GOODBYE FROM HIM

A few days ago Google 'improved' the Blogger service and, as a result, it no longer works properly. I have decided to close the blog at this point which is, in any case, only a few weeks short of the intended termination date.

The answer to Quiz Question  # 79 was Maes Cefndy, and the answer to # 80 was Thorpe Street. Jane Shuttle and The Great Gareth finished as co-leaders with 26 wins each, Sue Handley was in 3rd place with 21 wins, Dorothy Jones and Richard & Ceri Swinney were next with 20. Congratulations everybody!

My thanks go to all the other players in the quiz and to the very many contributors of pictures and information. The purpose of the blog was to stimulate public interest in Rhyl; I believe that it succeeded. Now it’s time to move on. Cheerio everyone and thanks again!

Colin Jones, 11 Plas y Brenin, Rhyl, LL18 1LZ, Wales, UK

My phone number for calls and texts is: 07963 359 349
If you are outside the UK the number is: +44 7963 359 349

The email address is: rhyl.colin.jones@live.co.uk

Please click here to see my Rhyl video clips on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=takethetube9010+%2B+rhyl&aq=f

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SUSIE LIDDLE

Susie Liddle is a member of RhylCreate, a consortium of local artists and craftspeople. Susie is from Sale, Cheshire (now part of Greater Manchester) and has been in North Wales since 1971.

She has trained in various aspects of creating and teaching art. She gained a Foundation Degree in Art & Design at Llandrillo College and continues to train for a professional print-maker’s qualification.

Susie is a multimedia artist; she does screen printing, print-making, ceramics, paper cutting, cyanotype and painting. One of the many threads in her work is a Victorian influence as shown below.

She is based at the Regional Print Centre in Wrexham and often has items on sale at RhylCreate’s Gallery 36, 36 Kinmel Street, Rhyl, and Scala, Prestatyn, and other places. Here are more work samples:

Susie Liddle can be contacted by email: susielid@aol.com or by mobile phone 07787 567 892. Please click here to see her blog:

http://susieliddle.wordpress.com

and/or here for her Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=554554585&ref=ts

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ODDS AND ENDS

Click on any image to see a bigger version.

These pictures were received some time ago. They are postcards from the collection of Ann Hayes.

The one at the top would be another scene from the legendary ‘Sunny Rhyl’s June Carnival 1929’ which has been the subject of previous posts. It was published by J Smailes & Son Press Photographers of Grosvenor Avenue.

The soldiers card was published by Mr & Mrs Jno Williams of Rhyl. Ann says, “I hope they weren't real soldiers as they look very young to me. The postmark is not clear but the period must be around World War 1.”

Finally, a card showing St Thomas’ Church, Russell Road, the parish church where Ann was christened. She went to Sunday school there in the 1950s.

Nice pix! Thanks, Ann.

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QUIZ QUESTION # 80

This photograph was taken last month in Rhyl by Yours Truly. Right of the centre of picture is a street name blanked out. The question is:
What is the missing name?

No second tries accepted!

The closing date is Tuesday 28th September 2010 at 12 noon and the result will be published on this site the day afterwards. Please send your answer by email to:
rhyl.colin.jones@live.co.uk

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QUIZ QUESTION # 79

This photograph was taken last month in Rhyl by Yours Truly. The question is:
What is the name of the street in which I was standing?

No second tries accepted!

The closing date is Tuesday 28th September 2010 at 12 noon and the result will be published on this site the day afterwards. Please send your answer by email to:
rhyl.colin.jones@live.co.uk

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A HIGH TIME

This picture is from Rhyl History Club Community Archive; please click on it if you wish to see a bigger version. The caption says Rhyl High School Sixth Form 1975. Of the girls sitting, Vanessa Nash is fifth from the left. I wonder who else have we here. Come on, own up! Send your confession by email to:
rhyl.colin.jones@live.co.uk

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QUIZ ANSWER # 78

Last Wednesday's quiz was as follows:

Q: Is this Tom Wood and his Merrie Men, E.H. Williams’ Merrie Men or Gilbert Rogers Jovial Jesters?

