PANTO DRAWS ON

These recent acquisitions are postcards bearing bottom right the printed signature of Rhyl photographer Rae Pickard and the date 1912. On the back they carry the following message: "BROMESQUE" REAL PHOTOGRAPH by RAE PICKARD, RHYL. PRINTED IN RHYL.

The cards bear no further details. Mr. Pickard ranged far and wide in North Wales, so there is no guarantee that this production of 'Cinderella' was actually staged in Rhyl. Nevertheless I suspect we are looking at girls from our St. Mary's Convent School in Russell Road which was up and running by then.

Kinmel Bay-based cartoonist/singer/comedian Roy Lance clocked up a few pantos in his time, such as this one:

Roy is on your right as Simple Simon with Trevor Moreton as Dame in 'Jack and the Beanstalk' 1968-69 at Swansea Grand Theatre. Jack was played by pop singer Wayne Fontana; the cast included The Harmon Brothers (later known as The Chuckle Brothers).

If I have identified the wrong production I will go and stand in the corner.

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This year at Pavilion Theatre, Rhyl, we have 'Sleeping Beauty':

Pavilion Theatre says, "The cast is headed by Vicky Entwistle, perhaps best known as Coronation Streeet’s Janice Batterby who plays the Bad Fairy Cararabosse. She is joined by Channel 5’s Milkshake presenter, Amy Thompson as Sleeping Beauty, Princess Briar Rose, and Hollyoaks’ Kathy Barnes, Sarah Jane Buckley, as the Good Fairy.

"The Queen of pantomime dames, Charles Burden, plays Nanny Glucose, and back by popular demand is Wales’ very own Sean Jones as Silly Billy who returns for his 6th consecutive pantomime at the Pavilion.

"There is a full supporting cast which includes two local talented dance schools, The Gay Harris Dancers and The North Wales School of Dance. Sleeping Beauty runs from Wednesday 13th December to Saturday 6th January, tickets are priced from just £9.50."

Website: http://www.rhylpavilion.co.uk/sleeping-beauty/

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FAWLTY CONNECTIONS

Incidentally, recent works by Denbighshire County Council at the Pavilion Theatre include the creation of a new restaurant area which has been given the name ‘1891’ because somebody thinks that’s when the Pavilion first opened. There are faults in this reasoning.

The present Pavilion Theatre which opened in 1991 could be described as a belated replacement for the famous domed Rhyl Pavilion (demolished 1974, opened 1908) but there is no connection that I know of between those two council-owned venues and the Grand Pavilion (destroyed by fire 1901, opened 1891).

The Grand Pavilion, about which I published a book in 2002, was a concert hall built at the shore end of our Victoria Pier by a private company which owned the pier at that particular time. It was not the start of a Pavilion dynasty so ‘1891’ is not an appropriate name for the restaurant.

If the link between the three disparate venues is simply the word Pavilion, then the restaurant might as well be named '1867' which was the date that the Bijou Pavilion opened halfway along the pier. Does all this matter? Well, there is already enough misinformation about Rhyl history out there without Denbighshire Council adding to it.

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SPORTY SCHOLARS

From Dave Williams come these images of sports teams at Rhyl County School. County School was the pre-World War 2 forerunner of Rhyl Grammar School (now incorporated into Rhyl High).

Click on any image to see a bigger version.

The photo of the football/soccer team is dated 1928-29; the cricket team is dated 1930. From the same source comes this picture of County School boys of same period:

Thanks, Dave!

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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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WATERPARK

Yesterday, Denbighshire councillors agreed to a new attraction for Rhyl described as a Waterpark, This is to be sited near the Skytower as shown in the designs above (which are not precise in every detail).

The Waterpark is a kind of replacement for the Sun Centre. Jamie Glover, one of Denbighshire's unelected officers, says the Sun Centre ". . . didn't really provide a significant economic return to the town given it was far removed from the town centre."

Hmmmm. That's not what shopkeepers were telling me when it closed. Prestatyn's Nova Centre is being hailed as a success after a £4-and-a-half million makeover – not exactly in Prestatyn town centre, is it?

Anyway the fun and games at Rhyl's new Waterpark should pull in the crowds at least while the attraction remains a novelty. I welcome it with open arms; Rhyl needs to be refreshed by something new.

