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Recreation Grounds

R

Rod

Guest
What of the small recreation grounds do you remember? Not as big and airy as the bigger parks, but still a valuable play space for us kids back then. Ours was Blews Street as we called it, what and where was yours?
 
thats the one John, but in our day it was gravel covered, gone had the trees and gardens. there was an old steam engine concreted into the surface though. Do any of you other folks remember similar parks in your neck of the woods?
 
Ours was always called 'the rec' and it was in Musgrave Road in Winson Green. We used to go down the gulley by the side of the Talbot pub from Talbot Street,where I used to live, right next door to what we used to call Benson Road station where we used to catch the Dudley Dasher to go to Dudley Zoo.The parkie,as I remember, was a nice old man but could be a bit of a martinet if you went over the bounds of his tolerance.Good old days!
 
That was my local Rec too. I remember well, the area at the top... with the huge concrete tunnels. When we'd finished playing, we'd skip over the wall, into the back yard of a friend's house in Talbot street. Then, when we came back down the gulley, we go picking goosegogs through a fence at the side of Togoods. ;)
 
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My "Rec" is Bleak Hill Recreation Ground,which is been done up as I type!...on the down side, house are been built at the Marsh Lane end:(
 
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Mine were Billesley Common and Chinnbrook Rec along with The Dingles.

Great times were had though I jiggered up my knee for all time when riding my push bike up a steep bank out of the River Cole [in The Dingles]. Never told my Mom where I did it as I was not supposed to be down there.
 
I know that feeling well. I used to live in Barford Road Ladywood (opposite the school)... and close to our house was the old disused railway track (The Boner).

We weren't allowed to go down there, as there was all kinds of rubbish chucked under the bridge (probably rife with typhoid or something equally as hideous). But, as much as my brother and I would always deny going down there... our mum could always smell it on us. :rolleyes:

That leather belt saw some action. :cry:
 
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My late Father in Law tells of sneaking onto Billesley Common when he was a lad to watch someone attempting to fly a small aircraft there. This would have been before the First World War.
 
Rod said:
What of the small recreation grounds do you remember? Not as big and airy as the bigger parks, but still a valuable play space for us kids back then. Ours was Blews Street as we called it, what and where was yours?
Click to expand...

Rod,

Back in the 1970's we used to fly control-line (tethered) model aircraft there. They made a hell of a noise, but as no-one actually lived anywhere near the place by then, it didn't matter. We used to get police from Steelhouse Lane come down to watch us. These days they'd nick us.

Big Gee
 
I've spoken about this before on another thread somewhere.

I said then we always called it Blue Street , but Blews Street it is and we spent many a Happy hour there:)
 
As far I know there were no small playground areas in the Erdington area where I lived. Witton Lakes was five minutes away and Brookvale Park also.
 
When we wern't playing cannon or hide and seek in Norris Road we would head off to Aston Park. We spent hours and hours there, a lot of it dodging the parkies.:)
 
Hi All.
I remember the huge pile of dirt dumped next to the car park on Billesley Common, this stayed there for several years, the ground behind the "Valley" pub, the Rec, Dingles, Trittiford park, Slade Lane field & the land next to the lake in Priory Rd where the ground moved at this time of year due to millions of frogs (now almost totally all built on)
We were happy then and would spend hours without fear, the danger don't exist in our minds and if you hurt yourself, suing someone was unheard of!
The biggest fear was what you told your parents......

I shall be at Billesley Common today to help clean it up with "The Valley Riverside Project" 10-00....2-00 approx.Haunch Lane Entrance.
Pete
 
I can't either Jennyann, same as you, apart from the allotments and the fields and the out of bounds quarry...Cat:)

Well done Bilsat, hope you have a fruitful day.
 
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the rec i used to go to as a kid was on king edward road ladywood, spent many an hour there, it was situated just behind ice/roller rink at summerhill as we got older we progressed to the rink and left the rec behind us, oh the innocence of childhood
best wishes anniekei
 
Annie that was called Goodman St rec we as kids played there and when we older we played foot ball,do you remember the little Parkie he always had a fag hanging out of his mouth

Mau-reece
 
Thats Right Mossy
the little fat man parkie he always had a fag hanging out of his mouth
and he also liked a drink he drank half botle of dettol one day by mistake for whisky
he nearly died they found him on the ground and phoned the ambulance to takehim to hospital that was around the 1954 era
and the wreck up by ladywood rd and monument rd oppersite resovoir rd next to the
ladywood police station was called blue bottle park
 
Rod said:
thats the one John, but in our day it was gravel covered, gone had the trees and gardens. there was an old steam engine concreted into the surface though. Do any of you other folks remember similar parks in your neck of the woods?
Click to expand...

