You know the town has a PR problem when it needs to catch fire. In 1984, my home town of Barry made the evening news with the The Dock Offices burned down. Even without TV coverage, I could see the fire from my bedroom window. I don’t remember the exact reaction to the show, but I definitely didn’t say “what’s going on?”, because that part of Barry’s famous speech wouldn’t be found for almost 20 years.
As the cameras captured the flames flickering around the nearby industrial estate David DaviesBarry’s own Jebediah Springfield seemed symbolic. It was Davies who, fueled by a grudge against coal magnates from nearby Cardiff, turned Barry from a few scattered huts into a vibrant town. By 1913, it was the world’s largest exporter of coal. However, in the 20th century he languished in near anonymity.
All that changed in 2007 when Gavin & Stacey aired for the first time on the BBC. The warm-hearted sitcom, written by Ruth Jones and starring James Corden, became a runaway success, spawning hateful charity spins and outlandish adaptations and propelling Corden toward Hollywood. A Christmas The special in 2019 drew in 18 million viewers, and this year’s length of the final appearance is suitable to overcome.
For the usual invisibility expat, the sight of the opening credits was surreal – you can literally see the end of my road. Every day, as a child, I return to St. Trinity, where Stacius Occidentus and his family live, swinging the handrails against the lunatics step by step. Suddenly Barrius stood up. If I speak English now, they know exactly where Barry is: the first two 10 words they type will be “Stacey” and “Gavin”. for that was very pleasing to Barrian.
And it is not surprising to the sea merchants of Barry Island Gavin & Stacey jumped on the bandwagon. Mark’s cafe, a filming location, was set up with wooden cutouts to air with the set. SH Entertainments, where Nessa Jones works as a cashier (and where I spent one summer as a bingo caller), is called Nessa slots. The bus trips, cleverly marked by Coach Dave, after the character on the show, were packed. The tourist shop on Paget Road still does a decent trade in tea towels, t-shirts and shot glasses bearing the likeness of Nessa and her catchphrases “O!” and “What shall I meet?” Gavin & Stacey isn’t the only show made in Barry – a lot of Being Human is filmed there – but, with all due respect, no Russell Tovey is selling tea towels.
The show is not without criticism. Some locals feel an element of Jones and Coaster Rob Brydon, both raised in the Porthcawl clash, poke fun at the rougher and more workmanlike Barry. Although spread around the fringes of affluent suburbs, Barry retains a blue-collar flavor: the only major employer, on the outskirts of Palmerstown, is the dystopian chemical plant Dow Chemical (adds to the Springfield/Simpsons comparison).
There is also the question of how accurately Gavin & Stacey portrays the town. Most of the Barrians were cheerful, simple, and happy with their lot. But what? was his lot? For much of the postwar period, there was one decline. I would live for a time Musa geest boats the incoming coal was better known than the outgoing coal ships. The docks are now almost dead, and optimistically characterized as a marina, while Holton Road, once a busy retail hub, is now a ghastly wasteland of vape outlets and charity shops.
Nonummy time, it was said that it was said nonummy through the throat. At its height, photographers could take a snap on Barry Island on a summer’s day and not see the sands of the fingers for the heaviest human bodies, lured by Pleasure Park and, since 1966, Butlin’s. But that trade was hit by the rise of cheap foreign travel, and within 30 years Butlin’s was demolished, replaced by a residential estate. The island never really recovered. There have been willingly self-conscious attempts to rescind the town of “Barrybados,” but some of the more cynical residents, aware of its harsh reputation, prefer “Basra.”
It was in sight a place to grow well, plenty to do: a film, an annual carnival, even a pitch and a race course. But now, where the Theater Royal, Barry’s last film, once stood, is a house of care, the carnival was abandoned years ago and the pitch and putt have been disbanded. Barry is fast becoming a sleepy town rather than a lively port. Only the flood-prone soil around Dinas Powys prevents Cardiff from being fully absorbed.
You wouldn’t know this from Gawin & Staci. But it’s not a job to be nice, like a sitcom. And the grass is green: Barry’s got his own station, Bro Radio. The festivals are: Cadstock, Friendship Tree, and Glastonbury. It’s also Barry’s pride. The estate’s development has delivered hipster-friendly boutiques, a food court and a vintage shop. Barry City United, a Phoenix fan club, is back in the Cymru Premier. Something finally happened.
By the end of Christmas, we’ll know if Smithy said so, and finally what happened on the fishing trip. What we don’t see, one suspects, is a lot of what has happened in Barry since 2007. And that’s fine. Gavin & Stacey Barry put it on paper in a way that a burning Victorian building never could, and cast a precious and enduring life in the city’s industry. That’s all we can say thank you very much to that