Pennod 11 04 Wal

-888

-888

-

-888

-888

-888

-888

-Tonight, a 1930s house in Mold which

-is inspired by Japan, wood and food.

-When Bethan Gwanas comes back

-from her globetrotting trips...

-..she feels totally at home

-in her garden.

-Finally, we visit Steve Wilson

-and Greg Stevenson's clom houses.

-Welcome to 04Wal.

-Wood and Japan are Tim Baker's

-main inspirations in his Mold home.

-Tim has seen the world

-in his work as a theatre director.

-His travels

-have influenced his home.

-I wanted this to be

-a really simple house.

-I demolished as many walls

-as possible...

-..to do away with

-the idea of living in rooms.

-We wanted to have

-an open living space.

-What inspired you

-to open up the rooms of this house?

-I was sitting on a beach,

-when I was on holiday...

-..and I built a wooden model

-of my ideal house.

-I just took it from there.

-There are Japanese pieces

-on the walls.

-They're present

-throughout the house.

-You rarely have the opportunity...

-..to travel to the other side of the

-world to see how other people live.

-I fell in love with Tokyo and Japan.

-I wanted to have a taste of

-what I saw over there in my house.

-This is a fusion of two cultures.

-There's something very simple about

-the way the Japanese people live...

-..and the way they set things out.

-I tried to keep things simple

-and clean.

-This is the section of this

-large room you use as a lounge.

-There are numerous sections of wood

-in here.

-They're natural sculptures.

-Yes, if there is a theme

-to this house...

-..it is the worship of wood!

-I love wood.

-I have always enjoyed

-working with wood.

-Lately, I've delighted in finding

-natural pieces of sculpture.

-This is an example

-of a piece of wood I cut.

-It's gorgeous.

-It's lovely.

-A lot of the things in here

-aren't permanent fixtures.

-They're free-standing pieces

-and I can move things around...

-..or move them out of the way.

-This is the cooking and dining area.

-People will be surprised to see

-that you use barbecues indoors.

-Yes, this is another Japanese thing.

-There may well be two themes

-to this house.

-The worship of wood and

-the worship of food and eating!

-I really enjoy eating.

-We cook things in a particular way.

-We adopt Japanese methods

-in the kitchen.

-We prepare bite-size things

-such as prawns in a sauce...

-..and we cook them at the table.

-You don't have to use unconventional

-methods all the time...

-..because you also have

-a conventional cooker.

-You have all the Japanese

-cooking paraphernalia in here.

-I'm fortunate in that I travel

-quite extensively with my work.

-I look out for these items.

-Let's head upstairs.

-This stripped bannister is lovely.

-It's regained its former glory

-and you just want to touch it!

-There are some smaller

-pieces of wood over here.

-They're glued together to create

-some interesting sculptures.

-This paper came from Japan.

-What a lovely pattern.

-A small strip of it in a frame

-looks great.

-That's the bathroom, that's

-the office and this is the bedroom.

-Just like the rest of the house,

-this is orderly.

-Not the kind of orderliness

-which masks a lack of imagination...

-..but a general neatness.

-These pictures form a grid

-when you look at them from the bed.

-That grid is echoed

-in the pattern on the duvet cover.

-It all works perfectly.

-I've never really lived here

-in the true meaning of the word.

-I've only recently noticed...

-..how much of a Japanese influence

-there is in the house.

-It's like feng shui.

-There's something very organic

-about living here.

-I'm surrounded by natural materials.

-I enjoy the feeling I get

-when I'm here.

-Author and presenter, Bethan Gwanas,

-loves her house...

-..but we're here to see her garden

-because this is where she relaxes.

-You present

-a series called 'Ar y Lein'...

-..and you said you couldn't wait

-to get back to your garden.

-Yes, because I'm happy here.

-I'm happy in other places, too.

-I come home and the first thing I do

-is drop my bags on the floor.

-I have a quick look around the house

-and I come out to the garden.

-I breathe my fresh air,

-I look at my flowers...

