Pennod 1 04 Wal

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-04Wal is ten years old.

-Yes, we first visited people

-and their homes ten years ago.

-In this series, we'll revisit

-some of the homes we've featured.

-We begin in the beginning.

-It's as true today

-as it was then - location is key.

-Later, we visit Aberdeunant

-near Llandecwyn...

-..but first, a corner of Kent

-that will be forever Welsh.

-David and Mair Lloyd's home.

-As you can see, Edenbridge House

-in Kent is an old house.

-This part of the house was built

-when Henry VIII was 29 years old.

-There's a link between the king

-and the house's original owner.

-As we understand it, Hever Castle's

-head forester lived in this house.

-The house was part of a small farm

-back then.

-Anne Boleyn lived in Hever Castle...

-..and Henry VIII visited her there

-on a regular basis.

-Who was his wife at the time?

-His first wife.

-His first wife.

-

-Catherine of Aragon.

-Who landscaped the garden?

-We believe the garden

-was designed in the 1940s.

-These bushes

-were planted around that time...

-..and the garden

-was divided into 'rooms'.

-That was the fashion in the 1940s.

-The water garden they built

-runs through the garden.

-Have you always been

-a keen gardener?

-Yes, I have.

-My father was a minister

-in Liverpool when I was young.

-I used to go with him

-to the allotment.

-I used to enjoy playing

-with the soil and the flowers.

-When I got married,

-I had my own home and garden.

-My interest in gardening grew.

-This is the hall.

-Yes. It's quite a large room.

-It's part of the old house.

-I'm sure it was originally

-a kitchen and a living room.

-Are there

-any original features here?

-Has anything in here remained

-untouched since the house was built?

-These shutters may be original.

-They were used to shut out

-bad weather and keep the place warm.

-We don't have reason to use them

-very often, I must say...

-..but they're quite interesting.

-There's room to sit

-either side of the old fireplace.

-There's a small oven

-in the back of the fireplace.

-The floor would have been similar

-to this, so it could be original.

-The local music society

-sometimes holds its meetings here.

-About 50 people

-attend those meetings.

-We use the piano over there

-and have little concerts here.

-Up here?

-Up here?

-

-Yes, this is my study.

-Mind your head as you go in.

-It's rather low.

-Here we are.

-I can tell by looking at the floor

-that it's part of the old house.

-Yes, that's right.

-This is part of the original house.

-It was a two-bedroom house,

-so this used to be a bedroom.

-I think this is the cosiest room

-in the house.

-Have you ever tripped on this floor?

-Have you ever tripped on this floor?

-

-No, I haven't.

-Look at the carpet.

-It came from Nepal.

-Friends who keep a shop in Oxted

-got hold of it for us.

-Aberdeunant farmhouse

-lies above Talsarnau, Gwynedd.

-Once a ruin, it was renovated

-by Mandy and Paul Hughes.

-It is now home

-to them and their children...

-..Caradog, Annwyl,

-Gorwel and Derwena.

-It's quite remote up here.

-Yes, it is remote, but it's great

-for us and the children.

-I can shout whatever I like up here!

-The house was rebuilt and repointed.

-We put the doors and the windows in.

-We also rebuilt the chimney.

-This section is new.

-Yes, as the family expanded,

-we had to review our plans.

-The new part was a wood store,

-but it's going to be a bedroom.

-When you've finished it?

-Yes, when we've finished it!

-There's a generator in there now.

-Yes, our source of electricity.

-We use it to power the lights

-at night.

-We're not connected

-to the National Grid.

-Don't you miss the electrical

-pleasures we're used to?

-No, not really.

-I miss my washing machine,

-but apart from that, it's fine.

-No electricity? No problem!

-The house is warm and cosy.

-Mandy found this Rayburn

-rusting away in someone's garden.

-She saved the marble

-from an old butcher's shop...

-..and the table was thrown out

-from a local Sunday School.

-Even the beams are recycled.

-These came from a church in England.

-The ceiling is low.

-The ceiling is low.

-

-Not compared to the original house!

-You would have hit your head

-on this beam.

-We dropped the level of the floor.

-Is this original?

-Yes, it is.

-There's enough room for a family

-in the chimney!

-Yes, it's an incredibly big chimney.

-It's the biggest chimney

-I've ever seen.

-Did you do any work on the chimney

-or was it like this?

-There was a small Victorian range

-in the wall.

-A wall had been built

-to block up the large chimney.

-We pulled the range out and found

-this huge chimney behind it.

-Is that an oven in the corner there?

-Is that an oven in the corner there?

-

-Yes, that's where they baked bread.

-It's cosy. A nice place to sit.

