COOL CALLING

Unaccustomed as I am to walking Rhyl seafront in January, curiosity about new works sent me up there today.

The weather was not warm, dear readers but, as is often the case in Rhyl, the general aspect was bright and cheerful. The photos in this post were taken by Yours Truly.

On the promenade, to your left of Pavilion Theatre there are extensive works all the way along to Garden of Remembrance. These should include a Travelodge hotel amongst other things:

Click on any image to see a bigger version.

Above: In Children's Village, aka The Village, the unit once operated by Noah Robinson as Cap'n Noah's indoor playground is being demolished. Nearby at the Tourist Information Centre business is as usual.

Below: Just to your left of the Skytower the forthcoming Waterpark is being constructed:

Opposite the Skytower the Premier Inn hotel/restaurant/pub is nearing completion:

The scene from Water Street:

Rhyl began as a resort with residential areas and became a residential town with a resort area. In the process it lost its sense of direction.

In 2018 though, we see evidence that Rhyl has clawed its way back on course and is gathering strength again.

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THU 12th APR 2018 UPDATE: Regarding the Premier Inn project, I can tell you that the 'Cookhouse and Pub' part is open for business. The address is 21-26 West Parade. Tel: (01745) 775419.

This and the rest of the Premier Inn project are owned by Whitbread PLC who also own the Costa coffee bar in High Street.

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SUN 13th MAY 2018 UPDATE: Pleased to report that the Waterpark is coming along nicely. This photograph was taken today by Yours Truly.

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WED 8th AUG 2018 UPDATE: The Waterpark seems on track to be ready for summer season 2019. Pictures of the interior indicate something like the old Sun Centre with plenty of novelty slides and refreshment areas, plus lots of extra features (I should hope so for £15 million).

In some quarters the new one is referred to as SC2 which probably means Sun Centre 2, but the name SC2 is unlikely to catch on with the public. Our combined bus & railway station site has been Rhyl Interchange since 2010; have you ever heard anybody call it by that name?

For updates on the Waterpark see stories by Kelly Williams in Daily Post:

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/take-look-inside-rhyls-new-15003763?

and
https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/rhyl-water-park-sc2-new-15177358?

The opening is to be Friday 5th April 2019. Ticket prices here:
https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/rhyl-sc2-centre-prices-pool-15454340?

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MONDAY MEANDER

Rhyl town centre changes so often that a stroll round at any time of year reveals something new or new-ish. The photos in this post were taken yesterday, Monday 9th October 2017 by Yours Truly.

Above is corner of Wellington Road & High Street which not long ago was home to Boomers toys and gifts and way back in time the Mostyn Hotel. Now we have 'Golden Razor' offering haircut, shave and additional hair- removing treatments.

I was sorry to see the closure of Oldhams Bakery in Wellington Road opposite the ex-Post Office, and pleased to see the worthy replacement - Sandbank Bakery's shop in Russell Road opposite Liffy's:

Now, to your right of legendary Jay's Cafe/restaurant in Market Street is Clwyd Bakeries. My pal Jill and I liked this clean and tidy place and added it to our list of approved Rhyl snack bars:

At 11 Bodfor Street, sandwiched (sorry!) between The Bodfor pub on your left and Cash Converters on your right, is Courden's Coffee House & Bistro. Not tried yet.

The following shot was taken while standing in Sussex Street and looking through the gap between George Hotel & Baptist Church. Demolition of buildings on northeast side of Queen Street affords a dramatic view of the Skytower, at least temporarily.

On northwest side of Queen Street, in the building known for decades as Adelphi Fish Restaurant, later Shaw's Restaurant, and recently as Chilli Pink, there now stands Jafflong Spice. Restaurants of the name Jafflong are invariably Indian.

On corner of Water Street and West Parade, on the site of the demolished Honey Club, the Brewer's Fayre pub restaurant and Premier Inn hotel are at long last taking shape opposite the Skytower:

The following names are added here for indexing purposes:
Office2Home stationery, Portal Entertainment games, Grade 1 Barbers, Aquarius Market Street.

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

Don't forget my YouTube channel featuring Rhyl videos and slideshows. The channel is named RhylTime. Click here 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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THE WORKS

Lot of works going on in Rhyl at present. The scene above is part of the Marina Quay development on the former Ocean Beach Fun Fair site, and so are these two:

The big unit on corner of West Parade and Sydenham Avenue has an entrance in the same place as the fun fair's main entrance was. The resemblance ends there.

The Marina Quay development will bring more shoppers to Rhyl, but will it take more trade away from our town centre? We'll have to wait and see.

All photos in this post were taken this month by Yours Truly.

Click on any one to see a bigger version.

Further along West Parade there is nothing doing on the derelict plot of land at top of John Street, but the Skytower is getting a lick of paint in advance of further decoration.

Across the road, at top of Water Street, work has commenced on site of the demolished Honey Club (previously Rosy O'Grady's, originally Monica Hotel). The plan is for a Premier Inn. Not much to see at present because of a high fence.

Near top of Queen Street the scaffolding is a work of art and should be preserved:

Near Rhyl Golf Club, opposite Lyons Robin Hood Holiday Park, large moles have become a problem.

No, it's just more flood defence work:

Nothing doing on site of the demolished Grange Hotel in East Parade, but the Pavilion Theatre's facelift is coming along nicely and plans to your left of the theatre include a Travelodge hotel and a pub.

At present the theatre looks like this from Conwy Street:

The shows go on as usual. See Pavilion website -

http://www.rhylpavilion.co.uk/

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Sorry to have to note here that my pal Fred Burns the photographer, who has been operating a studio at 44 Bedford Street, Rhyl, for more than ten years has opted for early retirement due to illness. Fred and I worked together on several projects and had a lot of laughs.

By coincidence, GMG's wedding dress shop next door at No.42 has closed down because proprietor Geraldine also is afflicted by illness. One-person businesses have a fragile existence.

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LIFE GOES ON: APR 2017

During April 2017, eight older posts were updated:

Brexit / Regrexit!

http://rhyl-life.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/may-does-trump.html

Coventry Co-op Camp, Kinmel Bay -

http://rhyl-life.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/in-response.html

Jolly Boys Football Club -

http://rhyl-life.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/minstrels-pierrots-and-jolly-boys.html

Knights Caverns, Palace Fun Centre -

http://rhyl-life.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/quiz-answer-130.html

Ocean Beach Fun Fair/1970s -

http://rhyl-life.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/ocean-beach.html

Promenade boating lake (pedal boats) -

http://rhyl-life.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/boating-on-prom_10.html

Rebecca Trehearn -

http://rhyl-life.blogspot.co.uk/2009/10/rebecca-trehearn.html

Stoke-on-Trent Children's Holiday Home -

http://rhyl-life.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/quiz-answer-89_3.html

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

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QUIZ ANSWER # 155

Last Sunday Question 1 was: What is the name of this Rhyl street?
Answer: Eastville Avenue.
The shot is taken from the middle of the road (not recommended) at east end of Eastville Ave, looking towards the bend that leads to Oakville Ave.

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Question 2 was: Which statements are true/false?

A: The Britannia Hotel was in High Street.
FALSE.
One of my early essays said there was a Britannia Hotel on the site of the present Co-op way back before Regal Cinema. In fact it was Britannia Inn (later renamed Britannia Forge) which I believe became a garage.

B: The pier was open to the public for a hundred years.
FALSE.
Dates given usually are 1867-1966 during which the pier had several long closures for repairs. It was closed as unsafe for a 13-year stretch between 1913 and 1930.

C: The Skytower came to us from Glasgow.

TRUE.

The Skytower came from Glasgow Garden Festival. Somewhere I said Edinburgh; the slip was spotted by Pete Bethell.
[On Internet correcting errors is no problem. Be nice if we could undo our life mistakes as easily.]

Scoring 1 win for Eastville and/or 1 win for FALSE-FALSE-TRUE:

Dilys Bagnall 2, The Great Gareth 2, Jane Shuttle 1, Sue Handley 1.

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Further to the above comments about the pier, the postcard below shows a banner declaring PIER NOW OPEN.
Click on the picture to see a bigger version.

The card is undated. Pay booths at the shore end indicate that the pier was still under private ownership at the time.
The banner may refer to re-opening after the pier had collapsed in the middle following a storm in 1909.
It wasn't the luckiest pier in the world.

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THE SKYTOWER

The Skytower opened on Rhyl promenade in 1989. It had originated at a garden festival in Scotland; we bought it for around £825,000 (not a bad price bearing in mind we’ve had 21 years of use so far). The revolving cabin rises to a height of about 240 feet/73 metres.

The following photographs were sent by George Owen. They were taken by John Price during the erecting of the tower. John is an ex-Pilkingtons employee who went to work for a small local plant hire company. The pictures are unique; we’ve never seen them before.

Click on any image to see a bigger version.

And to bring us up to date, here below is a photo taken in April 2010 by Yours Truly:

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FRI 20th MAR 2015 UPDATE: The Skytower closed at the end of the summer season in 2010. At present there is neither a confirmed plan to
re-open it as a ride nor a plan to remove it.

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UP THE TOWER

Here are views looking westwards from Skytower. The one at the top is from days of Rhuddlan Borough Council 1974-1996, and the other shows the scene since the present Drift Park was completed in 2007.

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CHILDREN'S VILLAGE

Never in the history of Rhyl has quite so much scorn been heaped on a new development as on Children’s Village. Originally planned to be around the base of the Skytower, the marzipan village (as some call it) was bumped sideways onto a hump over a car park, obliterating the sea view and removing an important access point to the beach.

More than a decade ago I campaigned to have it knocked down. My objections were about the bizarre look of the place and the underlying cynicism. Children’s Village was little more than a business park, and the prom had been reconstructed to force strollers to walk through it.

Lately there have been some changes. The photographs above were taken yesterday by Yours Truly. The one at the top shows that a unit facing West Parade has been demolished. In the middle photo the high wall at the back has been replaced by a lower wall; if you stand close enough you can see the beach and sea even though you can’t get down there.

Finally, the view from the cinema end shows that the big round orange-and-yellow canopy has gone from over the car park entrance. Only time will tell whether its removal was a good idea, a bad idea or a pointless gesture.

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QUIZ ANSWER # 33

Last Wednesday I posted a larger version of the photograph above and said: Where was I standing when I took the photo? The answer: I was standing in the car/coach park in Crescent Road.

First with the right answer were Rhyl fans Lloyd and Kerry Adams of Cannock who said, “The Skytower column in the pic gave it away.”

It was a detail from the following:

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