-..and I start weeding!

-Are you green-fingered?

-Are you green-fingered?

-

-Yes, I think so.

-I didn't create this garden, though.

-It was like this when

-I bought the house, four years ago.

-If I weren't green-fingered,

-everything would be dead by now!

-All the plants are still alive.

-I bought all the gardening books

-and I listen to 'Gardening Time'!

-You pick things up

-and you learn by your mistakes.

-I love it.

-Let's meander towards the house.

-These plants are glorious.

-It's quite something, isn't it?

-These colours are wonderful.

-I don't have a planting pattern

-in this garden.

-If it manages to stay alive,

-I'm happy.

-I like the chaos.

-You must work hard in this garden.

-You must work hard in this garden.

-

-Yes, I do.

-You've got to work hard in a garden

-like this because it's quite big.

-Weeding is a major undertaking!

-This stream is a real bonus.

-It's an easy way

-to irrigate the land.

-Yes, and it gave me

-the name of the house.

-It's called 'Ffrwd y Gwyllt',

-meaning stream of the wilderness.

-It's handy to fill my bucket

-and water the plants in the summer.

-We're sitting outside the house.

-The different levels of the garden

-are clearly visible from here.

-Does each level

-serve a different purpose?

-I'm not sure

-they serve a different purpose.

-I want to grow vegetables on the top

-level but I haven't done that, yet.

-I struggle to get the lawn mower

-onto the top level...

-..so it's wilder

-than the rest of the garden.

-The next level is quite wild.

-Lots of plants seem to grow there!

-The third level is less chaotic.

-I recognise the plants!

-The lowest level is in the shadow.

-Do you make time to enjoy your

-garden, rather than cultivate it?

-Yes, I try to.

-Cultivating my garden is tantamount

-to enjoying my garden, in my mind.

-I do spend some time in my hammock

-on sunny days.

-Writing can be quite exhausting.

-I only have to be in that hammock

-for two seconds and I'm fast asleep.

-It's great!

-888

-

-888

-We think of clom

-as a traditional building material.

-It's something we usually see

-in old, Welsh cottages.

-We could use it

-to build modern houses.

-Steve Wilson did just that...

-..when he built an extension

-to his house.

-What's so special about clom?

-It's important to use one-third

-sands, one-third gravels...

-..and one-third clays and silts.

-You can test the mix

-by letting it dry out.

-You then look at the mix

-and feel its texture.

-It's important

-to have something quite hard.

-Why is clom

-better than concrete or bricks?

-I didn't use much energy

-mixing the clom.

-Unlike most building materials,

-clom actually breathes.

-That's very important.

-It helps control dampness.

-The whole building can breathe.

-We've seen clom before on 04Wal

-and it's always been very rough.

-This is smooth.

-I wanted to have a smooth finish.

-This is a contemporary building...

-..and I wanted it to look like

-a contemporary building.

-I trimmed the surface

-with a pickaxe...

-..and packed the surface

-with a mallet.

-You can create a fantastic finish.

-It looks nice.

-How much of the materials

-you used here did you buy locally?

-A lot of the materials

-came from this area.

-The soil came from Dinas.

-The stone we used to create

-the low walls and the footings...

-..came from the quarry in Cilgerran.

-What about the reeds on the roof?

-The reeds came from Newport.

-Alan Jones

-is a thatcher from Newport.

-He's known as Alan Thatch.

-He's a master thatcher.

-He's responsible for the roof.

-He's done a great job.

-It gives the house great insulation.

-It's a natural insulator.

-It's important

-to keep everything natural.

-There's no point

-in having clom walls...

-..if you're going to put expanded

-polyurethane foam in the roof!

-I wanted to keep everything natural.

-Steve has been restoring his house

-for the past eight years.

-He lives in the original cottage.

-You enter the new extension

-through the kitchen.

-Looking at it from the outside...

-..there's nothing

-revolutionary about it.

-You could think it dated back

-to the same period as the house.

