One Sketch 283) Grand Pavilion, Porthcawl

Grand Pavilion Porthcawl
Home to the Porthcawl panto
Oh no it isn't
Oh yes it is
Oh no

Yes, another urban sketch from Porthcawl. This is certainly one of Porthcawl's most notable buildings. It was opened in 1932, and built in ferroconcrete, like the original Wembley Stadium, and details of its art deco styling do remind me to a certain extent of the old place. I grew up just a few miles from Wembley and used to go there to Wembley market every Sunday morning.

One Sketch #110) (Friday 13th July) Gossip Girls

One of the seaside's rather common sights
A group of ladies put the world to rights.

It was my wife who suggested this one. She saw the ladies sat on the bench on Friday lunchtime in Porthcawl and couldn't resist taking a sneaky snap on her phone. Half of me would really have liked to have known what they were discussing, and then the other half really wouldn't. Enjoy it while it lasts, ladies. I've 7 more working days, then the summer holidays from school start. Going by the experience of previous years that will be the end of the glorious weather we've been having.

One sketch #6 Porthcawl

I set off in hope rather than expectation today. It struck me first thing this morning that I have never yet sketched in Porthcawl, which is the nearest genuine seaside resort town to home. This is what I came up with:-

The Grand Pavilion, on the left of the sketch, is probably Porthcawl's most renowned building. Some of its architecture reminds me of the old Wembley Stadium, which is hardly surprising since they were pretty much contemporaries from the Art Deco period.

I didn't previously know the sculpture on the right, but I recognised it as the work of Sebastien Boyesen straightaway. The semi circular base is reminiscent of his 'mortal coil' which stands in the centre of Port Talbot where I live.

Difficult coming up with a verse, but this whimsical nonsense occurred to me:-

Seahorse, seahorse, don't you stop
Just let your flippers go flippety flop
Got no back legs, got no hips
Think I'd rather cod and chips.

Look, I never claimed to be Shakespeare, did I?