Episode 4 A Summer in Wales

Summer in Wales is a time of celebration...

Cheese!

-..holidays...

-I 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 and keep your head above water.

A time when good weather can make all things possible...

SHOUTING

..and bad can leave dreams in tatters.

The weather could be nicer, but that's not anybody's fault.

The summer was truly extraordinary.

Is that the cleverest idea to try and take it down?

It saw laughter...

-..heartache...

-It's going to be a cruel game.

-..triumph...

-I came second.

-..and despair.

-The weather's beaten us once again.

These are our stories.

Nice bit of pavement pizza in this corner here.

Filmed in every corner of the nation across the summer of 2012.

You can't beat it, can you?

This is the story of a summer in Wales.

Let's get the show on the road!

Wales.

Late summer.

On the tiny tidal island of Cribinau, off the south-west coast of Anglesey,

stands St Cwyfan's Church in the Sea.

Open for service all summer,

this medieval church is shut up as autumn draws near.

Today, at low tide, Canon Madalaine Brady is heading out on foot

across the causeway to conduct the last service of the year.

I'm going to do two christenings whilst we're here.

Baptise a baby and a little girl.

I'm so pleased it's a lovely day.

Soon after this I shall be retiring,

so I'll miss the place very much.

While the church is prepared and the families and their guests

make their way out to the island,

the Canon keeps a watchful eye on the tide.

It's behaving exceedingly well today, I'm happy to say.

I don't think anybody needs worry they'll get stuck.

I don't think I'll miss walking out over the causeway all that much,

but everything else.

Somebody once said there are places where the air between

heaven and earth is thin and I think this is one of them.

It's just got a lovely, lovely feeling of time and space

and nature, and continuity I suppose.

Hello.

For the congregation it's a day of mixed emotions.

It's sad Madalaine is leaving.

You know, she's been part of the community for, what, 15 years

because she christened my daughter for me as well.

With only a short window before the tide turns,

Canon Madalaine cracks on with the service.

Croeso cynnes iawn. A very warm welcome.

So we are going to start our service by singing the first hymn

on your hymn sheet, Will Your Anchor Hold In The Storms Of Life.

ORGAN PLAYS INTRODUCTION

Little Harry quickly takes centre stage,

and tries to join in with the organ playing.

Oh dear, oh dear.

Undeterred he goes back for more.

It looks like it's going to be a lively service.

Please be seated.

BABY CRIES

For Wales's 7,000-odd hotel and guest houses,

summer is their busiest season.

And this year, a new establishment joined their ranks.

On the border between Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion, stands Hammet House.

Until recently, it was a failing country hotel

but then Philippa and Owen Gale bought it

and invested their life savings to transform it into a luxury retreat.

It's an ambitious project.

When you stepped through the door before,

it was kind of like an old people's home sort of feel.

The couple are giving the interior an uncompromisingly modern makeover.

But it's not to everyone's taste in this part of Welsh Wales.

We did have one lady who stomped in and told me

that I couldn't do this to this house.

I felt like telling her, well, actually, it's my house.

More importantly, the on-going refurbishment has meant

that some of the hotel's bedrooms couldn't be used.

Time's ticking now.

HE GROANS

With summer being the busiest season in the hotel trade,

the couple have had to work quickly to get the redecoration finished.

I want it stripped and painted in our palette of greys.

But one key function room where wedding receptions are held,

has been left untouched, until now.

Obviously a lot of brides are coming in and seeing

the front of the house and loving our new contemporary feel.

But obviously we haven't done the ballroom yet.

For Philippa and Owen, this has been a long-awaited makeover.

We had a big wedding here last night.

We've just cleared up after that and now the floor fitters are here.

Hooray.

We've been waiting for this day for quite a while.

It's nice to see this old carpet going.

We've got a lovely new parquet floor coming in.

It's going to look a lot better which is essential now

because we're getting potential brides coming into the house

and we show them into the ballroom and they see the carpets, the old curtains and then they go, oh dear.

One of last night's wedding guests can't resist taking a peek.

And pays the price.

We're even having to take the carpet up now after last night.

-What did they do to it, then?

-Oh, ruined it.

No, no, no, we're having a new floor put down!

I nearly had a heart attack!

But joking aside, there's one serious issue.

Just over two weeks before the next wedding

so we've really got a bit of a tight time scale on this one.

An area this size would probably take us about three to four weeks

so it's very ambitious, but we'll see how it goes.

The worst thing that could happen is that we don't get it done in time.

As the end of summer looms, it's not just those with a living to make who are feeling the pressure.

For some, there are other challenges that are every bit as serious.

Still crackers, Merv? Wahey!

In South Wales's Cynon Valley, Mervyn Owens is helping fellow

allotment holder, Horace Rodgers, pick the best of his summer crop

to enter into competition in the county show.

-About four feet.

-Come on.

First up - parsnips.

Right here we go.

I'm a bit nervous, I am, really now.

They've been in since February, it's a long time.

It's a delicate process.

-If it snaps, it's no good for showing.

-No.

-He's down there.

-He's coming.

Oh, he snapped.

This can be a cruel game.

He's coming, he's coming.

-Right.

-All right there, byt?

-Oh, he snapped.

-I didn't like the sound of that.

-It's a shame that, ain't it?

