0:00:02 > 0:00:062012 saw the results of the latest Welsh national census,
0:00:06 > 0:00:10but that's just a set of dry statistics.
0:00:10 > 0:00:11It's not flesh and bones.
0:00:11 > 0:00:13Amazing.
0:00:13 > 0:00:18It doesn't show us how we really live, or who we really are.
0:00:19 > 0:00:20Our hopes, our fears.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25I don't want her to die in a hospital environment.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27Our dreams.
0:00:30 > 0:00:34Throughout 2012, we followed eight very different families
0:00:34 > 0:00:37from all walks of life, and from all over the country,
0:00:37 > 0:00:40to reveal the real Wales behind the numbers.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48The result is Wales In A Year, a unique and unfolding
0:00:48 > 0:00:52insight into the incredible daily dramas of all our lives.
0:00:55 > 0:01:00And tonight - it's cooking chaos in Bala,
0:01:01 > 0:01:04it's lambing season at Ty Cerrig farm...
0:01:04 > 0:01:06Dyna fo, d'oen bach.
0:01:06 > 0:01:11..and in New Tredegar, the knicker factory falls foul of the taxman.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15If they take the machines as payment, the business is finished.
0:01:22 > 0:01:30Wales 2012 - a land of 3.1 million people, and 210,000 businesses.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33But in our factories, our offices and our shops,
0:01:33 > 0:01:35how does today's Wales work?
0:01:37 > 0:01:41Approximately 1.3 million people are in employment in Wales,
0:01:41 > 0:01:45and just under half of them work for small-to-medium businesses,
0:01:45 > 0:01:47employing less than 50 people.
0:01:50 > 0:01:55The AJM sewing factory in New Tredegar has a staff of 36,
0:01:55 > 0:01:57and is the town's largest employer.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00Six garments to get out. Any volunteers?
0:02:00 > 0:02:03Owner James Mellor and his team of highly experienced cutters
0:02:03 > 0:02:08and seamstresses specialise in the most unexpected of luxury items -
0:02:08 > 0:02:10risque lingerie.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16On the face of it, James appears to have one of the most enviable jobs on earth,
0:02:16 > 0:02:20but hanging out at swanky parties with scantily clad models
0:02:20 > 0:02:22does have its downside.
0:02:22 > 0:02:27After 25 years in the industry, underwear doesn't do it for me!
0:02:28 > 0:02:33In 2012, it's not just the underwear that isn't doing it for James.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35Times are tough, and in a town where unemployment
0:02:35 > 0:02:39runs at around 11 per cent, the continued survival of Wales's
0:02:39 > 0:02:43last lingerie factory has been hanging in the balance.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45My staff are like family to me.
0:02:46 > 0:02:51Whatever I can do to make sure that they stay in work, I do.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54In January, with work about to grind to a halt...
0:02:54 > 0:02:56Right, we'll have to take these off, then.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00...and almost half of his employees on short-time working,
0:03:00 > 0:03:03James made a dash to London, to try and win a vital order
0:03:03 > 0:03:07from world-famous lingerie brand Agent Provocateur.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15Two and a half months later, things are finally looking up.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18The AP order - we managed to secure the one range.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22We got the whole range, and we had confirmation then, the latter
0:03:22 > 0:03:26end of last week that we've got the one garment from the second change.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29Supervisor Tracy's delighted...
0:03:29 > 0:03:30It will be a suspender belt.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33..but slightly shocked by this turn of events.
0:03:33 > 0:03:38Very, very busy. Crazy. Good for the company,
0:03:38 > 0:03:41but crazy on the line.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44And it's not just the Agent Provocateur contract
0:03:44 > 0:03:46that James has won.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49At the moment, there's four designers on the floor.
0:03:49 > 0:03:54Each designer has got at least five, six - maybe more - styles,
0:03:54 > 0:03:57which is great now. Chock-a-block again.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01So at the moment, the production plan for the next six months is full
0:04:01 > 0:04:07to capacity - something we've never had in the 10, 11 years of trading.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09Normally it's a month in advance.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13During a double recession, we can now say we've got six months' trading.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20But there's a big dark cloud to James's silver lining.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24Through his own sense of loyalty to his workforce in the lean times,
0:04:24 > 0:04:27he's now in trouble with the VAT man.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31So I've got myself into difficulties with the tax and the VAT.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35It was difficult times, and we defaulted a couple of times on the payments.
