Episode 6 A Summer in Wales

Summer in Wales is a time of celebration. Cheese. Holidays.

want to see a castle, pubs. Keep rowing. And the great outdoors. A

time when many businesses must turn a profit. We have put everything

we've got into this. Or face a struggle to survive the rest of the

year. You've got to try to keep your head above water. A time when

good weather can make all things possible and bad can leave dreams

in tatters. The weather could be a little nicer but that is not

anybody's fault. This summer was truly extraordinary. Is it a clever

time to take it down? It's your laughter. Heartache. This can be a

cruel game. Triumph. I came second. And despair. The weather has beaten

us again. These are our stories. nice bit of paving. Filmed in every

corner of the nation across the summer of 2012. You can't beat it.

This is the story of the summer in Wales. Let's get the show on the

Late summer, and as rain continued to soak a soggy Wales, events were

forced to cancel countrywide. 30 millimetres of rain in a short

space of time. Hail and thunder. They will also become heavy and

thundery, localised surface flooding. But some hardy souls

refused to be beaten. It's raining, not to worry, we are Welsh, we are

used to it. After weeks of preparation, Cardiff Carnival is

about to take to the city centre streets. But with weather warnings

of torrential rain to come, the big day could well be a big a wash-out.

Are you scared of rain? I'm not scared of rain. This will be lead

costume designer Adrian Spinola's 12th carnival, and it will take

more than a mini monsoon to dampen his enthusiasm. We don't mind. We

can cope with anything. The atmosphere, you can feel it. The

bands, the colour, the rain. A bit of squelchy Welsh weather isn't

going to get this bunch down. fine, he's waterproof. At 4:00pm

sharp the Carnival procession takes to Cardiff's sodden streets. Soggy.

Spaces, guys, keep your spaces, nice spaces. $$WHITEQuestion is,

will the 500 hundred performers and paraders make it round the mile and

a half route in one piece? It's exhausting, my head feels like it's

been ripped off. It's a torture chamber. We've got a problem with

the costume at the front. It might A bit of technical difficulties,

unfortunately. Hopefully they will Whatever the weather, summer's a

busy time for many of the nation's private country houses. On the

border between Wales and England stands Bryngwyn Hall. Ancestral

seat of the Sandbatch family and home of Auriol, Marchioness of

Linlithgow. I have known this house since I was five and I completely

fell in love with it. It was shut up. It had been occupied in the war.

There was dry rot everywhere, bats, mice, rats, you name it. It was a

complete haven for wildlife. But I had this great passion to want to

restore this house. It was very exciting, actually, but financially

it was extremely difficult. That is my grandfather. He was Curzon's

military secretary. This is Gary, an Indian gharial shot in Jogiwala.

A wonderful name, Jogiwala. To fund the restoration and running of

Bryngwyn and it's 60 acres of parkland, Lady Linlithgow has had

to turn it into a money making enterprise. I think I live in

paradise here. I say paradise doesn't come cheap. But it's hard

work. I haven't had a fairy wave a magic wand. It hasn't all twinkled

in. Christine has been part of Lady Linlithgow's household for the last

30 years. She loves having people in the house. She loves showing

people around. Also it brings in a bit of money. It keeps me in work.

Which is always good, I suppose. So yes, you have to do whatever you

can, haven't you, to keep people coming through and getting a bit of

cash. If we can. Grate the cheese. Today, the household is playing

host to an etiquette course, run by former newsreader, Diana Mather.

Now, ladies, what we don't want is any of this. Our young ladies come

on the course to learn social etiquette, which is common sense

and mainly good manners. The course is just one of a string of money

making ventures which Lady Linlithgow has taken on. We started

doing tours of the house, then we started doing shooting and weddings

and etiquette weekends. At a steady pace, that's it. Keep your

fingertips moving gently. I came from an era when manners and

etiquette were very important. We were always, don't rush up the

stairs, walk like ladies, not like farmworkers in Wellington boots

which is how I used to walk. It's very smooth, moving with you.

