15:55.Mediaeval village, heavy on the shelf. And Jan's lot have done even
:15:55. > :15:59.better. Very proud, these are some of mine and they won first prize.
:15:59. > :16:03.You know, there aren't many little seaside places left like this.
:16:03. > :16:13.They've all got more modernised. We are not like that. I hope it never
:16:13. > :16:15.
:16:15. > :16:25.Whatever the weather, come rain or shine, summer's a busy time for
:16:25. > :16:25.
:16:25. > :16:30.those of us with allotments. Mine are better than yours. Mine are
:16:30. > :16:34.better than yours. In South Wales' Cynon Valley, retired miner's
:16:34. > :16:41.Mervyn Owens and Horace Rogers have been growing veg and getting mud in
:16:41. > :16:47.their wellies for the last 30 years. I am 68 now. A lot of people my age
:16:47. > :16:55.could not do this. A day in an allotment is equivalent to a day in
:16:55. > :16:59.the gym. I have got a bit of a tummy, that is good eating. Growing
:16:59. > :17:04.your own may be all the rage but for Horace and Merv it's never been
:17:04. > :17:10.out of fashion. They're allotment old guard. This is my potato patch
:17:10. > :17:16.here, all of it. These potatoes are all-round potatoes, Maris Piper. I
:17:16. > :17:22.am a chip man, so I have chips, roast and mash. He is down here six
:17:22. > :17:29.hours a day. Seven days a week. Come rain or shine. I told her she
:17:29. > :17:34.should divorce you. These boys are serious gardeners and regularly
:17:34. > :17:44.compete in the cut-throat world of vegetable shows. Dai, John Sugar,
:17:44. > :17:45.
:17:45. > :17:52.John Oliver. They are top gardeners. Horace says next year. It will be
:17:52. > :17:58.John Sugar next year. We will take him out and win as an achievement.
:17:58. > :18:02.It is an achievement I am proud of. All too often, fate can deal the
:18:02. > :18:07.vegetable grower a cruel blow. could pull all these and I won't
:18:07. > :18:14.get a decent carrot, it is as simple as that. The fly went
:18:14. > :18:24.through them. Heartbreaking. there are compensations! We never
:18:24. > :18:25.
:18:26. > :18:29.buy vegetables. All that I can grow, in the freezer and the shed. That
:18:29. > :18:35.is a cracking carrot. That is a good carrot. A nice fresh onion. I
:18:35. > :18:40.am not much of chef but the flavour is there. I can cook anything. I
:18:40. > :18:45.cook anything. As long as it doesn't move on a plate, I will eat
:18:45. > :18:55.it. Look at the colour, fit for the Queen. Look at that board. First,
:18:55. > :18:59.
:18:59. > :19:07.second, third. Spot on. Lovely. Stunning. You can't buy this stuff.
:19:07. > :19:17.Why grow it and cook it? From the garden to the pot is the saying.
:19:17. > :19:23.
:19:24. > :19:27.People think we are nuts. Are we In northeast Wales at Bryngwyn Hall,
:19:27. > :19:30.the etiquette course is in full flow. My biggest etiquette bugbear
:19:31. > :19:36.is probably table manners, I have to say. Really bad table manners
:19:36. > :19:46.are inexcusable and they can be quite sick making. We are going to
:19:46. > :19:47.
:19:47. > :19:57.do sitting. When we sit it is Absolutely fine, sit up straight.
:19:57. > :19:57.
:19:57. > :20:04.Up again. Keep the elbows in when you get up. Keep elbows by your
:20:04. > :20:09.Perfect, that's a very nice position. Lady Linlithgow herself
:20:09. > :20:13.has never attended an etiquette course. I wasn't given any training.
:20:13. > :20:17.I came from a background where manners were king,really.
:20:17. > :20:21.Bryngwyn's cook, Christine, courses usually mean an added workload.
:20:21. > :20:24.have had one before and they had the lady showing them how to walk
:20:24. > :20:34.properly and how to greet people correctly and how to project
:20:34. > :20:37.
:20:37. > :20:41.themselves. For interviews and things. I am not sure what this lot
:20:41. > :20:46.are doing but they are not having a cookery lesson which is great.
:20:46. > :20:50.walk in and you say hello. You shut the door with the same hand and
:20:50. > :20:55.walk forward. So I could say, good afternoon, my name is Diana, how do
:20:55. > :21:00.you do? Hello, my name is Diana. For etiquette teacher Diana, Lady
:21:00. > :21:04.Linlithgow's home is the perfect setting for her courses. The hall
:21:04. > :21:08.is a beautiful space and it is very important that the girls get a
:21:08. > :21:13.feeling of what it was like to be a lady in the old days because that
:21:13. > :21:20.is why they come. It is very easy to be elegant in elegant
:21:20. > :21:29.surroundings. Follow me, please. You can look beautiful in a bin bag
:21:29. > :21:32.if you stand correctly and walk well. So here we go. So looking
:21:32. > :21:42.straight ahead, it keeps my head still and my shoulders still and my
:21:42. > :21:51.spine in line. Hands by your side, just relax. Straight ahead. Very
:21:51. > :21:58.nice indeed. Look up. Good, relax your arms. OK, relax. A little bit
:21:58. > :22:03.faster. Good, well done. Relax the arms. In addition to hosting the
:22:03. > :22:07.event, Lady Linlithgow plays a key part in the etiquette course.
:22:07. > :22:12.are two different sorts of curtsies. There was the bob, literally that.