-Yes, we relax in here

-when the children are in bed.

-You found most of the furniture

-in various places.

-Does it give you pleasure

-to know you rescued these items?

-Yes, because we respect things

-that other people didn't respect.

-We'll pass them down to our children

-and they'll value them.

-There are several ruins on the land.

-Mandy and Paul plan to renovate

-Aberdeunant Uchaf...

-..for the generations to come.

-What's this place called?

-What's this place called?

-

-This is Aberdeunant Uchaf.

-You own this land and this house.

-You own this land and this house.

-

-Yes, that's right.

-Was your house

-in a similar condition to this?

-Yes, absolutely.

-This is also around the same age

-as Aberdeunant Isaf.

-This is smaller than your house.

-This is smaller than your house.

-

-Yes, it's much smaller.

-This used to be a small farm.

-Who lived here? Do you know?

-Who lived here? Do you know?

-

-A family of fortune-tellers.

-They told people's fortunes

-to make a bit of extra money.

-It looks smaller from the inside

-than it does from the outside.

-Aberdeunant Uchaf is wonderful.

-Yes, it's very simple, isn't it?

-Yes, it's very simple, isn't it?

-

-Yes, very simple.

-It has three blocked-up windows

-and a fireplace.

-The mantel is still there.

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-Welcome back to the year 2000.

-We're about to see

-more great locations.

-We'll visit Harlech

-and Menai Bridge.

-First, to Dyfed and Julie Thomas's

-home in Llandynnan, near Llangollen.

-I saw this house

-in Jones & Co, Wrexham.

-The house is called Isfryn.

-It was two cottages

-knocked into one.

-I bought it for 6,000

-from a man from Birmingham.

-Brownhills Garage,

-Cannock, Birmingham.

-The cottage next door belonged

-to Mr Maddox from the Wirral.

-I bought this from him

-some time later...

-..and I knocked them into one.

-A sort of Thomas Terrace!

-A sort of Thomas Terrace!

-

-Yes, that's right!

-In the meantime,

-you bought this too!

-Yes, I moved to London

-for nearly 15 years.

-Horeb chapel, which had been

-empty for five years, went on sale.

-I put in an offer

-and it was accepted.

-I renovate it bit by bit

-when I had money in my pocket.

-It took years, and I did

-quite a simple job at the time.

-I'm now keen to do it properly

-and put a new floor in and so on.

-The chapel was adapted

-into one space in the 1980s...

-..but it's no longer practical

-with a young child in the family.

-We plan to build a new floor.

-It will go from this level,

-right across here.

-We're going to remove the ceiling

-and have four bedrooms in the roof.

-We'll also

-move the bathroom up there.

-I've always thought something

-Art Deco would suit the chapel.

-The idea is to create bulkheads

-to go over the windows.

-We'll have a wall here,

-with two opening doors.

-This will be the porch.

-This floor will be extended.

-We'll have a large lounge

-and bulkheads right here.

-On that level?

-On that level?

-

-Yes, with steps going up here.

-There will be four pillars

-across the room.

-They will support the new floor.

-They're ambitious plans, Dyfed.

-They're ambitious plans, Dyfed.

-

-Yes, but I'm sure it's possible.

-Morgan, Dyfed and Julie's son,

-showed me around his bedroom.

-I've got lots of things up there!

-Look at that big hedgehog!

-It's wearing a tie and a waistcoat.

-What's this?

-What's this?

-

-It's a clown.

-He's got long legs.

-His Mickey hat has come off!

-Moving to a place like Llandynnan

-was a huge change for me.

-It's quiet here.

-It was a culture shock too.

-I'm trying to learn Welsh.

-It's difficult to find young

-local people who speak Welsh.

-That's a problem.

-When I say young, I mean people

-about the same age as me!

-Very few young local people

-speak Welsh.

-When you wake up

-and see these surroundings...

-..nature, the weather

-and the seasons...

-..it gives you

-a different perspective.

-It has certainly changed me.

-# Lord, the night is closing in

-# Listen to our plea

-# O, Heavenly pilgrim

-# Stay with us

-# Amen

-# Amen

-# Amen #

-Nia Medi's cottage nestles

-in the shadow of Harlech Castle.

-What's the story of this house?

-People say it was once

-a police station.

-It was built in 1850.

-This was the actual police station

-and those were the holding cells.

-The end cottage was a stable.

-Is this yours, too?

-Yes, this was

-the station's boiler house.

-The door on the other side

-leads to the garden.

-Here we are!

-This was a wall when I came here.

-It had collapsed into the garden.

-People had used it as a place

-to dump rubbish, old furniture...

-..old pipes and old cement bags.

