QUIZ QUESTION # 195

In the late 1950s this entertainer topped the bill at a Sunday concert in Rhyl Pavilion.
The question: What is her name?

In the early 1970s the entertainer below topped the bill at a Sunday concert in Rhyl Pavilion.
The question: What is his name?

No need to send me an email - just check your answers against mine on Sunday 26th November 2017 after 12 noon.

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I note with glee that Scottish Government has overcome legal objections and is to impose a minimum price per unit of alcohol. Welsh Government is poised to follow suit.
The alcoholic drinks industry is pernicious; more action is needed against it. Imagine how much less our social services, NHS and policing would cost if alcohol consumption in general were cut back drastically.
The Chief Medical Officer for Wales and Chief Constable of North Wales Police are both on record as supporting the idea of a minimum price per unit of alcohol, so it's time for everybody – including the legions of local daily drinkers of the stuff – to realise that it has been dangerously cheap for too long.

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QUIZ QUESTION # 194

Here are some Rhyl places with every other letter removed.
The question: What are the full names of the places?

Example:

-e-l-n-t-n / -o-d = Wellington Road

Now try these–

1) -u-l-n-t-n / -r-s-e-t

2) -a-n-l-a / -o-r-

3) -a-d-w-r-h / -r-s-e-t

4) -l-s / -o-i- / G-c-

5) -a-f-r- / A-e-u-

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

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QUIZ QUESTION # 193

Above: In the late 1940s this family appeared in a one-off Sunday show at Queens Theatre, Rhyl. The little girl became a big international star.
The question: What is her name?

Below: In the late 1950s this popular singer topped the bill in a Sunday show at the Queens.
The question: What is her name?

No need to send me an email - just check your answers against mine on Sunday 22nd October 2017 after 12 noon.

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QUIZ QUESTION # 192

The above appeared as a 2-page spread in Rhyl's tourist guide book 1959. The advert was out-of-date by then.

The question: How might you have known the advert was out of date?

Click on the image to see a bigger version.

No need to send me an email - just check your answers against mine on Sunday 1st October 2017 after 12 noon.

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Recently a row broke out between Welsh Assembly member Neil McEvoy and his Plaid Cymru colleagues over the question of whether tenants of social housing properties (council and housing association) should be allowed - under certain conditions - to buy their homes as is the case in England.

Mr. McEvoy believes that tenants should have that right, but Plaid is ganging up with the Labour Party to bring an end to the right to buy in Wales because it reduces the social housing stock.
[Reducing would be welcome in places such as Rhyl West where we have too many Pennaf/Clwyd Alyn Housing Association properties.]

Private landlords can pitch their properties down or up market according to demand, but General Purposes social housing remains only for the comparatively deprived. Therefore it keeps poorer communities from being anything other than poor.
[That suits the Labour Party because tenants of social housing, if they vote at all, are most likely to vote Labour.]

I have been the tenant of a Pennaf/Clwyd Alyn Housing Association flat for 16 years and would not wish to own it under any circumstances - wouldn't even want it as a gift - but I don’t believe there should be a law to prevent others from buying theirs.

Those of us in Wales who voted to have our own government did not expect that twenty years later we would have one ready to pass a law that left us with fewer legal rights than people who happen to live in England.
Welsh Assembly members need to tread carefully here.

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QUIZ QUESTION # 191

Below is a slice of Rhyl townscape photographed today by Yours Truly.
The question: What might you have found here in the 1960s?

No need to send me an email - just check your answers against mine on Sunday 17th September 2017 after 12 noon.

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These days  Tir Prince Raceway in Towyn near Abergele is the place for trotting races but the 1967 advert below harks back to similar events at Prestatyn Raceway.
Click on it to read the small print.

Night Trotting, eh?  We have that in Rhyl West – it's the druggies on a mission to pick up more stuff.

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BREXIT SCHMEXIT

Yesterday in London thousands of people marched in protest against the British government's plan to leave European Union. I am not surprised. Our European citizenship is too valuable to throw away.

If any future British government tried to interfere with workers' rights, consumers' rights and other protections conferred on us by the EU, we could see civil unrest on a massive scale.

We are not Americans, we are not Chinese, we are Europeans –  and now that barriers between European countries are down they must stay down.

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QUIZ QUESTION # 190

In the above photo, which was taken this month in Rhyl, a place name has been blanked out.
The question: What is the missing name?

Below is a badge from a campaign by The Visitor newspaper.
The question: What was the campaign about?

No need to send me an email - just check your answers against mine on Thursday 7th September 2017 after 12 noon.

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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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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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QUIZ QUESTION # 187

The question: How many of these three images are Rhyl pictures?

No need to send me an email - just check your answer against mine on Sunday 11th June 2017 after 12 noon.

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BLUE FLAG DOWN

The annual list of best beaches (Blue Flag status) is available. More than forty are in in Wales, including Llandudno's West Shore, Colwyn Bay and Prestatyn Central but NOT RHYL. Ask your elected representatives why NOT RHYL.

