THIS IS THE BLOG OF COLIN JONES, RHYL TOWN COUNCILLOR: BODFOR WARD
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The opinions expressed in this blog are entirely my own and not the views of the town council.
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Shown above are basket chairs that first appeared on Rhyl sands in the 1910s. They were heavy, high-seated, hood-backed chairs which offered shelter on three sides. You could face away from the wind and stand a chance of reading your newspaper without the pages blowing away and eat a sandwich without getting it covered with sand.
You will see that the figures in the picture are fully dressed; it was regarded as most improper for adults or children to disrobe in public in those days. Not so forty years later when Yours Truly as a small boy dragged the chairs around and tried to topple them over. A favourite trick was to put two basket chairs face-to-face and sit inside as if hiding in a shell.
The chairs were carted away by council workers at the end of the day and were back early next morning as if brought by the tooth fairy.
The basket chairs were sometimes known as 'sand chairs'. Below are more images. The first two would be 1910s/'20s; the third would be post-WW2.
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