Welcome!

Welcome to Phil Mansell's Paperblog Writer Blog.

Monday 21 February 2011

Barry-bound on the trail of Gavin and Stacey

Knowing she's a big fan of  'Gavin and Stacey', we took our Australian friend Adrienne and her husband Rog on a trip to Barry to show them the exotic location where the hit TV series is filmed. 
Caroline, Rog and Adrienne get ready to order
breakfast at Big Dave's Cafe in Barry
Arriving at about 11.30am, we decided to dine out in style at Big Dave's Cafe where we opted for Nessa's Big Breakfast. Lovely grub although the fried eggs looked like the novelty variety you can buy in joke shops.

Adrienne in the booth where Nessa dispenses
cash for the slot machines
 We went on to the seafront - which was remarkably busy despite the freezing February cold. After buying a 'Oh! What's occuring?' fridge magnet, Adrienne was ecstatic when she was allowed to sit in the booth where Nessa dishes out the change in the slots arcade.

Adrienne in seventh heaven outside Gavin & Stacey's house
We braved the cold to play the Smuggler's Cove Adventure Golf course - which Adrienne won, much to her surprise. Then, we drove around searching for the house where 'Stacey' lives - 47 Trinity Road. Finding it, we parked up and took a variety of photos outside. As we were about to leave, the front door opened and a the ovner, Glenda Kenyon, invited us in to look around and take photos. Adrienne nearly exploded with delight.

Glenda is a lovely lady who spends hours every day showing fans of the show round her house - which is full of framed cuttings from newspapers about the show and her house.

Glenda Kenyon, owner of the house where Stacey lives in Barry
She is a great tour guide and told us how 'Gavin and Stacey' came to be filmed there and all about the show's stars. It was an amazing experience - and to top it off we drove to Gavin's house in Billericay, Essex - which is actually a couple of miles away in Barry.
Adrienne and Caroline on Stacey's sofa.
It was an unforgettable day, and Adrienne will be going home to Australia with a story and photos that will amaze her friends.