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Growing Up In Brum - Roy Blakey Inspired.

We were always told to mind our P's and Q's speak when your spoken to and always say please and thank you and oh! the smell of moth balls did it ever go away..l know at church it was always the scent of the day on a Sunday...but who knows l most likely smelled just a bad.....Brenda
 
SEVEN FOR THE PRICE OF FOUR.
Period : Around 1938 to 1940.
Frequently during off school periods we would make our way to Sutton Park to explore and seek some new adventures.
This would usually mean that between five to seven of us would meet up on the Kings Road, Kingstanding and having decided that Sutton Park was our destination for the day we would make our way up Colindale Road and then on down Banners Gate Road to the Banners Gate entrance to Sutton Park, on the Chester Road.
The entrance fee, if I remember right, into the park was around a penny for each person.
Most times that our group arrived at the park we had managed to muster up enough pennies between us to pay the entrance fee but I recall there were a few occassions when we had to ' default ' a little. It would have been something like, on these occasions, when our group numbered about seven and moneywise the best we could drum up between us was four pence, that we had to perform our little ' default ' procedure.
So a quick split in in group. Four with their pennies up to the Park gate and proceed to pay their entrance fee to the Park Gate Keeper. The other three of the group would have to scoot up the Chester Road apiece and scramble under a gap in the park fencing and into the park and trust that the Gate Keeper was being kept occupied sufficiently dealing with the legal payers at the gate.
We would all meet up again in Westwood Coppice ( keeping it quiet for a while until we were out of hearing distance of the
Park Gate Keeper) we were then able to start our explorations and adventures around all parts of that fantastic park.
Looking back, there is very little doubt in my mind that some of those Park Keepers new exactly what was going on with all of these sorts of mischievous kids bits but as long as it didn't involve any damage around the park or inconvenience to others, they would ' turn a blind eye '.
Bless em.

Photo : " Banners Gate " , the Gate Keeper and the entrance to endless adventure.

image.png
 
Nice memory, Roy. I think that residents of the Royal Borough were allowed in free at that time. We lived the wrong side of the boundary, in Streetly, but there was an unmanned pedestrian entrance opposite the golf club in Thornhill Road and that proved to be very useful! Otherwise it was a question of walking through the manned entrance in Streetly village with an air of confidence and a ready answer in mind if challenged. Mr. Beech was the keeper there and the family lived in the adjacent cottage.

Do I remember another unmanned entrance opposite the Parson & Clerk?

Good on the Banners Gate keeper for turning a bit if a blind eye.

Chris
 
Yes, Sutton Coldfield residents could get into the park for free but I think you had to show a card.
An aunt and uncle of mine lived in New Oscott, just over the Birmingham boundary and we sometimes borrowed their card so we didn't have to pay!
 
Chris, you mentioning the possibility of an ' unmanned ' entrance to Sutton Park opposite the Parson & Clerk pub definatey rings a bell.
I seem to recall that for a period of time we kids started to use that gate to enter and exit the park and I'm wondering as to why we would have switched our ' entrance to the park ' choice. I'm pondering now wether it may have been something to do with the fact that, at the time ( 1942 ), there was that prisoner of war camp situated adjacent to Westwood Coppice and maybe there might have been some sort of ' civilian restriction ' being imposed on the Banners Gate entrance.
It meant travelling further to get into the park for us, so there must have been a reason.
Ive just had a look at Post #103, page 7, on this thread and I believe that the Parson & Clerk ' gate ' would have been our entrance and exit on that occassion.
Bye the bye, it was a bit of a floating joke around Kingstanding at one time, that so long as you were dressed up ' posh ' enough and you were able to just say " RESIDENT " eloquently enough to the park gate keeper, you could get in for nowt.
 
