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Wales Online
24-05-2025
- Wales Online
One the UK's 'most entertaining' getaways is in North Wales
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info It's Bill Bryson's favourite seaside town, so it must being doing something right. While many of Britain's coastal resorts are in genteel decline, Llandudno is doing its best to buck the trend. Being shoehorned between two headlands, with a great crescent of a promenade backed by handsome pastel-coloured hotels, and a stately pier stretching out into the bay, it will always have the bones of a classic seaside destination. Even without shops, restaurants and attractions (and North Shore sand), the resort still has a natural beauty guaranteed to appeal. While its core demographic of visitors may be the wrong side of 50, Llandudno has enough going on to generate traditional seaside buzz. As an entertainment venue, it's not quite Blackpool, not does it wish to be. But if you care to look for it, there's plenty of ways to keep busy besides promenading with chips and ice cream. This week, a survey named Llandudno the UK's 10th most 'entertaining resort' - it was second in Wales behind Swansea (5th). Inevitably, the list was headed by a glitzy Lancashire seaside town with an iconic tower and gaudy promenade lights. Blackpool topped the pile – compiled by SuomiCasino from a shortlist of 26 – by virtue of its 12 water/amusement parks and, appropriately, 13 casinos. Swansea's ranking was boosted by its 529 bars and restaurants – more than three times the number attributed to Llandudno (148). The survey was perhaps overly generous when it credited the Conwy town with four beaches – residents may wonder where half of them are. As the compilers used Tripadvisor's AI assistant, beaches at Penrhyn Bay and Deganwy might have been thrown in for good measure. At the same time, Llandudno was credited with 58 'landmarks', the most in the top 10 other than Blackpool (67). It fared less well for music venues (two), casinos (one, apparently?) and escape rooms (one). But the town has plenty more besides donkey rides, boat trips, and Punch and Judy. Sign up now for the latest news on the North Wales Live Whatsapp community (Image: SuomiCasino) For the energetic, there a dry ski slope and a climbing centre. For families, the freshly renovated Craig-y-don paddling pool is always popular. The Great Orme has San Franciscan-style trams, alpine cable cars and simply spectacular views, including those from a road carved into the sea-cliff. And does Blackpool have a 3,000-year-old prehistoric copper mines you can wander around? Or a network of Victorian tunnels dug out beneath its streets? In the resort, tourists can visit chocolate and Home Front museums, and browse canopied shopping streets behind the seafront. Young and old can enjoy a blast of Wonderland whimsy by following the Alice Trail and its sculptures. Venue Cymru is huge, offering events, music and big touring productions. Sure, some elements are naff and parts of the town need sprucing up, particularly the iconic Grand Hotel. Phone signals are dire and the seagulls vicious. But this is a place that trades on its dramatic location and that will never change. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox Find out what's happening near you
North Wales Live
24-05-2025
- North Wales Live
One the UK's 'most entertaining' getaways is in North Wales
It's Bill Bryson's favourite seaside town, so it must being doing something right. While many of Britain's coastal resorts are in genteel decline, Llandudno is doing its best to buck the trend. Being shoehorned between two headlands, with a great crescent of a promenade backed by handsome pastel-coloured hotels, and a stately pier stretching out into the bay, it will always have the bones of a classic seaside destination. Even without shops, restaurants and attractions (and North Shore sand), the resort still has a natural beauty guaranteed to appeal. While its core demographic of visitors may be the wrong side of 50, Llandudno has enough going on to generate traditional seaside buzz. As an entertainment venue, it's not quite Blackpool, not does it wish to be. But if you care to look for it, there's plenty of ways to keep busy besides promenading with chips and ice cream. This week, a survey named Llandudno the UK's 10th most 'entertaining resort' - it was second in Wales behind Swansea (5th). Inevitably, the list was headed by a glitzy Lancashire seaside town with an iconic tower and gaudy promenade lights. Blackpool topped the pile – compiled by SuomiCasino from a shortlist of 26 – by virtue of its 12 water/amusement parks and, appropriately, 13 