CHECK out this surly mob. There’s not a smiling face amongst them and with good reason. The year is 1910 and colour has yet to be invented. In fact, the world would pretty much remain a black-and-white affair until four lads named John, Paul, George, and Ringo found a yellow submarine in the 1960s. Just imagine how miserable you’d feel living in a permanently monochrome world? And then perhaps you’ll have a little empathy with the scowling bruisers in this picture. It is of course pupils and teachers from King Henry VIII Grammar School, which is now the site of the Melville Theatre. Recalling his time at the Pen-y-Pound site, local historian Alfred Jackson wrote, “With justifiable pride, I entered the old school. It seemed huge to me, very cold, only one large coal fire, dimly lit with naked gas burners, There was very strict behaviour, and discipline, frequent punishment, but not as severe as it had been early in the nineteenth century.” (Pic supplied )

BEFORE Abergavenny had a library to call its own, it had a crowd of people waiting around to have their picture snapped for posterity. There was a long wait between the click of the camera and the opening of the Carnegie Free Library but it was well worth it. As the Manic Street Preachers once sang, “Libraries gave us power….” But they also gave us something to do as we waited for Netflix to be invented. The library was opened on September 8, 1906, but although the man it was named after was once the richest man in the world, Andrew Carnegie was born dirt poor in Scotland. He arrived in the USA as a penniless immigrant and made his millions in the steel industry He then spent the rest of his days using his great wealth for benevolent purposes. He once wrote, “The amassing of wealth is one of the worst species of idolatry. The man who dies rich dies disgraced. Money can be the useful drudge of things immeasurably higher than itself.” (Pic supplied )

HELLO! Hello! What’ve we got here then? Well, officer, you might mistake it for a UFO from a distant galaxy where time and space have collapsed in on themselves and created all kinds of weird and wonderful things but believe it or not it is in fact a giant pinball. Although kids today may have never enjoyed the frustration of watching a small ball fall forlornly between two flippers as you frantically tap the buttons on the side of the machine, this simple little game of ricochets and reaction was once all the rage. Ever keen to embrace the modern world and all its trappings, in the 1960s, Monmouth invented pinball wizard Tommy, to the town. The gaming guru was perming his hair that day and couldn’t make it, so he sent a giant pinball in his place. Only joking! The pic is from 1900 and shows one of Charles Rolls' famous hot air balloons being inflated by the town’s gasworks. (Pic supplied)