LINING UP FOR THE SCHOOLS XMAS FESTIVITIES.
I would hazard a quess that about this time of the year infant and junior teachers at schools all around Brum will be making plans for their class and school Xmas break-up festivities. They are probably in the process of deciding what sort of
' play ' that they will ' put on ' for that all important final day were all of the schools individual classes will perform in the school hall in front of all of the schools pupils.
For the children this will be the beginnig of a wonderful run up to Xmas. As always there will be so many things to look forward to for the kids.
There's the acting and singing that they may be selected to perform, representing their own class, up on that school stage.
There's the looking forward to creating their own Xmas decorations that will eventually be hung all around their own classroom.
There's the afternoon, prior to the school break-up day, where-by they will not have to do any sums or spelling lessons because on this afternoon they will be having a cake and biscuit ' classroom buffet ' which hopefully will be provided by all the individual Moms.
There's going to be lots of singing carols as well.
Another good one will be ( it happens like magic every year ) how those teachers who have been stern and strict all through the year, suddenly becoming smiling and friendly and nice and joining in with everything.
I reckon that the bulld-up and the excitement for the school children will be much the same to-day as it has always been .
So, a loverly time coming up for the kids to enjoy.
 
l also remember making Christmas cards and Christmas calenders....it was usually apiece of art paper we drew on and coloured for the card and the calendar was also on art paper either a drawing or a cutout picture glued on along with a little calendar book we got from woolsworth....l wonder if one can still get those calendar books..l haven't seen one in eons.....Brenda
 
When things were hard to get during and just after the war years, we used to make paper chains I can't remember if we did this at school, but we certainly did at home spending many evenings cutting up crepe paper and anything else suitable to make them.
 
l also remember making Christmas cards and Christmas calenders....it was usually apiece of art paper we drew on and coloured for the card and the calendar was also on art paper either a drawing or a cutout picture glued on along with a little calendar book we got from woolsworth....l wonder if one can still get those calendar books..l haven't seen one in eons.....Brenda

I remember making calendars, and also Easter cards (you'd draw crocuses!)

We used to have a class party, and I think each one of us would bring in one item, like a jelly.

maria
 
image.pngTHE OLD " PEA SOUPER ".
Before the Air pollution clean up act had come about and when household coal fires, factory chimney emissions and backyard bonfires were allowed there came the occassions of winter ' smogs'. Sometimes referred to as a " Pea souper "
The city and its suburbs became cloaked in this dence, smelly, " Can't see your hand in front of your face " phenomenon.
There were humorous aspects to these occassions as well as the obvious difficulties that they caused.
There were the stories of some workers returning home, who would have sworn before hand, that they were completey knowledgable of the route home and their local streets ( having done the journey many times before ) but now found it difficult to find their own street and house.
There were stories of buses being slowly ' guided ' by a person walking just a few feet ahead of the bus in order to get the bus load of passengers to their destinations.
There were those who had managed to cycle to work in the morning but then found themselves having to push their bikes back home because they just couldn't identify the roadside gutters and curbs.
Even the household pet dogs and cats ( who would normally love going out for a wander ) decided to call it quits and went back to the front of the living room fire.
There was the possibility also that if anyone had been exposed for long enough in an area that was particularly ' smokey ' that their faces would take on that coal miners ' end of shift ' grime and grubby look.
The school children loved it because as it became aparent that a ' smog ' was about to settle in, they would be sent home from their schools early. The extras for the kids as well was that their local area and streets seemed to take on an eerie and mysterious atmosphere and a game or two of ' hide and seek ' fitted in nicely, seemed to have some extra effect.
As usual though, the Brummies were up for it, factories, offices, transport systems, hospitals, housewives, and services in general battled on through it without too much problem.

Photo : Get this lot sorted out.
 
Reminds me of a real 'Peasouper', circa 1955/56. I was driving home from a 'gig', and I found myself driving through Quinton. I was hardly moving, and my nose was pressed up against the windscreen. I even had my side window open in an attempt to see better.

Suddenly, my right side front wheel struck a kerb, and I though "My God, I am on the wrong side of the road". It was scary, so I decided to run my car upon the grass verge that I had just run into. I left the car, and walked home.

The next morning I went to collect my car, knowing it was about where I thought it may be.


Sure enough, it was there, parked on the central reservation! It looked ridiculous in the daylight.


Eddie
 
Eddie,

We still had those peasoupers a year or two later as I remember going to freemasonry gigs in Kinver in the drummer's Standard Vanguard, certainly after May 1957, when I came out of the RAF, and walking in front of it with a torch for several miles on the way back to Brum. I didn't enjoy those gigs one little bit, either musically or travelling there and back.

Maurice
 
" HAVE WE GOT ENOUGH SPONDULICS ".
There were the occassions when, as a group, we kids would need a few pennies to exploit some adventure or aquire some item for the use of the whole bunch of us. I recall at one time, for some reason or another, our little street group started to try out ' pole jumping '. We began by trying to use an old wooden broom handle as our pole, which gave us an idea of the technique, but the ' pole ' wasn't long enough to give a good lift and distance on the assisted jump.
We needed a strong longer pole.
We had on previous visits up town seen a " Scout Shop " which if I remember right was on a street just off the Old Bull Ring. In the shop window, amongst other scout equipment bits, we had spotted these lovely 'Boy Scout Staff Poles ', ideal we thought for our pole jumping.
Now we needed to gather some spondulics to pay the bus fare up town and back for a couple of the group and then for them to be able to purchase one of these Scout Poles.
I think it took us around a couple of weeks to raise what we thought would be needed to cover these costs.
We were successful and the ' longest ' scout pole was purchased from the Scout Shop.
We had loads of competition fun from there on, trying to achieve the longest distance pole assisted jumps. The pole game became one of our favourite street games.
That pole came with us as well whenever the group ventured into the country side on our adventures. As daft as it sounds it was protected and looked after and became the equivalent of a ' regimental standard ' for our little group.
SPONDULICS ? This was a slang word for " MONEY " and it was bandied about a lot by the kids in our area of Brum.
 
Eddie,

We still had those peasoupers a year or two later as I remember going to freemasonry gigs in Kinver in the drummer's Standard Vanguard, certainly after May 1957, when I came out of the RAF, and walking in front of it with a torch for several miles on the way back to Brum. I didn't enjoy those gigs one little bit, either musically or travelling there and back.

Maurice
These peasoupers certainly continued into late 70's I recall driving towards J2 on M42 and deciding that no way was I going on to the motorway in such poor visibility. That stretch of motorway didn't open 'til late 70's.
In mid 60's I had taken a girl out on a date on a Saturday night and when we came to drive home dense fog had descended so we couldn't get home until the next morning. Her parents, like most folk those days weren't on the 'phone so we were both apprehensive of her parents reaction to our over night stop out!

Coming out of Gosta Green tech one night fog was so bad that we drove home with windows open, I sat in the nearside seat looking out of the side window to see the curb, steering by reaching across the car, in 60's cars were much smaller, while my friend operated the pedals. Great team work!
 
THE STREET.
Going back apiece it was amazing how the street gutters seemed to attract many of the kids.
Parents, in general, would continuously warn their children to " keep away from the gutters "
But the street gutter had it's purpose from the kids point of view.
It was a place to sit and to have a little rest between playing street games.
It was an ideal spot to play Marbles along.
It was a perfect set up for carrying out "throw and catch " ball game rebounds.
After a short but heavy rainstorm it was ideal for building little ' gutter dams ' and having a little ' paddle '.
From gutter to gutter, across the road, it was an ideal ' measure ' to use in a " longest hop,
skip and jump " competition.
The street gutter always seemed to be a good place to hunt for " shrapnel " during the war.
Doing a bit of pretend " tight rope walking " along the gutter edge was a bit of fun too.
Photos : Having fun.
View attachment 101928





View attachment 101929
View attachment 101930
Watch it! you'll catch "The Fever"
 
I have posted this before, But I remember many times going over the Grans in Smethwick for Sunday Din Din. coming back in a peasouper. I even walked in front of Dads Rover giving him directions. Also coming home from a gig in Brum missing the last bus and walking home with Sax in case. feeling my way along the hedges to get back to Yardley. Of course the end of coal and coke burning helped put and end to that, John Crump
 
John,

It doesn't seem that long ago, but for me it was 54 years ago - I'd moved south to Dorset in January 1961 and two years later it was quite a hard winter and I was working till the early hours at a club in the depths of the New Forest. Instead of negotiating fog I was trying find my way along snowy and icy tracks and we'd had quite a drop to drink by then! Happy days!

Maurice
 
" HELLS BELLS, do I really sound like that ".
Recalling a family Christmas party get together around the mid 1950's.
My youngest brother introduced his latest pride and joy into the parties fun and games. It was an impressive box cased
' reel to reel tape recorder '. I guess he must have been saving his money up for sometime for it because at that time these recorders were fairly new on the market and were pretty expensive.
Anyway, once the party had got underway we ' set up' the recorder in the little Bathroom situated next to the Kitchen.
The invitation then was, for anyone wanting to ' have a go', that they could go into into the bathroom, shut the door, start the recorder and provide a little ' party piece ' without anyone else hearing their performance. I recall that it took a bit of persuasion to get some of the family members to have a go but ( eventually after a few glasses of Ansells ) most of the party began to participate one way or another.
A bit later on the recorder was brought into the living room and we all quiet downed a bit to listen to the results of the individual vocal efforts which included jokes, speeches, a harmonica performance, whistling and of course ' songs '.
It turned out to be great fun and plenty of laughs resulted from it.
The one overriding thing that seemed to emerge from it though was that almost everyone appeared to be totally surprised at the play back sound of their own voice and the Brummie accent that they had developed but hadn't realised how dominant it had become.
Some of the ' performances' were really good and if they were nor, it gave everyone a good old laugh anyway.
I recall the attempt that I made for my recording contribution. A ' Nat King Cole' impression. " Wakling my baby back home ". I really thought that I could sing just like him. Came out absolutely terrible. Took him out of my ' bathroom ' singing repertoire a bit sharpish.
It was all great fun but if you could have put all the individuals comments, about themselves, into one expression it would have been :
" Hells Bells, do I really sound like that "
Photo : The Recorder type.

image.png
 
" IT'S OKAY, THERE'S ONE COMING NOW ".
( Worth a smile on reflection).
This was before cars were widely owned. The Bus services all around Brum were satisfyingly numerous, as were the numbers of bus stops provided. Couldn't have been better.
There were the odd occassions however when a bit of whinging and moaning came to be, amongst passengers waiting at the bus stops.
How come ?
Well, there they would be, it's cold, it's windy and it's raining. They have already been waiting a bit longer than they had expected. Then one of them spots a bus making it's way to-wards them and utters the welcome words " IT'S OKAY, THERE'S ONE COMING NOW ". Now everyone in the waiting queue are ready to forget and forgive this little minor delay.
WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT !
On comes this bus, top speed and straight on past the waiting queue. There is was, on the front of the bus, that taunting display " GARAGE ONLY "
With rain now dripping down their necks the waiting queue now have their chance to have a good old whinge.
A worse scenario following this might have been the one where when the next bus did arrive to pick them up , it was not only the ONE bus but TWO of them ( nose to tail ) both displaying the same route number.
Time for another whinge.
A plus factor, whilst all this might be going on though, was the incidence of the ' queue ' talking to one another ( albeit a moan here and there ) giving it all a bit of a get together community feel. Maybe the odd little future friendship might have been born from it as well.
Having touched on these more rarely occurring bus service incidents it would not be fair unless it is balanced with the truth
that at these times the bus services operating in Brum were highly efficient and very much appreciated.
 
Buses were so frequent going to town from near the Rialto, Hall Green, that people didn't need a timetable. It did mean that if you waited at the bus stop for more than 10 minutes it seemed excessively long. The bus I caught was either a 32 or a 37. Sometimes, after a long wait, I might put my hand out if I saw a Midland Red coming. I don't think that they were supposed to stop to pick up passengers within the city boundary, if they were going into town, but sometimes they did. The fare was always a bit more on the Midland Red. I seem to remember that I started paying bus fares when I reached the age of 16. Dave.
 
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