It’s been in the offing for the best part of 20 years, but the last month or so, the final chapter of the my old workplace has been written. Work began in March 2026 to finally demolish the former bingo hall and cinema on City Road in Cardiff, finally wiping away any vestiges of the […]
Tag: Top Rank Gaiety
Remembering the Gaiety
I originally wrote this piece about the Top Rank Gaiety on City Road in Cardiff for the now defunct RoathCardiff.net website, and given the building’s demolition, I thought it was worth republishing here, as it perfectly captured my thoughts on the place when I wrote about it a decade ago. Written in July 2016, here’s […]
Confessions Of Bingo Caller Part 2 – The Missed Call From Hell
One of the common dangers of calling the numbers for a room full of bingo heads, is missing one of their shouts. It can be a bit of a flashpoint in an evening’s bingo, because believe me, if you do miss one of the members’ claims, and they lose the prize money, you will hear […]
Confessions Of A Bingo Caller Part 1 – Introduction
I thought it would be fun to recount some of the experiences I had as a bingo caller at the Top Rank Gaiety on City Road, Cardiff. I started working at the hall when I was 17 years old, having previously worked in a supermarket on Clifton Street. There’s a whole lot of stuff I […]