0:04:35 > 0:04:40The cause is, really, I kept people on. I didn't want to lose the skill basis.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44If I lose those girls, they'll never come back.
0:04:44 > 0:04:46If you look at it from a business point of view,
0:04:46 > 0:04:50it was certainly the wrong decision to make, but you know, ask me
0:04:50 > 0:04:54if I would do it all over again - I probably would, to save the machinists' jobs.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58By acting so honourably, James risks losing everything.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00The factory, his livelihood
0:05:00 > 0:05:04and the last women in Wales capable of carrying out
0:05:04 > 0:05:07the highly complex and technically skilful process
0:05:07 > 0:05:09of making bespoke lingerie.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11We should have young blood in,
0:05:11 > 0:05:17training up to learn the skills that are slowly dying away.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19Because once these girls finish, that's it.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22You're not going to get sewers any more.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24The Inland Revenue wants his money back and unfortunately
0:05:24 > 0:05:26I can't pay it all back in one lump.
0:05:26 > 0:05:30They could say, "We're going to take the machines as payment."
0:05:30 > 0:05:34If they take the machines as payment, the business is finished.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36There isn't a lot of employment in the area.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38If this number of people were laid off,
0:05:38 > 0:05:42we'd all be on the dole for a very, very long time, I would think.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47With James expecting the VAT man any day now,
0:05:47 > 0:05:49we'll be back at AJM later in the programme.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55Small-to-medium businesses provide more than half of all
0:05:55 > 0:05:58employment in rural Wales, and almost a quarter of these
0:05:58 > 0:06:02businesses are owned and run by incomers.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06The idyllic hills above Bala Lake - another full-on day
0:06:06 > 0:06:10dawns for Stephanie and Toby Hickish, English incomers,
0:06:10 > 0:06:13and arguably Wales's hardest working couple.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15Oh, couscous. Have you got some couscous?
0:06:15 > 0:06:19Toby and Steph moved to north Wales from Wiltshire 17 years ago,
0:06:19 > 0:06:23with warnings of impending doom ringing in their ears.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27A lot of people said, "You'll never settle in Wales because they don't like the English,"
0:06:27 > 0:06:30and all that rubbish, which is absolutely not true for a start.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32Far from not settling,
0:06:32 > 0:06:35Steph and Toby have gone on to renovate their farmhouse,
0:06:35 > 0:06:40raise their family, and established three small businesses -
0:06:40 > 0:06:43a catering company based at the farmhouse,
0:06:43 > 0:06:49a cottage rental business, and a garden tourist attraction.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53If that weren't enough, this year they've taken on business
0:06:53 > 0:06:56number four - running the Bala leisure centre caff.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00It's always a bit of a rush in the mornings, actually,
0:07:00 > 0:07:04because we have quite a lot of salads and quiches to make,
0:07:04 > 0:07:08or hams to cook, and all that sort of thing.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10This morning, Toby's on caff duty...
0:07:12 > 0:07:15..while Steph heads out to one of their five holiday cottages
0:07:15 > 0:07:19with fresh linen for changeover day.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23Toby and I ended up running it as a holiday cottage 10 years ago,
0:07:23 > 0:07:27and I absolutely love doing it, but since we've opened the gardens
0:07:27 > 0:07:32and got the other cafe, it's actually really quite stressful.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35Sometimes it can take up to three hours to do a changeover,
0:07:35 > 0:07:38which I just simply don't have that time.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42I mean, I love people. I could never sit in an office
0:07:42 > 0:07:46and not interact with people. I suppose I'm fairly gregarious.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50I didn't work very hard at school, so I haven't got any fabulous qualifications that see me
0:07:50 > 0:07:56through into a wonderful solicitor's job, or anything like that.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59I think my strength lies in people skills, I hope.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04As Steph and Toby's mini business empire expands,
0:08:04 > 0:08:07their latest venture, the leisure centre caff,
0:08:07 > 0:08:11is proving to be more challenging than they first imagined.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15Well, it's working out a whole system, really. It's a new business.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17It's new to us.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21It's a lot more complicated than you might think, you know -
0:08:21 > 0:08:26what people want, and to some extent whether that's what you're going to give them, because if you give them
0:08:26 > 0:08:31one thing, it might stop them buying something that was more profitable!
