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Newbridge Memorial Hall

I sought the debate to draw attention to the restoration of the Newbridge Memo, in my constituency. That extraordinary building, which includes a 1920s art deco cinema, is not a museum as so many other miners institutes have become. It is the living, pumping heart of the town of Newbridge and the surrounding area. It is open seven days a week, and 28 local organisations use it for everything from tea dances to meetings of the Royal British Legion. The Memo's dance floor is said to be the best in Wales. Over the past eight decades, great names ranging from the Joe Loss orchestra to James Dean Bradfield and Nicky Wire of the Manic Street Preachers have played there—James Dean Bradfield used to serve behind the bar. Tom Jones had a pretty rough time when he sang there at the start of his career. One of the Memo's bouncers went on to become head of news at ITV. Ricky Valance, the first British singer ever to have a number one in the United States, with ““Tell Laura I Love Her””, is a local lad and performed at the Memo only last year. The Prince of Wales visited. He asked that his visit be extended to more than two hours and said that he would come back to reopen the Memo when the restoration was complete. The Memo was runner-up in the final of the BBC's ““Restoration”” programme. Hundreds of Newbridge folk marched behind members of the local colliery band and others to Hampton Court palace for the final. The Memo is no royal palace, but it is the palace of the valleys. Ruth Madoc, the actress, named it that when asked where her palace would be if she were Queen of Wales. She said, ““The Newbridge Memo.”” The Memo was used as a key location for the shooting of the film ““Very Annie Mary””. ““Flick””, starring Faye Dunaway, was partly filmed there, and last year it played host for the filming of a full-length episode of ““Doctor Who””. The Memo or, to give it its full name, the Celynen collieries institute and memorial hall was built and paid for by the pennies of miners and their families. It was built in memory of the boys from Newbridge who went to the great war of 1914 to 1918 and never returned. The names of every serviceman from the town who answered the call to serve our country are listed on the walls of the Memo—not just those who gave their lives, but everybody who was ever called to the colours from that town. I think that that is probably unique. After such a build-up, one might ask, ““Why this debate?”” Well, the answer is simple. The Friends of Newbridge Memo need money to carry on the restoration. They need £4.9 million to start and they have been turned down by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Let me say at this stage that I am very disappointed that no Minister from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which after all is the Department responsible for the HLF, could be bothered to reply to this debate. However, I am hugely encouraged by the presence of my constituency next-door neighbour—he represents Caerphilly—and good friend the Under-Secretary of State for Wales. Although the Wales Office has no direct responsibility for this matter, I know that, with him and the Secretary of State for Wales, my pleading will not fall on deaf ears.