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They Were Caught In Our Old Street Pics...

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How clean and car less the streets looked. And people stayed on the pavement. I have had some near missed with people walking in roads, expecially campus students off campus. And in town you can't tell what is a road and what is a pavement sometimes.
 
Nico said:
How clean and car less the streets looked. And people stayed on the pavement. I have had some near missed with people walking in roads, expecially campus students off campus. And in town you can't tell what is a road and what is a pavement sometimes.
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I think the pair pushing prams in the pic below should be on the footpath.
If you click on the pic it links to a post with other super pics of the same road, some people in the road but only trams to worry about.

 
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They walked in the road then too. Maybe they just alighted and they can see the tramlines.There were and are still some lovely roads and areas in Brum like in Moseley some of the houses you could turn a double decker bus round in the hall to quote one of my late aunties who had a flat in one.
 
Back to leaning on lamposts or whatever! I think it might have been a 'cool' thing to do around that time, just think of George Formy's song - "I'm leaning on a lampost at the corner of the street in case a certain little lady comes by"

Judy
 
It's 1908 in Slade Road and a shop assistant comes out of his shop to be in the old pic, but it's taking time so he's leaning on elbow with legs crossed.
I like the postman standing to attention. That road certainly had some interesting photos taken over the years.
The tree in front of the shop seems to be in the road. In the second pic below the tree appears to have gone but a patch on the pavement ?
Gravelly_Hill_Slade_Road_.jpg


Gravelly_Hill_Slade_Rd_9.jpg
 
I can understand people leaning at night under the lamp light as our cities would have been darker. Maybe it was thought of as avant garde or cool?
 
Yes. I use this junction when it's not in rush hour, I don't think the 20mph zone is obvious till you turn off. I was recalling a little higher up the road when Buses were allowed in to Broadgate, they cobbled High Streeet put fancy lit bollards, made it look like it was pedestrian and you walk along it and a bus or a taxi comes up behind you and gave you aheart attack.
 
oldMohawk said:
It's 1908 in Slade Road and a shop assistant comes out of his shop to be in the old pic, but it's taking time so he's leaning on elbow with legs crossed.
I like the postman standing to attention. That road certainly had some interesting photos taken over the years.
The tree in front of the shop seems to be in the road. In the second pic below the tree appears to have gone but a patch on the pavement ?
Gravelly_Hill_Slade_Road_.jpg


Gravelly_Hill_Slade_Rd_9.jpg
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Here we have some leaning ladies. I think photos of leaning ladies aren't as common as leaning men and I don't think there are many I've seen of leaning children either. Leaning in women is probably less obvious as it is in men who lean. Either women are too busy getting on with the work (oops controversial!) or,as hinted earlier, women are generally more concerned with their posture. Whichever way you look at it, the lack of leaning ladies means us girls should make every effort to maintain this standard. Personally I'll have to work very hard on this as I'm a serial leaner! Viv.
 

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If I may say so Viv very gentle ladylike leaning in your pics .... but at least it given a bit of balance to the topic ... which started with that bus conductor in Maypole !
Looking at all the trams in old pics reminds me that the tram drivers drove their trams standing up in one position during their shifts.
Phil
 
On the lean ...
Great replies. We are still thinking its more a gender thing then. The lady leaners do not have the foot across :)

People walking in the road ...
Yes - nice to see the lack of cars/people and a real contrast to people hurrying across busy roads mobile to ear now.
As you say Jayell ... a way to while away some time .. leaning on a lampost (or a spade).

Tree - The tree didnt seem to have much foliage on the bit we see - wondering if it might have seen better days and thats why it was felled.

Great pictures
 
An occupation not often seen in photos; a man repairing a shop awning (Geaves) on the corner of Corporation and New Street. Viv.
 

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Well spotted Viv. He is certainly working in awkward conditions, no barriers to keep the shoppers safe from falling bits. I'm now thinking that I have not seen any shop blinds lately maybe something that has faded away, but I could be wrong. I think these days we all go into shopping centres and malls etc. Lots of interesting people to look at in the rest of the photo.
 