0:08:31 > 0:08:34That's the truth of it, really.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38If there's wastage, then the sums are difficult to do,
0:08:38 > 0:08:41but if it all sells, it pays.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45So as far as we're concerned, it's multiples. It's volume.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49The salads don't really cost very much, as long as you're not tipping them away.
0:08:49 > 0:08:50LAUGHTER
0:08:52 > 0:08:55You soon get told if you try and charge too much!
0:08:55 > 0:08:57We had to reduce the price of the tea.
0:08:57 > 0:09:01We charged £1.75 per pot of tea, at home - still do.
0:09:01 > 0:09:06Down here, they were up in arms! It's now £1.50.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11Yes, it's been very busy. It's a good thing. It seems to be locals.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13It's very good news, because we need people all year,
0:09:13 > 0:09:16and then when it's a nice day, people come off the lake,
0:09:16 > 0:09:19but that's not very many days a year, actually, especially this year.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23I find it very satisfying, this place buzzing away.
0:09:23 > 0:09:25Whilst Toby cleans down the caff,
0:09:25 > 0:09:29Steph returns to the farmhouse just in time for her next task -
0:09:29 > 0:09:33taking a party of green-fingered enthusiasts on a guided tour
0:09:33 > 0:09:36of their three acres of stunning gardens -
0:09:36 > 0:09:40designed and landscaped by Toby and Steph.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43Hello! Welcome to Caerau Gardens.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45Thank you very much for coming,
0:09:45 > 0:09:47and thank goodness that we've got such a lovely day.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50If you see any weeds, don't worry about them - you can pull them out
0:09:50 > 0:09:54or just ignore them, in fact you might get a discount on your coffee!
0:09:55 > 0:10:00We've been here 18 years, and when we moved in, the gardens were
0:10:00 > 0:10:03a field and the house was derelict, so we've done absolutely everything.
0:10:03 > 0:10:07There's lots of different bits of gardens to see - there's lovely woodland walks and things.
0:10:07 > 0:10:12If you go right up to the very top, there's a beautiful view of Bala Lake.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16On the back of this steady stream of visitors the gardens attract,
0:10:16 > 0:10:18Steph and Toby decide to open a garden cafe
0:10:18 > 0:10:22in front of the farmhouse, and by early afternoon,
0:10:22 > 0:10:25Toby returns to help out with the lunchtime trade.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27Oh! I've got to get cooking!
0:10:29 > 0:10:31He's soon joined by Steph,
0:10:31 > 0:10:33and their non-stop day enters another phase.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36Oh, no! That's the worst thing in the world, lasagne.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39The paninis - how are they doing? Do you think this is done, Toby?
0:10:39 > 0:10:44- Yes.- The trouble is, it's a party of people, so they've all ordered at once.
0:10:44 > 0:10:45And I hate people having to wait.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49All of this running around is quite normal for Toby and Steph.
0:10:49 > 0:10:50Just do it - now!
0:10:50 > 0:10:54They work around 14 hours a day, seven days a week.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57We're under control. Are we?
0:10:57 > 0:11:01And yet, despite their non-stop graft running four businesses
0:11:01 > 0:11:03that employ up to 15 local people,
0:11:03 > 0:11:08financially, they're far from having their cake and eating it.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12We're not money people, so we don't quite understand it, so we just work.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18I think just work, really! It's lucky we enjoy our work.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20Our turnover means that we've got to be VAT registered now.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23If we're charging £2.50 for a child's meal,
0:11:23 > 0:11:27we have to take 20 percent of that off before we get anywhere.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31We've still got to pay all the staff and things after that.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34It's a terrific percentage. Very, very difficult.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41It's quite something, isn't it?
