Episode 2 Tenby 24/7

This time on Tenby 24/7,

beach cleaner Ron bites off more than he can chew.

Somebody's lost their spare set. I found them on the beach.

If anybody's lost them, you know who's got them.

It's the summer spectacular and PC Nigel Lewis is on patrol.

Earlier, some boys were up here and were chucking cans down, so, er...

We're keeping an eye on things here now.

And hotelier Malcolm has a problem with his wedding reception.

Everything's set up, and no cake.

This is seven days in the life of one of Wales's holiday hotspots.

Seven days with the people who work here to make the holidays a treat.

This is Tenby 24/7.

Hidden in south-west Wales is the seaside town of Tenby,

a holiday resort with not just one,

but three sandy beaches, and each boasting a blue flag

for quality.

Keeping them in tip-top condition is essential.

This because somebody had a party last night.

They've bagged all their stuff up but they didn't take it with them.

So, they leave it on top of the bin and then the seagulls come along

and empty every bag.

Then I have to come along and pick it all up.

For 18 years, Ron Jones has been keeping Tenby's beaches rubbish-free.

And seagulls don't make his job any easier.

I like seagulls? No. Because of this.

Because they turn into scavengers.

Whereas they used to, I would imagine,

fish in the sea,

do a little dance, get worms.

But they don't dance for this - they just rip it open.

It just annoys me.

I suppose everything's got to live.

Well, the thing is, when it's all done and dusted, people are lovely and clean,

and when they come down,

to have a look down, the beach will be nice and clean, nothing for them to moan about,

and I'll get paid.

Hopefully.

My teacher said, "Jones,

"you'll be nothing but a binman," and what am I? I'm a binman.

-Are you a happy binman?

-Yeah.

Ron must have the beaches picture-postcard perfect.

# And the sun was shining in his hair...

Before the bucket-and-spade brigade of holidaymakers hit the sand.

Tenby and tourism hit the big time

during the Georgian and Victorian eras.

That influence can be seen in many of the places to stay in the town.

At the three-star Giltar Hotel, owners Malcolm Brace

and his business partner, Pat Jenkins,

are preparing for a local celebration.

Today, they are hosting a wedding reception for a Tenby couple.

Everything OK?

Malcolm and Pat are aiming to get an extra star for their hotel.

And an important part of their plan is holding wedding functions.

Slowly beginning to come together.

They've started doing the chair covers.

It'll finish off with the bows at the end, so...

And then you'll see the transformation.

To me, it has to be laid to perfection. It has to look...

So when you come through the door, when it's all finished,

the bride, in particular, will say, "Wow!"

Ah, very good.

Oh, dear - the cake hasn't arrived yet.

Well, they were supposed to be here at 11:30am.

Everything's set up and no cake.

So, we begin to get the jitters a little bit now.

Hopefully now they will be here within the next quarter of an hour.

If they're going to be any later, they'll be having a phone call.

All right? So, we'll keep our fingers crossed.

This is the busiest week of the year in Tenby.

Nearly 50,000 visitors will flock to this small seaside town.

One of the holiday highlights for both visitors and locals

is the Summer Spectacular in the town's harbour.

This is all my list of jobs to do and make sure I've got the right stall to the right people.

So when they come down they've got what they want. So, I'll just check.

-Morning, mate.

-Local restaurateur Dave Douglas Law

is the Tenby Round Table chairman and is in charge of this year's event.

We try to keep it as charity-based as possible.

This year it's been up to myself to rally round,

making sure everybody comes down with the right stall

and inviting the charity stalls down, sorting out all the entertainment, all the bands.

But there is one thing Dave can't organise - the Welsh weather,

which could make his grand finale a washout.

Just hoping that the rain stays away.

The biggest choice today will be, if it rains this evening,

which it's due to, whether the fireworks will go ahead or not.

Today, the locals are already asking for fireworks.

A lot of people have come down to Tenby, they've booked their holidays around these events.