St Margaret's Rec, Ward End.
Spent hours and hours there in school summer hols.
Parkies were not nice, as everywhere.
One year we met two lads from foreign parts - Ilford (Essex) - and we couldn't get over their strange accents. They wore track suits so, you've guessed it, sis and I had to have tracksuits then. We were about 8 or 9n. Unbelievable nowadays that in the fifties we'd be there all morning, go home for dinner, then go back all afternoon and nobody was a bit worried.
Stan
 
Spent many happy hours as a teenager in Handsworth Park. Used to meet all my friends there several times a week and always at weekends. In the summer there was always something going on - Park Shows, Talent Contests, Flower Shows, etc. There was always a parkie around to make sure we were behaving ourselves. Used to go from there into the Hollygate Cafe, for a pop and listen to the jukebox. In the summer I used to play tennis with the school there, and meet the Handsworth Grammar School and Handsworth Tech boys after!!

When I went back several years ago I couldn't believe the sorry state it was in, but hear that it has had a big restoration recently and looks good again.

Judy
 
I used to spend hours-upon-hours in Burbury Park when I was young. There was little in there to amuse us other than swings and a round-about but boy how we enjoyed ourselves climbing trees and playing football and cricket.... I recently had a piece of bark off one of the oak trees that I often climbed - it now holds pride of place on my office wall now.

I am so glad that computer games were not invented when I was was young as I would have missed out on all the fun of interacting with similar minded kids and enjoying life?

Mabz
 
WE used to play behind nans outdoor in Tower rd, we used to call it the bomb buildings, and also we would go and play on the tip which is were the onion fair was top of holte rd, we used to walk across it most days to get to manor park school
 
i also played in burbury park when iwas younger , i lived in guthrie street , i was down there a few years ago and all that is left now is the gates on burbury street and the parkies house everything else is grassed ,i was amazed .
in our day it was gravel with a strip of grass about two feet wide round the perimeter ,i got a lot of scabbed knees learning to ride my mates pushbikes
 
Rod said:
What of the small recreation grounds do you remember? Not as big and airy as the bigger parks, but still a valuable play space for us kids back then. Ours was Blews Street as we called it, what and where was yours?
Click to expand...

I spent many a happy hour in Blews St "park". I don't remember any grass. Many a scraged knee from that place. I had my first lesson riding a bicycle outside the park on the corner near Miller Street. I remember I was o.k. on the straight but couldn't turn the handlebars, consequently I crashed into wooden gates next to the shop on the corner - garage doors I think they were? Happy days!! Rod where did you live around that area and when?
 
Mossy said:
Annie that was called Goodman St rec we as kids played there and when we older we played foot ball,do you remember the little Parkie he always had a fag hanging out of his mouth

Mau-reece
Click to expand...

We were frightened to death of the old parkie and used to cheek him from a great distance. He couldn't have caught us (I think he had a gammy leg) but we still kept out of his way.
Also playing football on the rec was painfull when you fell on the gravel and skinned your knees.
 
Bill123 said:
We were frightened to death of the old parkie and used to cheek him from a great distance. He couldn't have caught us (I think he had a gammy leg) but we still kept out of his way.
Also playing football on the rec was painfull when you fell on the gravel and skinned your knees.
Click to expand...

Yes Bill thats cause that s how we from Ladywood grew up tough

Mau-reece
 
I remember one on a big island in Witton Lodge Rd Perry Common. It was asphalt with swings and roundabouts. Used to visit on the way to my nans as a kid. The No 5 bus terminus was there. It's amazing that they would have such a large island on a relatively minor road.
 
Hi - My haunts were Grange Rd park and Charles Rd park - both no grass to be seen! To upgrade to grass, their was Small Heath park (anyone remember the three paddling pools?) and the smaller Somerville Rd park. All patrolled by the Parkie Police!
Jan Hedger
 
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