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Aston Cross Industry's Smells

C

colin

Guest
Does anybody remember the strange and wonderful smells that you used to get form walking around aston cross?.From the beer and vinegar wafting downThomas St to the bottom of Phillips St where the ansells wagons were through to the acrid acid fumes and factory smells of Wharf St and Wainwright St where me dad worked at Godrich's. And one thing i'll never forget is that terrifiying screaming sound coming out of the Tubes factory on the Lichfield road - Those WERE the days my friends !
 
Oh Colin .......... now youve gone and done it. We actually have a thread somewhere all about the sounds from the Tubes factory. As for the smells of Aston your so right, what a mixture hey?
 
Thanks for reminding me too Colin, about the wonderful smells and noises around Aston Cross. I hadn,t actually forgotten them, but they were beginning to slide to the back of my memory, and after all these years, I don,t particularly want to ever forget things like that. When I worked in Aston from ,64 to ,70, and then again ,71 to ,77, I too also loved the different aromas that greeted you each day. As you say, the Ansells brewery, and the HP sauce smells were something else. And regarding the screaming noises from Tubes, I remember them very well, because I spent 12 very happy years working there with the best group of people you could wish, and I recall how those noises where made. If I remember right the noises came from the Fine-Finishing Dept., and after you walked through there a few times you didn,t notice them so much. If you can think of anything else about Aston Cross, please share it with us, and keep the memories flooding back.
 
not forgetting the aroma of the vinegar permeating with the sauce and the beer the gas works smell meant to me coldness standing in long queues and all that hard work pushing the basket carriage back up Sutton street yes smells can relate to many memories
 
The Atmosphere of Aston Cross

There were three regular smells at Aston Cross, the mixture changing according to wind direction: HP, Ansells or Windsor St Gas. I used togo to Aston Grammar, where we had the self-inflicted pongs from the chemistry laboratory. Especially hydrogen sulphide.
For a time in 1945-6, I went off school dinners and walked down to the British Restaurant which I think was part of Upper Thomas St School, next to the HP factory. where I could get a man's portion for a child's rate of 5d. Not bad, even in those days!
 
My mother used to make us walk to visit my grandmother in Aston on Saturdays (we lived in Nechells at that time!! No surprise I am only 5ft 4 is it?? ha ha ).
We'd walk along by where the HP and Ansells factories were - I loved the whifff of both those places!!!   We used to have Chips or scollops for lunch with loads of vinegar on them!!
My favourite smell still - I always look for HP Vinegar and buy a few bottles when I see it in shops (seems really scarce thesedays doesn't it??)  - Mmmm!! Lovely memories!! despite the walk ha ha  :laugh:
 
Hi,
One of the things I will never forget is the combination of the Ansells and the HP sauce smells whilst going through Aston Cross in the early morning on the tram on my way to GEC where I was an apprentice in the early 50's.
 
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