It's the main advertising slogan. The posters have the firework display.

It says huge, spectacular fireworks.

And the worst thing is, if they set them up and it rains,

and we have to pull it, we still have to pay for it.

So, a big chunk of the money that we raise today just goes on that.

Each day, around 50 bags of rubbish are removed from Tenby's beaches,

and cleaner Ron hand-picks it all.

It's not nice when you're sitting on the beach and you get a big, smelly fish next to you.

No, not a very nice thing!

I hate barbecues because they're dangerous.

They've got a serrated edge - really sharp - like a razor blade.

If you catch yourself on that, that's a stitching job, so...

I always try and...

fold them up.

In my opinion, they should never be allowed.

So I'll put it and I'll just fold it over.

So there's no sharp edges.

Here, you can get tons of stuff come in.

You can be knee-deep in rubbish sometimes. Bits of timber and odds and ends,

false teeth, whatever.

Like...

Like...somebody's left their spare set. I found them on the beach.

If anybody's lost them, you know who's got them.

It's nice to see the beach like this - empty.

And clean.

Emphasise the word, clean.

It's nice. We don't want to come down and see rubbish everywhere.

Thanks to Ron, the three Blue Flag beaches are now clean and safe for the public to enjoy.

Nearly 5,000 people are expected to descend on Tenby

for today's Summer Spectacular.

Police Constables Nigel Lewis and Edith Thomas are on patrol.

Can I just ask if you know where you're going?

-Pardon?

-The Grey Rock Hotel.

The Grey Rock Hotel is there but it's pedestrianised.

The large crowd making their way down to the harbour,

PC Lewis wants to make sure today's Summer Spectacular is safe for everyone to enjoy.

I'm monitoring the only small element, and it's a tiny element,

of persons who may spoil things later.

And that is the handful of boys that sit on the balcony up there,

who, last week, unfortunately, decided to throw some things down into the crowd,

to the annoyance of the crowd. We'll watch that this week,

and if they put a step out of place, then we will give them direction to leave.

But it's a free country. There's no requirement for us to move them now,

because they haven't done anything. That would be heavy-handed policing, really.

-Having a last-minute check on some of his sideshow attractions is Round Table chairman Dave.

-Wahay!

HE LAUGHS

At the moment, just looking round,

it's already a lot busier than, you know...

It's not even started, really, till the Samba Doc come down. You can hear them now.

It's definitely them. So they'll bring a load in now.

And this is what I wanted - perfect!

LOUD DRUMMING

Ear plugs!

Only £1

Only £1. All for charity.

There you go!

Ladies and gentlemen,

welcome to Tenby Harbour on this beautiful afternoon

The Tenby Round Table Summer Spectacular 2011!

The wedding preparations are continuing.

The bridal suite is ready.

But Malcolm is still on the hunt for the missing wedding cake.

Good afternoon, it's Malcolm here at the Giltar Hotel in Tenby.

I'm just checking up on the wedding cake for this afternoon.

You did ring me yesterday to say you'd be here at 11:30am.

I'm now ringing, it's 2 o'clock and we haven't seen the cake.

-Are you all right there for a minute, Tom?

-Yeah.

-I'm going to get on, then.

The pressure is also on in the hotel kitchen.

Cooking up the wedding banquet is not going to be straightforward

for 23-year-old head chef, Phil Sellars.

Thomas, come round. I want to talk to you guys. Right!

Today, as you know, we haven't got Paul or Griff.

So, what I want on service today,

if, Tommy, you work with me up the front on main courses

doing what Paul would do.

So if you put the roast potatoes, the gravy, roast parsnips on,

and send, and I'll be at the back here carving.

Christian, I need you on the veg.

And Masood, if you do the new potatoes.

And then you can work with Christian on the back.

So we need to all work together today because we're two men down.

So just take our time. Don't let the waiters rush us.

If they have to wait a few minutes, they have to wait.

I'm the youngest in the kitchen.

But the brilliant thing is they've all accepted me.

