| A TIME FOR CHANGE |
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The last two years or so have seen a considerable change in management attitude at Portmeirion. Whereas before it had always been loose and approachable, the pressure of increasing competition in the hotel and holiday business has necessitated a considerable tightening up and they've been working hard to improve their image and their service levels. Portmeirion Ltd have invested heavily in the renovation and restoration of buildings, including the new Neptune Suite, the renovation of Neptune 1 and the new Hercules Hall Tudor Rooms extension. This follows on from the complete renewal of the electrical and drainage infrastructure which alone cost �650,000. The next major investment wil be extensive renovation of the Castell Deudraeth building. There have been many other cosmetic improvements, including upgrading the restaurant, cafeteria and the gift and bookshops, and regrettably one of the casualties of all this ascent towards grandeur has been Max Hora's Prisoner Shop which was located in Battery Stores which appeared as Number Six's cottage in the Prisoner series. Although for many years it served the Prisoner fans well, it had relatively limited appeal to the many hundreds of ordinary day visitors and the decision was made to replace it with a properly funded and professional version which was under Portmeirion's control and, more importantly, in keeping with the image which Portmeirion are striving to achieve. The new Prisoner Shop is still located in 'Number Six's cottage' and, after a complete refit, was opened in the Spring of 1999. Robin Llywelyn, Managing Director of Portmeirion said, "The new look Prisoner Shop will be better than ever. We are comitted to providing an excellent service to all our visitors who wish to know more about the series and the village in which it was made. I look forward to working closely with The Prisoner Official Appreciation Society, Six of One, to ensure that we achieve this.' Bonjour Chez Vous - Be Seeing You - Welwn ni Chi. |
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MAX IS DEAD! Long Live Dilys! by Rob Beale |
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Although I was sad to see Max and the old shop go, I have to say that the new shop is very nice. It's clean, bright and doesn't smell of cats. I was actually told that the old shop smelt so bad that when it was being renovated, workmen had to dig the floor up and actually went down two feet with the worry that there might be something buried under there. The original door can no longer be entered and is in fact hidden on the inside by the new counter. Where the old window used to be which faces Battery Square, there is now a pair of French windows, which is how it was originally. This is now the new entrance. The shop has a new domed ceiling with a circular display of small spot lights. At the back of the shop to the left and right of the window where the old counter used to be are two computers which allows you to browse the internet for Prisoner web sites. In the last issue of Free For All, I said in the editor's letter that only Portmeirion's own web page could be looked at, this was just what I had been told, but after visiting the shop myself I can confirm that there are no restrictions and you are free to browse other web sites at your leisure. After a very pleasant chat with the manageress, Dilys Puyal, I helped her put some of the Prisoner sites into a 'favourites' folder so that they could be easily located at a later date. I showed her the new Free For all website and one or two others that she hadn't seen. I was surprised to hear that Dilys's parents are none other than Dick and Gaye Eastwood, who most past conventioneer's will remember. They both appeared as extras in The Prisoner and used to frequent Prisoner conventions in the village quite regularly. Dilys's assistant is Heulwen Vaughan-Hatcher, who also appeared in The Prisoner as an extra. There are some interesting items on sale in the new shop. A book which was launched recently by Roger Langley which actually had a picture in it of myself driving the Mini Moke at the 1997 convention. There is a very good display of lava lamps at various prices. Straw boaters and even piped blazers at a mere �69.99! Dilys informed me that she had actually sold quite a few blazers. She told me that when people see them, they just have to have one. There is also a good selection of badges, mugs, and posters etc. Really, not an awful lot of difference from the old shop. The lighting is very impressive, with most things on display in glass cabinets. I have to say that on the whole, the shop is an improvement and is more in keeping with the village. No doubt some Prisoner fans will disagree with me. In fact Dilys said that she had received a certain amount of resentment from visitors to the shop. Some of them complaining that Max was thrown out of the village. But that's not her fault is it? I can understand the management wishing to improve the image of the shop but at the same time still retain it's connections with The Prisoner. I noticed something else while I was in Portmeirion. There was a distinct lack of cats. Dilys told me that after Max left, all the stray cats were rounded up and taken to the RSPCA. Sadly unless homes are found for them, they will be put down. I wish Dilys all the best with the shop and look forward to visiting again in August. |