0:11:41 > 0:11:45I need to lie in a darkened room for a minute. Right. What next?
0:11:45 > 0:11:47Um... gateaux.
0:11:56 > 0:12:01There are 90,000 full-time unpaid carers in Wales, looking after
0:12:01 > 0:12:04family, friends, and neighbours.
0:12:04 > 0:12:09Their work saves the Welsh economy an estimated 7.7 billion a year.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14In Merthyr Tydfil,
0:12:14 > 0:12:1846-year-old Suzanne Foley is an unpaid full-time carer.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21As well as looking after her husband Jason, who is epileptic
0:12:21 > 0:12:27and unable to work, and her two teenage daughters - Savannah, 17, and
0:12:27 > 0:12:32Lowri, 15 - Suzanne also cares for her 77-year-old mother, Gertie Sage.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37Ready for your breakfast?
0:12:37 > 0:12:41Following a stroke three years ago, Gertie is blind and suffering
0:12:41 > 0:12:46from Alzheimer's, a disease that is slowly destroying her memory.
0:12:46 > 0:12:48Right? I'll get your tablets.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50Haven't you put any sugar on here?
0:12:50 > 0:12:52Yes, Mam. Three?
0:12:53 > 0:12:57Two weeks ago, Gertie suffered a fall that has left her bruised
0:12:57 > 0:13:01and very fragile - physically and mentally.
0:13:01 > 0:13:02I think she's getting worse.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05She had that fall a couple of weeks ago,
0:13:05 > 0:13:09and I think she's gone more forgetful since she's had that fall.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11She can still remember things from years ago,
0:13:11 > 0:13:16but something that happened five minutes ago, and she can't remember any of it.
0:13:16 > 0:13:18Oh, wait a minute.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21- There's six there, Mam, all right? - Yes, but I can't...
0:13:21 > 0:13:24I know, but you can feel them, Mam.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26Not with all this on my hands, now.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29Leave it.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33- No, because you won't take them then. - I will. I'll take them after my breakfast.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38No spitting them out.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40What happened yesterday?
0:13:40 > 0:13:47You went down the Alzheimer's coffee morning. Down in Rhydycar.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52I don't remember nothing.
0:13:52 > 0:13:56Oh, this is ridiculous, see. I can't remember nothing.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59She's getting more confused.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02She's forgetting people, she's forgetting things.
0:14:02 > 0:14:07Her habits - and she's always been so clean, my mother have,
0:14:07 > 0:14:10and I can notice things changing there as well.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13She's doing things now, my mother, if she was sensible,
0:14:13 > 0:14:16she would be appalled at.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19So, you know, it's getting really hard with her now.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23Caring for Gertie is proving tough for the whole family.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26I'll make you coffee when she's finished her breakfast.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28From the time you get up till the time you go back to bed.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30Back and fore all day, all day, all day.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36Like you said, me and Sue got no us time...
0:14:37 > 0:14:40..unless the kids are here. That's what I've got to put up with.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42It's like One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest here.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45Oh, I know what's happening to me.
0:14:45 > 0:14:49I know what's happening in here.
0:14:52 > 0:14:54And I can't get it out.
0:14:58 > 0:15:00The only respite comes on a Thursday morning,
0:15:00 > 0:15:05when Kim from the charity Age Concern takes Gertie out for a walk.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08You don't have to... Put your fingers in there.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11I love walking and Kim, she's marvellous too.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13She takes me every time.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17Never mind what the weather, she's taken me out. She do.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21It's also a much-needed break for Suzanne.
0:15:21 > 0:15:23Her needs is...
0:15:23 > 0:15:28She's getting...so demanding now and I do everything I can for her.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32I spend most of my day in my mother's house. Back and forth,
0:15:32 > 0:15:35cos if I'm not in there, she's constantly screaming for me.
0:15:35 > 0:15:40And I feel so guilty cos it feels like I'm neglecting my kids.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44Cos she makes me feel guilty for spending time with my kids.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50Suzanne takes time out with her daughters where she can.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53But Savannah and Lowri have begun to notice the strain.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58I love my nan to bits, but it does get a bit...