A: Gilbert Rogers Jovial Jesters. They appeared in summer seasons from 1907 until the 1920s on the minstrel pitch which was on the sands opposite High Street. They were the longest-running troupe to perform there. The photo was taken within the enclosure and is dated 1914.

Q: Near the middle of the picture is a street sign blanked out. What is the missing name?

A: Eastville Avenue.

Q: Where in Rhyl would you find this scene?

A: You would be looking underneath the Vale Road Bridge (Alexandra Bridge) from the bus station side.

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This week the following readers score a win for each correct answer:
Dave Rowlands THREE WINS
Dorothy Jones THREE WINS
Jane Shuttle THREE WINS
Richard & Ceri Swinney THREE WINS
Sue Handley TWO WINS
The Great Gareth TWO WINS

For the first time we have two co-leaders running neck and neck!
24 Jane Shuttle
24 The Great Gareth
19 Sue Handley
18 Dorothy Jones
18 Richard & Ceri Swinney

Geoff Hughes, Pauline Hammans and The Legendary Lloyd & Kerry have all achieved double-figure scores. Comparatively new players Dave Rowlands and Wayne Chadwick are making rapid progress.

This is getting exciting!

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PRE-WAR MULTIVIEWS

The postcard at the top is dated 1921 and was sent from Mabel who was staying with Mrs Bromley, High Street, Rhyl, to a friend in Didsbury. It begins intriguingly: Dear Agnes, We did not go to Birmingham yesterday but Father drove us to Rhyl instead . . .

The card in the middle has an unclear postmark; the date would be around the same time or perhaps a tad earlier. It was written in pencil by E.C. at 28 Victoria Road, Rhyl, and sent to Mother in Macclesfield.

The final one is dated 1938 and was sent from W.B. in Rhyl to Miss Jenkins of Kensington, London, remarking on the lovely sands in Rhyl. I like to think that Miss Jenkins was adventurous enough to come eventually and see for herself.

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POST-WAR MULTIVIEWS

Click on any image to see a bigger version.

Here is another trio of multiview cards. The black-and-white is postmarked 1959 and was sent from Helen in Rhyl to Elsie in West Malvern, Worcs.

The one featuring girl in the Welsh hat and shawl is unposted but someone has written 1961 on the back. The colours may not be real. Pavilion with light green dome? Hmmmm.

The final card is unposted and undated. Seaquarium (top left and right) opened in 1992 and Ocean Beach Fun Fair (bottom left) closed in 2007. Let’s call it mid-to-late 1990s and be damned.

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QUIZ QUESTION # 78

At the top is a picture of entertainers on Rhyl sands. The question:
(a) Is it Tom Wood and his Merrie Men, E. H. Williams’ Merrie Men
or Gilbert Rogers’ Jovial Jesters?
If you don’t know the answer, have a guess – you’ve got a 1 in 3 chance of being right!

In the centre is a photograph taken last month in Rhyl by Yours Truly. Near the middle of the picture is a street sign blanked out.
The question:
(b) What is the missing name?

Finally there is another photo taken this month. The question:
(c) Where in Rhyl would you find this scene?

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If you get (a), (b) or (c) right you score ONE WIN.
If you get two right you score TWO WINS.
If you get all three right you score THREE WINS.

No second tries accepted!

The closing date is Tuesday 21st September 2010 at 12 noon and the result will be published on this site the day afterwards. Please send your answers by email to:
rhyl.colin.jones@live.co.uk

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IT'S ABOUT TIME # 1

It’s about time we had another World War 2 item on this blog.

Mr J. H. ‘Lippy’ Lipman who ran a jewellery shop in High Street has cropped up in previous posts. The picture above includes the man himself; he is the dapper gent in the foreground on far right. The photograph, which shows locals meeting Polish refugee children at Rhyl Railway Station, is from the collection of Peter Trehearn.

Lippy was known as ‘The Wire King’. He had a jewellery shop in town and a kiosk on the prom opposite Queen Street where he would cleverly bend wire into names or pictures, and create bespoke jewellery at great speed before your very eyes.

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IT'S ABOUT TIME # 2

It’s about time we had more sport on this blog, so at the top is a 1960s soccer team pic sent by Les Williams. Can anyone pinpoint the date? The caption says:
Gele Athletic, who consolidated their position at the top of the Dyserth Area by beating the champions, Rhyl Wanderers, 2-1 at the Coronation Gardens, Rhyl, on Saturday. Left to right, back row: W. Miller, trainer; J. Whitney, S. Brewerton, H. Williams, M. McGregor, K. Lamb, M. Snelson, J. Gizzi; front: T. Roberts, J. Jones, J. Holt, A. Jones and B. Morris.

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Also pictured is Randolph ‘Randy’ Turpin (born 1928, died 1966) who was one of Europe’s leading Middleweight boxers of the 1940s and 1950s. He was no stranger to Rhyl having been based for a while at Gwrych Castle, Abergele, where he trained with helpers from Rhyl.

In 1951 in London, Randy beat Sugar Ray Robinson and won the world title; suddenly he became a national hero and some of his glory rubbed off on North Wales. For details of his career and tragic end please click here: http://randyturpin.com/

George Owen is still looking for a film made about Randy Turpin at Gwrych; the soundtrack includes a recording by a local children's choir. If you have information about the film please send an email to:
rhyl.colin.jones@live.co.uk

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QUIZ ANSWER # 77

Last Wednesday I posted a bigger version of the photo above and asked: In what street would you find this doorway? The answer is Wellington Road. It is the doorway to flats at No.9 Wellington Road
as shown below.


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Also I posted a bigger version of the following picture in which a street sign has been blanked out and asked: What is the missing name?

The answer is Olinda Street.

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The winners:
ONE WIN for Wayne Chadwick (Wayne’s 7th win) and TWO WINS for Dave Rowlands (total 6 wins), Dorothy Jones (15 wins), Jane Shuttle (21 wins), Richard & Ceri Swinney (15 wins), Sue Handley (17 wins) and The Great Gareth (still leading with 22 wins).

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SAVED

These pictures of Bath Street Methodist Church and Epworth Lodge next door were taken this week by Yours Truly.

Julie Roberts writes: "The buildings have been bought by Rhyl Christian Spiritualist Church with help from the Spiritualists’ National Union. We are naming the church Rhyl Spiritual Centre and hoping to have services from Sunday 19th September 2010. A lot of work needed doing on the place but it is still beautiful. We are looking to rent out Epworth Lodge."

Thanks for the info, Julie. Good to see nice old buildings coming back into use instead of being knocked down and lost forever.

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SIGNS OF TIMES

The Conserberal government in Westminster has a Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. He is Eric Pickles who is a Conservative MP for an Essex constituency. One of his first acts in office was to urge councils to stop blighting towns with unnecessary signs and other street clutter.

A couple of days ago I watched in awe as a team of Denbighshire council workmen erected signs, one at the entrance to Rhyl bus station and one in the middle of the station, telling bus drivers to SLOW DOWN.

Those came in addition to Denbighshire council signs shown above.

Signs that state the obvious are insulting; signs that are unclear in their meaning are frustrating; and a proliferation of signs can seem oppressive. It is amazing that councillors and staff have been sitting around tables authorising the things for years without ever seeing them for what they are – a kind of pollution.

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On the other hand, decorating public places can improve the environment. The photograph below shows a mural in the bus station. The design incorporates the old Pavilion and the pier with wind turbines to the left and Skytower to the right. The mural brightens up a blank wall, although I am disappointed to find that there are no plans to make it more colourful.

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QUIZ QUESTION # 77

These photographs were taken during the last couple of weeks in Rhyl by Yours Truly.

The upper photo shows a doorway decorated by tiles. The question:
(a) In what street would you find this doorway?

The lower picture includes a street sign on which the name has been blanked out. The question:
(b) What is the missing name?

If you get (a) or (b) right you score a WIN.
If you get both right you score TWO WINS.

No second tries accepted!

