CALL in to the County Press book shop and you will find a wonderful selection of local books covering a vast range of topics that have been put together by local enthusiasts through the years.

One of my all time favourites is called Back of the Wight, by Fred Mew ­— a tale of shipwrecks through the years, and without such contributions, the generations that follow us might struggle to discover the Island’s history.

Many of the books contain the personal memories of those, like Fred, who actually experienced many of the events portrayed, and although the mind can play tricks on us, their recollections are often extremely accurate.

One other such book I enjoyed was written about the local theatres in days gone, by Peter Norris, and I find it a wonderful reference book of such places.

Thus, when I was recently given a few old local theatre programmes to scan, I immediately went to my bookcase to seek it out.

It tells a story of local entertainment long before television, and in some cases, before the introduction of talking films.

Around 100 years ago, there were no large cinemas in Newport.

Then came the introduction, around 1911, of a roller skating rink that doubled as a theatre in Hearn Street, on the site of what is today a large car park.

Thereafter, the area would have been thronged with people, as the nearby Drill Hall was also used regularly as a place of entertainment, often by the army bands and musicians from Parkhurst barracks.

The entrance money was varied, as must have been the seating available, as can be seen in a programme showing 1/6d to sit in the grand stalls down to 4d in the none too good sounding ‘pit’.

My good friend, Bill Shepard, now aged 98, vividly remembers sitting in the audience at the rink.

In the space I have available it is only possible ­— if you will excuse the pun ­— to skate over the other local places of entertainment around this time.

The earliest programme I discovered dated from 1907 when Merrie England was put on at the Victoria Hall in Cowes ­— a venue that was situated in Medina Road, and was a place prone to flooding at very high tides, or following excessive rainfall.

One place that is a mystery was the Royal Theatre in Newport where a show was advertised in 1914.

In the following years, the pantomime, Babes in the Wood, went on tour and was performed at Sandown, Shanklin and Ventnor town halls, The Rink at Newport, the Alexandra Hall in Birmingham Road, Cowes, and the Theatre Royal in Ryde.

With the building of the pier at Cowes, shows were also performed in what was called the Pier Pavilion.

Just prior to the Second World War, three cinemas opened up in Newport that were to provide wonderful entertainment for my generation.

These were the Medina, Odeon and the Grand ­— the proximity of the latter to the aforementioned Rink contributing to its demise.

I recall my elder brother coming home and enthusing about seeing Ann Shelton at the Medina Theatre, and later I too enjoyed the unforgettable Matt Munro at the same venue.

Pantomimes were performed by a local group known as the Wight Strollers, and then in the late ‘50s, the Commodore at Ryde was the venue to see Lonnie Donegan, Marty Wilde and Tommy Steele.

Local theatre groups have provided amateur shows through the years, and today the Apollo Players in Pyle Street regularly gives us wonderful entertainment.

Recently, an Apollo stalwart for many years, Cyril Amey, passed away, and his leaving us hardly received a mention.

He was a man loved by all who knew him.

Tall, always elegantly dressed and with impeccable manners ­— he will be missed by so many old friends.

Who would have thought a Barton Bonehead who lived in a humble dwelling on Coppins Bridge would go on to make such an impression on the local theatre scene.

Around 1949, he was one of the founder members of the Newport Repertory Club, and later, with the forming of the Apollo players, became one of their leading members.

I am told his performance as the M.C. in the show, Cabaret, was something to behold.

He was, for many years, a regular worshipper at Gurnard church until the deteriorating health of his sister, Renee, with whom he latterly lived at Northwood with.

There was once a television show called What’s My Line, where a panel of celebrities had to guess contestants’ jobs in real life.

Cyril defeated the panel and had to tell them at the end that he was secretary to the mayor of Newport.

His other jobs included working in the fashion department of Fowlers in Ryde.

Sadly, Cyril was a man who departed this earth largely unheralded, but in time will ­— I feel sure ­— join the ever dwindling list of Newport’s real time characters.

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