Family Life Wales in a Year

2012 saw the results of the latest Welsh National Census

but that's just a set of dry statistics,

it's not flesh and bones...

Amazing.

It doesn't show us how we really live or who we really are...

HE WHISTLES

..our hopes.

Oh!

..our fears...

I don't want her to die in a hospital environment.

..our dreams.

THEY CHEER

Throughout 2012 we've followed eight very different families

from all walks of life and from all over the country

to reveal the real Wales behind the numbers.

The result is Wales In A Year, a unique and unfolding insight

into the incredible daily dramas of all our lives...

Hurray!

And tonight...

is Ty Cerrig Farm in North Wales about to go up in smoke?

If it goes out of control,

we could have fires like they do in Australia and America.

Oggy, oggy, oggy!

In Cardiff, millionaire Jahan Abedi's Six Nations celebrations

take and an unexpected twist and in Merthyr...

If I only could have my time over again!

..Valentine's Day stirs some happy memories.

GERTIE SINGS

Wales 2012, a land of 3.1 million people and 1.3 million households

but, behind the curtains and doors, how do Welsh families really live?

On the Penydarren Estate, in Merthyr Tydfil,

the Foley family are part of the one in five Welsh households

in which none of the adults are working.

Dad Jason suffers from epilepsy and is on sickness benefits,

whilst mum Suzanne had to give up her job to care full-time

for her 77-year-old mother Gertie.

Today is Valentine's Day

and in the Foley household 17-year-old Savannah is showing

the gifts and card she's been sent by boyfriend Shane to mum Suzanne.

"My one and only Valentine who is well fit.

"Are your legs tired cos you've been running through my mind all day."

-That's a joke, that is! he's not being serious!

-Oh, that is cheesy!

"Love you lots, Shaney, love from Savannah." Ahh.

Savannah and Shane are well loved up.

They've been together for nearly two years now and it's serious.

She's in love big time, innit?

-Yeah.

-She chased him long enough!

-Oh, mum, all right!

-THEY LAUGH

-She stalked him.

-I didn't stalk him!

-Yes, you did.

-You're going to marry Shane?

-Yeah.

But before Shane can waltz Savannah down any aisles,

he's first got to take her to tomorrow night's school prom.

Prom has been a really big deal,

like, the sixth formers making a big thing.

So they plan it, like, from last year

and it's taken me ages to find a dress.

I was looking on the internet first, for a dress,

and they were all, like, £3-400

and my mother was like, "No, you can't pay that for them."

So, I took the style of the one I wanted

and took it down to a woman's house, down in Troedyrhiw, I think,

and I showed her the pattern, and stuff,

and showed her what colour dress I wanted.

She said it wouldn't be a problem to make and it was only 120,

and so, lot cheaper!

A couple of weeks she taken to make it, innit,

cos there was a lot of detail in it.

Here, this bit, up around this. All the ruffles and stuff.

She's quite, erm, as you can see by our pictures,

she's quite into that fashion - Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn.

Savannah and Shane's romantic relationship is in stark contrast

to the day Suzanne first took husband Jason home

to meet her mum, Gertie.

When we first started going out he had long hair.

He had longer hair than me! Full of tattoos...

Oh, right scruffy-looking thing!

And my mother just said to me,

"Oh, my God, what's she fetched home again!"

The first impressions might not have been so great

but Jason went on to marry Gertie's daughter, Suzanne,

and over 20 years later Gertie is not only

still his mother-in-law, she's his next-door neighbour too.

SHE SINGS

Three years ago Gertie had a stroke that left her blind.

Now, Mum, you'll be on X Factor, now!

GERTIE SINGS

She has also developed Alzheimer's,

a disease that is progressively destroying her memory.

Who was your first boyfriend?

Erm, hell, I can't...

Hey, you're going back too far, now. I can't remember.

What about who was you going out with when you was about 15?

-15?

-Mm.

Pfft!

Tall, handsome man with curly hair.

-You know, do you?

-Yeah, I know him well.

-Who is it?

-Alfie.

-My Alf!

-Yeah.

-Oh, yes, of course, my Alf. My husband, love him.

I love him to bits.

Did you used to go to dances with Dad?

Your father couldn't dance!

I know he couldn't dance but you used to go, didn't you?

He used to come with me and he would hold the bar up

and he'd fetch me a drink every half-hour!