-I'm going to break down now, quietly.

Competitive vegetable growing can be an emotional roller coaster.

Right?

Will it be a case of third time lucky?

-Oh, he's all right, he's all right.

-It's not bad.

That's one.

It's looking good.

-Looking very good.

-Two.

Merv, if we can just put that in a bath of water.

That's the longest one.

Three. Enough for the show.

Next, it's Horace's pride and joy - his cauliflowers.

I'm a bit annoyed with these, Merv, to be honest with you, boy.

Oh, they've gone over the top, Horace. Over the top, look.

They've gone, man, they've gone. Look here.

They've just come on, the weather's brought them on too soon, you know.

All summer now you've nursed them and fed them.

Gutted.

But it's not all bad news. There's always the peas.

That's quite nice, that is, if you can get nine like that.

They've got a deep, a deep grain the pod like.

They've got to be a lush green, that's what they call it - lush.

There's a lovely one here, look, right, quite full this is now.

-How many is in it that?

-Seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven peas in that.

-0h, eleven peas. That's an excellent pea.

-That's a good pea that is.

Veg selected, Horace gives it an all-important makeover,

ready for the show.

-Lovely smell on them.

-Fresh.

-Fresh, see.

-It's all about presentation, ain't it, Merv?

-Yes.

Cleaning the parsnips, it takes hours like, you know.

"I don't see much of you, you're always down that allotment."

But I told you earlier, I nearly had a divorce for this game.

That's what she'll say, "Where you been?

"You think more of that allotment than me."

I'll say, "You're dead right."

People think we're nuts. Are we nuts, Merv?

Aye, we are nuts, Horace.

40 miles west of the Cynon Valley,

in the heart of the rolling hills of Carmarthenshire, lies Ffos Las,

Wales's third and newest racecourse.

Each summer, Ladies Day, one of the most glamorous events

in the nation's social calendar, is held here.

Amongst those attending,

the clients of Kelly Frator's hair salon in nearby Pontarddulais.

I hardly slept last night.

I had my, I had my, my sleeping rollers in

and I kept waking up thinking, "Ooh it's the..."

but it wasn't the rollers, it was pure excitement, I was really excited.

We've been going on about this for weeks now, haven't we?

Yeah, it's the event of the year.

Almost as much effort goes into it as getting married,

we have to look the best.

Just hope the rain doesn't ruin our hats today.

Just along the high street from Kelly's salon,

dress shop owner Samantha Roberts and sisters Claire Lewis

and Sarah Davies have their eye on a prize.

I think everybody wants to be the Best Dressed Lady.

Sarah and definitely Claire want to be the Best Dressed Lady.

One of our girls got through last year, which was really exciting,

so let's hope that we get the same this year and maybe get a winner.

The ladies are ready and their carriage awaits.

Nothing's going to dampen their high spirits,

not even a forecast of heavy rain.

CHEERS

We're not really that worried about the weather

because it's going to get better.

I've had a word upstairs, it's going to be fine.

But as they arrive at the racecourse,

dark clouds are already gathering.

Many things in life are unpredictable,

but one thing's certain, even in summer, Welsh weather can be soggy.

I love Wales' weather.

Despite the wind and rain, Kelly has her mind focused on one thing.

We've just put £3.00 each way.

Placing a bet.

Basically what we want to do, we want to share this money out

on the races that we've got, so can you help me, please?

Yeah, will do.

What it is, I'm not up and running yet unfortunately, sorry.

She's very keen.

I've got £75 here.

So I've got all the horses that I want to put on.

Erm, so I need your help to break it down.

You can only bet on this race mind, you can't bet,

you can't bet on all the races.

You've got to bet on them individually, everybody's the same, see.

-Right, OK. So how do I break this down?

-I'm not sure, erm.

Oh, dear. Fortunately, the Pontarddulais ladies

aren't just here for a flutter.

They've got their eyes on the Best Dressed Lady prize.

Hopefully today we're going to be chosen for Best Dressed,

just to get in the line-up would be really nice.

For me, that's my favourite.

I agree.

This year's competition judge, Andrew Stephens,

manager of Llanelli's St Elli Shopping Centre,

is out and about selecting the best dressed ladies on the racecourse.

It's a little bit more difficult than I thought actually.

I'm no fashion expert but, you know

when somebody's dressed nice they're dressed nice.

Among the crowds, there are some surprising potential contestants.

Thank you, lads!

Excuse me, you've just walked past me and caught my eye.

-So if you could come and join us.

-Of course I will.

-And there's a competition for the Best Dressed as well.

-Thank you.

Sarah and Claire are in the running.

-Can I give you those two?

-Thank you very much.

The both of them are dressed smart. I feel a little bit awkward

giving one out when the other one's standing next to them

who's equally as smart, so I think I'm being gentlemanly, I think.

I hope we win!

Back in the pavilion, Kelly's still trying to place a bet.

£2.50 each way on each horse, please.

Put the time of the race on the end.

I'll put £2.00 each way, £2.00 each way and £8.00 on the bottom.

Can you do it for me?

£2.00 each way, £2.00 each way, it's only first or second. 2.45.

Grumpy.

Only joking.

She's done it, just in the nick of time.

Come on.

Come on!

Go on!

