Meanwhile - Two Years Later

Photo © Rob Jones

Bank Holiday weekend and so I went to the seaside - albeit briefly.

And so sitting in my little ‘guilty pleasure’ of a place - The Mostyn Gallery Cafe in Llandudno - with a coffee and luxury flapjack, I was trying to recall the last time I was here. Several times in the past to see exhibitions certainly, and there was also that interview Michael Portillo! Long story. But the very last time was autumn of 2019. Before all the craziness with Covid began. (Cue: Abba - The Day Before You Came.)

“My Transport for Wales train, I’m certain left the station in Bangor a little late, like it always does. Read the morning paper heading into Llandudno. Read the editorial, no doubt I must have frowned. Without really knowing anything, I hid a part of me away. etc etc.”

Anyway … last time I was in the Mostyn Gallery - I was involved in giving a podcast training session. It was a cold and wet day, out of season, and most people were beginning to turn their minds to planning their Christmas shopping.

Halfway through the session, the little group adjourned to the cafe upstairs to chat over a coffee and cake. They do really nice cakes.

Then, our story complete, we released them into the streets of Llandudno to go their separate ways. The session we planned after that got cancelled due to Covid.

Seems both like yesterday, and so long ago at the same time.

Apart from the droopy masks, tucked under chins or dangling from wrists, and the occasional one-way systems in shops, there was little to show for the pandemic. A day to forget all that maybe. A respite. For once the sun was shining on a bank holiday. How often does that happen?

Then … walking along the prom, savouring the smells of the seaside in summer. Wishing there was a way to capture them. Vinegar on chips; sweet smells of candifloss and boiled sweets; the sea and seaweed; deep fried doughnuts. The sounds of pinball machines and cake-walk coin drops in the penny arcades, the gulls circling ominously overhead.

Almost as though the last two years had been a dream.

Llandudno - The Queen of Welsh Resorts - obviously comes into its own in the summer. It was built for tourists after all - most of it designed and built according to a plan in the 1850s, 60s and 70s.

Things you never knew you didn’t know about Llandudno. It’s home to one of the oldest Punch and Judy shows in the country - Codmans.

Photo © Rob Jones

It’s said that Lewis Carroll was inspired to write some of Alice in Wonderland in the seaside resort. The Great Orme cablecar is the longest of its kind in the UK. Kashmir goats roam the Great Orme, descended from a pair given to Lord Mostyn by Queen Victoria. (Oh look Darling, Vicky’s sent us some goats, how thoughtful,) which during the lockdown took control of the trafficless streets of Llandudno. It has the longest pier in Wales. It’s the largest seaside resort in Wales. It has the only cable hauled tramway in the UK.

Llandudno’s been waiting a long time for them to come back. It doesn’t seem to have lost its knack.

RJ