I've done a lot of change.

They all know what they're doing and they know when they come in,

they've got to do this, this and this.

If we're, like today, two men down, they'll all pull together.

So we never have no problems - touch wood!

Can you manage? Do you want the door open?

One problem is solved though, Malcolm's missing wedding cake.

OK, it looks beautiful.

For over a quarter of a century, a horse and carriage

has been showing tourists around the historic sights of Tenby town.

Walk on!

Steve Phillips has just bought this established business

and it's his first summer entertaining holidaymakers.

Tenby dates back to the sort of 1100-1200s.

It was a very rich trading port then.

There were a lot of goods traded in here from all over Europe.

Do you know what the Welsh for Tenby is?

-No.

-Dinbych-y-Pysgod.

-Oh, wow!

-And that translates as the little fortress of the fishes.

-Wow!

I thought the Indian language was hard but this is more difficult.

Whoa! Stand still, Ed.

We stop here because it's the best view on the route.

Yeah, this is the south beach below us, which is Tenby's biggest beach.

Over here we've got Caldey Island.

The Cistercian monks have a monastery on there.

So, how do you get there?

You get a boat. Two boats go out.

The boats go from Tenby Harbour every 20 minutes back and forth.

So, where does everyone come from today?

My dad's from Nairobi in Kenya.

And he's on holiday here for about four weeks.

Walk on!

Every trip is different.

You get families with kids and you'll angle it more towards the fun things for the children,

but then you'll get maybe a group of adults

and they'll be wanting to know more about the history

and they'll be asking me questions

rather than just listening to me, which is quite nice actually.

It gets more like a conversation then,

so it's more of a two way thing.

You're a good boy, aren't you?

Don't go to close to Mr Ed with that cake now, he'll have it.

You'd better eat it quick.

The heavens have opened.

But it's not dampening the spirits of the Irish dancers at the Summer Spectacular.

It's supposed to be 6 o'clock it's coming in

but it's arrived early. So, if anything, that might benefit us.

If it's coming a couple of hours early, hopefully

it will finish when it's due to come in, if you know what I mean.

And everything can go ahead with the fireworks, as planned.

Um, it's just a case of fingers crossed and see what happens.

So, the last thing I want to do is pull the fireworks

but I'm hoping it does blow over for us.

With rock bands lined up for the evening event,

local youngsters flock to the town.

PC Nigel Lewis is patrolling Tenby Railway Station

and he's spotted a potential problem.

HE SHOUTS INCOHERENTLY

You, come here!

Bring the car, bring the car!

You're getting on that train, you're getting out of here.

You've just blown your chances in this town, OK.

-I haven't done nothing though.

-We saw you perform.

You're having a direction to leave, you're out of town, OK.

-For messing about?

-Yes, for messing about.

Because that's the way you'll be for the rest of the evening

-and you'll bring problems to us. I don't want it.

-Hang on a second!

How old are you? How old are you?

-16.

-Right, who let...?

Slow down, have you been drinking before coming here?

I don't drink.

You should accompany us, I think.

You need to accompany us down to the police van,

back to the police station. And let's get parents out.

News has arrived that the newly married bride and groom

are on their way to the reception.

You've changed then.

Yes, I've changed now.

Transformation!

-Why's that?

-Why's that?

Well, I just like to think

you've got to dress for the part when you're doing a wedding.

Local Tenby school teacher Samantha and her new husband, Darren,

have been planning their special day with Malcolm

for the last few months.

Congratulations!

-Everything go well?

-Yeah, fantastic.

-Well done! Excellent.

Come on then.

But will Malcolm's wedding room have the wow factor he is after?

It's absolutely stunning.

-What do you think?

-It's lovely, absolutely stunning.

Do you want to have a look at your cake then?

Jasmine did really well, didn't she?

The wedding is running to schedule and head chef Phil

is now under pressure to get food to the dining room on time.

Watch these caulis under the grill, guys.

Just getting ready now for the main courses.

There will be hot carving meat to order.

As they come in, they ask for one chicken,

I carve it, and one beef as well.

So, I'll be carving as we're going.

Could I have veg for top table, please?

I'm going to have to shoot back round now.

Ladies and gentlemen, can I ask you all

to stand and welcome the new bride and groom?

Samantha and Darren.

APPLAUSE

On the south beach, Ron has been called to a rather unusual job.

-Another one there.

-There's one there.

I've left you a big one down there.

Mervyn Dennis, the beach warden,

has discovered some old World War II ironwork and he wants it removed.

So, here we are - a steel spike sticking out of the beach.

You can imagine a little kid jumping in the sea

and stubbing their toe or, worse still, diving into it.

It's a case of either breaking them off

or bending them over and dropping them back into the beach.

-They're old railway tracks.

-Yeah, they're old railway tracks.

Another thing we've got to be careful of is we don't dig too big a hole

because the sand will be very soft and people will sink into the sand.

They think it's quick sand but it's not - it's where we've been digging.

The joys of being a beach warden.

You can build sandcastles as big as you like!

You can see why we do it - they can be very nasty.

Although there was only about that much sticking out of the sand,

you can see how deep they go into the sand.

One more that won't show its ugly head again.

Ready? One, two, three.

Pembrokeshire born Steve Phillips

only has the summer months to offer horse rides to holidaymakers.

The church now - St Mary's -

is the largest Medieval parish church in Wales.

It's open to the public - lovely inside. They keep it immaculate.

Hidden in the centre of town are the old Victorian stables

where Steve keeps and cares for his Shire horses, Major Tom and Mr Ed.

Cleaning his feet out,

obviously we try and minimise

the amount of muck we take out on to the street.

It also gives us the chance

to check the horse's feet and how his shoes are doing.

Obviously the cobbles take it out of the shoes.

As with any business that relies on the tourist trade,

the summer is absolutely key for us.

The sort of second half of July and all of August

is when the visitor numbers rocket in Tenby

and really you sort of stand or fall by how you do in that time.

It's so established that I get people coming up to me and saying,

"Oh, I've been coming to Tenby since 1973

"and it's always been here."

Well, it hasn't but it's been that well established,

that it's just part of Tenby.

The number of people that have come up to me saying,

"I'm so glad you've taken it on,

"it wouldn't be Tenby without the horse."

Time for Mr Ed to hit the streets for the evening shift.

It's also evening service

for Summer Spectacular organiser Dave Douglas Law.

Dinner, please.

Wood pigeon.

He's having to juggle the event in the harbour

whilst keeping his restaurant open for holidaymakers.

I think everybody in the town

looks forward to these six weeks because that's what, you know...

We've got six weeks to do a year's worth of trade,

so it's a lot of pressure

but touching wood it's going well over the summer so,

if we keep it up, it should make the winter easier.

Business may be Dave's priority

but so is the grand finale of the Round Table event.

You see people standing at the top there so that's a good sign.

And now the rain's stopped,

hopefully they'll hang about for the spectacular.

So, er, it's sounding good anyway.

Back down the harbour,

PCs Lewis and Thomas are drinking in the atmosphere.

The lads group dancing.

Always better for the band when there's a large audience.

All smiling faces - hopefully.

-I'm just keeping an eye on things here.

-Yeah.

Earlier, some boys were up here and were chucking cans down, so, er,

we're keeping an eye on things now.

The bin's supplied. We supplied the bin for you.

Nice and easy. Good. Thank you.

Service is in full swing at the wedding reception.

This is young chef Phil's 25th function this year at the hotel.

We need a veg for six.

Normal six veg.

When you see the dining room,

it makes you proud to cook for them people.

You can see there's love gone into the dining room

so you want to make a little bit more effort

within the kitchen.

That's good. Say yes for me please.

-Yes.

-Yes.

Everything's gone smoothly and both Samantha and Darren have enjoyed it.

You can tell.

-It's been fantastic.