The closing date is Tuesday 14th September 2010 at 12 noon and the result will be published on this site the day afterwards. Please send your answers by email to:
rhyl.colin.jones@live.co.uk

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THE SKYTOWER

The Skytower opened on Rhyl promenade in 1989. It had originated at a garden festival in Scotland; we bought it for around £825,000 (not a bad price bearing in mind we’ve had 21 years of use so far). The revolving cabin rises to a height of about 240 feet/73 metres.

The following photographs were sent by George Owen. They were taken by John Price during the erecting of the tower. John is an ex-Pilkingtons employee who went to work for a small local plant hire company. The pictures are unique; we’ve never seen them before.

Click on any image to see a bigger version.

And to bring us up to date, here is a photo taken in April 2010 by Yours Truly:

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QUIZ ANSWER # 76

Last Wednesday I posted this picture of Queens Hotel, West Parade, and posed the question:
What would be the nearest date: 1900, 1905, 1910 or 1915?

The answer: 1900
because from 1902-1907 the Queen’s Arcade (the shopping arcade part of the ill-fated Queen Palace development) would be on the right-hand side of the hotel instead of Connah's. The fuzzy old pic below, which has the hotel's gables on the left, illustrates the point.

After the Queen’s Palace fire of 1907, the row of buildings was quite swiftly repaired and restored to height (without the dome) and there was no intermediate period during which a single-storey Connah’s could have been created.

Seems odd to think that the business could be hiring out motor cars as early as 1900, but local historian the late J. W. Jones (Joe Swan) noted that Rhyl had its first motor car in 1898.

The winners: Dave Rowlands who has chalked up his 4th win in a very short time, and Jane Shuttle who now has 19 wins and is only one step behind the leader The Great Gareth.

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QUIZ ANSWER # 75

Last Wednesday I posted larger versions of these photos of an old shed and interesting sign above its door. The question:
In what street would you see the building?

The answer: Kingsley Avenue.

The winners: Dorothy Jones (13th win), Sue Handley (15th win) and The Great Gareth (20th win).

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RHYL HIGH STREET, PAST & PRESENT

These and some other photos and postcards of High Street (20 in all) have been turned into a slideshow by Yours Truly and uploaded to a YouTube channel that I run under the name takethetube9010.

If you would like to see the slideshow please click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYzFW9pyc9w

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PLAY TIME

The big picture is from Rhyl History Club Community Archive. It shows a 1964/65 production of a play at Christchurch School, Vaughan Street. The play was ‘Heir To The Kingdom’ written by Deputy Head Phyllis Owen. The scenery is by Ken Williams and the assembled are as follows:

Sitting in front: Andrew Smith and Vicki Massey.

Standing (left to right): Brian Jones, Linda Davies, Jane Worrall, Don’t know half-hidden, Susan Hunt, Don’t know half-hidden, Bridget Anderson, Rhiannon Hughes (now a Denbighshire county councillor), Christine Morgan, Maggi Reading (now Maggi Blythin, Sec of Rhyl History Club), Sian Simons, Margaret Hapgood and Stuart O’Hara.

In the detail (l to r): Bridget, Rhiannon, Christine and Maggi.

Information from Maggi: The school moved to its present premises (formerly Glyndwr Secondary Modern) in Ernest Street in 1974 and the Vaughan Street building was demolished two years later. A British Telecom (BT) exchange stands there now.

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Facebook members please note that there is group named
CHRIST CHURCH PRIMARY SCHOOL RHYL NORTH WALES

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QUIZ QUESTION # 76

The colour photograph above was taken this week by Yours Truly and shows the two gables of the building that used to be Queens Hotel in West Parade, not far from the top of High Street.

The handsome old postcard of the hotel is not dated but the picture provides one or two clues. So the question is:
What would be the nearest date: 1900, 1905, 1910 or 1915?

If you don’t know, have a guess anyway – you’ve got a 1 in 4 chance of being right! No second tries accepted!

The closing date is Tuesday 7th September 2010 at 12 noon and the names of the winners will appear this site the day afterwards. Please send your answer by email to:
rhyl.colin.jones@live.co.uk

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