Looks like these ladies like a flutter!

It was worth the wait.

As the selected Best Dressed ladies line up in the paddock,

it's judgement time.

It's going to be very difficult

and it's going to be the lady in the centre holding her hat.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

And the runner-up.

Again it's going to be a difficult one, but it's going to be the lovely lady on the right.

Well done, the lovely lady on the right.

And again it's going to be difficult to narrow it down,

but it's the lovely one in the vintage dress in the centre.

Very good choice.

Thank you. Thank you.

Second place, I'm chuffed, I'm chuffed, I'm chuffed, I'm chuffed.

I won, I was second.

It's been a good day for the ladies of Pontarddulais.

60 miles to the east, in the Vale of Glamorgan,

stands a fortified medieval building known as Fonmon Castle.

The castle has been in the family of Sir Brooke Boothby since 1656.

While most of us are trying to persuade our children

to leave home, Sir Brooke Boothby is overjoyed that he's persuaded

daughter Aliki to move back into his ancestral pile.

It is each generation's sole prerogative

as to whether you keep it.

My father, when he inherited it, he discovered that the whole place,

not only the house but the land and everything, was all mortgaged

and he literally had to sell a silver teapot

to pay the staff for the first month and that was tough.

And in his lifetime, he cleared the debts.

I've had the great good fortune then

after we got over the hump of his death duties,

which was a seven figure sum, once we got over that,

then I have been able to take the place forward.

Sir Brooke Boothby has worked tirelessly to keep Fonmon

for future generations of the Boothby family

and wants to pass on the running of the house to his daughter.

We started opening the house when I was a child

and at the beginning when people started coming,

I wasn't very good, and maybe it was part of my adolescent stroppiness

but at one point I'm embarrassed to admit I had a badge made and it said

"I'm not a tourist, I live here."

In addition to tours of the house, Sir Brooke Boothby also hires out

the castle grounds for a whole range of high profile events.

We're ready to play, we're ready to play.

We've got a polo match out here in aid of charity.

It's run by the St David's Polo Club and what they do is

they take the whole field off us, they hire it as the venue

and we just give them whatever support they think they need.

Wales are winning. Wales are 2-0 up, so all is well in the world!

Come on Wales!

This really starts off our events season and then we move on

next week to a country fair and so on through the summer.

The most profitable side of the business is weddings

for which Sir Brooke Boothby arranges the flowers himself.

It's a fairly messy job so I tend to try and do this in the mornings

before the guests arrive.

A couple of weeks ago the bride rang the day before

when we'd already put our flowers out saying, "I'm allergic to lilies."

And you can guess which was the flower that was fully out

in the garden which we'd made six or seven arrangements with.

Aged 63, Sir Brooke Boothby is taking a step back

from the day-to-day running of Fonmon

and handing the reins over to Aliki.

It's not going to be an easy process.

I know, for example, if my father came back today

there are all sorts of little things,

"What on earth have you done that for, boy?"

And I shall feel exactly the same about it with Aliki.

But that's it, it's the next generation and you must let go.

I feel that it is a really big responsibility.

I heard once somebody say that it can take eight generations of work

and it can be thrown away by just one generation.

They used the term "benign neglect", not even, "You've made a really big mistake."

So for me I do feel that there is a huge amount of,

not only my father's work but the ancestors',

my grandparents and the ancestors before that

who've really shaped the place, and I don't want to get it wrong.

This is the dangerous bit when an hour's work can vanish in a moment.

Today, Sir Brooke Boothby is preparing for a visit

from the ladies of the WI.

A great deal of the old great houses were built to be shown off

and the owners very often only lived in them for, say,

four months of the year, because many of the greatest and grandest owners,

had five or six of these houses.

He prides himself in hosting all tours of Fonmon,

something that Aliki is going to have to learn to do.

Welcome to Fonmon.

I use the word Fonmon, it's been pronounced Funmun, Ffwlwmwn

and there's about 20 different spellings known in its 850 years.

In those 850 years it's only ever belonged to two families.

First of all, the St John Norman Knights

came over with William the Conqueror.

I've been away a long time and I'm embarrassed to say

that I've not learned a lot about the castle history.

I think I took it for granted, to be really frank,

and coming back now, aged 35, I realise how much history I've got behind me

and hopefully how much, sort of, investment I've got in front of me

to make it keep living and keep going.

Somebody in this seat?

There's a handbag, but where's the lady?

-Are you a Lady?

-No, no.

No, nothing, nothing because I'm married so I'm just Mrs.

Just a Mrs(!) Just plain Mrs.

And this is the piece du resistance as you can see,

it's a very fine room, lovely plaster work.

As you can see you've got the sun god Apollo,

you've got Zeus and Neptune

and all sorts of other things like hunting scenes,

and flowers and birds.

Roman emperors in the corners here, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius and so on.

I don't expect that one day Dad will just be gone,

I don't really think that's how it works.

The day-to-day operations, yes.

I think to be honest, after a lifetime of doing it

there's probably other things he'd find more rewarding.

I think we've all enjoyed it, yes.

Gorgeous.

What do you think, girls, do we give him a clap?

-Oh, yes.

-Very much so.

Cardiff.

And the city's expert cleansing team have been called in

to prepare the area surrounding the Senedd,

ready for the ceremony to welcome home Wales' Olympic and Paralympic medal winners.

Street wash operator, Rose Joseph, and colleague, Russell Davies, are hard at it.

There's going to be lots of celebrations, I should imagine.

So we've come out at the crack of dawn to get it all clean

and sparkling and ready.

Removed all the chewing gum, all the detritus is gone.

All ready for lots and lots of visitors.

Russell's absolutely in his usual mood - moaning, grumpy.

It's cold out here. It's windy.

All the Welsh athletes have done Wales proud, I think.

They had medals where they weren't expecting them.

I think the Welsh people have done well this year.

Hasn't been much of a summer really, has it?

It's getting darker in the mornings and darker quicker in the evenings.

Still busy in the winter months. Still out and about.

As long as the weather doesn't go to minus, we still operate.

I love it when they put all the bunting up

-and all the Christmas trees and they put the lights on.

-Waste of money.

Everyone comes out and sings Christmas songs and groups together.

-Waste of money, waste of money.

-Bah humbug.

That's the Senedd all done and dusted. Looking forward to tonight.

There'll be a wicked buzz.

Russell promised to buy me and Sophie tea.

RUSSELL LAUGHS But I haven't had it in writing yet.

It's been the team's busiest summer on record,

with more events held in the capital than ever before.

Cleaner Cardiff manager, Juliet Gamlin,

appreciates her team's efforts.

A lot of work has been going in throughout the day

to make sure that everything is sparkling ready

for our prize of our Welsh athletes arriving tonight

for the Olympics and the Paralympics presentation tonight.

I've got to say the team have worked really, really hard

throughout the whole of the events of the summer.

So you know, my hat off to them.

As the welcoming ceremony gets underway

it's a proud moment for Rose and Russell.

Our London 2012 gold medallists, Aled Davies.

CHEERS

Mr Tom James.

Jade Jones.

Welcome home Team GB.

WELSH NATIONAL ANTHEM

Wicked buzz that was. I swear down.

Goose pimples. Amazing.

-Best part was the anthem.

-Absolutely brilliant. Loved it.

What a buzz.

Some 200 miles to the north, on the tiny tidal island of Cribinau

in St Cwyfan's Church in the Sea, the christening's in full swing.

Harri Alaw.

I baptise you in the name of the Father,

and of the Son... Nearly finished.

..and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

There we go. That wasn't too bad.

Now you can watch whilst we do it. CONGREGATION LAUGHS

I baptise you in the name of the Father,

and of the Son

and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

So we have the two brand newest members of the Church,

the worldwide Church, so give them a nice welcome.

APPLAUSE

Ceremony over, the tide's already turning

and there's no time to waste.

We'll just say the blessing of the sea which is coming in quite fast.

Don't worry, but you will have to walk back over the causeway, not the sand.

May the blessing and peace of God be with Caitlin and Harri

and with all of you and all those you love,

now and for ever more. Amen.

Well, thank you all.

Lovely. It felt very spiritualist. It was very nice.

-It was boring.

-Caitlin!

You can't please them all!

It was boring.

Bye. Thank you. Bye.

As the families head back across the causeway,

Canon Madalaine takes a last tour of her church.

That's everything.

Gosh, they've been tidy, to say how many there were.

No. I think that's everything, so here we go.

A bit sad I shall be retiring.

But glad it all went well.

It's always quite a sort of jamboree when you have little children

and it didn't let us down on that.

And it certainly stops you from getting too sentimental.

My name will come off the door.

That'll be sad, but never mind.

So locked up, end of the summer.

It's the end of services for another year,

the end of an era for Canon Madalaine Brady.

To the south, another island is preparing to close.

On a little knuckle of rock in the chilly Bristol Channel,

Barry Island's kiss-me-quick fairground

is preparing for its last weekend of the summer season.

Manager Vernon Studt is doing his rounds before opening the gates.

We're trying to just get bits and pieces open for this last weekend.

Over 50% of the rides have gone already.

We're only down to the dodgems, waltzers and bits and pieces now.

For showman Malcolm Davies, it's an emotional moment.

I was talking to my wife the other night and I sat down,

I nearly cried. I've got nothing to do.

Whatever the weather conditions,

Malcolm always was here first thing in the morning.

One of the last to leave at night.

A loyal subject.

A very loyal subject. Absolutely wonderful.

Nice to be appreciated. Very nice to be appreciated. Thank you.

As Vernon prepares to open the gates,

Ian Rogers, the park's owner arrives with a task for the fairground team.

To drain the iconic but now derelict log flume ride.

It's probably the best ride on the park to be honest,

even though it's 30-odd years old.

It's got to go.

I think it's a lot fuller now than what it was

at the beginning of Easter because we've certainly had a lot of rain, Ian.

Once the park closes,

he plans to demolish it to make way for an undercover leisure complex.

This is our boss this is. This is Ian Rogers.

Hello. Give me five.

Give me five.

It's the end of an era and the fairground team's mood is gloomy.

Just sit down and have this in a minute now

and open the gates to let the crowds flock in.

All three of them.

Slowly but surely, a few customers do trickle in,

but it's too little too late.

It's coming up 1.55pm. Nothing's going to happen.

There are no people out there. It's not beach weather

and the people come to Barry Island for the beach.

Vernon decides to cut his losses and close the fairground early.

-Nobody down there, Rich?

-No. Very quiet. That's it.

Time to knock it on the head.

I think we can safely close this up now.

If it is raining tomorrow, this will be the last day

of the 2012 season at Barry Island.

That's it. End of sports.

Thank you very much and goodnight.

Some 130 miles to the north, on the border between Wales and England

stands Bryngwyn Hall, ancestral seat of the Sandbach family

and home of Auriol, Marchioness Linlithgow.

I think I live in paradise here,

and as I always say, paradise doesn't come cheap.

Maintaining Grade II listed Bryngwyn and its 60 acres of parkland

is an expensive business.

I've had to diversify and I've had to really laterally think

about what we can do to keep this house in good condition.

To mark the end of the summer season,

Lady Linlithgow has come up with a new money-making venture.

Today is our first simulated game day,

which is the equivalent of probably being out pheasant shooting

or partridge shooting, but it's with clay pigeons.

So it means that we can extend our business out of the shooting season

and it's a lot less costly than full-blown game days.

If today proves a success,

it could be a real turning point for the fortunes of the estate.

Cook, Christine Horton, knows it only too well.

You've just got to do whatever you can, haven't you,

to keep people coming through and getting a bit of cash, if you can.

Morning, Tudor.

The entire household is anxious to create a good impression.

With one notable exception.

No chickens. No! No! No! No! No! No!

Rollie, the estate builder's terrier,

can't fight his basic urges.

No!

Rollie! Rollie!

Sorry about that.

-Is the chicken all right?

-Yes.

I love Westies, but...

Brute.

The whole household is on duty today,

including Lady Linlithgow herself.

My role is a working hostess and I really love it.

I live in the most beautiful house in the most beautiful part of Wales

and nothing makes me happier than sharing it.

Food and drinks here!

Right, let's get this, erm, sort of vaguely organised.

The boot isn't big enough, is it?

We'll put the drinks on the floor because the dog can't eat them.

There are sausages.

From the reaction of her guests,

it would appear that the event is going well.

Wonderful, yes. The hospitality is as good as ever.

The setting is great, the food's great and the company's good.

It can only be right really, can't it?

Perfect, I would say. The champagne is pretty good.

They seem to do nothing but eat. I don't know where they put it all!

I suppose they're out in the fresh air, walking about.

But they start off with breakfast,

they have nibbles in the middle of the morning,

then lunch, then afternoon tea, then dinner.

Oh, wow!

They've got exploding clays, so they're quite noisy.

Back at the Hall, cook Christine has laid on lunch as requested,

only to be told that there's a change of plan.

It's 1:40pm and they're supposed to be in in five minutes

but I guess they're not going to be

because I understand they took longer eating their sausages.

Oh, wow!

Never stir with a knife, you stir up strife.

Who am I going to fall out with today?

Let's go back then. Come on.

Can Lady L cook? She can and she's a very good cook.

She does a lot more now that I've semi-retired.

She's a bit of a messy cook, but don't say!

She's not very good at the washing up! Oh!

Damn! Caught!

Caught there, wasn't I?

You're getting much better at the washing up, much better.

How are you going?

Oh, well, we're coming along a treat.

Stop laughing. It's not funny.

I'll get the sack any day now, if I'm lucky!

Christine's day may have been stressful,

but the shooting guests have been delighted with the entertainment.

It's been great company and great surroundings

-and I'd do this anytime.

-I would yeah.

-A good way to spend a weekend.

-Certainly is.

-A lot of fun.

Lady Linlithgow's latest money making venture

looks likely to take off,

much to the relief of the entire household.

No pheasants to pick up,

but lots of sunshine and lots of walkies and lots of bangs.

I went clay pigeon shooting once.

I shot one.

The man said if I'd kept my eyes open, I might have shot more!

In the South Wales town of Tonyrefail,

it's the day of the Rhondda Cynon Taf County Show,

and for allotment owner Horace, the moment of truth has arrived.

Horace Rogers.

It's the climax to months of back breaking toil,

as his cabbage, peas, potatoes and parsnips

are lovingly placed on display.

It's not bad, you know. Say 6 out of 10. 7 at the most.

Wish it was 10 out of 10.

Competitive vegetable growing is a cut-throat world.

Oh, I can take him out, no problem!

No, he's got one bad one by there.

Once the hall is cleared,

the serious work of adjudication can begin.

Arwyn Edwards and Colin Lewis are seasoned vegetable judges.

This one is slightly bulbous. Oh, good condition these, mind.

-Lovely parsnips, aren't they?

-Yes, they are. Very, very nice.

Gore ni 'di gweld yma ers blynydde, yn unman a gweud y gwir.

Ma hwn yn safon national. Time for a cup of tea now.

It's thirsty work.

Mark them down, one, two.

Well, I've put a note on it, right? You've done it anyway.

I know. Finish my tea first.

There are a few marks on the underside of this one.

Competition rules are strictly applied.

Oh, have a look what I've got in here.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine

and a gap where there should be a pea.

Those found lacking are disqualified.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

-Well, I'm afraid...

-That constitutes a bit of a problem.

Yes, we can't judge that.

That's a judge's nightmare, that is.

And he's probably got a spare pea in his basket somewhere,

which he's forgot to put out.

There we are.

Judging over, the public return to the hall

and Mervyn's brought along his grand-daughter, Talia, to show her the ropes.

Horace Rogers. You had third.

Horace's parsnips have won him a prize.

It's nice to have a card, isn't it?

-I told you you'd have a card but you said no.

-You did say Merv, aye.

And so have his peas.

-Card there, Merv.

-Horace Rogers.

-Peas, aye.

-Third prize.

That's two cards you've had, you know what I mean.

But sadly, his potatoes failed to make an impression.

I had a couple of cards. I'm quite pleased with that, you know.

I can do better, so I'll be back. Don't worry about that, I'll be back.

Two out of three. That's not bad.

The long summer days are a time to work hard and play hard.

As most of Wales heads to bed, in Cardiff, another world awakes.

Backstage at the Wow Bar, a troupe of glamorous cabaret artistes

are preparing for another hard night on the tiles.

A very clever thing, make-up.

I'm not being funny but no matter how much make-up I put on my face, it still looks like a brown balloon.

Marcia, otherwise known as Mark Venn,

is one of the club's best loved resident drag queens.

Loads of times I have fallen out with Marcia.

She is the demon daughter of Tom Jones and Shirley Bassey.

They met one night in a little social club up in Merthyr Tydfil.

They did the dirty deed and Marcia was the product of that.

Right then, girls, let's get the show on the road.

Was that a bit over the top? It was, wasn't it?

In less than a week, Cardiff's loudest and proudest

will be taking to the streets for the capital's first ever Mardi Gras Parade.

Come on. Give us a cheer. Give us an oggi, oggi, oggi.

And we welcome to the stage the one, the only, the divine, Miss Anne.

Otherwise known as Marcia or whatever you want to call me.

Miss would be nice.

After entertaining the crowds until the late hours,

it's an early start for Mark and colleague, Gypsy,

to make the outfits for the Wow Girls' big appearance.

We've got five drag queens to dress.

Three boys and two girls.

Not the glamorous life you think it is you see, is it?

It's not all feathers and sequins.

We went for a nice metallic Lycra.

A one way stretch, so it will hold all our fat bits in.

Speak for yourself!

I'm at that age now, you know what I mean?

Bingo wings and stuff like that.

So it's a case of cover me up from head to toe please.

-There's a sleeve for you there.

-OK.

I see Gypsy sometimes as a petite little flower.

And she's not. She's a big old man in a frock.

I cut myself a sleeve and I thought, that's fine.

And I've put it on

and I haven't been able to put my big old man hands through it.

It's a Swansea boy underneath all this.

There you go. Arm beautifully sewn in. Not a mess at all.

Oh, it will be snug.

At Hammet House, the ballroom makeover is well underway.

But with just two weeks to complete it, the pressure is on.

We are pretty confident that we are going to make the deadline because we have to.

There's a wedding booked. A big, big wedding booked.

We might be there with paint brushes the day before, finishing off, but it will be done.

Looking better already. So are we going to be finished on time?

Do you think they can cancel the wedding?

I don't think that's really an option, you know.

In keeping with the rest of the hotel,

Owen and Philippa have chosen an uncompromisingly unconventional design.

I wasn't too sure at the beginning, but it's growing on me.

We thought it was a new idea

but, since, we have noticed it in a couple of other places.

We've seen it in Stella McCartney's shop in New York and just a couple

of other little places but certainly nowhere else in Pembrokeshire.

-So you are keeping them random?

-Yeah.

-Totally random.

-No pattern at all in this. That's what we want.

There's a lot riding on this ballroom refurbishment.

It's a massive part of the business here.

We have got a batch of brides who are waiting to see it finished before they make their final decision

whether they are going to book with us for their weddings all throughout next year,

so it's really important that it looks great.

If people think it's awful and don't want to book any events here,

we'll... Well, I don't know what we'll do.

We'll have to paint it all magnolia or something I suppose.

Fonmon Castle has seen over 800 summers go by,

but these days, the old place has to earn its keep by hosting big events.

The Vale of Glamorgan Agricultural Show held each August

is one of the biggest one day county shows in Wales,

which attracts competitors from all walks of life,

including the owner, Sir Brooke Boothby.

We've been competing for over 200 years.

We certainly won something in 1792 and we wouldn't like to stop now.

There's an odd class called Any Other Vegetable,

which this clearly is. And then we stagger off with this to the car.

-Nice and safe.

-Nice pair, Sir Brooke!

-Shut up!

My father's entered his pumpkins in the horticultural tent, so we'll see how we get on.

Last year, he was very unhappy. He was beaten by a beetroot!

He's transporting them in a duvet so they don't get bruised!

He's taking it very seriously!

I spotted a bit of mud left on it.

We'll feed this one in this way first and then around sideways.

It doesn't matter if it tips, but...

No, it's nowhere near, is it?

Veg and flower competitions aside,

the show is an important business opening for Sir Brooke Boothby and his family.

Are they going to be all right?

With over 200 trade stands advertising all manner of businesses,

it's the perfect opportunity for Aliki

to marked Fonmon Castle as a venue.

This has tested all my Blue Peter skills, of which there aren't very many.