0:15:58 > 0:16:00It's horrible seeing it.
0:16:00 > 0:16:04She don't like it now, even my mother just goes out with us, just to town.
0:16:04 > 0:16:08She don't... It's not her. It's her dementia and stuff.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11- It's horrible, like.- It would be best if my nan went to a home.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13I think it would be difficult for my mother.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16She'd be really upset over it.
0:16:16 > 0:16:20But she has to come to facts that she is going to have to do it at some point.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24I... I really don't want my mother to go into a nursing home.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28Perhaps eventually it might have to happen.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31But as long as I can keep her...at home
0:16:31 > 0:16:34and give her all the care I can...
0:16:34 > 0:16:39If she went into a nursing home, my biggest concern is how would she be in different surroundings.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43And different people. And I know she'd go downhill straight away
0:16:43 > 0:16:48because she've always been used to having, you know, us around her.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50It's frustrating, it is.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53I know she's got dementia and that, she's blind,
0:16:53 > 0:16:57but...it's my mother-in-law at the end of the day.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59I don't know the last time me
0:16:59 > 0:17:03and Sue went out as a couple for a drink.
0:17:03 > 0:17:04Just a night out. I do remember.
0:17:04 > 0:17:08We spent the night in Oxwich Bay in Swansea, just slept on the beach, me and her.
0:17:08 > 0:17:13- That was last year.- Last year. Ralph and Steph came with us. Just crashed out on the beach then.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16Had a barbecue, couple of drinks. Brilliant night. No monitor with us.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19And the kids stayed here and they kept an eye on her.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23- Which was fair enough. I was telling them about Oxwich, good night that was.- Oh, yeah.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26- Slept on the beach, didn't we? - Like an old pair of hippies!
0:17:26 > 0:17:29- Brilliant! - It was such a relief. It was...
0:17:29 > 0:17:32It was a weight off your shoulders, wasn't it?
0:17:32 > 0:17:35I didn't like leaving the kids behind because they always come with us.
0:17:35 > 0:17:40But it was their idea - go on, you need a night away, you and Dad together.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43We couldn't get in anywhere camping, so we just slept on the beach.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46Lovely night though.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48I'd missed seeing my wife getting drunk!
0:17:56 > 0:18:01There are approximately 176,000 self-employed people in Wales, with
0:18:01 > 0:18:06almost half of that total working in the farming and food industries.
0:18:07 > 0:18:13It's 3am on a crisp April morning and in Milford Haven docks,
0:18:13 > 0:18:15after ten days at sea,
0:18:15 > 0:18:18the Mercurius is unloading its haul of fresh scallops.
0:18:21 > 0:18:25It's the start of a very busy day for Shaun Ryan,
0:18:25 > 0:18:28the boat's owner and Wales's last deep-sea trawlerman.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32- Take over if you want.- Take over!
0:18:32 > 0:18:35Today is Good Friday, when as a nation,
0:18:35 > 0:18:38Wales eats more fish than on any other day of the year.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46By 5am, the scallops are on the road to shops,
0:18:46 > 0:18:49markets and restaurants across Wales.
0:18:49 > 0:18:53And Shaun's quayside fish processing unit and fishmonger's
0:18:53 > 0:18:57is buzzing with activity in preparation for the big day ahead.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03Today, Good Friday, so it's a very busy time.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06This is all for your sorting and processing side of it, in here.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09And then we've got the retail side, out the other side there,
0:19:09 > 0:19:13with our mad Janice. I'd better not call her mad cos she'll hit me!
0:19:13 > 0:19:17They're like skateboards. We will sell out today.
0:19:19 > 0:19:21It's mostly the Catholics,
0:19:21 > 0:19:27but everybody always has fish or smoked fish on Good Friday.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31By nine o'clock, there's a queue to get into the fishmonger's,
0:19:31 > 0:19:34something that doesn't particularly surprise Shaun.
0:19:34 > 0:19:38There's been a good demand this year for what's around.
0:19:38 > 0:19:40The markets have been good.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43And the vans have been gone since first thing to get the fish
0:19:43 > 0:19:47round to the hotels and restaurants for the weekend.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49You're pulling my leg!
