QUIZ QUESTION # 120

Above is a Rhyl railway photo taken we know not when (not very recently). On the far right there is a street.
The question: What is the name of the street?

Below is a plaque inscribed Glan Dyffryn photographed a few days ago by Yours Truly.

And here is a wider shot of it:

The question: What is the name of the street?

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You score 1 win for each correct answer, a maximum total of 2 wins!

You have until the end of Saturday 5th Dec 2015 to send your entry.
Second tries not accepted.
The result will be published on Sun 6th Dec 2015 around Midday.


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

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QUIZ ANSWER # 119

Last Sunday I posted the above exterior of a Rhyl building photographed
a few weeks before by Yours Truly. The door bears the number 2.
The question: In what road/street would you find this building?
The answer: Millbank Road.
At the Vale Road end, opposite the back yard of Caskeys pub.

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Also posted was a room inside a Rhyl building photographed during or before World War 1 (1914-18).
The question: In what road/street would you find this building?
The answer: Bedford Street.
Pictured is the dining hall of the Men's Convalescent Institution which was a Red Cross Hospital during WW1:

Click on the card to read more easily.

Here is the exterior photographed a few days ago by Yours Truly:

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Also posted was the 1970s picture below which is NOT RHYL but not a million miles away.
The question: Where is it?
The answer: Llandrillo yn Rhos aka Rhos-on-Sea.
Just t'other side of Colwyn Bay.

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Scoring 1 win for each correct answer: Dilys Bagnall 1, Sue Handley 1, Jane Shuttle 1, The Great Gareth 2, Richard & Ceri Swinney 2.

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This reference is added here for indexing purposes: Watkins Llanfwrog.

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PRESS MY HAT IN

During school days Press My Hat In is what I used to call Prestatyn which is 4 miles I mean 6 kilometres away from Rhyl and not a town I know well.

The undated image above has a comforting Rhyl echo in the form of William Roberts coal merchants.

Click on any picture to see a bigger version.

Summer visitors tend to regard Rhyl and Prestatyn as almost the same place. From Prestatyn Holiday Camp (the one with the tower) here is a shot of the ballroom on a card postmarked 1959:

What lovely dresses and suits! Here, have a couple of badges:

Recently Prestatyn High Street was shortlisted in the Great British High Street contest, in the coastal category. Below: an early picture looking up the street and a later pic looking downwards:

Who remembers The Royal Lido ballroom and swimming pool complex? This is a card postmarked 1974:

Here is the scene in days of yore, probably around 1930:

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Anybody for Y Ffrith? The first of the following is a card postmarked 1937 and is interesting for its changing rooms/tents:

Yes I know, Rhuddlan Borough Council ruined the Ffrith. Don't start.

Since then Prestatyn has overtaken Rhyl as a regional shopping centre and the underlying rivalry has re-surfaced and made this 1995 soccer programme look prophetic:

The above was compiled by Ian Johnson. In 2000-2005, Ian and I worked side by side at Rhyl Community Agency. He was producing programmes while I was writing Rhyl history essays.

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These references are added here for indexing purposes: Prestatyn Trustee Savings Bank TSB, Prestatyn Town Football Club FC.

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WED 2nd DEC 2015 UPDATE: Dave Williams writes that Ian Johnson died about four years ago, circumstances not known.

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TUE 18th JUL 2017 UPDATE: More pix - Prestatyn Holiday Camp / Royal Lido x 2 / Y Ffrith Pleasure Beach and Prestatyn's version of  Happy Valley / Promenade.

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SAT 13th JAN 2018 UPDATE:

Every time I meet a certain Prestatyn resident he delights in reminding me that The Rolling Stones appeared at the Royal Lido Ballroom, Prestatyn, but not in Rhyl.
And every time I reply, "Really? I never knew that."

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QUIZ QUESTION # 119

Above is the exterior of a Rhyl building photographed a few weeks ago by Yours Truly. The door bears the number 2.
The question: In what road/street would you find this building?

Below is a room inside a Rhyl building photographed during or before World War 1 (1914-18).
The question: In what road/street would you find this building?

Click on any picture to see a bigger version.

The 1970s picture below is NOT RHYL but not a million miles away.
The question: Where is it?

Your quizmaster is feeling generous this week so you score 1 win for each correct answer, a maximum total of 3 wins!

You have until the end of Saturday 28th Nov 2015 to send your entry.
Second tries not accepted.
The result will be published on Sun 29th Nov 2015 around Midday.

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

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QUIZ ANSWER # 118

Last Sunday I posted the photo below which was taken this month in Rhyl by Yours Truly. The question: In what road/street was I standing?

The answer: Kinmel Street.
I was looking down the alley between Edward Hughes solicitors (on your left) and the offices of Welsh Assembly member Ann Jones.

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Also posted was this photo taken not long ago by Dave Williams. Among the various markings is the phrase monitoring well. The question: Would you find this item to the east, to the south or to the west of High Street?

The answer: To the west.
It is one of several on the footpath between Foryd Bridge and Marine Lake. In Rhyl you can't get much further west!

