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Rudders and Payne fire

Hello Domino,
Green is my married name my maiden name is Banner,Betty Neville well I was always a bit worried when Dad went into her shop as I was sure she had a soft spot for him,Floyds chip shop for well for years when I was small I called it flies chip shop.Our house is still there as you say it is 2 flats now as they all are, I heard they are rented out to Birmingham Universaty for students.The Astoria I remember going with mom to see David Whitfield sing at a show there also there was a talent show called Carol Levis discoveries, when I was going to school Upper Thomas Street a big stretch limo pulled beside me and asked if i knew where the entrance was,it was the group who sang WHY DO FOOLS FALL IN LOVE can't remember their name but was the girls as school green with envy, I just remembered Frankie Lyman was I think the lead singer.Love to hear from you again.
Pauline.
 
pauline green said:
Hello Domino,
Green is my married name my maiden name is Banner,Betty Neville well I was always a bit worried when Dad went into her shop as I was sure she had a soft spot for him,Floyds chip shop for well for years when I was small I called it flies chip shop.Our house is still there as you say it is 2 flats now as they all are, I heard they are rented out to Birmingham Universaty for students.The Astoria I remember going with mom to see David Whitfield sing at a show there also there was a talent show called Carol Levis discoveries, when I was going to school Upper Thomas Street a big stretch limo pulled beside me and asked if i knew where the entrance was,it was the group who sang WHY DO FOOLS FALL IN LOVE can't remember their name but was the girls as school green with envy, I just remembered Frankie Lyman was I think the lead singer.Love to hear from you again.
Pauline.
Click to expand...

Hi Pauline, I do remember you, you also I believe had a brother named Alan. Yes the old Astoria picture house, the projector was behind the actual screen and not in-front. It was Franky Lymon he sang with a group called the teenagers, he died age just 25 from heroin. I also saw a show of Carol Levis can't remember any of the performers thou. In Chester street if you remember there was a Pub called the Junction on the corner with Dartmouth Street and Chester Street, they used lodge performers who performed at the Birmingham Hippodrome, cant remember the family who ran the Pub but I was friendly with their son, and he used to get tickets for some of the shows at the TV Studios on Aston Road. My mother was walking down Aston Road one day on her way Shopping at Aston Cross, someone asked the way to the studios she told him and he offered to walk along with her and also carried her bags, it was Roy Castle. To the day she died she never understood why he was walking down Aston Road in the first place. Do you remember when the Beatles performed there or some of the other Mersey groups, the crowds were enormous. It was impossible to even drive down the road. I asked before do you not remember a guy named Ken Hale he seemed to know just about everyone in the area. As I said his dad owned a fishing tackle shop on the bridge on Dartmouth Street.
Have to admit I had some great times in the area in my youth.
 
Hi Domino so glad you remember Alan he passed away about 5 yrs now,he had a bit of a reputation but he always looked out for me when we went to St Marys he always waited for me at break time by the huts as they[juniors] couldn't come into our play ground just to see if i was ok,the same when we went to upper thomas street he was in the seniors i was in the juniors and he would wait at the wooden gate in the playground to check again,I feel he is still near now,I just hope he is not losing his temper without me being close.I bet your mom and mine knew each other. I remember the pub, Ken Hale I don't know but i bet my Dad did he was a big fisherman as Alan was,I had moved before the Beatles became famous,it was the norm lunchtime if you went into woolworths to see all famous faces doing their shopping.Do you know the Southalls they were related to Elwoods both nice familys.
Take care lovely talking to you.Pauline.
 
Hello Pauline, sorry been some time since we last communicated been busy organising our holiday, will be away all of March. Yes I do remember the Southalls, if I remember correctly their eldest was Gerald, then Yvonne and I think there was a younger daughter if so can't remember her name. Myself Roger Hamond Ken Hale and Kenny Hawkins used to play together, we used to sneak 9 into Rudders and Paynes wood yard to play amongst the stacks of planks, that was until Gerald fell off one of the stacks and broke his leg. I can also remember Yvonne having long red hair and screaming when her mom brushed it before going to school. I didn't know that the Elwoods and the Southalls were related. I was talking to my brother and sister over the weekend about communicating with you, they are both younger then me so do not remember you. We were remembering all the shop in and around Astonbrook, such as Bains the backers the Pet shop the other side of the bridge from Floyd's Goldman's and I think Morgan's the Chemists. Plus guy who had a shop facing Gregorys who had a growth on the side of his face,do you remember him? On Aston Road after Gregorys there was the Barbers, then the Opticians, a Motorcycle shop and after that Palmer and Haveys. Hope read this and will reply, if I don't get back to you for a few weeks it's because as I said earlier my wife and I are away from the 3March until the 3 April. Kind regards. Domino
 
Hi, I hope you both have a good holiday Kenny Hawkins I do remember his name but can't put a face to him,of course I remember Roger Hammond very well also I remember the man with a large growth his name i am sure was Mr Shaw he always wore a white cow gown as many managers wore,he worked in the wood spinners shop I think it was next to the bank.The chemist on our corner you mentioned do you remember what he looked like he was always polite but spooked me,do you remember the dining rooms on the same side as the bank,and the blue police box,my hubby was the local bobby I remember he had to check in at the box,[no mobiles then] do you know I still don't know who you are.
All the best look forward to hearing about your holiday.Pauline
 
I think early fifties is more accurate because i remember my parents talking about it on several occasions, my grandfather who's surname was Chalk was the caretaker there at the time and my parents lived in a tied house next door about 5 years before i was born. (1958)
 
Hello Newbie,
As I said in an earlier quote the fire was I am sure 1952 but more likely to be 1953. The Chalks I do remember as my Mother worked cleaning the offices at Rudders and Paynes, and as you said they lived in the house opposite the offices. Been in their house many a time for a cup of tea. Their daughter I presume is your Mother I knew as well but not well as she was a few years older than me. They all came to my Fathers works club in Erdington a few times. Great to hear from someone else who lived or knew someone who lived in or around Chester Street Aston.
 
pauline green said:
don clive
yes i now know the year of the fire i didnt know i would find out the date so quick when i joined the site.I lived in Hubert St/born in Chester St, i also had a good view of the fire [to good] we were made to leave our house because Palmer and Harveys had petrol tanks on the premises to fuel their own vans and it got a bit close.Pauline Green.Thanks
Click to expand...
Hi Pauline, the names John Lester, I lived at number 1 Hubert St. thanks for all the comments.
Seeing the chemist mentioned, Mr , Morgan brought back loads of happy memories.
I used to clean the cars on a Saturday for pocket money for Mr Morgan , the hairdresser guy and another.
My first holiday as a teenager was in a caravan with Barry Ellwood and Colin Robins to Exmouth
where we took a peddlelow beyond the out crop and got wash down the coast.
Lil Swift was the shop owner and my sister inlaw Beryl Goucher frequented it a lot due to having 5 Kids. Beryl lived above the plumbers on the Aston Road which was about the fourth shop up from the chemist, paper shop ,hairdressers, optician's, plumbers.
Our side entry went up at the back of the shops to the back entrance of Aston Auto Motors.
Motor bikes and scooters. Number 3 was Ivy Maycock , 5 or 7 Ellwoods ,7 or 9 Robins. Memory Ahh
The paper shop was owned by Mr and Mrs Gregory. I courted their daughter Jennifer for a while and there was a brother called Roger. The comments on the carpenter who always had a white
apron. He was the gentleman who had the large lump on the side of his head.
I'm going on, time to stop. Take care everyone in these silly times.
John
 
brilliant ta john,for memories i pushed many a motor bike down that back entrance.to AAM:grinning: and had a basin haircut off that barber too:(.
 
pauline green said:
Hi, I hope you both have a good holiday Kenny Hawkins I do remember his name but can't put a face to him,of course I remember Roger Hammond very well also I remember the man with a large growth his name i am sure was Mr Shaw he always wore a white cow gown as many managers wore,he worked in the wood spinners shop I think it was next to the bank.The chemist on our corner you mentioned do you remember what he looked like he was always polite but spooked me,do you remember the dining rooms on the same side as the bank,and the blue police box,my hubby was the local bobby I remember he had to check in at the box,[no mobiles then] do you know I still don't know who you are.
All the best look forward to hearing about your holiday.Pauline
Click to expand...
Hi Pauline,
Regards the Chemist on the corner ,Mr Morgan, I used to clean his car on Saturdays ,he also had a grand piano in the corner room above the shop, i used to go up stairs a lot but cant remember why.
He was always very smart and i believe always wore a dickie bow.
You say your hubby was a police man, Ohhh. Barry, Colin and I got caught climbing down some scaffolding around the button factory at the top of Hubert Street, not sure if was closed or closing down. We went in looking around a found lots of the pearl buttons ,i assume we had some.
Any way half way down the scaffolding this police man caught us red handed ,gave us i good telling off ,led us back to our parents and the rest is history.
We respected our police then, they protected us and all the local properties by checking the shop doors every night, that's how we got caught, Haaaa.
We used to play in the entry behind your house Pauline, a lad lived in the block of houses at the back that we used to play with, name gone.
Take care
John
 
pauline green said:
Hello Domino,
Green is my married name my maiden name is Banner,Betty Neville well I was always a bit worried when Dad went into her shop as I was sure she had a soft spot for him,Floyds chip shop for well for years when I was small I called it flies chip shop.Our house is still there as you say it is 2 flats now as they all are, I heard they are rented out to Birmingham Universaty for students.The Astoria I remember going with mom to see David Whitfield sing at a show there also there was a talent show called Carol Levis discoveries, when I was going to school Upper Thomas Street a big stretch limo pulled beside me and asked if i knew where the entrance was,it was the group who sang WHY DO FOOLS FALL IN LOVE can't remember their name but was the girls as school green with envy, I just remembered Frankie Lyman was I think the lead singer.Love to hear from you again.
Pauline.
Click to expand...
This made me laugh, I knew Betty very well. She was a lovely lady.
 
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