0:19:49 > 0:19:51SHE LAUGHS
0:19:51 > 0:19:54I think that must have been Moby Dick!
0:19:54 > 0:19:57I'll see if I can find a smaller one, yes, Hilda?
0:19:59 > 0:20:01It gets really manic.
0:20:01 > 0:20:07It's ten past nine and we've already served...17 people.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12And we've been open...ten minutes.
0:20:13 > 0:20:18See? The more money we take, the bigger smiles we smile.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20The scales might be looking good,
0:20:20 > 0:20:24but the cash is going out as fast as it's coming in.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27Fuel prices are going absolutely ridiculous.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31It's the highest I've ever seen since I've been fishing.
0:20:31 > 0:20:32They've jumped up...
0:20:32 > 0:20:36In the past fortnight, they've jumped up another four pence a litre.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39It's going crazy.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42If it carries on going now, it's just not liveable with.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45It's pointless. You might as well go and sign the dole
0:20:45 > 0:20:49and get some money back off the Government what you put into them.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52And it's not just fuel costs Shaun's fighting.
0:20:52 > 0:20:56He's also trying to keep his prices competitive with the supermarket giants.
0:20:56 > 0:21:02Last week, a local supermarket's price was 10.99 a kilo for cod
0:21:02 > 0:21:04and we were 8.90.
0:21:04 > 0:21:10For every pound you spend in a local shop, 75p stays in the community.
0:21:10 > 0:21:1225p goes away.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15For every pound you spend in a local supermarket,
0:21:15 > 0:21:1925p stays in the area, 75p goes away.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23Did you know that? It's horrendous, isn't it?
0:21:23 > 0:21:28But whatever the day-to-day financial concerns,
0:21:28 > 0:21:32on this Good Friday, they sold out of fish by midday.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35They've done better than what they did last year.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38They all comes back cos they all likes me!
0:21:38 > 0:21:41When the till is full and the chillers are empty,
0:21:41 > 0:21:44and when you've been at work since 3am,
0:21:44 > 0:21:48that's as good an excuse as any to shut up shop early.
0:21:54 > 0:21:58The number of Welsh people working past retirement age
0:21:58 > 0:22:00has almost doubled in the last decade.
0:22:00 > 0:22:06In 2012, there are more than 560,000 over-65s in Wales.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10And 7% of them, some 40,000 people, still work.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20It's lambing season at Ty Cerrig Farm in the foothills of Snowdonia.
0:22:20 > 0:22:26It should be the busiest time of the year for 81-year-old tenant farmer Gruffydd Edwards.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29But he's currently too ill to take to the fields.
0:22:29 > 0:22:34Instead, the burden of lambing all 200 of his pregnant ewes has
0:22:34 > 0:22:38fallen solely to his 31-year-old daughter, Carys.
0:22:38 > 0:22:42This morning, I want to go around the sheep.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45Check if there's any new lambs born.
0:22:45 > 0:22:49We are three-quarters of the way through. We're on the last 50
0:22:49 > 0:22:51to be lambed.
0:22:51 > 0:22:57So I have to just watch that all the sheep are happy this morning.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00Heini, bydd ddistaw.
0:23:02 > 0:23:07This year, a good Welsh lamb is fetching around £60 at market.
0:23:07 > 0:23:08And with rising rents
0:23:08 > 0:23:12and feed costs leaving many tenant farmers living on annual
0:23:12 > 0:23:18incomes as low as £8,000, every lamb delivered safely by Carys is vital.
0:23:18 > 0:23:23I'm going to catch this ewe now to give the lamb some milk.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45What I'm doing now,
0:23:45 > 0:23:50I'm giving the lamb some milk so...get some food into him.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53That's the most important.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55Dere nawr, oen bach.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00When it's bad weather, it's very, very important for them
0:24:00 > 0:24:03to get sucking as quick as they can.
0:24:05 > 0:24:10And then I look, he's a male.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12So I put that down
0:24:12 > 0:24:14in my book.
0:24:14 > 0:24:16Tyrd o na. Ie.