casinos. Swansea's ranking was boosted by its 529 bars and restaurants – more than three times the number attributed to Llandudno (148). The survey was perhaps overly generous when it credited the Conwy town with four beaches – residents may wonder where half of them are. As the compilers used Tripadvisor's AI assistant, beaches at Penrhyn Bay and Deganwy might have been thrown in for good measure. At the same time, Llandudno was credited with 58 'landmarks', the most in the top 10 other than Blackpool (67). It fared less well for music venues (two), casinos (one, apparently?) and escape rooms (one). But the town has plenty more besides donkey rides, boat trips, and Punch and Judy. For the energetic, there a dry ski slope and a climbing centre. For families, the freshly renovated Craig-y-don paddling pool is always popular. The Great Orme has San Franciscan-style trams, alpine cable cars and simply spectacular views, including those from a road carved into the sea-cliff. And does Blackpool have a 3,000-year-old prehistoric copper mines you can wander around? Or a network of Victorian tunnels dug out beneath its streets? In the resort, tourists can visit chocolate and Home Front museums, and browse canopied shopping streets behind the seafront. Young and old can enjoy a blast of Wonderland whimsy by following the Alice Trail and its sculptures. Venue Cymru is huge, offering events, music and big touring productions. Sure, some elements are naff and parts of the town need sprucing up, particularly the iconic Grand Hotel. Phone signals are dire and the seagulls vicious. But this is a place that trades on its dramatic location and that will never change.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
The King's message in full on the 80th anniversary of VE Day
The King has said the debt owed to the wartime generation can never truly be repaid as he called for a global commitment to restoring peace on the 80th anniversary of VE Day. Here is the King's VE Day message in full: 'It is now eighty years since my grandfather, King George VI, announced to the nation and the Commonwealth that 'the dreadful shadow of war has passed from our hearths and our homes'. 'The liberation of Europe was secured. 'His words echo down through history as all this week, and especially today, we unite to celebrate and remember with an unwavering and heartfelt gratitude, the service and sacrifice of the wartime generation who made that hard-fought victory possible. 'While our greatest debt is owed to all those who paid the ultimate price, we should never forget how the war changed the lives of virtually everyone. 'Now, as then, we are united in giving utmost thanks to all those who served in the Armed Forces, the uniformed services, the Home Front – indeed all the people of this country, the Commonwealth and beyond whose firm resolve and fortitude helped destroy Nazism and carry our allied nations through to VE Day. 'That debt can never truly be repaid; but we can, and we will, remember them. 'Over the course of the last year, there have been 80th anniversaries across Europe, from the hills of Monte Cassino to the Lower Rhine at Arnhem. 'Last June, my wife and I were profoundly moved to join veterans of D-Day at the new national memorial overlooking Gold Beach, as they returned to honour their comrades who never came home. 'In January, as the world marked the liberation of Auschwitz, I met survivors whose stories of unspeakable horror were the most vivid reminder of why Victory in Europe truly was the triumph of good over evil. 'All these moments, and more, combine to lead us to this day, when we recall both those darkest days and the great jubilation when the threat of death and destruction was finally lifted from our shores. 'The celebration that evening was marked by my own late mother who, just 19-years-old, described in her diary how she mingled anonymously in the crowds across central London and, in her own words, 'walked for miles' among them. 'The rejoicing continued into the next day, when she wrote: 'Out in the crowd again. Embankment, Piccadilly. Rained, so fewer people. Conga-ed into House. Sang till 2am. Bed at 3am!' 'Ladies and gentlemen, I do hope your celebrations tonight are almost as joyful, although I rather doubt I shall have the energy to sing until 2am, let alone for that matter to lead you all in a giant conga from here back to Buckingham Palace! 'The Allied victory being celebrated then, as now, was a result of unity between nations, races, religions and ideologies, fighting back against an existential threat to humanity. 'Their collective endeavour remains a powerful reminder of what can be achieved when countries stand together in the face of tyranny. 'But even as we rejoice again today, we must also remember those who were still fighting, still living with conflict and starvation on the other side of the world. 'For them, peace would not come until months later with VJ Day – Victory in the Pacific – which my father witnessed at first-hand from the deck of his destroyer, HMS Whelp. 'So in remembering the past, we must also look to the future. As the number of those who lived through the Second World War so sadly dwindles, the more it becomes our duty to carry their stories forward, to ensure their experiences are never to be forgotten. 'We must listen, learn and share, just as communities across the nation have been doing this week at local street parties, religious services and countless small acts of remembrance and celebration. 'And as we reach the conclusion of the 80th Anniversary commemorations, we should remind ourselves of the words of our great wartime leader, Sir Winston Churchill, who said 'Meeting jaw to jaw is better than war'. 'In so doing, we should also rededicate ourselves not only to the cause of freedom but to renewing global commitments to restoring a just peace where there is war, to diplomacy, and to the prevention of conflict. 'For as my grandfather put it: 'We shall have failed, and the blood of our dearest will have flowed in vain, if the victory which they died to win does not lead to a lasting peace, founded on justice and established in good will.' 'Just as those exceptional men and women fulfilled their duty to each other, to humankind, and to God, bound by an unshakeable commitment to nation and service, in turn it falls to us to protect and continue their precious legacy – so that one day hence generations yet unborn may say of us: 'they too bequeathed a better world'.'
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Layland Museum honoring World War II vets
Two ongoing — not to mention free — exhibits at the Layland Museum commemorate the 80th anniversary of World War II's end as well as the war's effect on the Johnson County home front. 'The focus is to show what was going on here during the war for Cleburne and Johnson County residents in addition to what was happening to people from here who went overseas and to pull those two things together,' Layland Director Stephanie Montero said. The first exhibit: 'From the Home Front to the Battlefield' continues through May 31. The second, 'Wartime Photographs by Lamar Sloane,' opens today and runs through July 26. Pieces from Layland's collection join donated items to make up the first exhibit. The roles of local African-Americans in the war effort, female workers, Keene Seventh-day Adventist who participated in the Medical Cadet Corps, Cleburne's German POW camp and more fill the exhibit. The diverse and many ways, in other words, in which county residents contributed to the war effort both here and abroad. 'My parents lived through World War II and my father fought in it,' Montero said. 'So, for my generation, it was more recent history. 'One of the things we're hoping to accomplish is to bring the war home in a sense by showing what was happening here at that time and, for younger people, to make those times a little more real and filled out than just ancient history they might have read about in a textbook. Hoping they'll become more interested and maybe even ask their parents who can tell them about their parents and grandparents and great uncles and aunts and so forth who lived through those times.' Layland staff worked with Southwestern Adventist University history professors Steve Jones and Chloe Northrup as well as several of their students in the planning and organizing of the exhibit. 'The classes met here all last semester with different students researching and focusing on different areas of the war,' Montero said. A wall of photographs of local residents who served in the war donated by current residents has also proved popular, Montero said, adding that residents may still donate photos and stories. Jerry Bradbury, father of Cleburne resident and business owner Melissa Bennett, is among those pictured. Brabury was a pharmacy assistant and merchant Marine. He was on a boat that performed a rescue. 'They rescued some people whose boat had been kamikazed including one woman who was pregnant,' Montero said. 'She went into labor. Well, Bradbury wasn't a doctor but he had to do the best he could to help her deliver, which she did. His story made the newspapers all over the country.' Closer to home, an old gramophone and recreation of a typical 1940s kitchen lend a feel for the times as do items related to Cleburne musician Harvey Anderson. 'He was a big band director from here and very popular,' Montero said. 'Doc Severinsen and other big names of the time played with and were good friends of his. In fact, my parents used to go to dances Harvey Anderson played.' Another section of the exhibit highlights Johnson County's own Rosie the Riveters. 'A lot of women from here either drove or moved to Fort Worth temporarily during the war to work at Consolidated, which later became General Dynamics and then Lockheed, to help build planes back then,' Montero said. The Cleburne Conference Center now sits on land Cleburne's German POW camp once occupied. About 425,000 German POWs were held at 700 such camps throughout the country with about 50,000 of them waiting out the war in one of Texas' 70 camps. Former Johnson County Judge Roger Harmon's father, Larry Harmon, served as a guard at the Cleburne camp. 'You kind of wonder why they went to all the effort to ship them to America and set up all those camps,' Montero said. 'Maybe they figured if they held them in Europe they might escape and go back to fighting. But here, if they escaped, there wouldn't really be anywhere for them to go or any way to get back home.' Grandview resident Sandra Neeley donated numerous items from her father, Army Air Corps Staff Sgt. Lowell L. Harris, a member of the 494th Fighter/Bomber Squadron who served in the European theater during the war. 'He was a propeller specialists and worked on airplanes,' Neeley said. Harris joked that her father nearly missed the war because the Army kept sending him to different schools stateside. Once there, however, he worked out of airfields in England. The only time he got shot at was when an airplane zeroed in on him and his crew and they had to run for cover. 'He was also flown in behind the lines to an airfield after D-Day so they could go back to repairing the planes,' Neeley said. 'He stayed a while after the war and there's a picture of him in Nuremburg Stadium where Hitler and his cronies used to make speeches and carry on.' Neeley said her father otherwise spent all of his life in Johnson County outside his war tenure and about three years in Lamesa. 'He was born in Cuba, which is now Sand Flat and his birth certificate says Cuba,' Neeley said. 'My grandfather was Dr. Larkin Harris and he moved his family of 11 kids to Cleburne since Cuba only had a small elementary school.' Harris worked as a bookkeeper after the war and later for the post office, the current Cleburne City Hall building, until his retirement. 'He told me some stories about the war,' Neeley said. 'Unfortunately, I was too young at the time to really understand. Otherwise, he didn't talk about it much. I think most of he and his generation just sort of did their duty, came home, went to work, got married and got on with it.' From clothing, to cards and letters to a still intact breakfast ration box to Nazi armbands and other items Harris found in a boxcar, Neeley contributed numerous items to the exhibit. 'I think daddy would be humbled and maybe overwhelmed by the attention this is getting,' Neeley said. Neeley said she hopes the exhibit reignites interest in the older generation and spurs the same among the younger generation. 'Being married to a Vietnam veteran who has two Purple Hearts, I'm glad to see that people have an interest in honoring our veterans again,' Neeley said. 'I hope that never goes away, because those people put their lives on the line for people back then and people yet to be born.' Neeley praised the efforts of the Layland and SWAU team members responsible for the exhibit. 'It's one of the most informative and well done exhibits I've seen at Layland,' Neeley said. 'It covers so many people and things from that era, and that's what museums are for, bringing history back to life.' photos on display The second exhibit consists of photos Shubert Lamar Sloan took during his time in North Africa and Italy. 'His daughter, Landa Sloan Orrick brought in a bunch of these photos,' Montero said. 'She lives in Fort Worth now but was born and raised here.' Sloan, a member of the 36th Texas Division, participated in the first amphibious landing in Europe and was present during the 1944 Battle of Monte Cassino and was part of the group moving toward Germany as the war ended. The photos originate from a Hasselblad camera. 'Apparently he or someone else liberated the camera from a German soldier who would no longer be taking pictures to put it politely,' Montero said. The two exhibits work together to offer a fuller picture and fresh take on World War II both here and there, Montero said. 'There's just some really great stories of that time so many of the people around here have,' Montero said. 'It's such an honor to be able to share those.'
Telegraph
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
King and Queen to host veterans at Buckingham Palace VE Day tea party
The King and Queen are to line the corridors of Buckingham Palace with bunting to host a tea party for Second World War veterans. The King, Queen, Prince and Princess of Wales, Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Princess Royal and other members of the family will turn out in force to join the nation in celebrating the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe with a military flypast, and a service and concert at Westminster Abbey. Members of the public are invited to line the Mall on Monday, May 5, to watch a procession from the Armed Forces, music, and a flypast of modern and historic aircraft that will culminate with the Red Arrows. The Royal family will watch from the Buckingham Palace balcony, with veterans, the Prime Minister and other senior guests viewing it from the West Terrace in the garden. Shortly afterwards, the King and Queen will welcome around 50 guests – Second World War veterans and those who manned the Home Front – into the palace for a tea party, recreating the decorations of the era with bunting made from fabric recycled from the Royal estates. Guests will be drawn from British and Commonwealth Armed Forces veterans, Wrens, special operations executives and those who contributed to the war effort in Britain. All are now supported by the Royal British Legion and will be accompanied by their families or carers. The party will be attended by the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Edinburghs, Princess Royal and Sir Timothy Laurence and the Duke of Kent, whose father died in the Second World War and who, at 89, is the only working member of the Royal family with memories of living through the conflict. On May 8, the 80th anniversary of VE Day, the full working Royal family will attend a service at Westminster Abbey and the King and Queen will watch an evening concert of Second World War-era songs and stories from veterans at Horse Guards Parade. The younger generation, including Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, is likely to attend some of the events. The week of commemorative events will see the King lead the nation in marking the event, likely to be the final landmark anniversary at which veterans, the youngest of whom are now in their late 90s, will be present. On VE Day itself, the young Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret were famously allowed to go out 'incognito' to join crowds in front of the palace for the celebrations. Queen Elizabeth II later recalled it as 'one of the most memorable nights of my life'. The government is encouraging the public to host their own VE Day 80 street parties, picnics and 'community get-togethers' to mark the anniversary. The London events, coordinated by DCMS, are designed to 'pay tribute to the millions of people across the UK and Commonwealth who served in the Second World War, telling the stories of those who fought, the children who were evacuated, and those who stepped into the essential roles on the Home Front'. The Monday procession will begin in Parliament Square when Big Ben strikes midday, with an as-yet-unnamed actor reciting extracts from Sir Winston Churchill's VE Day speech. Alan Kennett, a 100-year-old veteran who served in the Normandy campaign, will carry the 'Torch for Peace', a symbol of passing his generation's stories onto the next. A procession of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment and The King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery will pass from Parliament Square, down Whitehall and past the Cenotaph – which will be dressed in Union Flags – through Admiralty Arch and up The Mall through to Buckingham Palace. They will be followed by a tri-service procession group featuring marching members of the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines, the British Army and the Royal Air Force. It will end with a fly past featuring the Red Arrows and 23 current and historic military aircraft. Mr Kennett, who travelled to Normandy with the Royal British Legion for D-Day 80, said: 'It is a huge honour to be part of the military procession to start the VE80 commemorations. 'I remember Battle of Britain pilot Johnnie Johnson bursting in and shouting 'the war is over'. A big party soon followed, filled with lots of drinking and celebrating the news. 'The 80th anniversary of VE Day brings back so many memories, and it will be such a privilege to be there with everyone.' The commemorations will also include Queen Camilla viewing the reinstated exhibition of ceramic poppies at the Tower of London on Tuesday, May 6. On the 8th, the Royal family will join the two-minute silence at Westminster Abbey, laying wreaths at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior and flowers at the Innocent Victims' Memorial. A concert that evening will be hosted by Zoe Ball, with performances of music from the 1930s and 40s and veterans telling their stories on stage. Lisa Nandy, Culture Secretary, said: 'VE Day 80 is a chance for us to come together and celebrate our veterans and ensure their legacy of peace is passed on to future generations. 'Whether by watching on TV or having a street party with neighbours, everyone can take part. 'This is one of the last chances we have to say thank you to this generation of heroes, and it is right that we do just that.'