GERTIE LAUGHS

-Yeah.

-But he used to dress up smart, didn't he, to go out?

Oh, he was a smart fella, your father.

Yes, and he was handsome.

And he always had his suit on, didn't he? He dressed up smart.

And he was mine.

Until that blooming...

..what you call...?

-He had that... that...

-Heart attack, Mum.

Heart attack and then it killed him.

But, there you are, that's life.

-# Those were the days, my friend! #

-GERTIE LAUGHS

Oh, God, they were the days, too.

Happy days.

Happy days.

After the red roses of Valentine's, the daffodils of St David's Day.

And on March 1st, down on Swansea Market, the flags,

the frocks and the flowers are out in force.

St David's Day may be a day for celebration

but 33-year-old Stuart Colley is manning his market stall print shop as usual

but there's no sign of Stuart's mum Lynda

over at her cooked meat store - and with good reason.

It's my mother's birthday and she is 60!

HE LAUGHS

Today Lynda joins ranks with an army of half a million Welsh people

who are 60 years old and over.

In fact, for the first time in Wales,

there are now more of us over 60 than under 16.

To celebrate her coming of a certain age,

Lynda's treating herself to a day off

and spending it preparing a feast for a family birthday party.

Oh, I've been making Welsh cakes on and off for quite a few years.

And do you think I can get the consistency right every time?

No, I can't!

Sometimes I can't even roll it out, I have to pat it with my hand

because it is too wet.

Oh, we're not doing too bad!

The fact that my birthday's on St David's Day,

I can't help it, it is very special.

It does make me feel very Welsh! SHE LAUGHS

If you can be any more Welsh than the next person.

Whilst Lynda gets on with the baking, Stuart's doing what

every mother's son should do on their mother's birthday.

-Hiya, Val, Mum's birthday today.

-Right.

Can we get some flowers for her? Yeah, she's 60 today.

She's miserable, as usual,

-so we better get something to put a smile on her face!

-What you want?

-Oh, what? Anything!

-Just a nice mixture, then?

-Nice mixture.

About 20, 30 quid's worth. Erm...

-Say how much.

-Well, call it 30, then.

-30.

-Yeah.

-Ten minutes?

-Ten minutes? Perfect. Thank you, Val.

-OK.

Marvellous. Thanks very much.

I believe that if everyone in the world had a mother like mine

the world would be a much better place to live in, you know?

She's marvellous, she's great, like.

To be honest with you, she's not so much as a mother,

more of a best friend, sort of thing.

You know, you can have a laugh and a giggle, you can be serious -

yes, we fall out from time to time but...

the mutual respect is there and the love is there, like.

My family is my life. There's just no two ways about it.

There's never any question when it's something like this

or when it is their birthdays.

It is never any question that somebody can't come

or somebody can't be there.

And I think, when you've got something like that...

you just realise how, how more enriched your life is, you know?

So, that's the first batch done.

-One down, about six to go, I think!

-SHE CHUCKLES

Oh, they're beautiful! Absolutely wonderful.

She's a lucky girl, she is, I'm telling you!

-See, what woman ain't going to love that!

-Now, send her my love.

Thank you, sweetheart. Ta, babes.

Don't get excited, love!

Sorted.

After a day spent slaving over the stove,

Lynda's birthday buffet is finally ripe for consumption.

The gifts have been arriving all day.

Oh, they are beautiful!

And now all she is missing are her guests.

Thank you.

# Happy birthday to you

# Happy birthday to you

# Happy birthday dear Mum

# Happy birthday to you! #

-Woo!

-Yeah!

In many ways, the Colley family represent our idea

of the traditional extended but close Welsh family.

However, in 2012 many families are living closer together

for an awful lot longer.

Economic hardship and lack of opportunity

means that one in three Welsh adults under the age of 35

still live with their parents.

Edrych ar d'ol dy hun.

In the Welsh speaking heartland of Ganllwyd, Gwynedd,

31-year-old Carys Edwards is one of them.

Carys would dearly love, one day, to take over Ty Cerrig,

her family's tenant farm but her 81-year-old father,

Gruffydd Edwards,

cannot afford to retire and Carys cannot afford to work for free.

Instead, she helps out on the farm as much as she can

whilst holding down a part-time job.

