Alladin
HOT reporter STAPH was entranced by a magic emporium
Alladin’s Cave is a name that’s rather come down in the world from the magic treasure house of Sheherazade to your average dark junk shop. But Alladin on the roundabout by the Park entrance really does have a treasure or two.
Tucked behind figures rescued from the recent Battle scarecrow competition, the walls are lined with old pantomime and seaside show props, including an 8ft willow pattern plate from the Mikado, all overlooked by a “Widow Twanky’s Laundry” sign from Alladin, complete with said widow’s saucy bloomers.
Owner Lyn Hardy-Smith has a lifelong fondness for old theatre gear. When he was just twelve he had a job tearing the tickets at the Metropolitan Variety Theatre in Edgware Rd, and remembers being tricked onto the stage in the middle of a show by Tessie O’Shea. Sadly, not long afterwards the Variety was turned into a Bingo hall.
The props he has were sold off from the estate of Hughie Charles, and Lyn is keen to remind people that Hughie wrote the songs There’ll Always Be An England and We’ll meet again, before going into theatrical production.
Apart from having an eye for an interesting relic, Lyn is currently on a mission to get some of the scarecrows re-homed to the children’s ward at the Conquest. We had a word with Arts in Healthcare who may be able to organise it for him. Maybe Lyn is a bit of a treasure too.
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