That's it. I've had to diversify in many ways and I've had to really

laterally think about what we can do to keep this house running well

and in good condition. We are thinking of doing paranormal

weekends and my daughter-in-law suggested we have parties with

butlers in the buff, which is an interesting thought at �45 an hour

With nearly a million overseas visitors coming to Wales each year,

the majority during the summer months, tourism has become a vital

part of the economy. In Conway, North Wales, just under a 5th of

the workforce is linked to it. Ex- London finance manager Rhian Wyn

Jones, who specialises in costume guiding, leads Blue Badge tours of

the town. When you dress up when you are doing guiding, you really

go in to the part. I go in character. I am a 16th century maid.

My friends think I'm having a midlife crisis. They're probably

right but I go with the flow. Rhian's giving a private tour of

Conway to a group of 26 Japanese visitors on a week long whistle-

Unfortunately, nobody seems to have explained to the group why she's

dressed as a 16th century maid. Welcome to Conway. Nice to meet you

all and welcome to Wales. Worse, hardly any of them speak much

English. If I say a couple of sentences and you can translate,

then I'll say another couple of sentences because it is a lot to

take in. This could be tricky! This is going to be fun. First stop,

Conway's medieval Castle. 1282, in And in Wales it was Llewellyn that

Ah! Not a good start. Two reasons you would be invited to the Great

Hall. The first reason would be for a feast. The second reason is if

you were accused of a crime. So if you had done a bad deed, if you had

committed a crime. Erm, erm, accused, like a court room. Oh dear,

oh dear! There would have been a stream that would have come along

here to clean away the waste. You can imagine ten soldiers sitting

there together, reading a newspaper OK. They're a polite bunch! Having

a good time, aren't we? Another highlight of the tour is St Mary's

and All Saint's Church, burial place of many of the Princes of

Gwynedd. Now I'm going to tell you Two men standing in the churchyard

talking to each other. One says, it's my wedding anniversary coming

up. 50 years. The other man says, are you going to do anything nice

Well, when it was my 25th wedding anniversary I took the wife to

London to visit her sister and now it's our 50th anniversary I might

go and fetch her back! Bring her I think she's lost them there.

difficult with a joke. Just three hours after first arriving, the

tourists have 'done' Wales, and it would appear they've enjoyed

themselves. How do you say thank you in Wales? Diolch yn fawr.

It's been a short but sweet visit. You're welcome. They leave,

completely baffled by our jokes, and with a unique take on Welsh

history. And still wondering why Rhian's carrying a washing basket.

It's not just overseas tourists that flock to North Wales. 50 miles

west of Conway lies the Lleyn Peninsula. A finger of land

reaching out from the mountains of Snowdonia towards the Irish sea. On

its south coast, known as the Welsh Riviera, lies the stylish seaside

resort of Abersoch. Famed for its iconic beach huts, it's a popular

destination for well-heeled British Jan Atherton's family have been

coming here for four generations. My great grandparents came to

Abersoch first, then my grandparents and then my mum and

dad, so I've been coming before I was born, if you know what I mean.

The beach huts are basically up market sheds with hardly enough

room to swing a Kiss Me Quick hat. An average nine foot square,

they've no running water or electricity, but do come with a bit

of beach attached. They're such a must-have for the fashionable

holidaymakers of Abersoch that one was recently snapped up for a

staggering �85,000. People hold onto beach huts because they are

gold dust. Johnny Hancock's family have been proud owners for the last

90 years. My great-grandfather had five children and all of those

families continue to come down here. I've come to other such for as long

as I can remember and it is my summer. It is everything all in one,

sailing, usually sun, not this year. This is the heights of my children

throughout the years. They go up and up and up. I'm not sure where I

am, in the 60s, there in the 1950s. Each August for over a century, the

resort's yacht club has staged a week of regatta events for the

families which pack the village at the height of the long summer

holidays. OK, you can start, three, two, one. Today, it's the fiercely

contended sandcastle competition, open to both children and adults.