Today, with spring in the air

and the farm's 240 sheep due to begin lambing in a matter of weeks,

father and daughter are embarking on their first big task of the season.

Today we're going to burn the mountain.

It's a bit misty but we've only got to the end of this month to burn

because of rules and regulation.

Hopefully, it's dry enough because it's been a wet spring.

This annual ritual is as dramatic as it sounds.

Gruffydd and Carys are going to blowtorch the whole mountain -

but with sound reason.

You know, if you don't burn the whole place will be overgrown

and somebody, with the right to roam and everything else,

will throw a match, or something, if we have dry weather

and then you're going to have a fire that can't be controlled.

-Same as in Australia! They'll be the first bushfires in Wales!

-HE LAUGHS

Oh, dear.

Carys and Gruffydd make their way up the soon-to-be-singed mountain.

Their partners in pyromania are Gruffydd's son, Ifan,

and his nephew, Ioan.

But before they reach for the flamethrowers,

they'll need to take precautions.

Fill this with water, just in case.

The forest is nearby so we have to watch that it doesn't go

to the forestry and it doesn't go out of control.

Blydi lot lawr i'r tyddyn bach.

If it goes out of control it will burn wildly.

But wildfires burning out of control

will not be the problem this morning.

Gruffydd's hoping to burn through 60 acres today

but everywhere they point the flamethrower

it's all smoke and very little fire -

much to his dismay.

Pwmpia hi, Carys!

Pwmpia hi.

So, that's going properly.

There's too much dampness in the ground, I'd say.

Turning back, however, is not an option.

If we didn't do this then the ground would get overgrown.

Sheep and animals like young plants to eat

so once you've burned the old growth fresh growth comes up

and it's better for the animals.

By early afternoon, the spring dew has evaporated

and at last the hills are alive with the sound of crackling.

Gruffydd doesn't own the land he is currently torching.

Although his family have worked Ty Cerrig Farm for over 100 years,

they have always been tenant farmers

and they are now one of the last in the area.

In the last 50 years

incomers have changed the culture and language of the area

and in Gruffydd's eyes they have also changed the landscape.

I remember a time you went, back to the '50s,

when there was sufficient...

smallholders and farmers, there, to hold a good community.

There was a school up in the top.

I don't know, we Welsh people,

we've had enough of living up in the hills and scraping the ground but...

you see people from England, they're coming in,

they've done their good wages in the factories, and so on,

and they are able to retire and just enjoy the view, and the life,

and out in the country...

..whether it's a good thing...

..or not, it's debatable.

GRUFFYDD LAUGHS

Ty Cerrig is not the only place in Wales that is smouldering today.

115 miles east of Ganllwyd,

on the Penydarren Estate, in Merthyr Tydfil,

the Foley household is alight with tension.

Stressful day, like any other day.

It's prom day and Savannah's pre-prom nerves

have got everyone on edge.

She's fairly worked up

because she's never been to nothing like this before

and she's really excited, and nervous, and...

wants everything perfect, like a typical teenager.

Savannah is going to have her hair done and her make-up, for the prom.

The nails, eyelashes, eyebrows - oh, she is shocking!

The prom is a big deal in school.

It's, like, because it's the last time you're really going

to be with your school friends, really, so.

Savannah's prom date, boyfriend Shane,

has turned up early to offer his qualified support.

I'm not normally into things like this

but I've got certain things got to do and dress up as, you know?

If I stay about the line, that's it! Be clipped across the head, so!

While she's getting ready later

I think I'm going to stay here with Jay.

-Do you really think you're going to stay here with me?

-Yeah, keep out of the way.

-Or you'll walk across the road?

-We might do. We might get lost.

Across the road is the pub.

I don't trust my father with Shane. I know what he's going to be like.

-He'll go over the club and he'll come back drunk.

-He said one pint.

Oh, head-on. Even my father knows what he's doing!

-Ta-ra, Dad.

-Ta-ra, Shane.

-See you in a bit.

The girls head for the hairdressers, hoping trouble isn't brewing.

I'm having my hair done like that.

It's one of my favourite films, The Notebook.

I love her styling, I love her hair in the film, so, hopefully...

-A nice sleek, wavy style!

-Yeah.

-Nice few rollers and that.

-So, you're looking forward to tonight, then?

-No, I can't wait, no.

Savannah's putting her all into her prom preparations

but what about Shane?