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Scoring 1 win by sending correct answers to both questions: Dilys Bagnall and The Great Gareth.

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SEEN ON THE SANDS

Few people around today would remember bathing machines. They were changing rooms drawn by horses to the edge of the sea so that bathers could slip in and out of the water discreetly. Above is a card postmarked 1905 and below is a detail from it:

There were far more bathing machines on this west side of the pier, the ladies side, than on the east side where gentlemen romped.

Click on any picture to see a bigger version.

Here are postcards of the basket chairs that came afterwards. If you remember these you are older than you look:

The artificially-coloured basket chairs pic above is a view from the pier on a card postmarked 1948 (the original image is probably from previous decade). The black-and-white was taken looking the other way with pier in background; the card is postmarked 1925.
The following amateur snapshot is undated and irresistible:

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These donkey scenes circa 1900 may not be Rhyl at all and they may be studio shots. Similar images were on sale in many places with the name of resort changed to suit. However, I am pretty certain that Dolly the donkey, holding court below, was a genuine Rhylite!

When donkey rides came to an end in Rhyl a few years ago I viewed the matter with mixed feelings. Sad to see a tradition go, but the donkeys looked in human terms to have sad faces, and I felt sorry for them. This is Old Softy speaking.

You could read about Rhyl's last donkey operator Kenneth Edward Jones who died in January 2012, in an obituary in The Journal:

http://www.rhyljournal.co.uk/news/109760/tributes-to-last-donkey-man-on-rhyl-beach.aspx

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MR. PICKARD IS OUT

From his base in Rhyl, photographer Rae Pickard visited frequently nearby towns and villages in search of good marketable shots; he understood that a lot of Rhyl's appeal lay in its surrounding countryside.

The following pictures of Denbigh Castle and Penrhyn near Llandudno are random examples. The latter is thought to be circa 1920:

Click on any picture to see a bigger version.

This is a photo of High Street, Newmarket (Trelawnyd near Dyserth) on a card posted in 1927.

Of the two below taken in Dyserth, the one of the waterfall is circa 1915; the interior shot of the New Inn Dyserth is remarkable for detail:

The following is thought to be a Rae Pickard even though not signed. It is circa 1912 at what looks like a ploughing contest. All the usual Pickardian hallmarks of quality are evident in this:

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MON 5th DEC 2016 UPDATE: A faded Pickard card postmarked 1912.

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FRI 3rd FEB 2017 UPDATE: Here is another Pickard of Newmarket (Trelawnyd) followed by his take on Highbury Avenue, Prestatyn.
The third pic is Maesydon in Llanddulas near Abergele, on a card postmarked 1918.

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6720. Additional image added in July 2020:

Rae Pickard's take on Llanrhaeadr Hall (he didn't quite get the spelling right). The hall still exists. It is near Denbigh, a care home now.

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QUIZ QUESTION # 118

Above is a photo taken this gloomy November in Rhyl by Yours Truly.
The question: In what road/street was I standing?

Below is a photo taken not long ago by Dave Williams. Among the various markings is the phrase monitoring well.
The question: Would you find this item to the east, to the south or to the west of High Street?

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To score 1 win you need the correct answers to both questions.

You have until the end of Saturday 21st Nov 2015 to send your entry.
Second tries not accepted.
The result will be published on Sun 22nd Nov 2015 around Midday.


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

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QUIZ ANSWER # 117

Last Sunday I posted the following photo which was taken not long ago. It shows an exterior wall plaque dated 1855. The question: Where in Rhyl would you find this plaque?
The answer: Grange Hotel.
To be precise, on the east wing of the derelict Grange Hotel, East Parade. Thanks to Dave Williams for the photo.

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Also I posted a slightly-masked image of a cafe that is no longer with us. The question: Where in Rhyl would you have found this cafe?

The answer: Open Air Bathing Pool aka 'The Baths' on the prom.
The cafe (Osborne's) was at the end nearest to the pier. Nice piece of 1930s art deco. Pity it did not survive. Here is the image un-masked:

The picture is from Flintshire Record Office.

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Scoring 1 win by getting the correct answers to both questions are The Great Gareth, and George Owen MBE who is making his debut in this series of the quiz. For George the Grange question was easy because one of his ancestors, a Mr. Griffiths, lived there when it was a house named Bod Dounan.

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QUELLE SURPRISE

Last Friday evening in Paris supporters of Islamic State (IS) killed more than 120 people. President Hollande described it as an act of war. I don’t know what he would describe his country’s recent bombing of IS in Syria as an act of.

France and Britain have in common that they are countries that used to have an empire. In the past they were able to carry out acts of extreme military aggression in faraway countries without suffering retaliation, but not anymore.

When leaders of France, UK and other EU countries take sides in conflicts further afield, they should be aware that we, their citizens – and possibly our future generations – become targets for revenge.

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This week Jones Towers received quite a varied batch of correspondence including an email about a Parliamentary child trafficking ring‏ of the 1990s and a Christmas card. Life goes on.

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