Tuesday 27 December 2011

50 years on



In the National Library of Wales is an untitled, silent film catalogued as “Aberystwyth Post Office”: as far as it’s possible to judge, it was made to describe or commemorate the opening of an extension to the sorting office. It lasts 2m40s. 

It opens with a shot of a woman walking down Darkgate to enter the Post Office, of which more another time. It cuts to her walking down Stryd Y Bont to its junction with Tan Y Cae where at that time there was a shop. She places a letter in a postbox as does another passer-by, which is then emptied by a postman. A poster for the film “Quantrill’s Raiders” is just visible – this film was made in 1958 but it’s anyone’s guess how long it took to get to Aberystwyth. Let’s say it’s 50 years ago. 

The shop has closed and the box has been changed.  Further comparative photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogerdboyle/sets/72157628549032825/



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