At last...!

I just found the first blog I ever wrote but never published.  Having read it I don't know why I didnt publish it - so here it goes 2 years late!

For months, if not years to be honest, friends and guests have been asking me to write a blog - 'but you must' , 'you do so much',  'we want to hear all about it' - so I finally started it a

This instalment is about our wonderful 9 year old daughter Nicol - or as she is now formally known in Llandudno - Miss Alice.    Every year a competition is held by Llandudno Town Council to select Llandudno’s Miss Alice. The duties of Miss Alice include public appearances at events held during the summer months, accompanying the Mayor on engagements such as hospital visits and taking part in events organised by Llandudno Town Council such as the Llandudno Fireworks and the Christmas Parade.

'Alice' with her Mayor and Mayoress at St Tudno's Church on the Great Orme

Alice Liddell was the little girl who was the inspiration for Lewis Carroll to tell his classic stories, Alice in Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass. In the Easter of 1861 her family came to Llandudno to spend a holiday. Alice was the second of the five daughters of the Very Revd Dr Henry Liddell, Dean of Christ Church Oxford and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford. Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll’s real name) taught mathematics at Christ Church College at Oxford University.

'Alice' at Christ Church, Oxford

Llandudno has always been very proud of its ‘Alice Connection’. In 1933 the Rt. Hon. David Lloyd George, the former Prime Minister and MP for Caernarfon visited Llandudno to unveil the famous "White Rabbit" memorial. This wonderful carved marble sculpture is situated at the end of the West Shore model boating lake.

There is also an ‘Alice Trail’ at Happy Valley on the slopes of The Great Orme. Sculptor Reece Ingram created the Alice Trail through the pine woods along the edges of the grassy park area. The sculptures in oak denote different aspects and characters from the Alice in Wonderland stories Alice's Father purchased a piece of land and had a house built on Llandudno's beautiful West Shore. The family called the house Penmorfa and owned it for 11 years. Alice spent the summers of her childhood here until the house was sold in August 1872.

'Alice' being arrested!

Nicol's year as Alice is up on 26th May.  She's actually getting a week longer than most as the competition for the new Alice has been put back a week as the Town Council believe that the amount of interest Nicol has generated could lead to  bumper applications!

Nicol has had an mazing year - she says it started as a dream - she never expected to win.  Last weekend she was in Daresbury, Lewis Carroll's birth place, had lunch with the Lord Mayor of Liverpool, went behind the scenes and into the archives at the National Media Centre in Bradford and handled original Charles Dodgson photographs.  She says her most memorable duty was attending a party for a group of children visiting from Chernobyl and specifically that these children are so ill and have so little and yet are so happy and laugh so much.  A lesson, perhaps, for us all to learn.



So that's it Alice and Llandudno  my first blog that never got published.  In my next blog I'll tell you about Katie, our younger daughter who is 9 years old and is currently Llandudno's Miss Alice! I'll introduce  Llandudno's Alice Trail and my movie debut
Thanks for reading and Hwyl fawr
Deborah