International Vibes – Japan meets Italy in Wales. The Land of Song – Sunday 3rd September 2023

Words and Pictures – Helen Hunter Welsh Chapter Coordinator

I hadn’t long become coordinator of the Wales Chapter of the Figaro Owners Club when someone – I really can’t remember who – asked if a trip to Portmeirion in north Wales could be arranged.

After the initial shock, as this was to be my first time organising such an event, I set about contacting the relevant people at Portmeirion. At this point of course I had no idea how many cars would be likely to attend.

The person I needed to speak to, Meurig Jones, had just left for a 3-week holiday so I felt thwarted right at the start. When I eventually managed to speak to him he was so very friendly and helpful and explained that there had been car club meets at Portmeirion in the past and that arrangements could be made for us to drive through the village for a photo shoot. Having been to Portmeirion about five years ago I was thrilled as I knew this could be a very special day and a great privilege for The Figaro Owners’ group. I settled on 3 September 2023 as that would be the last day on which the brass band would be playing and felt this would be a lovely way to set off our visit. Meurig suggested we take lunch at Castell Deudraeth as it meant we could drive our cars thereafter the photos shoot and park immediately in front of the Castell – another fabulous photo opportunity.

I had no idea how to advertise this event but with Kevin’s kind assistance, it was announced on the Figaro website. In no time at all I had quite a few names of those club members who wished to attend. It was good to make contact with people whose names I had read on the forums and to find that, despite my worries, everyone was very supportive.

I contacted Adam Woods of Figaro Smiles whom I’d met briefly at the 30th Birthday Party, as I knew he had organised events and could, possibly, give me advice. Adam was really helpful and made useful suggestions for the day. He also offered to donate some Figaro Smiles items as I intended to do a free, fun raffle on the day.

Initially, the drive through the village and photo shoot was supposed to be after lunch but about two weeks prior to the event I was contacted by someone at Portmeirion to say it would now take place prior to lunch. Fortunately, I hadn’t yet sent out the programme for the day, but felt was a much better itinerary. I had been searching for somewhere for our group to meet and park so that we could drive, in convoy, to Portmeirion but it looked like the only car park of any size would be at Tesco in Porthmadog. Beginning our day at a supermarket car park wasn’t what I had in mind and wouldn’t have provided for the fabulous photos I’d hoped we could take.

Fortunately, Gaynor Leitch emailed me about the event and I discovered that she lived in a very beautiful area overlooking Porthmadog Harbour and alongside the Ffestiniog Railway. She and her partner, Simon, very kindly offered to arrange for us to meet and park there before driving to Portmeirion and informed me about the local cafe where members could get a coffee if they wished. She also knew the route to Portmeirion and offered to lead us there in her gorgeous cherry-red Figgy.

I was now able to email the information to the attendees. A day or so later I was contacted by Portmeirion to say Meurig had offered to take our group on a tour of the village at no extra cost. This was good news – I didn’t have time to send out a revised itinerary but felt the members would appreciate the tour. I was very grateful to the lovely Kate Thomas who emailed me to suggest name badges would be very useful and offered to produce these for everyone.

On the day of the event an early morning heavy mist had descended over Porthmadog, again a beautiful opportunity for a photo overlooking the Harbour. Fortunately, as soon as everyone arrived the mist lifted to a beautiful, sunny day. The lineup of Figgies overlooking Porthmadog Harbour was spectacular. There were 15 cars in all and it was great to meet the owners at last. I was so grateful that members had travelled far and wide to attend the event – Dolly and Dave Webb travelled from Ireland by ferry the day before.

Dave, Dolly’s husband, offered to video during the day and Pete Thomas, Kate’s husband “volunteered” to hold up the traffic to allow our convoy to enter the main street. Gaynor led the convoy in her gorgeous, cherry red Figgy – I travelled with her, my husband Ian taking Gaynor’s partner, Simon.

While Pete was doing his “traffic calming” duty he was approached by someone from Ffestiniog Railway who complained about him holding up traffic illegally. Fortunately, while this guy was talking to Pete, in the middle of the road, the remainder of our cars joined the convoy. Sorry about the possible altercation Pete and thanks for taking your life in your hands by standing in the road to stop traffic and thanks also to Dave for capturing all this on video.

The short journey to Portmeirion went smoothly and we were easily able to park as a group in the main car park at Portmeirion. We attracted quite a few people who were taking photos and videos as we entered the site.

Meurig met our group at the Toll Gate and he proceeded to take us on an excellent, informative and light-hearted tour of the village. He regaled us with stories of where the architect, Sir Clough Williams-Ellis who had the vision for this unusual village, obtained items for the village and the tricks he used to make buildings look larger and more imposing.

He mentioned the many celebrities who had stayed in the village and also told stories about the cult TV programme, The Prisoner, played by Patrick McGoohan which had been filmed there. The scenery is truly spectacular, overlooking the Dwyryd Estuary, the buildings so colourful and quirky with the large chess board in the Piazza. There is something beautiful to see at every turn.

After the tour, Meurig collected a buggy and guided us to a private car park from where he led groups of 4 Figgies through the narrow roads in the village to the Piazza where we were able to take photographs of our fabulous, colourful cars in a wonderful setting. All the while, Dave was travelling on the back of the buggy recording all the cars driving through the village. It really was a privilege to be able to take part in this drive-through.

After the photo shoot, we drove our Figgies up to Castell Deudraeth where the staff had arranged parking for us together as a group. Members had preordered their lunches and the staff had arranged for us to take lunch as a private group in the bright, sunny conservatory. Place names had been left on the tables with details of our lunch choices written inside the cards. It was very well organised. The meals were beautifully presented and very tasty and the service was excellent.

After lunch I held a free raffle with a small gift for everyone who attended, some gifts were Figgy-related, others Wales-related. I had hoped to get some Portmeirion stickers for us to use on our cars but, unfortunately, these are no longer available. The raffle seemed to go well which was a relief. I had written a poem to thank everyone for driving all the way to north Wales, for attending and for their support. I was rather nervous about reading it out, having been retired from teaching for a number of years and was out of practice presenting to a group of people. However, I was ably encouraged by Kate to “go for it”.

Watch my video

To read my poem Click here

After lunch, everyone had free admission to the village to visit at their leisure in the beautiful sunshine. The band played a variety of music to suit everyone, some sat and listened, others took in the views and some enjoyed the shops and cafes.

I was pleased that it was such a memorable day – everything went really smoothly, aided by the efficiency of Portmeirion staff, the wonderful, sunny, hot weather and all our fabulous Figgy friends, a really lovely group of people, some of whom told me they’d like a return visit to north Wales.

Pictures by Helen Hunter, Dolly Webb and Kate and Pete Thomas

Enjoy our picture gallery of the day