-It was full of rubbish

-to the top of the wall.

-It's good just to have somewhere

-to sit out during the summer.

-Yes, it's great.

-The back garden is small, but Nia

-has create a lovely retreat.

-The same is true inside the house.

-What kind of condition

-was this room in when you moved in?

-There was Artex everywhere,

-so I got rid of it.

-There was a tiled fireplace here...

-..and the hearth came out

-to the middle of the floor.

-I removed the plaster

-and opened up the fireplace...

-..and I gained two feet instantly!

-The woodwork was buried

-under several layers of wallpaper.

-And then there was the gloss!

-White gloss, cream gloss,

-green gloss and blue gloss!

-I still haven't managed

-to remove it all!

-I bought the house and came here

-every day for a year...

-..to work on it with the builders

-before I moved in.

-Nia is responsible

-for the stencilling and decoupage.

-We know what decoupage is, don't we?

-We know what decoupage is, don't we?

-

-Decorating with paper, not stencils.

-I bought some wrapping paper

-and really liked the design.

-I liked pigs and trees at the time!

-Once you've found your design, you

-cut it out with some thin scissors.

-It's more than just cutting it out.

-You must be very careful

-with every hair and every petal.

-There's stencilling everywhere...

-..and some unique pictures too!

-I've spotted an original

-Kyffin Williams picture in the hall.

-An off-the-cuff Kyffin!

-Yes, he drew it

-on the back of a bistro bill!

-I used to work in a bistro

-every summer...

-..and he came in once

-to have dinner with a friend.

-I asked him to sign the bill

-but he did much more than that.

-He drew a caricature of himself

-and it's great.

-I had it framed,

-so I now have a Kyffin on my wall!

-Well, that's one bedroom.

-In here, we have the shoe cupboard.

-Nia Medi

-is the Imelda Marcos of Harlech!

-Up here, we have the attic.

-As you can see,

-there isn't much room in here...

-..but you don't need much room

-to sleep.

-Hello, puss! Hello!

-If you've come here to work,

-you can do so over there.

-There's a special technique

-to getting down these steps.

-If I'm in a sling when

-you next see me, you'll know why!

-Location is important

-when you buy a house.

-Few houses offer privacy

-and a convenient location...

-..but this is one of them.

-It was built between 1862 and 1873.

-Anna, Huw and their three children

-moved here about 18 years ago.

-This cosy, colourful home

-is full of art and family treasures.

-Let's begin with this tapestry

-on the wall.

-Where did that come from?

-It was embroidered by the women

-of Seion chapel, Esquel, Patagonia.

-Reverend Morgan Daniel,

-my paternal grandfather...

-..was minister there for six years.

-They presented him with it

-when he left.

-They wished him well

-and thanked him for his services.

-This was the golden purse.

-It was presented

-to Reverend Daniel Jones, Y Ford.

-He was my great-grandfather.

-He was a minister in Y Ford

-for 25 years...

-..and this was his farewell gift.

-This purse was full of money

-when he received it!

-It was a substantial sum then...

-..and would also be

-a substantial sum today.

-Anna owns a few Claudia Williams

-and Gwilym Pritchard pictures.

-There are even portraits here

-of Anna and the children.

-Alongside them is some

-of Anna's work and some furniture.

-This was my sister-in-law's desk.

-It was dark brown plywood.

-A friend of mine

-turned it into a French bureau.

-He's done a great job.

-This room was a garage.

-The large doors were over there,

-so we had some windows put in.

-That window was already there.

-It was a convenient extension

-because this arch was here.

-It's taken its place very nicely.

-Yes, it's wonderful.

-My friend swapped that fireplace

-for a bottle of whisky!

-I think you had the best bargain!

-Huw is the grandson

-of Tegla Davies, the author.

-There are items associated

-with his grandfather in his study.

-I have some pictures

-by Illingworth, the cartoonist.

-He drew them

-for a book called Nedw.

-Nedw was one of the first

-Welsh language children's books.

-These pictures are in the study.

-I also have the old slate

-Taid Tegla used...

-..to teach my father to write.

-That's one

-of my most treasured possessions.

-Anna has the imagination and I try

-to earn enough money to pay for it!

-He's very good.

-I am supportive, aren't I?

-I am supportive, aren't I?

-

-Yes, you are.

-I'm lucky he doesn't notice

-half the things I do!

-I can change the colour of a room

-and he doesn't even notice.

-That's given me lots of freedom

-to do whatever I choose!

-I enjoy throwing things together

-and hoping that it works.

-If it doesn't work, I change it

-until I'm happy with it.

-If I can't improve it,

-I leave it alone.

-S4C subtitles by Eirlys A Jones

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