Knowing Shane, he's probably over the club having a pint.

He won't get ready until about ten minutes before he's due to go.

Typical man.

'Don't take much for Shane to get drunk.'

He better not be tanked because she'll kill him!

Oh, that's lovely, that is.

Shane leaves the club with less than half an hour to spare -

but at least he appears to be walking in a straight line!

-Thank you!

-Ta-ra, take care.

She's on her way so I think I best go and get ready in a bit.

We have about quarter of an hour left, I think,

and I still haven't got ready.

It'll take about two minutes, it's fine!

A man of his word, two minutes later Shane is ready and chillaxing...

I'm on time. I'm always on time.

Women!

..but upstairs is a different story.

Trying to dry my nails. Quickly!

Stop panicking, you've got loads of time.

I know what it's going to do now, it's going to stick, go everywhere,

and then it's going to go on my dress, and then I'll be...

You're panicking, is what's you're doing. Calm down, man.

-It worked!

-Worked?

-Yeah.

Oh, man!

I'm never doing something like this ever again in my life.

This is more stressful than my wedding day!

Wow, check you out!

Very proud. Very, very proud.

OK, then?

She's stressing me out now.

I just want to go to bed now and sleep, that's it.

What you think of her dress, Mum? You just felt her dress.

Oh, yes, lovely.

Beautiful. It is, a lovely, lovely material.

-That's mine, that is, Mum!

-What?

-The one you're feeling now.

-You just felt Savannah's, the chiffon one.

-Yeah?

Yeah.

-Shane!

-Where is Shane?

-Come here.

-Let's have a look, come on!

-I going to have to be good?

-Yes, that's why I'm talking to you!

-Come on, then, let's have a dance!

-Come here!

-Oh, come on then.

-Let's go, way! How's it going? Good?

I bet it's been a long time since you danced, in it, huh?

-Oh, God, yes.

-You used to dance all the time, didn't you?

-All the time.

Right, do it.

Having scraped together every spare penny to look a million dollars,

Savannah heads to Swansea with Shane

for their once-in-a-lifetime prom date.

For Savannah it's been a big investment of effort,

emotion and money.

So, the morning after the night before,

does she feel like Cinderella or the pumpkin?

Our prom was, it was good, yeah, it was really good. Erm...

I don't know, I was expecting a little bit more.

I think it's just cos you watch the American movies

and you think, "Oh, is going to be exactly like that,"

but it was a bit, it was a bit different.

It was still good, like, but...it come to well over, like, £200!

So, that's a lot of money for one night.

I don't know, I think I just expected a bit more

when all that was spent.

In Newport, three weeks ago, baby Lonegan

was born by Caesarean section.

She is already part of a new trend that is radically

changing the make-up of the modern Welsh family.

I made you!

Yeah, I done that!

Her parents, Charlene and Sean, are not married.

In 1972, just 8% of Welsh babies were born outside of wedlock...

..in 2012 it was 58%.

She is Sean's first child but Charlene's third...

..and fatherhood is just one of a number of big commitments

that Sean has taken on.

Charlene's three-year-old daughter Alleysha

suffers from cerebral palsy and has severe brain damage.

'At first I had to think about it

'because, obviously, with her condition,

'there would be guys out there who would run a mile, innit?'

-Ready, steady...?

-MACHINE BEEPS

'That's what I had to think about the most. Do I want to do this?'

Things could go bad at any time, couldn't they, for her?

Which is sad but...

Then I thought about it and I thought, "What the hell, like?

"She deserves a chance, she deserves to be happy, don't she?"

So...I thought, "Just do it." And I done it and I don't regret it now.

Not one bit.

I love her to bits. She's lush, she is beautiful.

Aren't you, right? Aren't you, right?

-Boing! Boing! Boing! Boing! Boing! Boing!

-ALLEYSHA LAUGHS

After two weeks at home with his instant family,

Sean has to return to work,

which means leaving them behind for his job in England.

I'm not looking forward to going away, like,

cos this is my first time being away since the baby's been born.

My job's easier than looking after three of them, I think. Much easier.

So, Charlene, she copes, obviously, brilliant, she is a brilliant mum

but definitely easier with two people, you know?

Everything in this house is perfect. Everyone's happy. Aren't they?

-Everyone's happy, considering?

-Yeah!