-It's been brilliant.

We couldn't have asked for it to go better.

It's been flawless - it's been perfect.

And for Phil the chef?

A bit fast but it went well.

A few little hiccups there but it went well. Quick!

The boys did really well - seeing as we didn't have Paul and Griff,

the normal two chefs but, yeah, it went really, really well.

I'm proud of them. They've done really, really well today.

At Tenby's refuse depot,

Ron is about to unload all of today's pickings from the beaches.

-What are you doing tonight?

-I'm doing nothing.

I'm going to sleep!

It's a lovely job.

Who wouldn't want my job?! You don't feel like you're coming to work.

I'm tired now. I've had enough now.

I want to finish now. I want to retire.

I'm 60 next month, so...

It's tiring on your legs.

And carrying these bags in and out all the time.

My back's a bit iffy and my arms are a bit iffy.

-So...

-Wouldn't you miss it?

No, because it's always here, isn't it?

I can come and sit on the beach any time and watch somebody else do it.

And think, "They're not doing that properly!"

But that would be the problem if you left.

But, um, I'm hoping to finish this year

but whether they'll let me or not is a different matter.

As the evening draws to a close,

it's time for the grand finale of Dave's Summer Spectacular.

A lot of families coming down

especially for this last 10-15 minutes.

They'll stay away

but then they know how good the fireworks are.

We've got 11 minutes, something like that.

It's been a long day. Nearly the end of a long day.

So far, the event has been trouble free.

But PC Lewis has been called to a sudden emergency.

Can you all clear the street, please? There's an ambulance coming through.

Clear the street. Can you go on the pavement, please, girls?

Can you all clear on to the pavement?

14-year-old intoxicated female.

-Fallen over a bit.

-Has someone collapsed?

-Somebody's collapsed.

-Is it down on the beach?

With alcohol. No assaults, no assaults.

Looking back, we can see the state that some youngsters have got into.

Whilst we thought everything was going well,

they are secretly drinking and getting into states.

In the back of the ambulance here,

we can see the poor 14-year-old, who is out for the count.

Luckily, this has taken place slightly off main focus,

which is helpful.

Go on, Ed, you know what you're getting.

Ed, you know where you go. Ed, Ed!

Noisy celebrations are a concern to horseman Steve Phillips.

He's worried they may upset Mr Ed and Major Tom.

Tonight, it's the fireworks down at the harbour.

And, because of that,

I'm in the stable a little bit later than normal.

Just to make sure the horses are all right

and don't get overly frightened.

I'll stay with them all the way through,

just to make sure they're OK

and don't do themselves a mischief.

It's only really four or five times in the summer it goes on.

So it's not worth taking the chance really.

And also the additional people it brings in for the town.

It's well worth it.

I think all the businesses benefit.

The town was packed today, which was great.

Dave and his Round Table colleagues

have raised thousands of pounds for charity.

Now all he has to worry about

is those fireworks going off with a bang,

and savouring the moment with his wife, Steph.

Please, please, please, please...

One, two, here we go!

-Here we go!

-Wahey!

FIREWORKS EXPLODE

All right, Tom. All right. All right.

Ed hasn't moved from his hay net.

He's very, very upset.

I want to keep him at the door now.

I don't want him moving about the stable.

It's finished, anyway, boy!

FIREWORKS EXPLODE

I can't be interested in the fireworks.

I've got to be watching the crowd.

Brilliant, fantastic!

I'm well pleased.

I'm very proud of him, really proud of him.

I can't believe he can do this but he can't do the washing up at home.

Next time on Tenby 24/7,

brother Jonathan and Matthew make some heavenly chocolate

on Caldey Island.

The monks actually made this.

You go away and pray for an hour,

-you come back and the chocolate can be ruined.

-And a load on this one.

Dai The Boot is on the money at the Sea Bass Festival.

Right, we'll start at 10. Give me 10 anywhere? 20.

And the Tenby RNLI are busy saving lives at sea.

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