-What makes it different

-is the materials used...

-..and the philosophy behind it.

-This mud-walled extension

-is far more modern...

-..than most things thrown up

-in the name of sophistication.

-It's a new house!

-A swallow

-has made its nest up there.

-You've got some tenants!

-I mixed up some clom and I left it

-outside the front of the house.

-The swallow used that clom

-to build its new nest.

-The clom you'd just mixed?

-If it falls down,

-we've got a big problem!

-The first clom nest in Wales!

-We usually see Greg Stevenson

-up to his elbows in mud and rubble.

-He's now finished his projects...

-..so let's revisit Troedrhiwfallen

-and Ffynnon Oer.

-This house was practically a ruin

-when we were last here.

-It now looks finished.

-What have you done

-in the meantime, Greg?

-I've spent a lot of time and money

-on this project.

-Four of us worked full-time on it

-for a year.

-I spent 60,000 on it

-and now it's finished.

-How many people live here?

-Nobody lives here.

-It's rented as a holiday cottage.

-I'm raising money

-for my next renovation projects.

-It's a small cottage

-but it has a big croglofft.

-There are two beds downstairs...

-..and there's a bathroom

-and a kitchen in the extension.

-This is the lounge.

-Yes, that's right.

-There's a croglofft above it

-and a parlour below.

-You've opened up

-this part of the house.

-Yes.

-There was a whole floor here but

-I changed it back to a croglofft.

-It was like this originally.

-You managed to save this wall.

-Yes, these are the original

-in and out panels.

-All we did was brush them.

-They're original.

-To me and to our viewers,

-this ceiling doesn't look finished!

-It's been finished for 200 years,

-so I'm not going to change it now!

-It's completely open to the room.

-It's in its original state

-and few such examples exist.

-It's one of the reasons

-why I bought this house.

-It's unusual and I love it.

-The louvre chimney

-is practically new.

-The beam

-and the top beam are original.

-The rest is new.

-We saw the chimney's original shape

-in the soot on the wall.

-We knew its shape and

-we restored it, with CADW's help.

-We head out of the house. This

-building has a corrugated iron roof.

-It's like walking out of a cave.

-This is much needed.

-We all want a few home comforts.

-There's a shower, a bath, a basin

-and a toilet in here.

-This is the kitchen.

-Greg has recycled old furniture

-in this part of the house.

-This chair is remarkably light.

-He's given them a new lease of life.

-This room is very simple.

-Everything is plain.

-This shelving unit

-is set into the wall.

-The tongue and groove on the walls

-and the ceiling...

-..is reminiscent of sheds built

-as house extensions in the 1930s.

-The red floor

-is also a throwback to the 1930s.

-We first met Greg a few years ago,

-at his home, in Ffynnon Oer Uchaf.

-The extension - Ffynnon Oer Isaf -

-is now complete and fully furnished.

-The wall was half-built

-when we first came here.

-We jumped up and down in the mud,

-in our wellingtons!

-It's now finished.

-The walls and the roof are in place.

-What's that, on the wall?

-What's that, on the wall?

-

-It's a lime render.

-We used the same stuff

-at Troedrhiwfallen.

-Is that all mud?

-Yes - clom walls,

-built on stone footings.

-Let's go inside.

-Well, well!

-I remember standing here,

-talking to you.

-You said, "The toilet goes here.

-The kitchen goes there."

-I thought, "Yeah, right!"

-I didn't know

-how it would come together.

-You've fitted a lot

-into this small space.

-Yes, it's a small space but a

-family of six would have lived here.

-It's big enough for a couple.

-I'm really happy.

-We're seeing a change

-in the situation in Ceredigion.

-People are stopping to think before

-they have plastic windows fitted...

-..or have plastic slate

-laid on their roof.

-They think twice

-about demolishing old cottages...

-..and building bungalows.

-Things have improved and many things

-have contributed to the process.

-I hope our cottages have played

-a small part in that process.

-S4C subtitles by

-Eirlys A Jones