Shh, shh, shh.

WELSH MALE CHOIR SINGS

In 2012 there is no archetypal Welsh family.

Instead we come in all shapes and sizes,

with all sorts of outlooks and beliefs...

..but there's still one event that's guaranteed

to pull us all together into one, big, happy, sad, tense

and over-stimulated family...

Oggy, oggy, oggy! Oi, oi, oi!

..the Six Nations.

Cymru am byth! Cymru am byth!

It's Saturday 17th March, 2012,

and Wales has come together as one big family

in support of the Welsh rugby team.

The French are in town and les bleus are all that

stands between the Welsh, the Grand Slam

and national euphoria.

On the streets of Cardiff, Iranian-born millionaire Jahan Abedi

is soaking up the atmosphere.

Jahan is as patriotic as the next person

when it comes to his adopted country.

..Welsh, man, come on!

So, in Wales it's the Grand Slam, so it's a very big day.

As you can see, the town is packed and it's only one o'clock.

we've still got roughly two hours till the game.

THEY CHEER

Two hours of solid eating, solid drinking...

and solid till ringing.

Each Six Nations game held at the Millennium Stadium

is worth millions of pounds for Cardiff city centre businesses.

Music to Jahan's years as he owns four of the city's

most popular restaurants and bars.

We've got Mocka, Crystal, The Meating Place and The Potted Pig.

Tickets, anyone? Tickets for sale.

Actually, usually I go to the games

but it's such a big day I have to be here, actually.

Taking care of my venues.

It seems like everybody is having a good time.

My staff look a bit stressed! They're under pressure, it's good!

HE SINGS IN FRENCH

I feel very, very, very Welsh.

I mean, this is, I think, how you know

because if you're rooting for a team you are from that place.

Jahan settles down for the match, safe in the knowledge that,

whatever the score today, he's already a winner.

In Merthyr Tydfil they are no such considerations for the Foley family.

Although Jason's sartorial style

might well see him fined for crimes against fashion.

-Oh, yeah, I always wear this.

-Oh, God!

-This is me, innit?

-Yeah.

-Nice, innit?

77-year-old Gertie might be blind and suffering from Alzheimer's

but rugby still courses through her veins.

She used to love watching the rugby in the '70s,

-with JPR Williams and Gareth Edwards.

-Who?

-You did.

What is the score now?

So far Wales have got nothing and France have got three.

At Jahan's bar, in Cardiff, the champagne is flowing...

Can I have five?

..unlike the rugby, which is a niggly and tense affair...

until Alex Cuthbert comes to the rescue.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Happy days.

Beat the frogs today, now, and we're happy with that.

Over the moon.

And amidst all the reverie,

Jahan receives an unexpected call from his wife.

She is pregnant again! Unbelievable!

Babes, I love you!

Fantastic news!

-Congratulations!

-THEY LAUGH

-What?

-Rebecca, she just phoned me. She is pregnant again.

-You're kidding me?

-I swear!

-Oh, my God, you've been busy!

'What's the score?'

-It's 10-3 but I think France have just had a penalty.

-Bastards.

Mum!

Oh, I can't look.

Miss, miss, miss, miss...

-Bugger. They just scored.

-Who?

-France.

-Bastards.

Oh, they nearly had one then.

-Oh, my God!

-Yes, boy! Woo!

-Oh!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Yes! Come on!

Come on, one more try.

'Penalty to Wales.'

Got a penalty, Savannah.

They probably want taking, now. They're probably just kicking out.

Oh, good.

-There we are, we won!

-We've won!

-We won.

-Hurray!

Come on!

-Come on, Gertie!

-Hurray!

We won! Hurray!

-Bloody hell!

-THEY LAUGH

CHEERING

It's been a great day.

Hopefully, it's going to be great news in nine months time.

Wahey!

I'm very happy.

Wales! That's what I think.

-Really proud to be Welsh today. That's how I feel.

-Hurray!

-Fantastic.

That was line one. Hurray!

In the next Wales In A Year...

Just do it. Calm down.

..it's cooking chaos in Bala...

it's lambing season at Ty Cerrig Farm...

Dyna fo, dy oen bach di.

..and in New Tredegar, the knicker factory falls foul of the taxman...

If they take the machines as payments the business is finished.

You know, we'd all be on the dole for a very, very long time,

I would think.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd