HELLO, GOODBYE

This afternoon out for a stroll (a Sunday constitutional) I witnessed Burton / Dorothy Perkins in the process of clearing out. Inside the shop were rails of clothes marked for transfer to other branches, nearest being Llandudno and Broughton.

The building at 48-50 High Street is one of few left from Rhyl's art deco period. It began life in 1930 simply as Burton the tailor. In recent years: Burton menswear on the 1st floor, Dorothy Perkins womens' fashions on ground floor.

Just in case the building undergoes radical change, here is  a record of its exterior wall plaques.

The following is on front of the building, to the right of Dorothy Perkins' window at a height of roughly 10-12 feet. It commemorates The Beatles 1962 appearance at Regent Dansette which used to be on 2nd floor: 

This cornerstone is at ground level beneath The Beatles plaque: 

Round the corner of Burton's window is a disused side door with plaques at ground level on each side:

Left:

 Right:

The photographs above are by Yours Truly.

You could read a short history of the company in Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burton_(retailer)

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TUE 9th JAN 2018 UPDATE: Ex-Rhylite Nigel Kerry of Clun writes, “Misspent youth. Burton’s also had a very popular snooker hall upstairs as lots of Burton’s branches had.”

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WED 24th JAN 2018 UPDATE:  Rhyl's percentage of empty shops has increased from 17.3 per cent in 2015 to 21.6 in 2016, and to 24.7 in 2017. What a rate of decline. It's hard to believe Rhyl was once THE regional shopping centre in Vale of Clwyd.

See Daily Post:

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/business/business-news/town-centre-one-worst-wales-14193941#ICID=IYA

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MARK HAMBOURG

Mark Hamourg
portrait by F.W. Schmidt, Manchester

Mark Hambourg (1879-1960) was a Russian-born, naturalised British pianist of international repute. He played at Rhyl Pavilion on Sunday October 10th 1943, presumably as part of a concerted effort to keep the collective pecker up during World War 2.

Mr. Hambourg was accompanied by the Bournemouth Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by William Rees. The dodgy acoustics at the old Pavilion would have done them no favours but it was by all accounts a  rattling good concert, a big success!

This reference is added here for indexing purposes:
Summit Enterprises Limited London.

You can see Mark Hambourg on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD2IoVbOUpc

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WED 7th MAR 2018 UPDATE: From one pianist to two! On April 2nd 1945 (five months before World War 2 ended) the Pavilion presented piano duettists Marjan Rawicz and Walter Landauer.
Here is the complete programme:

 

 

Click on any image to see a bigger version.

These are added here for indexing purposes:
Harold Fielding agent promoter, Mary Denise singer vocalist, Mannucci cello cellist , Joseph Saxby piano pianist, Keith Prowse old advert.

You can see Rawicz & Landauer on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i82tN2f1t4w&list=RDi82tN2f1t4w&t=2

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FRI 3rd AUG 2018 UPDATE: An eminent visitor to Rhyl Pavilion the year before Mark Hambourg was the Russian/Ukranian naturalised British concert pianist Benno Moiseiwitsch who was given a CBE in 1946 for performing hundreds of recitals to servicemen and charities during WW2.

These are added here for indexing purposes:
Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Henry Holst, Louis Cohen.

The Grand Repertory Ball reference in the flyer was a fundraising event by (and possibly for) Manchester Repertory Company who were resident at the Pavilion at that time.

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RHETORICAL QUESTION

This is not part of the usual Quiz.

Below are two old postcards from the same series. They show photos of small hotels/guest houses in Butterton Road, Rhyl, named Mountgreen and Silverdale.
Notice anything funny about them?

Same photo!

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ALEX BOOKLET

Ex-Rhylite Robert Jones of Dyserth has provided this item - a booklet from the early days of the Royal Alexandra Hospital or - as it was known then - Royal Alexandra Children's Hospital and Convalescent Home.

The booklet is undated but clearly over 100 years old. Some pictures are familiar but the big attraction here is the text which is very informative about conditions at the time.

Incidentally, The Patroness H.M. Queen Alexandra was actually Alexandra of Denmark, Queen consort, wife of Edward VII.

Interesting item. Thanks, Robert!

Click on any page to read small print.

Click on any page to read small print.

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The following references are added here for indexing purposes:
Archdeacon Ffoulkes, Duke of Westminster, Alfred Waterhouse architect, Murray Browne, Gertrude Ffoulkes, Edith Vizard.

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BURIAL AT SEA

It is not every day you see a photo of three lifeboats together. This one shows 12-24 Rhyl, 13-06 Hoylake and 12-006 Llandudno gathered in April 2017 to mark the scattering of the ashes of long serving Rhyl lifeboat man Gerald Hughes of Frederick Street.

The late Gerald Hughes, RNLI Rhyl

Photos in this post were supplied by Gerald’s cousin, educationalist David Hughes [alias Ambrose Conway, author of 'The Reso' books] who says of the boat codes, “The first 2 numbers refer to the length in metres and the second 2 to the individual boat in the class.

“Rhyl is due to receive a boat like the Hoylake boat - which is why they are going to extend our lifeboat station to fit it in.

“They will also be setting up a small museum with many of Gerald's artefacts taking pride of place."

I look forward to seeing that. Thanks, David.

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PLEASE NOTE

This blog is winding down to a close. The final new post is scheduled for Dydd Gŵyl Dewi / St. David’s Day, Thursday 1st March 2018.

Updating of posts will continue as usual. Subscribers will receive occasional ‘Life Goes On’ bulletins about updates.

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

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NIGHT LIFE

The following information about night clubs has been moved here from a 2017 post that had become over-long and unwieldy:

Celebrity's was in Marina Hotel, or Hotel Marina if you prefer, in Marine Drive Rhyl. The hotel was closed following a police raid in 2012. Not long afterwards the hotel was converted to flats (Marina Apartments).

On the back of the above flyer, these Celebrity's disc jockeys are listed:
DJ Welly, Pleasuredome Farnworth / DJ Stubby, Mix Factory / Sequins, Blackpool / Banshee, Manchester / M.C. Sack, Legendary 2ForJoy Revenge / DJ Rodge The Dodge & Co, London.

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Here is a 1996 flyer from the Downtown in West Parade (near Ocean Beach Fun Fair).
Click on it to read small print.

Front of flyer:

Steam 2 rave tour

Back of flyer:

Downtown Club residents:

DJ 3.D.O.M, DJ Dolphin, DJ/M.C. Eazy, M.C. Delicious, M.C. Eternal.

DJ Scorpio, DJ Producer, DJ HMS, DJ Loftgroover, DJ Brisk,

M.C. Squidgy B.

Visitors and others:

DJ Nicky B, DJ FDA, DJ Destroyer, DJ Vortex.

DJ Clarkee, DJ Mastervibe, DJ Menace, DJ Psycho 9.

DJ Jay Prescott, DJ Smarti, DJ Sass, DJ Frantic, DJ Macca, DJ Tox.

DJ Mark E.G., DJ Aggressor.

DJ Freak, DJ Jack Hammer, DJ A/Trax.

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Here is another club flyer. This one is from 1992 – 
Click on it to read small print.

References on the flyer:
Clash Promotions, Rhyl Fridays, DJ Symon M, DJ Rob Tissara, PSI Division, DJ Sami B, Sunset Radio 102 FM, DJ Nipper, DJ Slipmatt, DJ Stu Allen, DJ Dave Angel, DJ Kenny Ken, DJ Mike E-Bloc.

The location is not specified exactly but the following clues are in the text "OPEN AIR CHILL OUT DANCE BALCONY OVERLOOKING THE SEA" and "Next door to the fun fair on the seafront" and therefore the finger of suspicion points to the Downtown Club again.

The telephone number is a clue. Was that the Downtown's number?

Additional image added here in June 2020:

Above: This compliment slip shows the telephone number of Downtown Club as 0745 51861.
In due course the first part became 01745 and the second part 351 861.

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

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SUN 19th AUG 2018 UPDATE: A flyer for Saturday 27th Sep 1997 at Club Zinc, Queens Buildings, West Parade, Rhyl.
Click on it to read small print.

References on the flyer:
Music promoter North aka North Radical Technology, music promoter Helter Skelter,

music event All The Fun Of The Fair, music event Spectrum  Night,

DJ 3.D.O.M, DJ M-Zone, DJ Sharkey, DJ Dolphin, DJ Jay Prescott,

[B2B means 2 DJs on stage together back-to-back]

DJ Mark EG, DJ Scorpio, DJ Producer,

M.C. Eazy, M.C. Squidgy B, M.C. Ribbs,

DJ Dare, Wigless Wigy as The Fat Controller,

3rd Planet Records (record shop), 4 Russell Road, Rhyl.

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Two additional images added here in July 2020:

Who remembers The Orange Peel? The entrance was under the big red dot in the photo below.

Other references in the two images:
Acid, trance, techno, dosseposse, trancemission.
Palace hotel, Neptune's Bar, Swinging Sporran Bar, William Younger Ales, Sandringham Avenue.

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CARLTON CAFE

Keith Boyle has written from Queensland, Australia. Keith is grappling with family history and has raised a query about the location of Carlton Café, Rhyl (above left).

The café was at 15 Queen Street before World War 2 but the street has been renumbered at least once since then. The names Bell and Felton have been associated with the premises, and so has footballer Harry Hampton who figures in Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Hampton_(footballer,_born_1885)

The point is, where was the café? Keith regards the current Victory Club, 60 Queen Street, as the most likely place. My thanks to Peter Trehearn and Roger & Sue Handley for thoughts on this matter.

Now what we need is somebody to confirm absolutely that the Victory Club was indeed the Carlton Café.
Over to you, dear readers . . .  

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

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TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS

Care home are big business in Rhyl, bringing money into the town and creating jobs. A 2017 report by the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) found no reason to be concerned about any Rhyl homes. Only one in Denbighshire failed to pass muster and that was in Llangollen. Phew!

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