The Sun Centre cost just over £4 million in 1991 (not much more than £6 million in today's money). The new water park is estimated at £15 million. I wonder how Denbighshire is going to pay for it.

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FRI 3rd MAR 2017 UPDATE: The official name of the project is Rhyl Waterpark and Leisure Attraction (RWLA) aka Aquatic Centre. For our purposes Waterpark will do.
As for the cost, Rhyl Town Council has put £2 million in the kitty, and there will be £800k from the Tourism Investment Support Scheme (TISS) operated by Welsh Government. Denbighshire County Council will borrow the remainder of the required £15.4 million.
Cost of relocating the present skateboard park is included in calculations. Even so, the Waterpark will by far the most expensive item in the history of Rhyl. I hope that councillors have compared costs with other waterparks to ensure that we are not getting ripped off.
There are more than a dozen waterparks in UK and the number is steadily increasing. By the time ours opens in 2019 it will not have much in the way of novelty value.
Failure to attract a sufficient number of users will put Denbighshire’s budget under strain, so let’s cross our fingers and hope for a big success.

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SAT 21st OCT 2017 UPDATE: Further to Mr. Glover's comment about the Sun Centre being "far removed from the town centre", this postcard is a reminder of how near/far it actually was - the roundabout on your left is at top of High Street.

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RHYL SCHOOLS

Ysgol Llywelyn is spelt Llywelyn so I have corrected previous mentions in this blog that referred to it as Llewelyn. The confusion arises because Ysgol Llywelyn is in Trellewelyn Road. 

Occasionally, spellings can cause confusion. The former school in Vaughan Street was Christ Church (2 words); the current one is Christchurch.

Recently the primary schools Llywelyn, Emmanuel & Bryn Hedydd were in the highest possible grade of Welsh Government rankings.
Da iawn!

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BRIAN'S PIX

Brian Pendleton was born in 1931 in Prince Edward Avenue, Rhyl, and went to St. Anne's School and Emmanuel. The above photo of Brian was taken circa 1950 at Golden Sands holiday camp in Kinmel Bay where he performed impressions of radio comedians such as Frankie Howerd and Al Read, sang a bit, drove a van and did some joinery. He was versatile!

Below: Saxophonist Albert Williams on guitar, 'Uncle Vic' Dodd on double bass, Brian on washboard, and trumpeter Bill Roberts on piano, at Golden Sands doing the song 'Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier'.

The song was from a Walt Disney film of the same name (1955) starring Fess Parker as the American folk hero and frontiersman who became a politician. Brian made the coonskin cap out of an old fur coat. Note the background: a mural decoration by local cartoonist Roy Lance.

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In 1958 Brian moved to Robin Hood camp in Rhyl (under same ownership as Golden Sands). His knowledge of joinery came in handy in constructing the Pavilion at Robin Hood. The building had been previously an army gymnasium at rear of Ferry Hotel, Kinmel Bay.

Here, looking for all the world like a vocal group, are (left to right): Albert Williams again / pianist Rod Williams / alto saxist Harry Elliott who was related to music hall star G. H. Elliott / clarinettist, saxist and arranger George Bazeley / drummer Benny Humphries. The photo was taken in 1960s at Robin Hood:

Incidentally, Benny Humphries was brother of guitarist Frank whose name I mis-spelt as Humphreys in the book Rhyl Music In The Ritz Years 1955-1968. Hey ho.

Brian stayed at Robin Hood until 1974 as Entertainments Manager, and then worked for a while at Miller's Cottage camp in Towyn before fate returned him to Golden Sands. Below in 1980s at the camp are the highly-rated organist Ian Savagar and drummer Fred Williams:

Meanwhile Brian had become Media Resource Officer at Rhyl High School (from 1975 until he retired in mid 1990s). He was at the school daytime and at the camp in evenings. Well I did he say he was versatile.

The following is an end-of-season party circa 1980 at Golden Sands. The bearded gent at the back is manager Bill Blake. In the yellow top is Esther Davies and the big baby is her son Kevin:

It was a pleasure to meet Brian Pendleton last month and listen to him reminiscing. At 85 years of age with a clear memory, he is in enviable form and long may he continue! This photo of Brian is by Yours Truly:

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SUN 4th FEB 2018 UPDATE: The image below of Miller's Cottage camp in Gainc Road, Towyn, is taken from a card postmarked 1950.

Now the site is a caravan park:
http://millerscottage.co.uk/

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BLENCATHRA AT MORANEDD

The name of Blencathra School has cropped up several times in this blog. It was a private school for girls in Russell Road. But before that it was in a house named Moranedd in East Parade, most often remembered as the Grange Hotel (recently demolished - all gone).

Here is a school prospectus from Moranedd days:

 

Click on any image to see a bigger version.

 

 

 

This rare document was sent by Angie Bhatia. It belonged to a family friend the late Daisy Murcott (who may or may not have been a Blencathra girl). Daisy followed her father Alfred Murcott into an international trading business and she was very committed to animal welfare.

If it had not been for Daisy holding on to the prospectus for many years, and Angie taking the trouble to send it here to Rhyl Life, the document may have been consigned to oblivion. The two ladies have done Rhyl history a favour.

My thanks and best wishes to Angie and her husband in Birmingham.

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The following references are added here for indexing purposes:
Alexander principal, Hiley head, Haselden violin, Bartholemew piano, Hutchings painting, Coulter elocution, Broom dancing, Byrne gymnastics sports, Bishop of St Asaph, Archdeacon Lloyd Rhyl, Wycliffe Goodwin, Anson Alexandra Hospital, Moreton Pritchard, Madocks Denbigh, Fair St Asaph, Eyton St Asaph, Kelly Rhyl, F J Gamlin.

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TEAM SPIRITS

Roger Jones of Dyserth, an ex-Rhylite from Arfon Grove and South Avenue, has sent these photographs of 1961-62 sports teams at the Catholic primary school Ysgol Mair in St. Margaret's Drive, Rhyl.

In the soccer team above, the footballers are . . . 

Floor: Graham Black (left) and David Nevitt.
Front row (Left to Right): Michael Bewick, Timothy Kingston, Stephen Manfredi, Roger Jones himself and Don’t know.
Back row (L to R): Don’t know, Don’t know, Kevin Walton, Don’t know, Don’t know and (Robert Dennis?)

The adult common to both photographs is the headmaster Fred Jemmett. The other adult is Harry Richards (Sports Master).

Click on any photo to see a bigger version.

The cricketers are . . .
Front row (Left to Right): John Bebbington, Graham Black, Timothy Kingston, Roger Jones in person, Stephen Manfredi and (Robert Dennis?)
Back Row (L-R): John Furneaux, Martin Dowling, Michael Bewick, (Peter Marshall?), Malcolm Dunn and Philip Furneaux.

[Come on, Ysgol Mair girls, let's be having your pix! - Ed.]

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For good measure Roger Jones also sent the old black-and-white image below left, showing Alpha Villa in Elwy Street. He says,
"In the 1911 census the house is occupied by Joseph Denton Davies, brother of Thomas Davies, a partner in Rhydwen Jones & Davies the furnishers. My paternal grandparents, originally from Ruthin, lived there from late 1930s until the house passed out of family possession in 1973 following the death of their daughter, my Aunt."

The house is next door to your left of the dentists, and is now plain No.9 Elwy Street as in the colour photo taken a couple of days ago by Yours Truly. "I can well remember visiting Charles Hubbard the dentist next door," says Roger.

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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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MESSAGE FROM MARGARET

This blog has many Rhyl Convent School fans among its readers, and they may be pleased to see the following card posted in 1903 to May Conolly of Deganwy from a convent girl named Margaret:

 

Margaret says, "Dear May. Thank you for your nice P.P.C. (Picture post card - Ed.) I think this is a very good view of the Convent & Drive. We saw Mother yesterday (Saturday) & had great fun. Tessa & Cissie got some big sun hats & trimmed them with muslin (Lightweight cotton cloth in a plain weave - Ed.) I must close now. I remain yr ever loving Margaret."

What a charming find!

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Rhyl Life has a lot about local soccer but not much about rugby, observes one reader. Truth is, I haven't got much rugby stuff on file. How about this 1911 photograph of Rhyl Rugby Team? A fine body of men!

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Please email your Rhyl sports and Rhyl schools photos to:
Colin Jones / email: rhyl.colin.jones@live.co.uk

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QUIZ ANSWER # 140

Last Sunday I posted the above photo taken a few days beforehand in Rhyl. The question: If you were to walk down this alley what would be the first road/street you would come to?

The answer: Sussex Street.

The photo was taken from Town Hall Square. Christ Church is on your left and Lloyd's Bank on your right.

Also posted was an edited version of the following 1978 school concert programme. The question: What is the name of the school?

The answer: Ysgol Llywelyn.

Here is the item with the banner restored:

Click on any picture to see a bigger version.

The item was sent in by Dave Williams. Here is the back page of four, giving details of the concert's  Act III 'The Story Of The Nativity' starring Third Year pupils:

The names are added here for indexing purposes:

Lynda Scott, Mark Hughes, Rachel Keates, Colin Batterbee, Matthew Espley, Kelvin Hall, Wayne Williams, David Diskin, Robert Greaves, Peter Robins, Timothy Jones,Jason Vogelsberger, Craig McGregor, David Robinson, Simon Wallis, Colin Roberts, Heidi Christian, Victoria Williams (Dave's daughter Vicky!), Karin Thompson, Julie Flanagan, Emma Wilkinson, Lesley Town, Nicola Ralph, Sarah Walker, Carl Jones, Matthew Barry, Lee Evans, Gareth Gregson, Paul Lewis, Martin Jones,Thomas Robertson, Georgina Bannister, Pebelope Bannister, Jonathan Puleston-Jones, Hayley Stones, Peter Anderson, Sarah Higgs, Tanya Williams, Darren Roberts, Nicola Field, Alan Williams, Stephen Frodsham, Jason Welsman, Samantha Larder, Julie Owens, Sarah Bower, Tracey Cartlidge, Alison Jones, Angela Davies, Dawn Hollingworth, Sally Littlehales, Julie Drummey, Michael Greenhalgh, Carl Hughes, Darren Byrne, Philip Smith, David Ford, Mark Dolan, Leslie Church, Barry Picton, Ian Horton, Andrew Cope, Ian Tait, Ingrid Mason, Amanda Thomas, Karen Hyland, Melanie Jones, Stephen Hinds, Lisa Kinsella, Lisa Stringer, Marie Shackleton.

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Scoring 1 win for Sussex Street and 1 win for Ysgol Llywelyn: Sue Handley 2, The Great Gareth 2, Jane Shuttle 2.

By the way, did you know there's a Rhyl Primary School in London?

http://www.rhylprim.camden.sch.uk/

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HERE COMES SUMMER

This season Rhyl’s seafront is compromised once again by three large development sites where little or nothing seems to be happening. The photos in this post were taken on Monday 23rd May 2016 by Yours Truly.

At the former Ocean Beach Fun Fair in West Parade the familiar dark blue fence has given way to wire netting and a little bit of grassing. A cabbie tells me that seats appeared on there for a while and then disappeared. The fun fair closed down in 2007 – nine years ago:

The former Grange Hotel in East Parade has been demolished but nothing else seems to be going on. The fire that damaged the hotel beyond repair was in 2008:

In the space where the Honey Club used to be in West Parade there is still nothing to dance about. The club closed down in 2010 or earlier:

The above sites are of special concern because of their high visibility during summer season but we have other ‘stagnant spaces’ such as this one at 57 Russell Road - not far from St. Thomas' Church:

This was the location of Northgate School, a private day school for 4-11 year old boys and girls. I think it became a play school or day care centre for a while before demolition. For many years the site has been unused.

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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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QUIZ ANSWER # 137

Last Sunday I posted these images of four persons of Rhyl interest and asked who they were:

Above is Don Splendlove, Rhyl Football Club's incomparable goal scorer of the late 1940s and 1950s. Mr. Spendlove was also a plumber:

The Spendlove items were supplied by Dave Williams. Thanks, Dave!

Below is G. Mervyn Williams who was a teacher at Christ Church School, Vaughan Street in the 1950s. Mr. Williams left in 1957 to be headmaster of the C. of E. School in Garston, Lancs.

Above is Linda Trehearn in her 'flipping burgers' days at the snack bar in the family's arcade, Vern's Amusements in West Parade. Last I heard of Linda she was working in a care home in Rhyl.

Below is Mohammed Mehmet who has been the Chief Executive of Denbighshire County Council for the last 7 years. Recently I saw him on TV in his role of Chief Returning Officer announcing an election result in English and Welsh. 

Scoring 1 win for each correct name: The Great Gareth 2, Jane Shuttle 2, Dilys Bagnall 1, Sue Handley 2.

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Earlier this month there was an election of Police & Crime Commissioner for North Wales. The winner was the Plaid Cymru candidate Owain Arfon Jones who is an ex-police inspector and a Wrexham councillor.

Click here to read about Mr. Jones' plans and priorities in Daily Post:

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/new-north-wales-crime-tsar-11314190?ptnr_rid=381515&icid=EM_DailyPost_Nletter_News_smallteaser_Image_Story2

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QUIZ ANSWER # 127

 

Last Sunday I posted this drawing of Rhyl Pavilion by J.A. Elliott-Jones. It looks as if it dates from early days of the Pavilion, possibly before World War 1. The question: Was the artist facing north, east, south or west?

The answer: North.

The drawing shows the front of the Pavilion which, strangely enough, was illustrated less often than views from the sides.

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Also I posted the drawing below of a scene near Foryd Harbour by J.A. Elliott-Jones.

Click on it to see a bigger version.

The question: Was the artist facing north, east, south or west?
The answer: South or East.
Either answer was acceptable. To view those buildings including the Packet Inn at the junction of West Parade and Quay Street, from across the estuary, you would be facing South East.

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Scoring 1 win for the Pavilion and/or 1 win for the other answer: Dilys Bagnall 1, The Great Gareth 2, Jane Shuttle 2, Sue Handley 2.

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For 'artist'  read 'original artist or photographer'. Thanks to Sue Handley and Bill Ellis (both alumni of Glyndwr School, Rhyl) I can report that in late 1950s/ early '60s Mr. Elliott-Jones was an art teacher there.
So he was copying from old pictures and could have been facing in any direction!

Mr. Elliott-Jones self-published some drawings including the two above, and some are on display in the permanent collection of the museum at Rhyl Library.

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SAT 17th NOV 2018 UPDATE: Below is another drawing by J.A. E-J. This one is of the western promenade and appears to be copied from a photograph, perhaps with artistic licence. The drawing appears on a card postmarked 1946.

The Pavilion's dome certainly gave artists some problems.

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THE GREAT WAR REVISITED

The Great War, later known as First World War/World War 1, was fought overseas. Around here local people would not have known what a forlorn and muddy bloodbath it was. Young men were urged to join up and fight; those who had moral objections were branded as cowards.

Nearest army training camp to Rhyl (during WW1 and WW2) was Kinmel Park Camp near Bodelwyddan. The above photo of the camp was taken by Rhyl photographer Rae Pickard presumably before, during or after WW1.

The camp looks a pleasant sort of place but conditions were not exactly comfortable if we are to believe the following:
Click on any picture to see a bigger version.

This half-joking card would have been for sale in various locations in UK with the name of the camp changed to suit - worth Tommy's penny for a good larf.

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The card below is dated June 1916 and shows a group at the Red Cross Hospital (aka Men's Convalescent Home) in Bedford Street, Rhyl:

Here is the back of the card:

It is from Grace Brown (presumably a nurse) writing home. She says that the card cost 3d (three pennies) which probably went to Red Cross funds. 
"Dear Mama, What do you think of this? I think it has only just lately been taken because Frank is not on it - Can you find Stiff Neck, Scotty and Flying Boy - We have just had a very nice sergeant about sending stuff to Kinmel. Love Grace."

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Here is a photo hand-dated 1917 of Rhyl County School Cadet Corps. The County School was forerunner of Rhyl Grammar School now Rhyl High:

And below is a rarity that was on sale last year on Internet - hence the seller's logo across the middle. It shows some Belgian refugees being welcomed to Rhyl in 1914:

As we saw recently in Syria, war displaces large numbers of people who uproot themselves and search for a safer place. Drought, famine, war, persecution, failing economies – the history of the world is the history of mass movements of refugees.

No doubt that is how we all came to be where we are.

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This reference is added here for indexing purposes: Brown Attleborough Nuneaton.

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SUN 1th FEB 2016 UPDATE: More bad press for Kinmel Park Camp, this time in the form of a sarcastic poem titled ‘A Little Bit of Heaven’ written by G.W.D. (M.T., A.S.C.)

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SUN 13th AUG 2017 UPDATE: However grim the circumstances, there's always time for laughter. This card is designed by Reg Carter:

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Below: an Internet auction item in 2018 – a folding card!

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