News from Llandudno, Wales, UK (pronounced Chlandudno)

A reader writes: "I don't know if this interests you at all but maybe you want to write about the Vizhnitzer Rebbe's vacationing in Llandudno (pronounced Chlandudno) and a bit of history of how Frum Yidden ended up going there. Llandudno has a lot going for it, The great Orme, a beach on each side and many attractions for families with children. It all started when the Jewish community started dwindling and the United Synagogue Shul there had to ask Rabbi Jaffe for help with a Minyan for the Yomim Noroim. (Rabbi Jaffe's Father In-Law Sydney Beenstock had a house and boat there, that's the Shaychus of the community to the Jaffes) So for quite a number of years The Bochurim of Yeshivas Lubavitch Manchester arranged a Minyan there. Rabbi Avremi Kievman, Rabbi Jaffe's Son In-Law and a Shliach in Liverpool used to come for Yom Kippur. The Rosh Hayeshiva (Rabbi Akiva Cohen) went for a year or two for Rosh Hashonoh. Anyway, the community was slowly slipping away, but Mr. Lee, the president wouldn't let go of the Shul. So instead of selling it he gave it to the Jaffes to rent out the apartments above the Shul to Yiddishe families for summer holidays etc. to keep the Shul going and now they have a minyan many times throughout the year where the Lees and another one or two Jews can join. There is also a "self-hating" Jew who has written anti religious articles in the Jewish Telegraph who lives near the Shul but never attends. [Hirshe] Dovid Katz a professor at Vilna University stays nearby and used to join the Minyan Yomim Noroim and enjoyed conversing with the Bochurim in Yiddish.

So anyway, once the Jaffes got hold of the building they called it "Chabad Retreat Center" and many families from Manchester and London use it out and many more stay at hotels, B&Bs or rent houses nearby during the summer. The Horodenker Rebbe, Reb YA Weiss of Manchester bought himself a house and Mikvah on the ocean and started going up there for breaks and shlepping his own Minyan along. I think he bought a second house for the extras. Then he bought a building for a mother and baby home like Beis Brucha in London except he doesn't make you pay for it and its near the ocean so it became very popular and many Ying Vaibelach from all over England spend time regaining their Koiches there. Enter Yanky Adler, Reb Yisroel Hager's biggest Gvir. He also buys a house on the ocean for his Rebbe's son to come and vacation there. RY has been going there for a month or two for quite a number of years now and Yanky bought a second house and built a Mikvah too. The big question was, now that RYH took over his father's throne would he still make time for Llandudno? Well, he's feering Tish there tonight! (Friday night) Yanky bought an old hotel with 40 bedrooms where RY is staying for Shabbos. I think he's in Llandudno for 4-6 weeks. Last week (בלק) was a private Shabbos. This week (פנחס) there are two Sholom Zochors and Brissen there. RY calls Llandudno "Lecho Dodi" because in Welsh it means "Queen of the Welsh resorts"."