As I look at this delightful photo of Slade Road, I get the impression that the smartly dressed ladies on the left have never seen a tram before, although the young chap is looking round as if the tram has made an unusual noise. Or maybe the tram has broken down.
Other things I have only just noticed are the unusual fences (chestnut ?) around the tram wire support poles - maybe the paint is still wet !
I've looked at tram poles in other pics and can't see any such fences.
 
I remember transparent internal shop blinds for the window displays, our local sweet shop had it when the sun was strong, it was amber. Also they had red selophane? celophane on lights over cheese and meat to enhance the product. I was shown a Co Op calendar they have produced for next year with old Co Op stores on. This one has Meriden, Cov Hinckley and Nuneaton and Arley stores that I can recall. Does Brum Co op have one out?
 
Re: the wicker fences round the tram poles - they'm awful posh in Stockland Green ya know!
(Or maybe they ain't posh at all and it's to stop them being nicked)!:disgust:
 
I seem to remember the fencing round lamp posts which had just been painted. The tram is approaching the tram stop and the three girls on the right have already stepped out into the road to get on it. The destination board is the classic Birmingham one of not telling you which way the tram or bus is going.
 
Our buses wih the wind round destinations always had the wrong number on and the wrong destination. I would wait for some aggressive lady to give the driver a mouthful.Oftern the numbers on the front and back would be different. I don;t know what goes where now I either drive or walk.
 
Our buses are usually going to somewhere called "Not In Service"
Think it might be a small village in Croatia.
 
No Charlie.............. it's a place in Cornwall that seems to have lots of buses going to it!!!
 
Still on the theme of Slade Road, here's another. I love the baby in the pram looking into the shop; "MUM, stop chatting, I want my dinner! " And a modern view for comparison, junction of Reservoir Rd and Slade Rd. Unbelievably some of the shops are still there. Viv
 

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Vivienne14 said:
Still on the theme of Slade Road, here's another. I love the baby in the pram looking into the shop; "MUM, stop chatting, I want my dinner! " And a modern view for comparison, junction of Reservoir Rd and Slade Rd. Unbelievably some of the shops are still there. Viv
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Looking at your pics Viv, I've just had a run up and down Slade Rd on Streetview - bit of a surprise but only to be expected, I suppose it is progress. I was looking at the shop on the corner of Hunten Hill and Slade Road, the nice little shop seen in the old pics now has steel shutters.....Phil
How it was.
Gravelly_Hill_Slade_Rd_9.jpg


Someone thought it was nice enough for a postcard.
Gravelly_Hill_Slade_Road_.jpg


Now
Slade.jpg
 
Astoness said:
thats a smashing photo of slade road phil..thanks for posting it

lyn
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Hi Lyn, Nearly all the photos showing in my posts in this thread are existing photos on the forum which I've made appear with some link text.
So it's many thanks to you and everyone else who have posted them, I just enjoy looking at them.... :)

Phil
 
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oldMohawk said:
Looking at your pics Viv, I've just had a run up and down Slade Rd on Streetview - bit of a surprise but only to be expected, I suppose it is progress. I was looking at the shop on the corner of Hunten Hill and Slade Road, the nice little shop seen in the old pics now has steel shutters.....Phil
How it was.
Gravelly_Hill_Slade_Rd_9.jpg


Someone thought it was nice enough for a postcard.
Gravelly_Hill_Slade_Road_.jpg


Now
Slade.jpg
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There's a lovely little feature on the roof of your modern Slade Road view Phil (which is obscured by the tree in the postcard picture), Great that it's survived. It's often a very pleasant surprise when you consider what's disappeared around some of these old buildings. Viv.
 
Shows how bare, and soulless our towns and urbane areas have become, they somehow look more cosy than modern settings.paul
 
Everything has been tailored for the cars I think. The street where I live now has a bus lane, part has been widened to accommodate it, we have lost some trees for it, on one side so many park on the grass verge it becomes a quagmire and many gardens are block paved. The side road is humped, they put a blue sign on a post to denote the bus lane, were told to cut our trees bcause they obscure it when in full leaf. And people new to the area picticulary foreign students stand over the drive thinking its a bus stop or a taxi rank.
 
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