It is history repeating itself. I love it, love it. The children come

back year after year. They have put a lot of thought into this. They

have drawn little plans. It is strong competition, lots of fun for

grandmas to little ones. Dad Andy Bale has been roped in as muscle by

his children and their friends. They needed some manual labour. I

think it is as simple as that. making a well for a mediaeval

village. Apparently I have made it bigger than the houses, so I need

to restart. I get the boring job. I get to do the town wall, I believe.

A mediaeval village wall builder, that's me now. The ambitious

contestants aren't confining themselves to turrets and moats.

From a flat piece of sand there's all these wonderful creations

popped up and great family competition as you can see. They

are lovely. Keep rowing. Who's the captain? It's my friend. Finally,

it's prize giving time. Andy's bunch have walked away with a third.

Mediaeval village, heavy on the shelf. And Jan's lot have done even

better. Very proud, these are some of mine and they won first prize.

You know, there aren't many little seaside places left like this.

They've all got more modernised. We are not like that. I hope it never

Whatever the weather, come rain or shine, summer's a busy time for

those of us with allotments. Mine are better than yours. Mine are

better than yours. In South Wales' Cynon Valley, retired miner's

Mervyn Owens and Horace Rogers have been growing veg and getting mud in

their wellies for the last 30 years. I am 68 now. A lot of people my age

could not do this. A day in an allotment is equivalent to a day in

the gym. I have got a bit of a tummy, that is good eating. Growing

your own may be all the rage but for Horace and Merv it's never been

out of fashion. They're allotment old guard. This is my potato patch

here, all of it. These potatoes are all-round potatoes, Maris Piper. I

am a chip man, so I have chips, roast and mash. He is down here six

hours a day. Seven days a week. Come rain or shine. I told her she

should divorce you. These boys are serious gardeners and regularly

compete in the cut-throat world of vegetable shows. Dai, John Sugar,

John Oliver. They are top gardeners. Horace says next year. It will be

John Sugar next year. We will take him out and win as an achievement.

It is an achievement I am proud of. All too often, fate can deal the

vegetable grower a cruel blow. could pull all these and I won't

get a decent carrot, it is as simple as that. The fly went

through them. Heartbreaking. there are compensations! We never

buy vegetables. All that I can grow, in the freezer and the shed. That

is a cracking carrot. That is a good carrot. A nice fresh onion. I

am not much of chef but the flavour is there. I can cook anything. I

cook anything. As long as it doesn't move on a plate, I will eat

it. Look at the colour, fit for the Queen. Look at that board. First,

second, third. Spot on. Lovely. Stunning. You can't buy this stuff.

Why grow it and cook it? From the garden to the pot is the saying.

People think we are nuts. Are we In northeast Wales at Bryngwyn Hall,

the etiquette course is in full flow. My biggest etiquette bugbear

is probably table manners, I have to say. Really bad table manners

are inexcusable and they can be quite sick making. We are going to

do sitting. When we sit it is Absolutely fine, sit up straight.

Up again. Keep the elbows in when you get up. Keep elbows by your

Perfect, that's a very nice position. Lady Linlithgow herself

has never attended an etiquette course. I wasn't given any training.

I came from a background where manners were king,really.

Bryngwyn's cook, Christine, courses usually mean an added workload.

have had one before and they had the lady showing them how to walk

properly and how to greet people correctly and how to project

themselves. For interviews and things. I am not sure what this lot

are doing but they are not having a cookery lesson which is great.

walk in and you say hello. You shut the door with the same hand and

walk forward. So I could say, good afternoon, my name is Diana, how do

you do? Hello, my name is Diana. For etiquette teacher Diana, Lady

Linlithgow's home is the perfect setting for her courses. The hall

is a beautiful space and it is very important that the girls get a

feeling of what it was like to be a lady in the old days because that

is why they come. It is very easy to be elegant in elegant

surroundings. Follow me, please. You can look beautiful in a bin bag

if you stand correctly and walk well. So here we go. So looking

straight ahead, it keeps my head still and my shoulders still and my

spine in line. Hands by your side, just relax. Straight ahead. Very

nice indeed. Look up. Good, relax your arms. OK, relax. A little bit

faster. Good, well done. Relax the arms. In addition to hosting the

event, Lady Linlithgow plays a key part in the etiquette course.

are two different sorts of curtsies. There was the bob, literally that.

