Pennod 5 04 Wal

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-Tonight's programme

-is about farm buildings.

-Sarra Elgan is about to renovate

-a shell of a building.

-We'll see a stable in Llyn...

-..which now boasts a huge library

-and is home to Jan Morris.

-First, we visit Stifyn Parri's

-latest venture...

-..to turn ruins into a home.

-Welcome to 04Wal.

-These buildings were ruins

-when we were last here.

-Some had no roof. Some had no walls.

-It seemed some had no hope.

-What Stifyn Parri

-has achieved here...

-..is a tribute to his determination

-and that of his architect.

-Stifyn Parri bought this cluster

-of buildings in September, 2003.

-They were in an awful condition.

-The buildings are on two sites -

-two on the upper site...

-..and one on the lower site.

-Will this be the lounge?

-Yes. A lounge,

-leading into the kitchen.

-Everyone congregates in the kitchen

-in my house in Cardiff...

-..so I may as well

-have one, big room.

-Come here, Aled.

-You can see all the way up.

-What a great place

-to dry your smalls!

-Santa may struggle a bit!

-Who last lived here and when?

-Who last lived here and when?

-

-I heard a rumour that a shepherd

-lived in this bit, 200 years ago.

-Since then,

-they've been waiting for me!

-I've arrived!

-This is the bedroom.

-Are you only going to have

-one bedroom?

-Yes.

-I don't want to create pigeonholes.

-I need plenty of space

-because I'm six foot three.

-You don't plan to have house guests?

-You don't plan to have house guests?

-

-They can bring a tent.

-You live near here.

-They can stay with you!

-The third building

-is on the lower site.

-It's in better condition

-than the others...

-..but making something of it

-will be an even greater challenge.

-This is the third building.

-What do you hope to do here?

-What do you hope to do here?

-

-'Intend' not 'hope'. Be positive!

-What do you intend to do?

-What do you intend to do?

-

-There will be a huge window there

-and this will be the front door.

-You come in, through the front door,

-into an L-shaped kitchen.

-There will be a small bathroom,

-to your left...

-..and a double bedroom,

-above the bathroom.

-We went back six months later and

-the plans had changed dramatically.

-Wow! This is completely different

-from what I expected.

-This was meant to be the kitchen

-but the plans have changed.

-This is now a bedroom.

-There will be a fantastic fireplace

-in the bedroom.

-The bathroom

-will be somewhere around here.

-It will be a small bathroom,

-with just a shower.

-The bath will be over here,

-in the bedroom.

-I'll have a bath, facing the fire.

-My bed will be here.

-This will be an enormous window.

-It should look like a chapel.

-There will be a glass corridor here.

-We're not allowed to build walls.

-This was going to be a bedroom

-but it will now be a kitchen.

-The cooker will be in this area.

-Here it is!

-I'll sit over there

-and the sun will set, right here.

-There will be French doors here...

-..leading to my garden.

-I wanted another room,

-with a glass roof, here...

-..but they said, "No way, Jose!"

-Work was progressing well...

-..but architect Donald Jones had

-hit a snag in the third building.

-My problem is we either

-stick to the original plan...

-..or we change the staircase.

-It was meant to start here

-and wind its way around the room...

-..with a mezzanine level

-in that corner.

-Will it dominate the whole house?

-As long as you keep the four walls,

-as they are...

-..whatever you do to the interior

-is completely up to you.

-Have the mezzanine in that corner...

-..with a small staircase

-leading to it.

-A staircase, behind the bathroom?

-A staircase, behind the bathroom?

-

-Yes.

-Do you agree with me?

-Do you agree with me?

-

-Yes.

-Is it a cheaper option?

-Is it a cheaper option?

-

-I aim to please.

-Yes, but is it cheaper?

-Yes, but is it cheaper?

-

-Yes.

-Alfie! Bill! Come on.

-It's February, 2005,

-and the work has been completed.

-Was it worth the hassle?

-There was a period, early on,

-just after I'd actually bought it...

-I had to remortgage

-my house in Cardiff...

-..because I couldn't get a mortgage

-on this place.

-I had a moment of self-doubt.

-Since then, I haven't panicked.

-I had a clear vision and I was

-confident throughout the process.

