12th January 2020 - On Old Llanelli or is it Llanelly

Thought for the day :"A thief is stealing tires off Police Cars. They are working tirelessly to catch him."

So - off to Barton again today - teeth fitting tomorrow and hopefully a return to Llanelli for Vic.


Llanelli or Llanelly

Before 1966 the town was known by its anglicised spelling - Llanelly. After a public campaign to spell the town in its Welsh form, on January 3, 1966, the Llanelly Borough Council passed a resolution for the name change. Aware of the costs this would incur, the council highlighted the fact that nobody would be forced to change business or sign names.

Goal Posts - Parc y Strade

It was a sad day when Llanelli RFC and the Scarlets' original home 'Parc y Strade' was demolished to make way for a new housing development.
But to commemorate the ground, the posts which have saucepans on the top, were preserved and are still in Llanelli today. One can be found a stone's throw from the former ground at Sandy Water Park, and the other sits on a roundabout coming into the town near the Wetland Centre.

Tinopolis

There was a time when the town was neither referred to as Llanelli or Llanelly, however. During the latter half of the 19th century, Llanelli was known as 'Tinopolis' due to its significant role in producing 'tin.'

The origin of the 'Turk'
If you are from Llanelli, you've been called a Turk - whether it's out of affection or rivalry.

There's a lot of speculation surrounding the origin of the nickname but the most common theory is that during the 1920s a Turkish ship docked at Llanelli to carry out work. Because of this Swansea dock workers gave the neighbouring Llanelli dockers the nickname 'Turks.'
Another theory is that many Llanelli people who worked in tinplate production would wrap towels around their heads to absorb the sweat brought on by their hard working conditions. The towels they wore looked like a turban, which also led to people calling them 'Turks.'

The theory I always heard was again about the Docks and related to the Turk's Head or sailor's Knot - the Knot that is made of rope at the bow of a boat - again reflecting the importance of the Shipping in Llanelli.

Ships Fender

netting made from Turk's Head Knots

First Supermarket in Wales

On December 19, 1958, the first purpose-built supermarket in Wales opened in Market Street, Llanelli.

At the time the Co-operative shop was declared as 'the most modern and hygienic food store in the principality' and as the first 'one stop shop' for food and hygiene products. Shoppers were welcomed in with gift parcels and a free voucher to enter a cake weight guessing competition.
Shortly after its opening, department stores in Cardiff, Swansea and Merthyr Tydfil also opened.

Stepney Wheel

In the early years, motor cars were made without spare wheels so when anyone had a puncture , they were effectively stranded. But in 1904, Thomas Morris Davies, along with his brother Walter, invented the Stepney Spare Wheel in Llanelli. The product was a spokeless wheel rim with an inflated tyre. The brothers patented the wheel and became very wealthy as business boomed.

In 1909, Stepney Tyres Ltd moved from Llanelli to Walthamstow but many other businesses adopted their idea until all car manufacturers began to provide spare wheels with all cars. The 'Stepney' name, however, lived on, with people in the UK, India, Bangladesh and Malta still referring to a spare tyre as a 'Stepney.'

Closer to home, the invention inspired the name of Stepney Street - which runs through Llanelli's town centre.

Beer in a Can

When walking through the alcohol aisle at local supermarkets we have become quite accustomed to see beer and lager in cans.

But in 1935, the idea seemed completely ludicrous. That was until, over the pond, Krueger beer in New Jersey became the first brewery in the world to sell beers in cans. A couple of months later, two breweries in Llanelli - Buckley's and Felinfoel started the brewing version of the 'space race' to produce the first canned beer in the UK.

Felinfoel Brewery pipped its competitor to the post when it had the idea of coating the inside of the cans with wax to combat the metallic taste of the tin and produced the UK's first beer in a can in 1935.

Cheers !