If you did this, it is right down, if you are wearing high heels it is

not easy. That is what you were taught to do. Then you were

presented to the Queen. Lady Linlithgow with her experience of

running a house like this and also the fact that she and I are of an

age where you actually did the season. That is what the finishing

school was all about, to teach young ladies have to go out into

society, how to behave properly and marry a very rich husband and live

hopefully happy ever after. course we all fell in love with a

skiing instructor, didn't we? We were given the oldest, ugliest

instructor. But there were some very good-looking younger ones. I

don't know if I got a photograph of the one I had a crush on. I am on

show as much as the house. I don't have much of a private life. But I

passionately love this place. I am passionately determined that it is

going to be handed over to the next generation in a good state,

depending on the taxman! Back on the Welsh Riviera, at the holiday

hot-spot of Abersoch, it's the highlight of Regatta Week. The best

dressed beach hut competition. Jan Atherton and family have gone for a

jazz theme. We are very proud of our beach huts. They have often

been the family for years and years very often. It is a friendly

competition. The children like getting involved. I don't think we

will win because there is some fantastic entries, but we will have

a go. We will have a go. Further along the beach, the Bales are

hoping the shock the judges into awarding them a prize. We're doing

an operating scene for the beach hut competition. The important

thing is attention to detail. scaring the judges. That looks real,

that's horrible. Jan's neighbours, the Mount family, have gone Mexican.

A lot of competition. We are great friends but there is a lot of

competition here. We don't like them. We just put up with them, all

the time. I think the moustaches here are a bit... Oh, they are here.

The competition judges have arrived. These are my little amigos. Loving

the hats. Just something you had lying around. We just found it.

Rivalry's keen. Is there any bribery allowed? Definitely not.

are totally impartial. Fingers crossed. Enjoyed it, took part.

is going to tell me what this is all about? Is it the Olympics?

How old are you? Three? He's on the podium, well done. Thank you very

much. We are seeing an Olympic theme this year, aren't we? It is

lovely to see the kids getting so into it and on a beautiful sunny

day like today, where better place to be? Finally, the judges arrive

at the Bale family's beach hut. are in a field hospital, oh dear.

Are you ready? Which should go first? Very good. It's decision

We do have an outright winner and it is hut one and the first prize

is this cup and their theme was the You can share it, that is good.

Bales too win a prize. We got a medal. Highly commended. And though

Jan's hut doesn't get a mention, her neighbours, the Mounts' efforts

are also rewarded. It was a good turnout, a reflection of the effort

people put in. As the curtain falls on another fun filled Regatta

events week, Jan's in good spirits. Generations of families come here

year after year, so the parents form friendships, then their

children do and it is like reunion time in the summer. I just feel

totally content here. Very special In Cardiff, the skies have cleared

and the Carnival parade has reached the city centre, relatively dry and

intact. It makes me want to dance. This is our summer. It's the first

time in its 23 year history that the parade has taken a central

route and with tens of thousands of Olympic football fans swelling the

watching crowds, it's never been such a focus of attention. I love

Despite the bad weather the enthusiasm of the 500-odd

performers and paraders hasn't But some of the fantastical giant

puppets have come off the worse for wear. We've lost a lion, he

collapsed. I think it was the rain. The back strut has snapped. She

leant back and snapped the strut. But the pain's been worth it,

Wales' biggest and brightest Carnival has been a resounding

success. Dancing in the street and knowing that this is three weeks

about making, all the colours, it has been brilliant seeing the whole

thing to come together. I told you the sun would shine on us. You know

what it's like, party time now. Next time... It is Ladies' Day at

the races. Each way on each horse. They are not up and running yet.