24/12/2013 Newyddion 9

as the bad weather continues to cause problems across Britain. Many

parts of Wales are suffering. The south and mid Wales have been worst

hit. Roads have been closed and ferry and train services have also

been cancelled. Huw Foulkes reports. From Monmouthshire to Ceredigion,

the damage caused by the water is clear. Overnight, the West Wales

Fire Service was called out almost 70 times to deal with flooding. In

Carmarthen, the level of the River Tywi was higher than usual. In

Llandysul, water was pumped out of buildings on Bridge Street this

morning. There is a slope behind the houses and the water comes in

through the walls. We are pumping water out of these buildings.

Monmouthshire, the owners of The Fountain pub in Llanishen were

busier than usual on Christmas Eve, not preparing for customers but

clearing the damage after a stream overflowed last night. The work of

clearing the damage has started in the pub and sandbags are being used

as defences to prevent water going into the building. The owners are

hoping to hold events during Christmas. They will reopen in a

couple of hours. There were few problems in north Wales last night

but a postmortem examination has been carried out on the body of a

woman discovered in Nant Ffrancon near Bethesda yesterday afternoon.

The death is not being treated as suspicious. Three other people have

died in England due to the bad weather, including a man in Devon

who jumped into a river to rescue his dog. There were problems for

travellers again today. Part of the railway near Machynlleth was closed

after a tree fell on the line. Many roads have been closed, mainly in

the south-east. And the old Severn Bridge was closed in both

directions. Irish Ferries services from Holyhead and Pembrokeshire were

also cancelled. Train services have been affected across Britain and due

to problems with the electricity supply at Gatwick Airport, a number

of flights were cancelled. Things will improve over Christmas but on

Thursday we are expecting watering overnight and river levels will

rise. There's little hope of a white Christmas, but more rain is

expected. Members of the Fire Brigades Union

will go on strike this evening for five hours between 7.00pm and

midnight. It's the latest in a series of strikes in a dispute over

working conditions and pensions. According to the Westminster

government, the strike proves the union is not serious about finding a

solution. In Russia, the authorities have

dropped the charges against a number of Greenpeace campaigners. 30

members of the organisation held a protest on an oil rig in the Arctic.

Among them were five Britons, including the Welshman Anthony

Perrett from Newport. This has been a big year for

Cardigan Castle but next year will be even more important. �11 million

has been spent on the site to bring 900 years of history alive. Aled

Scourfield has had a preview of the work, to see the place where the

National Eisteddfod was born. Over 800 years ago, it is possible

that Welsh soldiers looked at the same view as the sun rose. And that

history is being recreated, slate by slate. Very little of the original

stone castle has survived but this tower dates from the 12th century.

As you can see, some specialist work has been carried out to restore the

roof. It is not a perfect circle when you look down at it. That has

caused some problems. We have tried to recreate the profile of the roof.

The slates get smaller as you go up. But they become so small, they can

cause problems. This was the scene at Cardigan Castle before the work

started a year ago. It was an old ruin and old steel pillars held up

the outer wall. They were removed, to the relief of local people. It is

hoped the site will be open next year. We will open in 2014 but they

have been challenges in terms of the roof and the restaurant. There is

still work to be done but we will open from 2014. There will be a

5-star hotel here and a restaurant. I will offer at National Eisteddfod

experienced based on the original chairing ceremony 800 years ago.

What will be exciting is that they will be dressed as members of the

Gorsedd. Local volunteers have been raising money to fund the scheme and

they are only �20,000 short. 2014 will be a big year for the castle.

Football, and Swansea defender Ben Davies has signed a one-year

contract extension with the club. There was speculation that he would

sign for another Premiership club, but the 20-year-old fullback, who

has won nine caps for Wales, is committed to the Swans for another

three full seasons. How much have you spent this

Christmas? On average, families will spend over �800 - over �50 more than

last year. As the pressure on people with low incomes increases, Elen Wyn

went to visit a family in the north-east to find out how they

cope. Here are Sian, Gareth, Tara, Dion

and Tomi from Denbigh and they're looking forward to Christmas. Sian

works full-time as a teaching assistant and Christmas is a time of

celebration but also of concern. don't want the children to see that

we are worried. We wanted to be a nice time. Do you worry about money?

I do, so I try to do things throughout the year like collect

stamps for food shopping and I have been saving vouchers, �30 a month,

which is �300, but I spent that in one day immediately. And I did not

feel like I got much for my money. According to a recent survey, the

average family will spend �822 this Christmas. That's around �54 more

than last year. Almost �600 on presents and �180 on food. But those

on lower incomes spend less. Sian Alwena has made a few changes this

year to save money. We have asked friends whether they mind if we

don't buy Christmas presents and just do birthday presents instead.

Everyone welcomed that because it is so expensive. I have cut down a lot.

But it is still expensive. I am sure Father Christmas will treat the

kids. Speaking of the man himself, Dion and Tomi are ready for him.

What do you do on Christmas Eve? go to bed very early. They will