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John Rumball: Memories of Saronie and the Scala

John Rumball kindly contacted us to share his wonderful memories of James ‘Saronie’ Roberts, founder of the Prestatyn Scala Cinema:-

I now live in Leicestershire but was a resident of Prestatyn in the days of Saronie. I remember that he always sat at the back of the cinema`s stalls, the aisle seat on the right as you entered. He was always smartly dressed and made himself available to the patrons.

The Scala had a main film which was shown twice in an evening, with a single showing of a film between the main film. The prices were 1/-, 1/9, and 2/3 in the balcony.

The other cinema was the Paladium with a large downstairs, and a small balcony with double seats at the back and on the side – very popular with couples!! Their prices were the same.

I was always felt that Saronie went for the more up-market and classic films. There was a farm on the opposite side of the road to the cinema, owned by the Ellis family. Occasionally when in the cinema, you could smell the Countryside!!

I remember his house on the Hillside with, I believe, an observatory. It certainly had a dome.

I wish you well with your project and all good fortune to your efforts to maintain the Scala. I attended Prestatyn County Primary School on Marine Road, and Rhyl Grammar School. I married Sheila Gibbs, a former Carnival Queen.

John Rumball, Wigston, Leicestershire.

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Frank Baker (Film Maker) – Saronie film

Frank Baker, an amateur film-maker, will be at Saronies Cafe Bar on Tuesday 31st May 2011 from 2pm onwards, to film short pieces for his latest film about Saronie (James Roberts).

The Friends of the Scala will be on hand to help out on the day and are calling for any one who has stories from the Scala Past or Saronie himself to come along and talk to him, you never know you may get the chance to be interviewed and appear in the short film itself.

Frank Baker: “I have been and Amateur film maker since the early 1960’s and have made over 200 films on various subjects, Drama, Wildlife, Animation, Biography. I won my first competition in 1968, The Scottish 8mm Film Festival for a Plasticine animated film called Dream Circus, and this set me on the path of amateur movie making, that i am still on today.”

“Cinerama Memories a film I made last year, came from looking through the old newspapers in the archive and took me back to the time i used to visit the Abbey Cinerama Cinema in Wavertree Liverpool. At the time i was doing this research I decided to look at newspapers from further back for the beginning of cinema in the early part of the 1900’s in Birkenhead, the name Saronie kept appearing, On returning home i dug out a local published book on the silver screens of Wirral and soon found out more on James Robert Saronie.”

“I have tackled other subjects that take a lot of research, and so it was to be with Saronie, having his history of cinema ownership in Birkenhead completed, i decided to try a Google search, and found that Saronie had many more secrets, The Scala Cinema, Prestatyn and a book by local historian Fred Hobbs. this book filled in many gaps in his life and, Hopefully when all the pieces fit together his story will be told.”

“I am looking for any Photographs of Saronie and the Scala up to when it closed and the opening of the new Scala.”

“…These are some of the competitions I have won:-

The Prestigious Jessop Photography Award Cotswold International Film Festival 2006

Mersey Ten Competition 2005

The Danube International Film festival 2005

OSFAF International Film Festival 2008

Wirral International Film Festival 2008

Liverpool Film Night at the Fact Cinema Four times selected to be screened.

Silent Witness a film made in 1982 around Williamson Square, Liverpool is held in the Archive of the Liverpool University as part of the city film project.”