QUIZ QUESTION # 189

The above photos were taken yesterday in Rhyl by Yours Truly.
Question 1: What do these two buildings have in common?

Question 2: How are the following people connected with Rhyl?
a) Albert Cronshaw
b) Mrs. Blake and Miss Grimwood.

No need to send me an email - just check your answers against mine on Tuesday 8th August 2017 after 12 noon.

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Nigel Kerry, now resident in Clun, Shropshire, is hoping for a picture of the Roma Coffee Bar, West Parade, late 1950s/early '60s. 
Here is an advert for the Roma mentioning Ray Rowlands and His Band; Ray was a drummer from St. Asaph.
This is from 1958 and appears in 'Rhyl Music In The Ritz Years 1955-1968' by Yours Truly.
Click on it to read small print.

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TUE 22nd MAY 2018 UPDATE: Being auctioned on Internet this week is the following amateur snapshot of the Roma's exterior without the seller's big blue logo -

The snap is dated 1954 and shows that the design was very modern for the time, more like the '60s.

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LIFE GOES ON: JUL 2017

Postcard by Bamforth & Co. Ltd. (1930s)

During July 2017, ten old posts were updated. They are as follows:

Boer War aka South African War / Hugh Owen Hughes -

http://rhyl-life.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/quiz-answer-88_26.html

Bridges in Rhyl -

http://rhyl-life.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/quiz-answer-184.html

Floral Hall: another image -

http://rhyl-life.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/more-floral.html

Llandudno tram -

http://rhyl-life.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/quiz-answer-142.html

Llandudno Telegraph Hotel aka Randy’s Bar -

http://rhyl-life.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/eve-in-wonderland.html

Prestatyn: more old images -

http://rhyl-life.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/press-my-hat-in_25.html

Rubbish disposal / Clwyd Alyn -

http://rhyl-life.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/nothing-wrong-with-rhyl.html

Steam train in Rhyl: another image -

http://rhyl-life.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/age-of-steam.html

Towyn near Abergele / Cambria Holiday Camp -

http://rhyl-life.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/tuck-in.html

Water Street / Orama Radio & TV -

http://rhyl-life.blogspot.co.uk/2009/12/13-water-street.html

Rhyl Urban District Council chairman and airman J. Parry,
probably in Manchester Evening News (1957)

Well well, a councillor that knew how to fly a plane . . .

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FLASHBACK #26

I have never quite reconciled myself to British pop singers adopting American accents when they open their mouths to sing, and bending and twisting notes. The cynic in me suspects these devices are for disguising poor diction and the lack of ability to pitch accurately.

There was and still is a local audience for classically trained singers, such as the John Ridding Opera Company (above) photographed during a summer season in Rhyl. They toured in Wales, Scotland and England and possibly elsewhere from the 1890s to 1920s.

The card above advertises their 1910 productions at the New Pavilion & Marine Gardens development. The Pavilion was the iconic domed edifice on the promenade, and Marine Gardens was on its eastern side - where a roller skating rink was created nearly forty years later.

The following is by Rhyl photographer Ernest Jones of 3 Kinmel Street:

The Ridding Company has not been mentioned previously in this blog and nor has Rhyl Choral Society, a local army of enthusiastic amateurs. Here they are photographed by Wills Jones in 1908 on the prom:
Click on the image to see a bigger version.

How handsome the gentlemen look in their evening suits, and how pretty the ladies in their dresses. Dear me, where did we all go wrong?

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

See my Rhyl videos on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/RhylTime
Only the videos marked RhylTime are mine!

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HOLD VERY TIGHT

Here are some bus items to add to the strength transport pix in this blog. Above: the earliest form of bus, a coach and horses. This one is in Rhyl and ready to depart on a trip. The word TOURIST is just about visible on side of the coach. The image is from a card postmarked 1913.

Above: Brookes Brothers open-top white double decker outside the White Lion Hotel, High Street, Rhyl (where Jobcentre Plus is now).
On the front of the bus is an advert for E.B. Jones, grocers; on the side is advert for a Rhyl Pavilion show titled This Woman Business.

Below: Crimson Coaches vehicle near the Llanberis Pass. It is made by Vulcan of Southport. Crimson is one of the lesser known Rhyl firms, and the driver in this instance is 'Will Llanfair'.

Above: Late 1930s snapshot of a Crosville Motor Services U8 that ran between High Street, Rhyl, and Sandy Cove in Kinmel Bay.

Below: Late 1950s probably. The double decker is near corner of High Street and West Parade, with Woolworth's (now B&M) on your left.

Crosville's 5000th bus, circa 1980 at Marine Lake end of Wellington Road, near an Esso petrol station and an Elf service station.

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6720. Additional image added in July 2020:

This wonky old advert shows that the Brookes Brothers company mentioned above, pre-dated the era of motor coaches.

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QUIZ ANSWER # 188

1) Last Sunday I posted the above photo. The question: Where was I standing?
The answer: St. Asaph Street.
Looking across the site on which the Grange Hotel once stood.

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2a) The question: Where in Rhyl was the Hippodrome?
The answer: On the sands.
It was a later, fancier name name for the outdoor performance area known originally as the minstrel pitch. This advert for E.H. Williams' Merrie Men, written probably in 1904, refers.
Click on it to read small print.

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2b) The question: Where in Rhyl was Constantinople?
The answer: Queen's Palace.
Constantinople was the name of a new attraction that replaced 'Little Venice' which may have lost its novelty value and/or been a franchise whose time had expired. 
A previous post refers:
http://rhyl-life.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/without-paddle.html

Now, let's see. You can award yourself one win for the correct answer to Question 1, two for 2a and two for 2b, plus an extra win if you got all of them right = a total of 6 wins.

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• The Marlborough Hotel, 16 East Parade, Rhyl, has been renamed as Braga Hotel. Tel: (01745) 353036.

• Local radio station Point FM appears to have ceased trading. The Wellington Road premises no longer bears the station name.

• Here is a summery snapshot of girls named Terry and Caroline having a tug o’war with unseen forces on Rhyl promenade in 1957. Holiday-makers or locals, I wonder.

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

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QUIZ QUESTION # 188

1)
This photo was taken last week by Yours Truly.
The question: Where was I standing?

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2a)
Where in Rhyl was the Hippodrome?
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2b)
Where in Rhyl was Constantinople?


No need to send me an email - just check your three answers against mine on Sunday 16th July 2017 after 12 noon.

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SWAN DOWN

Only one pub in North Wales has been given a ZERO rating by the Food Standards Agency – The Swan Inn aka Yr Alarch 13 Russell Road, Rhyl.
See story in Daily Post:
http://www.dailypost.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink-news/only-two-food-outlets-north-13294134?

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SPORTING LIFE

Recently the first photo below was on sale on Internet, hence the seller's logo. It shows Rhyl Pickwicks football / soccer team 1899-1900. Chances are, this was a team that played for charities – because the top-hatted gent on your right is E.H. Williams the leader of Rhyl's 'Merrie Men' minstrel troupe; he was involved in fundraising activities.

For indexing purposes the names above are repeated here.
Back row (left to right): E.D. Davies, B. Smith, F. Mudd, E.H. Williams.
Middle row: EL. Jones, J. Fell, Tom Moore, H.H. Davies, J. Brookes.
Front row: R. Salt, E. Nelson, R. Newing, T. Keene, T. Roberts.
Name of the original owner of the photo is given as John Nickels, 14 Vale Park, off Victoria Road, Rhyl.

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The next item is captioned Rhyl Snooker Hall 1911. The location of the hall is not given. The group in the photo would be staff.

Here, a walking race in East Parade, Rhyl,  presumably dating from before World War 1:

The following shot of Rhyl Bowling Green, Seabank Road, is undated and looks like the work of Rhyl photographer Rae Pickard but I've no evidence that it was taken by him:

From 1947-48 here is a medallion inscribed for the Rhyl & District T.T.L (Table Tennis League) Youth Singles Winner. First mention of table tennis in this blog!

Wrestling is a Rhyl favourite and continues this summer at the town hall. Here are the centre pages from a programme of wrestling at Gaiety Theatre (formerly Pier Amphitheatre) on the prom, dated 1964.

For indexing purposes the names above are repeated here.
Wryton Wrestling, Count Bartelli, Alf Rough-house Cadman Bury, Ted Hannon Scotland, Frank Riley Wigan, Bert Royal Bolton, Vic Faulkner Bolton, Martin Conroy referee, Terry Nylands Rochdale, Dennis Wade St. Helens, Seamus Donlevy Ireland, Mike Donlevy Ireland, Francis Gregory, Reg Williams.
Master of Ceremonies is our very own, recently deceased, Roy Turner.

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A seaside resort is not a place you would expect to find a gun shop for field sports, but we have one in Elwy Street where until a few years ago the proprietor was the late Reg Gizzi (airman and ex-musician).
This photo was taken earlier in 2017. Last I heard, a few weeks ago, the business was up for sale.

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FRI 7th SEP 2018 UPDATE: Just arrived here at Jones Towers - an advert for the gun shop, dated 1985:

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My YouTube channel featuring Rhyl videos and slideshows goes by the name of RhylTime. Click on the following link if you would like to see RhylTime's Top Ten:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7BKgZiQNRSaVpnyTl8PgEpPusmd3dl_z

Only YouTube items labelled RhylTime are mine.

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