QUIZ QUESTION # 94

The picture below is part of a photo that I took this year in Rhyl.

The question: In what street/road/avenue/whatever was I standing?

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The picture below is from a card postmarked 1985 showing East Parade.

On the far right is the Woolworth building (now B&M) and next door is the former Brookes' White Rose Garage.

At the time this picture was taken, the garage was operated by a Rover dealer whose name has been blanked out by your crafty blogger.

The question: What is the dealer’s name?

You are looking for one word of 12 letters.

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You would score one win for the right answer to the where-was-I-standing, and/or one for the dealer’s name, making a possible total of two wins!

You have until the end of Saturday 6th June 2015 to send your entry.

Second tries not accepted.

The result will be published on Sunday 7th June 2015 around Midday.

Colin Jones / email: rhyl.colin.jones@live.co.uk

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QUIZ ANSWER # 93

Last Sunday I posted the above photos taken by Yours Truly.

The question: In what street/road/avenue was I standing?

The answer: Epworth Road.

I was standing in Epworth Road with my back to Ffordd Derwen, photographing the entrances to Gurnard Place (picture on your left) and Merton Place.

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On the same day I posted seven statements marked A to G.

The question: Which TWO of the statements were false.

The answer: C and E.

C - Church Street was called Westminster Street. No! This is false, but a long time ago it was called Sea Street.

E - Marsh Road was sometimes known as Tip Lane. Rubbish! I made it up, but Marsh Road was sometimes known as Parsons Lane.

The statements that are true came from a Rhyl History Club document in files of the late Glyn Rees.

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With one win for getting the photos answer right, and one for each false statement, the scores are:
Richard & Ceri Swinney 2, The Great Gareth 3, Jane Shuttle 1 and Sue Handley 2.

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MELVIS WHITE

The above picture appeared in a previous post. It is a still from old home movie sequence filmed outside Rhyl Pavilion in 1960 showing members of the resident circus. The blonde on the left with an attractive toothy grin has been revealed as Melvis White, identified by her daughter Melanie Robinson who writes:

“My Mum Melvis White was born in Wales and then lived in Liverpool from a teenager. She was a singer and was in panto, and then in the circus at Rhyl Pavilion in 1960. She also sang at the Pavilion on the variety nights. After her stint in Rhyl she sang all over the North of England then later in London where she met my Dad and they formed a duo then later a band.”

In the following photo Melvis White is shown outside the Pavilion in the dance troupe called The Digger Pugh Girls. She is standing far right:

Melanie continues:
“Digger Pugh and his wife trained girls to be dancers. My Mum went along to a class to learn a few steps and they asked her to join the circus in Rhyl, so she did. She stayed in a guest house with the other girls and loved it.
     "She said the circus was like a big family to her. She sang at the Pavilion before the big acts came on. She did the one season. Digger Pugh wanted her to stay on as head dancer but she wanted to sing more than dance so she went off to sing instead.” 

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Readers, I am delighted to report that Melvis White is alive and well and living in London. My thanks to Melanie Robinson for getting in touch and supplying the sepia photo - I love it !

The Digger Pugh Girls are on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Digger-Pugh-Girls/177649202290810
and on their own website:
http://www.diggerpughgirls.freeserve.co.uk/

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CHANGING STYLES

Now for another unexpected gem from files of the late Glyn Rees. It is a copy of an item from Rhyl Leader newspaper dated 18th March 1961:

This serves as a reminder of how many trade organisations and public competitions there used to be. It was an event by Rhyl And District Branch of The National Hairdressers' Federation at Rhyl Town Hall. It was for apprentices; there were 19 of 'em including one boy.

Pictured above are the winners. Standing far left is third-prize winner Pauline Roberts of Bodelwyddan, an apprentice at Reginald's, Rhyl. Sitting in front of Pauline is her model Mrs. Mavis Griffiths.

Standing in the middle holding her cup is first-prize winner Susan Muff who lived with her grandma in Westfield Road, Rhyl. Susan was aged only 15, an apprentice at The Powder Box, Rhyl. Sitting in front is her model Mrs. Audrey Anzinger.

Standing far right is third-prize winner Angela Libby of Lynwood Drive, Rhyl, with her model Mrs. Barbara Williams. Angela was also an apprentice at The Powder Box, Rhyl, which was above Martins Bank on corner of High Street and Glanglasfor (now Santander).

The Powder Box was a well-established business. It had previously been located elsewhere in High Street since the 1930s, and traded as Frances of Kinmel Street before that.

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Jill Williams says:

"I started going to the Powder Box in the 1950s. The entrance in those days was in Glanglasfor and then up steps to the second floor. The lady who ran it at that time was called Miss Olive Rigby.

"When she retired I think it was taken over by Thelma Gwilliam and it moved to Kinmel Street next to the Journal Office.

"When Thelma left it moved to the corner of Elwy Street and was run by Paula and Lynda (can't remember their surnames). Eventually it ceased to exist several years ago."

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Jill adds:
“I can remember a few more hairdressers of yesteryear, There was a Mr. Mitchell and Miss Howell who ran a salon down under the bridge past the Odeon Cinema (now Apollo Bingo). There was one in Wellington Road run by Miss Dorothy Coombes, and one in Market Street run by Mr. Jackson.”

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The Rhyl hairdresser most often mentioned with praise is Malcolm Connop whose studio was at 51 Water Street. His fans include blog readers Dilys Bagnall, Dorothy Jones, Gaynor Williams and Liz Espley.

Malcolm passed away in 2011. Click on the following link to read tributes:
http://www.rhyljournal.co.uk/news/105611/tributes-paid-to-rhyl-hairdresser.aspx

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SAT 6th FEB 2016 UPDATE: This advert for The Powder Box is thought to be c.1920 but is more likely to be 1930s if the slogan 'Keep Young & Beautiful' refers to song of that name which appeared in the Hollywood film 'Roman Scandals' starring Eddie Cantor and Ruth Etting (1933):

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6720. Additional image added here in June 2020:
Angela Libby, pictured above as a prize-winning hairdresser in 1961, is pictured below as Rhyl Rose Queen in 1955.

In Rose Queen Angela's court, presumably left to right: Michele de Barletta, Doreen Harding, Irene Palmer, Yvonne Rich, Susan  Williams, Douglas Hughes, Jean Owen, Gail Churm.

Mentioned: Mrs E. Frimston, Mrs E. Bosworth, Mrs G. Evans of Grange Avenue, F.A. Bottom of Rhyl Publicity Association at Town Hall.

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QUIZ QUESTION # 93

The above photos were taken this month in Rhyl by Yours Truly.
The question: In what street/road/avenue was I standing?

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TRUE OR FALSE?

A - Before the railway, the northern end of Vale Road was known as Lower High Street;

B - Brighton Road was Shipley Street;

C - Church Street was called Westminster Street;

D - Ernest Street was known as New Town;

E - Marsh Road was sometimes known as Tip Lane;

F - The ‘H’ Bridge was known as Ffynnongroyw Bridge;

G - Westbourne Avenue was called Castle Street.

The question: Which TWO of the above statements are false?

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You would score a win for getting the photos answer right, and one for each false statement, making a possible total of three wins!!!

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You have until the end of Saturday 30th May 2015 to send your entry.

Second tries not accepted.

The result will be published on Sunday 31st May 2015 around Midday.

Colin Jones / email: rhyl.colin.jones@live.co.uk

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QUIZ ANSWER # 92

Last Sunday I posted the above Rhyl image, 1950s probably, from the collection of the late Glyn Rees. To your right of the scene would be a pub.
The question: What was the name of the pub at that time OR what is its name now?

The pair of buildings is in High Street, and here is the scene earlier this month during road works, and underneath is the pub in question:

So the answer is:The New Inn or O’Grady’s Irish Bar.

The Great Gareth remembers it also as The Kestrel. It may have had other names too.

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On the same day I posted this photo which had a street sign blanked out.
The question: What is the missing name? 

The answer is: Gwynfryn Avenue.

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Having both of the answers right and scoring a win are The Great Gareth, Richard & Ceri Swinney, Jane Shuttle, Dilys Bagnall, Dorothy Jones, Sue Handley, and a new player in this series: Robert Scott.

Robert Scott writes, "Another reason for my contacting you is to ask if you or any of your readers have ever heard of 'The Cletty Hotel' in Rhyl.

     "I am aware that there is a Lletty Hotel on Coast Road, Mostyn and realise that my enquirer could have made a transcribing error but he was convinced the Cletty was a Rhyl Hotel."

Who can say something about this?

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[These names of businesses are added here for indexing purposes: Talbots shop, George Mason shop, Silvers Cafe, Flyers shop.]

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6720. Additional image added in July 2020:

On auction recently was this old postcard showing a previous version of the New Inn/O'Grady's, presumably on the same site. Even this might not be the first ever version which I would expect to have been made of wood.

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CARL GIZZI

Recently Dave Williams sent photos of some memorabilia including - to my surprise - Rhyl hotel cutlery. Among Dave’s other items was this souvenir programme which serves as a reminder of Rhyl resident Carl Gizzi’s career as a boxer: 

The following photo of Carl is from Daily Post:

Carl Gizzi was born in Rhyl. He was a professional boxer from 1964-1971 and won 31 out of his 43 fights. His heavyweight opponents included the American Ray Patterson who was Floyd’s brother, Jack Bodell twice (the programme is from their second contest) and Joe Bugner.

Later on in Rhyl, Carl was a familiar figure with his window cleaning business and as a night club bouncer.

This morning when I enquired of Peter Trehearn, a proprietor of The Bistro club in West Parade, he said, “Funnily enough Carl popped around this morning, he has just turned 71 years of age. Carl was a doorman at The Bistro for at least fifteen years during the 1980's& ‘90's until we closed down in 1999. Lovely bloke.”

Lovely unless you were fighting him, I suppose.

Peter threw in the following picture of doormen from Bistro days. Left to right are: Brian Edwards, Carl Gizzi, John Brookes and John Allan Jones.
The three-headed curio/person remains unidentified.

Carl Gizzi's sporting achievements will always be remembered. For instance, his fight against Joe Bugner can be seen in three parts on YouTube starting here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-AqZ06Ingk

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These names of boxers are added here for indexing purposes: Henry Cooper, Carl Thomas, Roy John.

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LITTLE COLIN AND BIG LABOUR

During the General Election some eyebrows were raised at my support for winning candidate Dr. James Davies (shown below in a Daily Post photo). A friend remarked, “What’s an old leftie like you doing supporting a Tory?”

Just for the record I am neither a leftie nor a rightie. In my opinion James was the best candidate, and it was time for the winds of change to blow. For decades the Labour Party has dominated Rhyl and failed to defend the town against unsuitable changes.

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When I was born, Clement Attlee (shown below) was Prime Minister. His Labour government established the National Health Service. (The NHS was not exclusively a Labour Party idea, nor was the concept of creating council houses.)

Later Labour governments led by Harold Wilson and James Callaghan were short-lived. From 1997 to 2007 we had Tony Blair, the first Labour prime minister to look and sound like a middle-class Conservative, which may have accounted for his electoral success. 

In General Elections I was a Labour voter until Mr. Blair conned us into joining America’s illegal invasion of Iraq, which de-stablilised Arab countries and led to a war that could last a thousand years. 

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Then came the Labour government led by Gordon Brown (above) which is too recent to require any comment. Now, having lost the 2015 General Election the Labour Party is casting around for a new leader and possibly a new reason to exist at all.

If the new all-Conservative government continues to work in the interests of ordinary working people, especially the working poor, I would continue to vote Conservative.

And if James Davies MP works to maximise Rhyl's potential as a resort and stop the decline in key residential parts of the town I would continue to support him.

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SKYDIVER AMUSEMENTS RHYL

Recently on eBay the following photo was up for sale. It was accompanied by no information. The background does not look like Rhyl.
Click on the picture to see a bigger version.

Ex-Ocean Beach Fun Fair worker David Thomas thinks the cargo may be Weston's Paratrooper ride or similar. Does anybody wish to contribute further on this matter?

Colin Jones / email: rhyl.colin.jones@live.co.uk

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QUIZ QUESTION # 92

Here is a Rhyl image, 1950s probably, showing a pair of buildings that still exist. The upper windows are still recognisable but the businesses below have changed. To your right of the picture would be a pub.

The question: What was the name of the pub at that time OR what is its name now?

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The following photo was taken this year by Yours Truly. A street sign has been blanked out.

The question: What is the missing name? (It might be a street / road / avenue / whatever).

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You need to get both answers right to score a win.

You have until the end of Saturday 23rd May 2015 to send your entry.

Second tries not accepted.

The result will be published on Sunday 24th May 2015 around Midday.

Colin Jones / email: rhyl.colin.jones@live.co.uk

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QUIZ ANSWER # 91

Last Sunday I posted a larger version of the following photo with a street name blanked out.

The question: What is the missing name?

The answer: Lynton Walk.

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Also I said that in the 1930s a Rhyl May Queen was crowned by a Princess.

The question: Was it the Princess of  A - Samoa, B - Denmark, C - Monaco, D - Sarawak or E - Romania?

The answer: D - Sarawak.

The year is 1932, the Rhyl May Queen is Miss Rene Edwards, and the crowner is the Princess of Sarawak. The following newspaper cuttings
and portrait of the Princess are from files of the late Glyn Rees:

Click on a cutting to see more clearly.

So there we are. The Princess was an Englishwoman of the Brooke family, The White Rajas. The family’s extraordinary story is told in Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Rajahs

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Scoring 1 win for getting Lynton Walk, or 3 wins for getting Lynton Walk and Sarawak, the winners are:

Dilys Bagnall 1, The Great Gareth 3, Moira Evans 1, Dorothy Jones 1, Jane Shuttle 1, Richard & Ceri Swinney 3, Sue Handley 1.

In this new series, The Great Gareth now leads with 13 wins, Jane Shuttle is hot on his heels with 12, Richard & Ceri Swinney are looming with 11. Sue Handley and Dorothy Jones are doing well, and two more readers have scored. Everybody is welcome to join in!

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JO JENNER

Rhyl resident Jo Jenner is from Ynys Môn / Anglesey originally, and her hobby is photography. Occasionally she puts some prints on eBay where she sells as jjenner23. Here are some Rhyl examples:

Jo Jenner is on Facebook as PhotoJenicJoJenner, and you would find a slideshow of her Rhyl seafront prints on my YouTube channel. Please click on the following link to see:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Amsk4JX2rcU

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HELLO HELLO / 'ALLO, 'ALLO!

From files of the late Glyn Rees, here are a couple of reminders of entertainment in days gone by. The first is a flyer and/or poster dated 11th August 1905. The venue Pier Pavilion, Rhyl, would have been the little place halfway along the pier, which had been called previously the Bijou Pavilion.

This group of performers named The Follies looks typical of the touring concert parties of the day - comedy, dance, and songs with plenty of audience participation – and sometimes a hard life. See J.B. Priestley’s novel The Good Companions or one of the films of the book.

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The second item is this unexpected advert from Rhyl Leader newspaper dated 18th November 1939:

I have managed to establish that the name above should read Antoinette et Ninon and that they worked for the same impresario as Rhyl-connected stage performer Mona Vivian about whom I have been reading lately.

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Re; the Queens Theatre advert, the following references are added here for indexing purposes: nudes, sex, Folies Bergere, titillation.

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6720: Additional image added here in June 2020:

Above is the way Mona Vivian looked in the 1930s. All this started me wondering whether she is the reason why we had a pub named the Mona Hotel. One thought leads to another . . . I used to have a life . . .

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For more information about Mona Vivian please click on the following link:
http://www.its-behind-you.com/monavivian.html

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WILD LIFE – RHYL STYLE

Steve Kellie writes, “I have been looking at your Rhyl Life Blog and I wonder if you, or any of your readers, might know where this photo was taken. The year would be 1954. Definitely the Rhyl area (Rhyl, Prestatyn or Towyn).
Of the giraffe he adds, “Ignore the antennae - a child's addition.”

Over to you, dear readers . . .

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GET IN THE QUEUE

A young reader has asked what was previously on the site of Jobcentre Plus in Rhyl High Street. Well, in Victorian times the White Lion Hotel stood there. Here is a picture of the White Lion, circa 1908. On your left is Vaughan Terrace, one of a network of alleys in the vicinity:

The hotel was demolished to make way for the Crosville bus station shown below. The image, late 1950s probably, is from the Glyn Rees collection:

On your right in both pictures is No.78 High Street which started as Town Assembly Rooms and became The Old Town Hall (a pub, later a shop). In recent times the building has been a butcher's shop; currently it's Webbers Leisure adult arcade & betting shop operated by Mark Webber: 

Here is the scene captured yesterday by Yours Truly (during road works):

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This reference is added here for indexing purposes: T Lewis publican.

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QUIZ QUESTION # 91

Below is a photo taken in April this year by Yours Truly.  A street sign has been blanked out.

The question: What is the missing name? (It might be a street / road / avenue / whatever.)

Get this answer right to score 1 win.

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In the 1930s a Rhyl May Queen was crowned by a Princess. 

The question: Was it the Princess of:

     A - Samoa;

     B - Denmark;

     C - Monaco;

     D - Sarawak;

     E - Romania?

Get this answer right to score 2 wins.

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So, if you get both answers right you score 3 wins!!!

You have until the end of Saturday 16th May 2015 to send your entry.

Second tries not accepted.

The result will be published on Sunday 17th May 2015 around Midday.


Colin Jones / email: rhyl.colin.jones@live.co.uk

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QUIZ ANSWER # 90

Last Sunday I posted this picture of Rhyl Gardens.

The question: Where were they?

     A - On the promenade opposite East Parade;

     B - In Grange Road near Botanical Gardens;

     C - On the prom opposite West Parade; or

     D - In Wellington Road near Palace Avenue?

The answer: C – On the prom opposite West Parade.

They would have been nearly opposite the junction with Water Street. The picture looks very early 1900s, probably before the Pavilion opened to your left of the scene in 1908.

The patch was known at various times as Rhyl Gardens, Pavilion Gardens, Pleasure Gardens, Marine Gardens, and on one postcard as simply The Gardens. Another name for it was Promenade Gardens but this name was used also for other parts of the prom (which used to be lawned in places).

In the late 1940s on the patch in question a roller skating rink was built and it remained there until 1991.

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Also I posted the following photo in which a street sign was blanked out.

The question: What is the missing name?

The answer: Vezey Street.

Having both answers right to score a win, the winners are: Sue Handley, Jane Shuttle, Richard & Ceri Swinney, Dorothy Jones and The Great Gareth. These players are all doing well, and we have two other scorers. Everybody is welcome to join in!

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