:22:12. > :22:18.If you did this, it is right down, if you are wearing high heels it is
:22:18. > :22:24.not easy. That is what you were taught to do. Then you were
:22:24. > :22:29.presented to the Queen. Lady Linlithgow with her experience of
:22:29. > :22:33.running a house like this and also the fact that she and I are of an
:22:33. > :22:36.age where you actually did the season. That is what the finishing
:22:36. > :22:40.school was all about, to teach young ladies have to go out into
:22:40. > :22:44.society, how to behave properly and marry a very rich husband and live
:22:44. > :22:47.hopefully happy ever after. course we all fell in love with a
:22:47. > :22:51.skiing instructor, didn't we? We were given the oldest, ugliest
:22:51. > :22:56.instructor. But there were some very good-looking younger ones. I
:22:56. > :23:03.don't know if I got a photograph of the one I had a crush on. I am on
:23:03. > :23:08.show as much as the house. I don't have much of a private life. But I
:23:08. > :23:12.passionately love this place. I am passionately determined that it is
:23:12. > :23:21.going to be handed over to the next generation in a good state,
:23:21. > :23:24.depending on the taxman! Back on the Welsh Riviera, at the holiday
:23:25. > :23:31.hot-spot of Abersoch, it's the highlight of Regatta Week. The best
:23:31. > :23:36.dressed beach hut competition. Jan Atherton and family have gone for a
:23:36. > :23:40.jazz theme. We are very proud of our beach huts. They have often
:23:40. > :23:44.been the family for years and years very often. It is a friendly
:23:44. > :23:47.competition. The children like getting involved. I don't think we
:23:47. > :23:52.will win because there is some fantastic entries, but we will have
:23:52. > :23:56.a go. We will have a go. Further along the beach, the Bales are
:23:56. > :24:01.hoping the shock the judges into awarding them a prize. We're doing
:24:01. > :24:06.an operating scene for the beach hut competition. The important
:24:06. > :24:11.thing is attention to detail. scaring the judges. That looks real,
:24:11. > :24:15.that's horrible. Jan's neighbours, the Mount family, have gone Mexican.
:24:15. > :24:20.A lot of competition. We are great friends but there is a lot of
:24:20. > :24:27.competition here. We don't like them. We just put up with them, all
:24:28. > :24:33.the time. I think the moustaches here are a bit... Oh, they are here.
:24:33. > :24:38.The competition judges have arrived. These are my little amigos. Loving
:24:38. > :24:44.the hats. Just something you had lying around. We just found it.
:24:44. > :24:52.Rivalry's keen. Is there any bribery allowed? Definitely not.
:24:52. > :24:57.are totally impartial. Fingers crossed. Enjoyed it, took part.
:24:57. > :25:05.is going to tell me what this is all about? Is it the Olympics?
:25:05. > :25:12.How old are you? Three? He's on the podium, well done. Thank you very
:25:12. > :25:16.much. We are seeing an Olympic theme this year, aren't we? It is
:25:16. > :25:19.lovely to see the kids getting so into it and on a beautiful sunny
:25:19. > :25:26.day like today, where better place to be? Finally, the judges arrive
:25:26. > :25:36.at the Bale family's beach hut. are in a field hospital, oh dear.
:25:36. > :25:36.
:25:36. > :25:46.Are you ready? Which should go first? Very good. It's decision
:25:46. > :25:47.
:25:47. > :25:57.We do have an outright winner and it is hut one and the first prize
:25:57. > :26:03.
:26:03. > :26:10.is this cup and their theme was the You can share it, that is good.
:26:10. > :26:13.Bales too win a prize. We got a medal. Highly commended. And though
:26:13. > :26:18.Jan's hut doesn't get a mention, her neighbours, the Mounts' efforts
:26:18. > :26:22.are also rewarded. It was a good turnout, a reflection of the effort
:26:22. > :26:28.people put in. As the curtain falls on another fun filled Regatta
:26:28. > :26:31.events week, Jan's in good spirits. Generations of families come here
:26:31. > :26:36.year after year, so the parents form friendships, then their
:26:36. > :26:46.children do and it is like reunion time in the summer. I just feel
:26:46. > :26:54.
:26:54. > :26:57.totally content here. Very special In Cardiff, the skies have cleared
:26:57. > :27:07.and the Carnival parade has reached the city centre, relatively dry and
:27:07. > :27:08.
:27:08. > :27:12.intact. It makes me want to dance. This is our summer. It's the first
:27:12. > :27:15.time in its 23 year history that the parade has taken a central
:27:15. > :27:19.route and with tens of thousands of Olympic football fans swelling the
:27:19. > :27:26.watching crowds, it's never been such a focus of attention. I love
:27:26. > :27:35.Despite the bad weather the enthusiasm of the 500-odd
:27:35. > :27:39.performers and paraders hasn't But some of the fantastical giant
:27:39. > :27:45.puppets have come off the worse for wear. We've lost a lion, he
:27:45. > :27:50.collapsed. I think it was the rain. The back strut has snapped. She
:27:50. > :27:52.leant back and snapped the strut. But the pain's been worth it,
:27:52. > :27:57.Wales' biggest and brightest Carnival has been a resounding
:27:57. > :28:00.success. Dancing in the street and knowing that this is three weeks
:28:00. > :28:08.about making, all the colours, it has been brilliant seeing the whole
:28:08. > :28:15.thing to come together. I told you the sun would shine on us. You know
:28:15. > :28:23.what it's like, party time now. Next time... It is Ladies' Day at
:28:23. > :28:28.the races. Each way on each horse. They are not up and running yet.