Wednesday, June 08, 2005

Everything Changes But You

As you may or may not be aware, I'm back in sunny Colwyn Bay for most, if not all of the summer. When I started university, I returned home every weekend (largely due to the arseholes on my corridor). I slowly - but surely - migrated away from Colwyn Bay, as I felt more and more at home there. This is the first time back since the two and a bit weeks I spent at easter, making a total of 8 weeks spent in Liverpool, the longest time away from home I've ever spent.

I hopped in a taxi on my return to Colwyn Bay, as I the bus route to my house is sparodic at best, I couldn't help noticing my home town. It's still small, and therefore you notice any changes. There were a lot, shops shutting, shops opening and the like. The biggest shock was Sheldons: a snooker hall in Llandudno. The snooker hall is your stereotypical snooker hall: dark, dingy, serves three lagers, one bitter and one cider. £5 an hour, nice, British, snooker hall. Famous for refusing Jimmy White from playing there*.

Not any more.

Sheldons is now Club 147. Still a snooker hall, but brought into the 21st Century. A new selection of continental lagers are on tap (with fucking TV screens embedded in the pumps), Sky TV, a quiz machine, a £5 Membership fee and table dancers. Yep, table dancers.

We weren't sold to begin with (one of my mates quipped "You can turn my bank into a trendy wine bar, but don't touch my snooker hall!**"), but, even after a dead cert black was missed thanks to the gyrating hips of Llandudno's finest, we began to like it. Nay, love it.

Didn't Sheryl Crow sing "A Change Will Do You Good"?

Anyway, one place I hope never, ever gets changed is along Hafoty Lane. A short, half mile walk away from my house is the most beautiful place on Earth. It's the place where I go when I'm pissed off with the world. I went there earlier today just for a walk, and I took my camera.

It's not the most peaceful place in the world, the gentle rumbling of the A55 expressway and the odd sheep see to that, but I don't care. It's means it's not dead quiet, and I feel truly happy up there.

As my mate would say: You can turn my snooker hall into a trendy wine bar, but don't touch my Hafoty Lane.

* The story goes was that there was a tournament in the Llandudno Theatre. Jimmy White, staying at a hotel in Llandudno, wanted some early morning practice. He knocked onto the door of Sheldons wanting a game, but the guy - who can not be a snooker fan - turned him away, saying they weren't open. Jimmy simply went to the Conservative Club accross the road, who were more than happy to house the legend.
** The bank reference for the unaware (largely American) audience was for a commercial aired in the UK, in which the individuals complained about the new 'initiatives' in rival banks. One bank had been turned into a wine bar.