-After a year of hard graft,

-the buildings have been reborn...

-..and Stifyn has put

-his unique stamp on the interior.

-Both sites have been completed -

-both upper and lower.

-We begin on the upper site.

-The national park didn't have

-many rules for us to follow.

-I think I've turned every negative

-into a positive.

-My original dream

-was to have lots of stone walls.

-Things have changed.

-You must add as many layers as

-possible, for insulation purposes.

-That's when I decided the interior

-of the buildings would be modern.

-The negative turned into a positive.

-The same thing is true

-of the corridor.

-The corridor looks really nice,

-sandwiched between two barns.

-It's a long, clean strip of glass

-and I think it works really well.

-To be honest,

-I didn't have a definite plan.

-I just knew I was doing the

-right thing and I'd be happy here.

-I've bought my Heaven on earth.

-This glass corridor leads you

-from the lounge to the bedroom.

-Walking through it is a unique

-and very strange experience.

-It's almost like

-swimming in a fish tank.

-Another surprise awaits us in here.

-More than one surprise awaits us,

-to be fair.

-Here's the first one -

-a huge bath, in front of the fire.

-It isn't a bathroom.

-The toilet and shower

-are over there.

-There's a comfy chair here.

-This is actually a bedroom.

-What a huge window!

-The smallest building

-offered the biggest challenge.

-Stifyn has created a large space

-in this small barn.

-This house is a complete package.

-Everything you could possibly need

-is under this roof.

-It's a room, rather than a house.

-I made sure it contains the

-essentials for a week's holiday...

-..or a six-month stay.

-It's all here.

-It's wonderful that you put

-the dining area in the window.

-This is almost a feature,

-within the room.

-I toyed with the idea of putting a

-sofa here and a dining table there.

-My instinct told me

-it was a dining area.

-The sunsets you see from here

-are absolutely fantastic.

-It upstages even the best cuisine!

-You used the space behind you

-very cleverly.

-This corner includes

-all of life's necessities.

-This is the smallest kitchen

-imaginable...

-..but it has everything,

-apart from a washing machine.

-There's a dishwasher in there.

-I cooked Christmas dinner here

-for my partner and my mother.

-The kitchen is big enough

-for a small family.

-I've calmed down.

-I'll have a cup of tea

-in front of the fire...

-..rather than go out, partying.

-I'm in the right place

-at the right time.

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-You need two things

-to renovate an old house.

-Guts and vision.

-Sarra Elgan and Simon, her partner,

-have plenty of both.

-We'd been house-hunting

-for six months...

-..before we found the cowshed.

-We weren't

-looking for a renovation project.

-We just wanted to

-move out of Cardiff.

-We live in Cardiff Bay,

-at the moment...

-..and we felt the time was right

-to grow up a bit.

-We wanted some land, too...

-..so, although this place needs

-a lot of work, we jumped at it.

-What appeals to you

-about this place?

-It's a fairly awkward layout.

-It's one long corridor, really.

-It's one long corridor, really.

-

-Yes, it's an L-shaped corridor.

-The views are breathtaking

-and it's really quiet, up here.

-It's lovely.

-The architect has been fab.

-He's on his seventh design!

-We've chopped and changed a lot.

-I think now we've decided

-what we want to do...

-..and we can't wait to get started.

-This is the longest section

-of the building.

-Do you hope to keep the length?

-Do you hope to keep the length?

-

-Yes. It will all be open plan.

-The kitchen will be in this area,

-over here.

-That then leads to the dining room,

-which leads to a living room.

-What sort of style kitchen

-will you choose?

-I want a farmhouse kitchen,

-with a modern twist.

-I have an ideas book.

-I cut out pictures from magazines

-and stick them in my book.

-Simon thinks I'm crazy!

-We have a few ideas.

-We want to keep the same feel

-throughout the property.

-Will this be the lounge?

-Yes, this will be the main lounge.

-We'll have a second lounge,

-at the far end.

-The view from here is fantastic.

-The view from here is fantastic.

-

-You'll put a window here, then?

-The view from here is fantastic.

-

-You'll put a window here, then?

-

-This will all be glass.

-That's a special stile, isn't it?

-Yes. That's where Simon

-popped the question.

