Pole Dancing

As I downloaded the photographs taken on my mobile phone over the last few months, this one struck me as being particularly noteworthy.

This one, simple photograph says a lot about the changing face of multicultural, small town Britain.

It was taken on a Sunday night in Ellis', a nightspot in Rhyl's town centre. In the photograph are a young Chinese kid and a Polish fella. People who reside in bigger, more cosmopolitan areas of the world may think this unremarkable. But to someone like me, who left this country ten months ago, two things are remarkable. Firstly, that there was anyone in Ellis' on a Sunday night at all and, secondly, that it was full of people from all over the world.

Sunday nights out in Rhyl are shit, or, I should say, were shit. Things have changed. On this Sunday, we had a ripper night.

The dance floor resembled a 'ho-down' at the U.N. with nationalities galore strutting their funky stuff. Poles, Latvians, Turks, Indians and Chinese, to name but a few. The fashion police would've had a field day, not to mention the Ku Klux Klan.

The Poles ruled the roost numerically and the lad in the photo ruled the busy dance floor. He danced and pouted his way around the joint like the Polish John Travolta. I studied the scene in awe. All these people. Foreign people. Was this really a Sunday night in Rhyl?

Although this multicultural miracle was mighty impressive, I reckoned it still lacked some antipodean influence. I limbered up, not wanting to 'do a hammy', and decided to enter the fray, representing Australia. I kicked off my thongs and tripped the light fantastic, throwing out some big shapes. My moves were loosely based on an aboriginal dance I'd seen on The Discovery Channel. For added authenticity, I danced in true Aussie fashion - like no one was watching.

My efforts seemed to be appreciated by most, with a couple of noticeable exceptions. Namely, the Polish lad whose spotlight I'd stolen and the bouncer, who told me to put my shoes back on or get out.

Miserable git. Some things will never change.