0:24:16 > 0:24:18Tyrd o na.
0:24:18 > 0:24:25He's got a brown left leg, so we'll call him Film Star
0:24:25 > 0:24:30and then I'll know him because he's got this brown leg.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34Whilst Carys continues her vigil alone,
0:24:34 > 0:24:37Gruffydd sits at home recovering.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41At the beginning of the month, I had the flu.
0:24:41 > 0:24:46And I think I got it just after the burning.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49I'd been in the heat of the heather burning and so on.
0:24:49 > 0:24:55But this is the worst flu that I've had, well, for many years, I think.
0:24:55 > 0:24:59Of course, I'm getting older as well, so that's no help.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04I've been lucky of Carys to...
0:25:06 > 0:25:10feed the sheep and so on.
0:25:16 > 0:25:21The big question hanging over Gruffydd and Ty Cerrig Farm is
0:25:21 > 0:25:25whether or not he will be forced against his will to retire.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28This summer, he faces a hip replacement operation,
0:25:28 > 0:25:32but if he doesn't fully recover, can Carys afford to take over?
0:25:33 > 0:25:35I don't mind looking after the farm,
0:25:35 > 0:25:39it's just there's no living in farming.
0:25:39 > 0:25:41You have to have another job.
0:25:42 > 0:25:46It's very hard to keep on going to get money.
0:25:49 > 0:25:54After that flu that I'm... I'm out of breath straight away.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59Oh, I...
0:25:59 > 0:26:03I'll be buggered for carrying cakes out for these sheep now.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06I'm lucky Carys is there.
0:26:07 > 0:26:11Whatever the outcome of Gruffydd's operation,
0:26:11 > 0:26:14and however financially viable the farm may be,
0:26:14 > 0:26:19Carys is in no doubt about the true value of this way of life.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22It's the best life I can imagine.
0:26:22 > 0:26:26Although long hours watching after them,
0:26:26 > 0:26:30it's nice to see a young lamb being born.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33Oh, it's...homely.
0:26:33 > 0:26:34Homely.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50Earlier in the programme,
0:26:50 > 0:26:55factory owner James Mellor was in serious trouble with the VAT man.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58In New Tredegar, the fate of his company, AJM Sewing,
0:26:58 > 0:27:00has now been decided.
0:27:03 > 0:27:08We've had our visit from the dreaded taxman.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11Fortunately, we proved our case.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14We've set up agreements with him.
0:27:14 > 0:27:20Providing we adhere to those agreements, he've left us alone for 12 months.
0:27:20 > 0:27:24For myself, it's a huge relief. At least I can sleep at night,
0:27:24 > 0:27:28knowing that the factory's still going to be open on a Monday morning.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31Knowing how profitable the business is at the moment,
0:27:31 > 0:27:35it would have been devastating to have lost the business over actions
0:27:35 > 0:27:38that happened when things were not doing so well.
0:27:38 > 0:27:43So it's relief all round for James and his 36 employees.
0:27:43 > 0:27:45But now it's time to put pedal to the metal
0:27:45 > 0:27:49and get cracking on those exotic orders.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52- This is a thong, isn't it?- Yes.
0:27:52 > 0:27:57Yeah, I think this comes around there and that comes there.
0:27:57 > 0:28:00Do you know what I mean?
0:28:00 > 0:28:03Like that. Somehow. And then that goes...somewhere else.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09I think this is going to be a classic.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11Don't ask!
0:28:14 > 0:28:17Next time on Wales In A Year,
0:28:17 > 0:28:20Ty Cerrig Farm's future is in the balance,
0:28:20 > 0:28:22as Gruffydd goes under the knife.
0:28:22 > 0:28:24Miserable. Miserable.
0:28:24 > 0:28:26There's more heartache in Merthyr.
0:28:26 > 0:28:30I'm so surprised she didn't break every bone in her body.
0:28:30 > 0:28:35And Jahan witnesses the dark side of the drinks industry.
0:28:35 > 0:28:38Open your legs a bit, mate, so you don't be sick on your shoes.
0:28:40 > 0:28:45Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd