Cardiff: Remember When

Author: Brian Lee

Cardiff: Remember When

Brian Lee has been dubbed ""The indefatigable historian of Cardiff '' and Cardiff: Remember When is his 16th book about his beloved birthplace. And this time Brian - who is also the author of several sports titles - takes us back to the 1930s, 40s, 50s and 60s to a much different Cardiff than the one we know today.
We start off with a visit to The Park Hall Hotel built on the site of an old theatre and from there we meet outside the much loved Capitol Cinema in Queen Street.We then take a trip to other picture palaces of the past like the Empire, Olympia and Pavilion.
Next we go shopping in some of those long gone big departmental stores like Seccombes, Mackcross and Lermons. Shopping finished we take a walk around the city centre taking in the street scenes and then go on to meet some of the famous people who have visited Cardiff over the years- Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, Field-marshall Viscount Montgomery, Pope John Paul and Nelson Mandela to name but a few.
After meeting some of the staff who helped produce the Western Mail and South Wales Echo, we get to see Hollywood film stars Peter Lorre, Montgomery Clift, Gloria Swanson, Danny Kaye and other great entertainers like Cardiff's own Ivor Novello, Shirley Bassey, Tessie O'Shea and Wyn Calvin. Phil Edwards, Joe Erskine, Jack Petersen, Lynn Davies, Colin Jackson and Jim Alford are just a few of the famous Welsh sports personalities we come across next. Then after a trip back in time around Cardiff's historical arcades-some of which have vanished for ever- we end our journey back in time in the company of Cardiff's brave fire fighters.
With nearly 300 photographs, many of them from the Media Wales archives, Cardiff: Remember When is a powerful pictorial record and a nostalgic reminder of how Wales' vibrant capital city has changed over the years.