All this sticking and constructing. So we have to make sure it doesn't look homemade.

I've never done anything like this before.

I've tried to sort of truncate the history of the castle,

800 years, into six sheets of A4, which has been a bit interesting.

-31 and 32.

-They're down.

-Oh, they're both down.

As Sir Brooke Boothby makes a last minute entry,

the judging begins and it's a serious business.

Nice fresh colour. Slight damage on the petal.

-They're beautiful pumpkins.

-A bit more bloom is required there.

-There's a mark in there.

-There could have been a few more flowers in here.

Would you like a chocolate brownie? Would you like a homemade brownie?

Want to have a look around our stand for Fonmon Castle? Come and have a look.

I'll be honest, there's a bit of ego at stake.

I didn't want it to fall flat on its face.

We put together a table because one of the things I think Fonmon does really well

is we put together beautiful tables, so we want the stand to look like the castle would.

So all the linen and everything, the proper carpets and it's really nicely done.

There's a vital cost to it. Mum has to take a leaflet.

I would have loved to have seen that flower brought down slightly.

Made in the castle kitchen this morning. Do you want to go and have a look?

You don't often see a set-up like that.

I think it's a beautiful collection.

Judging over and an anxious Sir Brooke Boothby heads back in to the produce tent.

Oh, we got a prize for that one.

Yes, I didn't think we were going to do any good with that one.

-I think they're first class. Congratulations, my friend.

-Oh, very kind.

Well, we won a first prize on this one

but unfortunately that wasn't a great triumph

as we were the only entry!

It's not just Sir Brooke Boothby that's on a winning streak.

I'm so excited! That's great. Thank you so much!

We've won third prize for our trade stand, which we're really excited about.

I'm picking up the various prizes that we've been most fortunate to win and I'm going to claim my money.

I love money.

-Class 24.

-We're rich! We're rich!

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Eight pounds!

That's really good.

I think I might go get a drink on the basis of it.

It's been a successful day all round

and a good start to a new era for Fonmon Castle.

I think it's gone well. We've definitely learned some things for next year.

I think people are quite interested to come and see the castle

and some old friends have gone by, so it's been good.

It's wonderful to be able to get somebody else to do the work here rather than me!

During the summer months,

the historical sport of harness racing is big business in Wales.

But many of our traditional pastimes are facing hard times.

Llandudno, Wales's largest seaside resort,

has been offering holiday makers an old-fashioned beach experience

for over a century and a quarter.

Here you can still find the delights of Punch and Judy and donkey rides.

In fact, of the eight donkey operators

that still survive in Wales, two can be found right here.

John Jones, a third generation donkey man, works the town's North Shore.

He's had a disastrous summer season.

Weather wise, it's been a shocker and it never really took off until August

and that obviously won't pay for what we've lost.

We're on the end of the season now as it is

so really we've got to call it a day today.

But John's no quitter. Donkeys are in his blood.

They give you so much love and affection back.

You know, the time for me to give up is the day I go in a box.

Llandudno's other donkey operator, Phil Talbot,

who works the West Shore, has had just as bad a time of it.

I don't think I'll be going on the beach again this year.

You might get an Indian summer, you might get nice weather, but you won't get the people.

That's finished now. It has been a dreadful summer.

I've never known one like this for many, many years

and I've been at it quite a while, you know.

Rain, rain, rain and more rain.

It's hard work with donkeys, there's no two ways about it.

It's not like a bouncy castle, you just go to a garage

and blow it up and put it away for the winter. It doesn't eat nothing.

These want looking after.

Here she comes. You're all right now, aren't you?

That's Sam the man that is. He's a bit hypo, hyperactive.

He's a bit worried looking at me, thinking he's got to go to work.

Like John, Phil's not about to call time on his donkeys.

As long as I've got my health and I keep fit, I'll go on, yeah.

It gets you out of bed in the morning.

That's it for the day now.

Good night, donkeys. See you in the morning.

It's always sad at the end of the year. It's got to be done for the love of it.

But you try and you try.

And you always say there's gold at the end of the rainbow. You're hoping for it.

We've had a lot of rainbows this year, haven't we? But no crocks of gold just yet.

It will come, it will come.

Things go in circles. everything's cyclic, you know.

Good times, bad times, and we've got a lot of good times to come, I'm sure of it.

It looks like Llandudno's donkeys

will be back for at least one more summer season.

On Wales's south coast,

it's the end of an era for a much loved national icon.

At Barry Island Funfair,

Vernon and his fairground team are dismantling the last of the rides.

Right, back you go. Hard as you can. Last lot now.

Henry arrived last night from Stoke on Trent to pull the waltzer down

so that the park will be clear now within the next couple of days.

It's strange but it's no different to what we've always had with this time of year now.

It all starts to finish up and we empty the park out.

If the development starts, then I won't be back.

Fellow showman, Henry Stanworth, sympathises with Vernon's predicament.

He's bit too young to retire at the moment, I think.

Well, I don't know sometimes!

His family have been going since 1800 so it's hard not to be in the business, you know.

There's no such thing as retire. We don't. I'm a showman.

I don't retire. I just couldn't stand still doing nothing.

I'd just irritate myself.

As the last of the rides leave the funfair,

park owner Ian Rodgers' demolition vehicles move in.