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QUIZ QUESTION # 186

Above is a well seasoned old photo of a Rhyl hotel.
The question: What stands in that location now?

Below is a 1960s-80s multiview postcard of North Wales pubs - only ONE is in Rhyl.
The question: Is it top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right, or centre?

No need to send me an email - just check your two answers against mine on Sunday 14th May 2017 after 12 noon.

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QUIZ QUESTION # 185

In the black-and-white pic below you will see a Victorian lamp post of the kind you may fancy for your garden.
The question: At junction of what two streets is the lamp post standing?

In the colour pic (which was taken this year) is a hanging lamp shade with interior decorator appeal.
The question: Where in Rhyl would you find this item?

Click on any image to see a bigger version.

No need to send me an email - just check your two answers against mine on Tuesday 18th April 2017 after 12 noon.

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THE HIDDEN KILLER

Things I like about Rhyl are the clear skies and the flatness of the terrain (no steep hills) and that living here is cheap and comparatively safe, but there are invisible dangers.
In North Wales almost 300 people aged over 25 die per year because of air pollution, including 42 per year here in Denbighshire.
See story by Steve Bagnall in Daily Post:

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/300-people-year-die-air-12859607?

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QUIZ QUESTION # 184

Attention all quizzers, quizettes and quizlings! Here are a couple of teasers. Both photos were taken this year.

Question 1) Where in Rhyl would you find the above scene?

Question 2) Re: the photo below, where was the photographer standing?

No need to send me an email - just check your answer against mine on Friday 24th March 2017 after 12 noon.

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RHYL MAN GOES WEST

Last week I spent a pleasant afternoon in Caernarfon – my first visit in half a century – and walked round the town centre and castle and visited the offices of Gwynedd County Council. During all that time I heard only Welsh spoken except in response to my questions.

Afterwards in a cosy café I reflected on what Y Rhyl might be like today if the railway had never arrived and how – this month – Rhyl councillors saw fit to mark St. David's Day by standing outside the railway station singing songs in English.

There are enough incongruities and things wrong in Rhyl to fill a book. Still and all, this is not the worst town in the world nor, as recent publicity announced, the worst place to live in Wales. People who think it is should take a trip to scruffbag Bangor.

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QUIZ QUESTION # 183

CARDIGAN TERRACE

Attention, all quiz players! Where in Rhyl would you find this sign saying Cardigan Terrace?

No need to send me an email - just check your answer against mine on Tuesday 28th February 2017 after 12 noon.

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QUIZ QUESTION # 182

A little teaser to keep you amused. Below is a 1960s/early '70s postcard of donkeys, riders and hangers-on. Love the little white handbag.

In the background, on the inside of the sea wall, is a large notice beginning PERSONS LEAVING BOTTLES . . .
The question: What does the complete notice say?
You have to be word perfect, mind!

No need to send me an email - just check your answer against mine to be published in this blog on Wednesday 25th January 2017 around 12 noon.

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A BIG ADVENTURE

These photos from The Journal take us back to 1989 and the fledgling Rhyl Adventure Playground – in Marsh Road at the time.

In the lower picture, with the children is play worker Tony Chilton. Handing over a donation is Clwyd County Councillor Ray Formstone, next to him is Denise Roebuck (a council officer), and on the receiving end is Dawn Simcock of Rhyl Community Agency.

Dawn, a jolly nice woman whom I remember well, has been living for quite a few years in the United States and raising a family there. Dawn if you are reading this, your ex-colleague James Harrison would like to get in touch. You could reach James via Yours Truly:

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

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The following post titled SHE'S GOT A HOPE was published originally on TUESDAY, 17 JANUARY 2017 and then disappeared MARCH 2017, so this is a restoration:

SHE'S GOT A HOPE

Earlier today Prime Minister Theresa May delivered a speech on the UK’s proposed withdrawal from the European Union. The speech glossed over the fact that more than 48 per cent of voters in the EU referendum had actually voted to Remain.

Around here many who voted Leave did so out of ignorance and spite. To take an extreme example, I spoke to a chap in Wellington Market, Rhyl, who said he had voted Leave because he didn’t like the ‘bedroom tax’.

Mrs. May and her advisers have somehow interpreted the referendum result as yearning by voters for a more global and internationalist Britain. Dear me, the racist and xenophobic comments by Leavites indicated exactly the opposite.

Mrs. May’s government wants have its cake and eat it, for instance by leaving the EU single market while continuing to trade with it on a tariff-free basis. I don’t know why other EU member states should agree to that.

Losing access to the single market would hit Wales especially hard. As Plaid Cymru pointed out in a recent bulletin: We have the highest proportion of exports going to the EU of any UK nation.

Jill Evans MEP and Plaid Cymru's other representatives are battling to defend our interests.

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NEW YEAR QUIZ (# 181)

Here are eight Rhyl questions - not too difficult I hope - to help put your brain back in working order after the Christmas break.

1. In this photo of the trough/fountain on the promenade, what is hidden behind the red dots?

2. In this 1950 photo of Rhyl councillors and staff, what is the occasion?

3. This recent shot shows part of a block of flats. What is the English name of the building?

4. In this image of a religious gathering, what was the nearest theatre?

5. Here is a flyer for Celebrity's night club. In what hotel was Celebrity's?

6. Below: pomp and ceremony draws a crowd. Where were they standing?

7. This building's name is hidden by a cluster of black dots. What is it?

8. The following roofs (rooves if you like) are where?

Those are the questions. No need to send me an email - just check your answers against mine to be published in this blog on Sunday 15th January 2017 around 12 noon.

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It was a quiet enough Christmas and New Year here at Jones Towers. No doubt there was traditional rowdyism, drunkenness and brawling elsewhere in Rhyl.
Daily Post has published North Wales Police statistics regarding alcohol-fuelled violence outside licensed premises during a three-year period up to March last year.
These included Rhyl venues: Ellis' Vaults, Water Street (37 violent incidents); The Barrel, Water Street (22); The Bodfor, Bodfor Street (17).
Surely these places should not be allowed to renew their licences and carry on in business unless they make serious efforts to attract a more civilised clientele.
Read complete story in Daily Post:
http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/rise-alcohol-fuelled-violence-outside-12379487

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RHYL LIFE QUIZ WINNERS

There have been two series of the quiz, each ran for 80 weeks. Most weeks the ‘question’ was more than one question!

For quizmaster and players it was a fun way of absorbing information. Although the number of entrants was small, the blog’s statistics showed that a very large number of people were watching the questions and answers.

The quiz was never a level playing field – readers found out about it at differing stages. As a whole it was a stiff test of anybody’s knowledge of Rhyl past and present.

The results are all in and I have no hesitation in declaring Gareth Morris as King of the Rhyl Life Quiz:

The above photos of Gareth appeared in this blog in April 2010. I dubbed him The Great Gareth because of his high scoring rate. He was joint-winner of the first series and is clear winner of the second series.

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Next are ‘the Jackson girls’. On the left in this photo – in second place – Jane Shuttle who was joint-winner of the first series and runner-up in the second. That makes her Queen of the Rhyl Life Quiz!

In third place, on your right above, is Jane’s sister Sue Handley. There has been no collusion here. Sue would have loved to beat Jane at this game!

I call Jane and Sue ‘the Jackson girls’ because their father was Douglas Jackson who worked in Pilkingtons and for a short time was landlord of Ellis's in Water Street.

In fourth place were Richard & Ceri Swinney. Richy might say “not bad for a Worcestershire man”. Interesting to note that none of the top scorers started life in Rhyl, except the following:

In fifth place Dilys Bagnall who was born at “10 Williams Street, Rhyl. Lived next door to John and Muriel Bamber who had a coal round.”

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In the second series Dorothy Jones and Geoff Hughes did not play continuously but both displayed above-average ability and should be mentioned in dispatches.

Many thanks to all who took part.

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QUIZ QUESTION # 160

The final salvo in this second series of the quiz comprises eight questions.

1. Below is a photo taken not many years ago. The building's name has been obscured by black dots.
The question: What is the missing name?

2. Below is a group of Edwardian gentlemen and a lady outside a Rhyl building.

The question: What is the name of the building?

3. Below is a shot taken in January this year. On nearest side is The Bike Hub, on far side is The Harbour Hub Cafe.

The question: What is the building inbetween used for?

4. Below is a photo of unknown date taken in the London Transport area.
The question: What has it got to do with Rhyl?

Click on any picture to see a bigger version.

5. Above is a part of a photo of unknown date, obviously not recent.

The question: Where in Rhyl was it taken?

6. Above is a shot taken this year with a place name blanked out.
The question: What is the missing name?

7. Above is an image of a Crosville bus loading in High Street.

The question: Would the nearest date be 1930, 1940, 1950 or 1960?

8. The above is part of a photograph taken this year.
The question: Where in Rhyl would you see this construction?

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You would score 1 win for each correct answer, plus 2 extra wins for getting all 8 right.

You have until the end of Saturday 22nd October 2016 to send your entry. The result will appear on this blog next day around noon.

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

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QUIZ QUESTION # 159

Above is an image of a Rhyl character circa 1900 on Foryd bridge, not the present one but the one before (a toll bridge 1861-1932).
The question: Is she most likely to have been a Fisherwoman, Fortune teller, Nanny or Postwoman?
The correct answer would score 1 win.

Below is an aerial shot taken in the 1920s and blurred deliberately by your crafty blogger:

The question: What is the name of the street marked by red dot?
The correct answer would score 1 win. 

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You have until the end of Saturday 15th October 2016 to send your entry. The result will appear on this blog next day around noon.

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

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