-Fair play to him.

-He's a hopeless romantic,

-the poor boy!

-I think I can guess

-what this used to be!

-You won't keep it

-as a milking parlour?

-No, I don't think so!

-It was fully-equipped,

-three weeks ago.

-We're going to get rid of that wall.

-The plan is to create a large hall.

-That's always been our intention.

-We want a large hall.

-That's the first thing people see,

-before they step in to the house.

-The bathroom goes over here.

-The bathroom goes over here.

-

-In the hole?

-The bathroom goes over here.

-

-In the hole?

-

-No, we'll fill it with concrete!

-There will also be a bedroom here.

-You're going to

-build an extension here.

-Yes, the extension

-will go out, from here.

-It will include a second living room

-and a bedroom.

-It will be a big house.

-It will be a big house.

-

-Yes. It should be lovely.

-It's difficult to imagine it,

-at the moment...

-..but I hope it's quite nice,

-at the end of the day.

-It will be

-a breathtaking transformation.

-Yes.

-I look forward

-to coming back to see it.

-Projects like these are exciting.

-It will be great

-to see the whole thing evolve.

-I can actually visualise the house

-but I struggled, at first.

-I had no idea of the scale

-of the work needed here.

-I'm really excited now and

-I can't wait for the work to start.

-I want to know how it will turn out.

-This is more than a house to me.

-It's a small building.

-A very simple house.

-It was once a stable.

-I don't care about that.

-It's really grand, in my eyes.

-It's more of a concept

-than a reality.

-Within the walls of my home...

-..is everything which has been

-important to me, during my life.

-The people I've loved, the animals,

-my work and Wales, itself.

-That's what I like to think.

-As a travel writer...

-..Jan Morris praises cities

-and countries across the world.

-Home is where her heart is and

-her home it here, in Llanystumdwy.

-I've lived in this house

-for more than 30 years.

-I've written more than 30 books

-during that time.

-I've seen my children grow up

-and my grandchildren arrive.

-I'll live here

-for the rest of my life...

-..with the woman who has

-been my partner for 50 years.

-Elizabeth Morris.

-Happily ever after.

-You'd expect an author's house

-to be full of books...

-..and this house doesn't disappoint.

-This central room is full of books.

-Jan works and reads in here.

-It's a pleasure to be here.

-What adds to the ambience of this

-room is the floor, funnily enough.

-It's lino

-but it has a classical look.

-I told Jan I thought it was Roman...

-..and she said

-it came from Blaenau Ffestiniog!

-There's an amazing variety

-of books here.

-There are books

-on every subject here.

-Jan has varied interests.

-Before we moved in,

-horses and stablehands lived here.

-I can feel their presence

-in the wood and the stones.

-Owls also lived here.

-We see bats here, from time to time,

-and too many spiders!

-The roots of this house

-are deep in the soil of the area.

-In the soil,

-in the wildlife, in nature...

-..and in its own history.

-It's built from local stone.

-No house in the world

-is more organic than Treflan Morris.

-The same pattern

-continues upstairs, to some extent.

-This room is full of things

-which are close to Jan's heart.

-Pictures of the family

-and of places she's visited.

-A painting of Venice

-and a painting of Cricieth.

-We're in the structure

-of the roof itself.

-You can see the row of A-frames

-stretching from end to end.

-This, in essence,

-is the length of the house.

-The stablehands slept here,

-above the horses.

-Some of these books

-were written by Jan.

-They're in

-every language imaginable.

-If I step out of the lounge, you can

-see to the far end of the house.

-This is a small gallery.

-Some of these pictures

-relate to historical events.

-This is a picture of Everest

-when it was conquered in 1953.

-This is an interesting cartoon

-by Frank Brangwyn.

-It once hanged in the House of Lords

-but it's now in Brangwyn Hall.

-This is a picture of Jan, herself.

-This staircase

-takes us back to the kitchen.

-It's quite a tricky manoeuvre,

-for a man who loves chips!

-It's very narrow.

-I hope the Morris family lives here

-for ever.

-I hope this house stands here

-for ever...

-..as a symbol of thanksgiving

-to Wales.

-This house has been my inspiration.

-S4C subtitles by

-Eirlys A Jones