QUIZ ANSWER # 120

Last Sunday I posted this 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?
The answer: West Kinmel Street.

Also posted was the following plaque inscribed Glan Dyffryn photographed a few days before by Yours Truly. The question: What is the name of the street?
The answer: West Kinmel Street. Again!

Glan Dyffryn translates as Clean Valley. The plaque is opposite the car park of West Rhyl Primary Care Centre (the new Clarence House) which must be one of Rhyl's ugliest buildings.

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

In this second series of the quiz, Gareth holds the lead with 58 wins, Jane has 52, Richard & Ceri have 49, Sue 37 and Dilys 21. All these scores are above-average. Everybody is welcome to join in. We have quite a few occasional players!

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SYRIA LIFE

Copyright in the picture above belongs to Reuters News Agency.

Last night, at the same time as a big majority of the UK's Members of Parliament were saying yes to airstrikes on Syria, the Daily Post’s online opinion poll of readers stood as follows:

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During the 1970s I was living in London when Irish republican groups were leaving bombs in public places including the Underground. It was a very scary time and went on for years.

Those groups did not attack Wales – they knew we had no power to bring about the changes they wanted. The political wing of the republicans, Sinn Féin, is now part of government in both parts of Ireland.

In the short term, last night’s decision at Westminster may provoke IS. Hopefully they too will see that the UK power base is in England and leave us alone.

In the long term, war war must give way to jaw jaw. It always does. 

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GIFT SUGGESTIONS

Gift shops, markets, internet sites, antique shops and junk shops are good places to find Rhyl things to collect or give away as presents.

How about badges for the anorak? Here we have a Rhyl Scooter Club Rally, Rhyl & District Angling Association, Rhyl Football Club aka 'The Lilywhites', Rhyl F.C. Supporters' Association (RSA) and couple of rarities: one from Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Cymru the Welsh National Eisteddfod in Rhyl 1953, and an old badge showing Rhyl Pavilion:

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This Rhyl crested Norwegian-style beer bowl with a horse's head at each end seems a perfect present for people that don't know whether they are coming or going:

No? Well, how about a Rhylephant?

And for that really special someone - nudge nudge - what could be more agreeable than an old slot machine manufactured by Parker's Automatic Supplies of Rhyl? 

Click on the machine to see in the background a drawing incorporating elements of Marine Lake and Ocean Beach Fun Fairs with name checks for Billy Williams, Arthur (who's he?) and the Webbers.

That dates it as 1950s/60s even though the art deco style suggests that the cabinet may have been made a couple of decades earlier. Arcade and fun fair items are subject to recycling from time to time.

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SAT 14th JUL 2018 UPDATE: On auction this month was a 1950s/'60s Manhattan one arm bandit fruit machine made by or distributed by Vale Amusement Supplies of Rhyl. 

Even though not in working order, the machine was still expected to fetch around £300. Its value must be as a 'decorator's piece'.

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

See my Rhyl videos on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/user/RhylTime

Only the videos marked RhylTime are mine! 

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THE TABLE IS READY

The Royal Alexandra Hospital, Marine Drive, Rhyl has cropped up a few times in this blog. You would find the previous references and pictures under the label HOSPITALS on your left at the top of this page.

The image above showing an operating theatre is dated circa 1908 (more likely before that date than after). Note the small size of the operating table - at that time The Alex was a children's hospital.

On the mantelpiece the bottle nearest to the camera is labelled Carbolic 1 in 20, and the one in the middle is Boracic. These were antiseptics.

At that time electric lighting would have been unlikely. The fireplace seems to be tiled over, and there is no visible form of heating. The nurse is well wrapped up!

[Generally, it was believed that cool temperatures were more beneficial.]

Above: the building is shown without its east wing which was added in 1908. The presence of the town crest bottom right leads me to believe this may be the first ever postcard of The Alex, commemorating the official opening in 1902.

Below is the Lady Superintendent's Room - an undated photo:

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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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