It's sad in one respect,

but I'm looking forward to the future.

But it's got be done, you know what I mean?

It's the end of an era for Barry Island.

I don't think the fairground boys will be very happy.

As far as I'm concerned, we're replacing something

that's in the 21st century that will put Barry Island back on the map.

What I want you to do, Steve, if you can, is just try and...

I want to save the rhino.

Sentimental value, isn't it?

Hi, Vernon. Just to give you an update really, Vernon.

I've taken down the front of the jungle.

I know. What do you do?

I know. It's all got to go, hasn't it?

But as the demolition continues, there's unexpected news.

Although clearance work has started, construction has been delayed.

OK.

Nobody has got any spare money and nobody is putting any capital investment in at the moment.

The park will be open next year.

I will be here again next year, hopefully.

And we will continue on until Ian starts work here,

but until that time, I will continue.

The only time that this will not open as a pleasure park

is when construction takes place and there are buildings here.

It looks like Barry Island's funfair will live to see another summer season.

Some 100 miles to the west, Owen and Philippa are looking to the future.

In Hammet House, with just two days until the wedding,

the ballroom makeover is almost complete.

And not a moment too soon.

The prospective bride and groom are due at any moment.

We've got Sarah and Idris, the bride and groom for Saturday, coming along.

They've not seen the ballroom yet since it's been done at all,

so they are going to have a show around today.

They are obviously our target market.

And hopefully, the ballroom is going to live up to their expectations.

-Wow!

-That is quite bright, isn't it?

So we have gone for quite a bold choice of curtains, as you can see.

I think it is going to look great. We hope.

Coming round both sides of this court yard.

I'm just trying to get these curtains up before the bride arrives.

Obviously the more we have got done, the better it will look for her.

Time is ticking.

We've seen the rest of the hotel and, if it's anything like

what the rest has looked like, then it's going to be stunning.

Obviously I'd like everything to go well on the day.

But it's really about the two of us getting married so hopefully,

I'm not going to get too upset

if everything doesn't quite go perfectly.

Now is the time to see the ballroom.

Right, after you. Let's see your reaction.

Oh, wow! That's nice.

-So the carpet has gone.

-It has.

Well, I can't say we'll miss it!

-No.

-It's beautiful. The mix of colours is quite something, isn't it?

So obviously we've got our lovely palette of pale grey on the wall

and then the curtains down the end there.

I think it's really nice. I really like the colours.

I think the floor is lovely.

-Well, that's a relief!

-It's lovely.

Owen and Philippa's modern makeover seems to have paid off.

That's a nice relief to see a few smiles.

And, yeah. They seem quite happy.

But there is one more hurdle to overcome.

If we head on up, I'll show you to your room.

Several weeks previously, Hammet House was visited by food reviewer Joanna Busk from Fork magazine.

So here we are. Come on in.

A good write-up from her could propel Owen and Philippa's business

into the top league of luxury Welsh hotels.

Andy, their chef, prepared a seven course taster menu especially for the evening.

Whoa! You've got to get it level.

Joanna's make or break review has finally appeared online.

She's not a massive fan of absolutely everything.

She was obviously impressed with the food.

"Stylish, cool and a bit surprising to find in the corner of Pembrokeshire."

Well, that's exactly what we are trying to do so I think it's a very positive review.

"Hooray for them, it's clearly one to watch."

Not a bad closing statement, is it?

Yes, very happy with that.

It's good news.

But Owen and Philippa are never ones to rest on their laurels.

We want to get the swimming pool back up and running.

We want to create a small spa on site with treatment rooms.

We've got a disused stable block down by the river

which we want to make into a self-catering eco lodge at some point.

So yeah, that's going to take us a little while.

And it's not just the business that's growing.

Owen and Philippa have news.

We've already got Gabriel, our two-year-old son.

But we are actually expecting another baby

so that's another challenge that we are going to have to meet over the coming months.

It wasn't planned!

There's busy times ahead for Hammet House.

In Cardiff, the city's first ever Mardi Gras Parade is taking the streets by storm.

I'm here to represent Wales and gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender people,

so I'm going to just dance and have a good time.

Let's go, brawlers, let's go!

Well, we're from San Francisco.

We're actually here to go see the Doctor Who Experience so this was a surprise.

A nice surprise.

What a gay day! What a gay day!

I've been so excited about taking Aggie on her first little parade as well.

Look at her, she's so cute.

Absolutely amazing.

It's a really great effort by everyone

and a really great atmosphere.

Over 600 paraders have turned out,

but there are some noticeable absentees.

There seems to be a distinct lack of drag queens this morning

but then most of them don't see mid-day.

No, I haven't seen those Wow girls. They're on stage at 5:00pm.

In Cooper's Field, a 15,000 strong crowd

is enjoying the last of the summer sunshine.

It is an amazing time because everybody is happy.

Come on! We're late! Open the gates! Open the gates!

Fashionably late, Marcia and her troupe finally make their appearance.

Welcome to the stage, the fabulous Wow showgirls.

APPLAUSE

# And when you get the chance. #

Everybody sing it.

# You are the Dancing Queen

# Young and sweet Only seventeen

# See that girl, watch that scene

# Digging the Dancing Queen. #

What an end to another glorious summer in Wales.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd