Valerie Dunbar
master brummie
This is a small piece that I have taken from the recollections of Aston that I am writing.
Factories
Aston was a very industrial area so in nearly every street there was a factory of some sort. These factories were diverse in their manufacturing including button makers, a tea company and also two very large factories along the Lichfield Road called HP sauch and Ansells Brewery.
My Mum used to work on the production line at Ansells and I used to go up there to say hello to her most evenings after arriving home from school. Ansells always used to fascinate me and although children were not really allowed into the building, I used to slip in unnoticed by the management to see mum and all her work mates, who used to take me on a nightly tour whenever I visited.
I was only a very small girl but loved these visits. One of the first things I would see as I entered the building was the long conveyer belt of rollers that used to carry all the cases of Ansells beer along to the end of the line. This conveyer belt used to circle all the large machines that were each doing a particular job. Then cases were packed and put on the conveyer belt for transportation elsewhere as a finished consignment.
My mum used to work on the bottle washing machines, these were large circular revolving machines that sent the bottles around and around under a steady stream of water until they came out sparkling. The noise from these machines was very loud and you could hear the tinkling of the glass bottles as they went around on the different machines. Every bottle had to be inspected for chips and cracks by my mum, as well as making sure that the washing process had been done correctly. If there was a problem with the bottles mum had to take them off the machine as rejects, making sure that the empty spaces were filled up with other bottles. Because it was a constant production line no one could leave the area where they were working unless they had someone to stand in for them. Even so my mum would always come across when she knew that I had arrived.
The smell of hops was very strong and most of the time the floor was wet, but I loved visiting the place where mum worked, it all seemed so big, noisy and interesting to one so young. Before I left to return home I was always given a few bottle tops to keep. I ended up having quite a collection to play with.
Valerie Dunbar
Factories
Aston was a very industrial area so in nearly every street there was a factory of some sort. These factories were diverse in their manufacturing including button makers, a tea company and also two very large factories along the Lichfield Road called HP sauch and Ansells Brewery.
My Mum used to work on the production line at Ansells and I used to go up there to say hello to her most evenings after arriving home from school. Ansells always used to fascinate me and although children were not really allowed into the building, I used to slip in unnoticed by the management to see mum and all her work mates, who used to take me on a nightly tour whenever I visited.
I was only a very small girl but loved these visits. One of the first things I would see as I entered the building was the long conveyer belt of rollers that used to carry all the cases of Ansells beer along to the end of the line. This conveyer belt used to circle all the large machines that were each doing a particular job. Then cases were packed and put on the conveyer belt for transportation elsewhere as a finished consignment.
My mum used to work on the bottle washing machines, these were large circular revolving machines that sent the bottles around and around under a steady stream of water until they came out sparkling. The noise from these machines was very loud and you could hear the tinkling of the glass bottles as they went around on the different machines. Every bottle had to be inspected for chips and cracks by my mum, as well as making sure that the washing process had been done correctly. If there was a problem with the bottles mum had to take them off the machine as rejects, making sure that the empty spaces were filled up with other bottles. Because it was a constant production line no one could leave the area where they were working unless they had someone to stand in for them. Even so my mum would always come across when she knew that I had arrived.
The smell of hops was very strong and most of the time the floor was wet, but I loved visiting the place where mum worked, it all seemed so big, noisy and interesting to one so young. Before I left to return home I was always given a few bottle tops to keep. I ended up having quite a collection to play with.
Valerie Dunbar