IF you like the ‘pick'n mix’ kind of TRMs, then, hopefully, you'll enjoy this one as, this week, I've been foraging through some of the stuff I've been given over the last month or so.

We've got talking pictures, Royalty, old ships, and Pembrokeshire League football, but, firstly, there's a little more to add to the recent tale of Paul Godin, the young hypnotist, who appeared all those years ago at the Empire Cinema in Milford.

I had a call from Steve Llewellyn, of H/west, who recalled that Paul had, round about the same time, also performed in a show at the town's County Cinema. Steve also recalled there'd been an escapologist on the bill.

I waited for the punchline..."But his name escapes me!"

Thanks very much for getting in touch, Steve, great to hear from you once again.

It's surprising how many memories crop up from all the old picture houses.

Once again I bumped into my old neighbour Vic Davies, who asked me..."Have you heard of Sandy Powell?"

Being an avid wireless listener all my life, I remembered him well, and, rather proudly, replied…"Yeah...he was an old comedian in the Forties and Fifties”.

"Yes, he was," went on Vic, "his catch-phrase was ..'Can you hear me, mother?’…and he once appeared on stage in the Astoria Cinema."

For some reason, on my way home, I started me thinking about the days when Milford could boast three cinemas. The Empire, Astoria, and, in Robert Street, The Palace.

I suddenly recalled that, a few years ago, Chris Holmes had kindly sent me a news cutting about the Palace, saying…"Keep it in your archives."

It was a piece written by the Western Telegraph's wonderful king of nostalgia, the late Vernon Scott, in Jan 1978, when the-then derelict old building had been earmarked for demolition...and not before time.

Reading his comments, I'd realised that, as a youngster, I'd experienced much of what Vernon had mentioned in his piece about the venue we'd lovingly christened… 'The Flea Pit’.

At the age of about nine, it was where I saw my first ‘horror’ film, unaccompanied...my family actually had no idea I'd gone there…as far as they were concerned I was down Haven's Head with my pal Garfield Adams!

The movie was…Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde... and starred Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman and Lana Turner, and I have to confess that I felt more than grateful to be seated behind one of the vast pillars that were supporting the gallery…even though it meant I went home with a ‘stiff neck’. The film had a lasting effect on me, and, to this day, every time I have to see a doctor, I find myself wondering about their ‘alter ego’!

The Palace ceased to be a cinema in the 1950s, and I'm sure that lots of you will have ‘tales’ you could tell...if you feel like sharing one or two, please get in touch.

Meanwhile, here's a ropy old snap of the once-famous cinema, just before it was flattened in the late 1970s.

The next piece of nostalgia I unearthed during my trivia pursuit, also dated back to the 1950s.

It was an official souvenir programme (Price..2s 6d ) of the Queen's visit to the Borough of Pembroke in August 1955, and had been kindly given to me by my taxi driving old school chum, John ‘Ginty’ McCarthy, who'd said…"I'm sure you'll be able to find something in it to put your usual twist on."

And John was right, because, as well as outlining, in precise detail, the timings and progress of the Royal arrival, official reception etc, the booklet also included a concise, and fascinating, list of ships that were built at HM Dockyard, Pem Dock, from February 1816 to April 1922.

I know that there are at least a handful of TRM readers who live on that side of the Cleddau, so, just for them, I'm including this pair of pics.

1. Pembroke Borough Council and chief officers, 1955-1956.

2. HMS Andromeda. Built 1897.

Now it's time for a teaser.

I have no special powers, but I can tell you the score of any football match before it kicks off. How?

And that gives me the chance to use one of Gerald ‘Jets’ Llewellyn's local news cuttings, taken from his scrapbook, which he's kindly allowed me to dig out every now and then.

This one made me smile.

"One of St Ishmael AFC's most ardent supporters is the steward of the local sports club, Alan Llewellyn, who forsakes the bar every Saturday afternoon to give the boys a cheer.

“Unfortunately, he allowed his enthusiasm to bubble over last Saturday when 'Tish 2nds were entertaining Kilgetty 2nds. He shouted and bawled so much that the referee stopped the game and told him to stop…or he'd be removed from the pitch, whereupon Alan disgraced himself even further by pointing out he was on a public footpath and would refuse to go!

“I am reliably informed that he was shown the yellow card in a good-natured way and Tish supporters have asked if in future he can be locked in the kitchen when games are on! He'll still be able to watch the game from the window and that should keep him quiet...if they can nail the windows down to stop him getting out!"

That particular story reminds me so much of Mr Angry of Steynton, who always insisted..."No one tells me what to do!"

Right, that's another jar of pickles emptied…if you can stand any more, I'll be back with another one next week.