Andrew V
proper brummie kid
I reach my 60th Birthday next month and was reminiscing of times gone by from my early days living in Bradley road in shard end until my mom and dad split up and money became short, my next home was a back to back house in Peel street Winson green my mom moved here with four kids in tow and worked 3 jobs to keep us all together and fed,I loved growing up here and spent many a day dipping in and out of the Canal that ran alongside the prison, we would come out of there and pop into the cafe oppressive the prison for our teas, mom worked behind the counter on her own there. From here we ended up moving to Crompton road of the Heathfield road as the back to backs were being demolished in peel street, we lived here for a very short period before moving to bankdale road in ward end to stay with friends this was due to mom running up rent arrears and the inevitable happened,we ended up moving again to live with friends in Dovdale road near stockland green, I remember loving living here as well there were around a group of 10 kids who hung around together, summer holidays were long and hot we would leave the house around 9 in the morning and walk all the way through to Aston Park armed with a bottle of diluted squash a jam sandwich and a packet of cheap biscuits, happy happy days we had nothing in the financial terms but we had everything in regards to being happy kids, once my mom got sorted out we ended up getting another council house of our own, it even had 3 bedrooms, this was in Hawkesyard road Erdington where mom still lives to this day, I left home in 1981 and moved to London where I got married, have 3 kids of my own and 8 wonderful grandchildren, I look at what kids have today and wonder if I had my childhood again would I live it in todays climate of unsafe streets, very little if any respect for their orders,,,,, not a cat in hells chance my childhood in the 70s was special and it was spent with special friends, we had nothing but we had everything if that makes serve.