:00:21. > :00:26.as the bad weather continues to cause problems across Britain. Many
:00:26. > :00:30.parts of Wales are suffering. The south and mid Wales have been worst
:00:30. > :00:34.hit. Roads have been closed and ferry and train services have also
:00:34. > :00:39.been cancelled. Huw Foulkes reports. From Monmouthshire to Ceredigion,
:00:39. > :00:44.the damage caused by the water is clear. Overnight, the West Wales
:00:44. > :00:49.Fire Service was called out almost 70 times to deal with flooding. In
:00:49. > :00:52.Carmarthen, the level of the River Tywi was higher than usual. In
:00:52. > :01:00.Llandysul, water was pumped out of buildings on Bridge Street this
:01:01. > :01:06.morning. There is a slope behind the houses and the water comes in
:01:06. > :01:09.through the walls. We are pumping water out of these buildings.
:01:09. > :01:12.Monmouthshire, the owners of The Fountain pub in Llanishen were
:01:12. > :01:25.busier than usual on Christmas Eve, not preparing for customers but
:01:25. > :01:29.clearing the damage after a stream overflowed last night. The work of
:01:29. > :01:33.clearing the damage has started in the pub and sandbags are being used
:01:33. > :01:41.as defences to prevent water going into the building. The owners are
:01:41. > :01:44.hoping to hold events during Christmas. They will reopen in a
:01:44. > :01:48.couple of hours. There were few problems in north Wales last night
:01:48. > :01:52.but a postmortem examination has been carried out on the body of a
:01:52. > :01:57.woman discovered in Nant Ffrancon near Bethesda yesterday afternoon.
:01:57. > :02:01.The death is not being treated as suspicious. Three other people have
:02:01. > :02:06.died in England due to the bad weather, including a man in Devon
:02:06. > :02:10.who jumped into a river to rescue his dog. There were problems for
:02:10. > :02:15.travellers again today. Part of the railway near Machynlleth was closed
:02:15. > :02:19.after a tree fell on the line. Many roads have been closed, mainly in
:02:19. > :02:22.the south-east. And the old Severn Bridge was closed in both
:02:22. > :02:27.directions. Irish Ferries services from Holyhead and Pembrokeshire were
:02:27. > :02:30.also cancelled. Train services have been affected across Britain and due
:02:30. > :02:40.to problems with the electricity supply at Gatwick Airport, a number
:02:40. > :02:45.of flights were cancelled. Things will improve over Christmas but on
:02:45. > :02:49.Thursday we are expecting watering overnight and river levels will
:02:49. > :02:54.rise. There's little hope of a white Christmas, but more rain is
:02:54. > :02:57.expected. Members of the Fire Brigades Union
:02:57. > :03:02.will go on strike this evening for five hours between 7.00pm and
:03:02. > :03:05.midnight. It's the latest in a series of strikes in a dispute over
:03:05. > :03:08.working conditions and pensions. According to the Westminster
:03:09. > :03:11.government, the strike proves the union is not serious about finding a
:03:11. > :03:15.solution. In Russia, the authorities have
:03:15. > :03:20.dropped the charges against a number of Greenpeace campaigners. 30
:03:20. > :03:23.members of the organisation held a protest on an oil rig in the Arctic.
:03:23. > :03:27.Among them were five Britons, including the Welshman Anthony
:03:27. > :03:32.Perrett from Newport. This has been a big year for
:03:32. > :03:37.Cardigan Castle but next year will be even more important. �11 million
:03:37. > :03:41.has been spent on the site to bring 900 years of history alive. Aled
:03:41. > :03:51.Scourfield has had a preview of the work, to see the place where the
:03:51. > :04:01.National Eisteddfod was born. Over 800 years ago, it is possible
:04:01. > :04:09.that Welsh soldiers looked at the same view as the sun rose. And that
:04:09. > :04:15.history is being recreated, slate by slate. Very little of the original
:04:15. > :04:20.stone castle has survived but this tower dates from the 12th century.
:04:20. > :04:27.As you can see, some specialist work has been carried out to restore the
:04:27. > :04:34.roof. It is not a perfect circle when you look down at it. That has
:04:34. > :04:40.caused some problems. We have tried to recreate the profile of the roof.
:04:40. > :04:47.The slates get smaller as you go up. But they become so small, they can
:04:47. > :04:55.cause problems. This was the scene at Cardigan Castle before the work
:04:55. > :05:03.started a year ago. It was an old ruin and old steel pillars held up
:05:03. > :05:10.the outer wall. They were removed, to the relief of local people. It is
:05:10. > :05:18.hoped the site will be open next year. We will open in 2014 but they
:05:18. > :05:25.have been challenges in terms of the roof and the restaurant. There is
:05:25. > :05:39.still work to be done but we will open from 2014. There will be a
:05:39. > :05:44.5-star hotel here and a restaurant. I will offer at National Eisteddfod
:05:44. > :05:48.experienced based on the original chairing ceremony 800 years ago.
:05:48. > :05:56.What will be exciting is that they will be dressed as members of the
:05:56. > :06:08.Gorsedd. Local volunteers have been raising money to fund the scheme and
:06:08. > :06:10.they are only �20,000 short. 2014 will be a big year for the castle.
:06:10. > :06:13.Football, and Swansea defender Ben Davies has signed a one-year
:06:13. > :06:16.contract extension with the club. There was speculation that he would
:06:16. > :06:20.sign for another Premiership club, but the 20-year-old fullback, who
:06:20. > :06:22.has won nine caps for Wales, is committed to the Swans for another
:06:22. > :06:28.three full seasons. How much have you spent this
:06:28. > :06:36.Christmas? On average, families will spend over �800 - over �50 more than
:06:37. > :06:40.last year. As the pressure on people with low incomes increases, Elen Wyn
:06:40. > :06:45.went to visit a family in the north-east to find out how they
:06:45. > :06:53.cope. Here are Sian, Gareth, Tara, Dion
:06:53. > :06:56.and Tomi from Denbigh and they're looking forward to Christmas. Sian
:06:57. > :07:07.works full-time as a teaching assistant and Christmas is a time of
:07:07. > :07:15.celebration but also of concern. don't want the children to see that
:07:15. > :07:19.we are worried. We wanted to be a nice time. Do you worry about money?
:07:19. > :07:28.I do, so I try to do things throughout the year like collect
:07:28. > :07:34.stamps for food shopping and I have been saving vouchers, �30 a month,
:07:34. > :07:38.which is �300, but I spent that in one day immediately. And I did not
:07:38. > :07:42.feel like I got much for my money. According to a recent survey, the
:07:42. > :07:47.average family will spend �822 this Christmas. That's around �54 more
:07:48. > :07:52.than last year. Almost �600 on presents and �180 on food. But those
:07:52. > :08:01.on lower incomes spend less. Sian Alwena has made a few changes this
:08:01. > :08:06.year to save money. We have asked friends whether they mind if we
:08:06. > :08:12.don't buy Christmas presents and just do birthday presents instead.
:08:12. > :08:18.Everyone welcomed that because it is so expensive. I have cut down a lot.
:08:18. > :08:27.But it is still expensive. I am sure Father Christmas will treat the
:08:27. > :08:34.kids. Speaking of the man himself, Dion and Tomi are ready for him.
:08:34. > :08:38.What do you do on Christmas Eve? go to bed very early. They will