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Another nice afternoon out. ( 1950 ish ). There were a couple of outdoor sports to be enjoyed around this period. One was the local Motor cycle " Grass Track " event. This was often held on a couple of ' hired ' farm fields. An oval racing track being marked out with White Washed lines...

THEY JUST GOT ON WITH IT. Whilst, quite rightly , we're paying just tributes to many ' Services ' and ' Organisations ' that paved the way to victory in WW2, I would like to add thanks and a tribute to our own Grandads and Grandmas, our own Dads and Moms and all those other ' Grown Ups ' of the...

FLATTERED NOT BATTERED. ( School leaving reports ) 1940's onwards. Basic schools during this period provided end of school " character " references and in some cases provided starter job opportunities. Sorting through a few old boxes recently I came across a couple of " references " that had...

POLISHING UP THE PLOT A BIT. Just had a couple of hours in the garden, Pruning, Slab cleaning and Weeding. Job done and thinking back brought a few things to mind. As kids we were pretty sound in the area's of endurance, energy and physical abilities and that all important ' agility' and now I'm...

" WHAT'S THE WEATHER GOING TO DO " BBC censorship during WW2 didn't allow weather forecasts to be broadcast which would reveal weather conditions, around Great Britain, to the enemy. ( Didn't want to tell ' Jerry ' that it was going to be an ideal afternoon or night to bomb our towns and cities...

GEOMETRY. ( The battle with the bent ruler ). Imagine it's the weekly geometry lesson. A pencil, a piece of paper and a wooden ruler has been handed out to each pupil. Under the worst circumstances three unfortunate things could happen to you now. (1) You haven't understood hardly a word that...

rosie. That little story that your husband relayed to you. ( Post#672 this thread ). Loved it. I can just imagine the opening expectations of the kids in that Woodwork class. Nice little story.

A FAVOURITE LESSON PERIOD. Peckham Road school around 1942 - 1943 ish. We had a ' Woodwork ' teacher who would attempt to teach us the rudermentries of basic woodwork. We learned right from the beginning ( by virtue of the playground grapevine) that this particular teacher was fairly easily...

Hi MartinB. Yes, my recollection of watching the Harlem GLOBETROTTERS was at the old the old Birchfield Harriers track, Perry Barr. Im thinking that MAYBE the ' tour ' did include some other venue(s) around Birmingham. Good though weren't they.

THE HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS CAME TO BRUM. ( 1950 's or there abouts ). Here was an interesting ' introduction ' to Basket Ball for many Birmingham people. This top American basket ball team came to Brum and performed a series of exhibition matches at the Alexander Sports Ground, Perry Barr. I...

THE DECK CHAIR. ( popular around 1940's to mid 1950's ). The good old fashioned Deck Chair. Sometimes became the ' prop ' for some interesting and amusing observations . To watch some persons trying to ' set up ' a chair would be a fair comedy. Got it the wrong way round or upside down during...

HELPING MOM. ( Maybe with just a tiny bit of ulterior motive ). I think this was one of the ' help out for moms ' that some of the kids enjoyed doing. Fresh Peas with the Sunday lunch today. Sitting on the back yard step with your brother or your sister, a bag of unshelled peas on one side and...

The kids having another bit of fun. A small number of the youngsters are out on the local high street, wandering along looking at any goodies that might be on view in the shop windows. At one stage one of the group lingering at the back calls out to his or her mates to catch their attention...

Yes Paul, the ' saviour ' that I call to mind was the one situated just inside " Banners Gate ", Sutton Park. If I recall it right, it too had a Brass delivery ' ball ' spilling trickles of drinking water into a Brass drainer bowl, all mounted on a Cast Iron stand. Put new life into us that did.

THE LITTLE LIFE SAVER. All afternoon the kids had been roaming around the park, endlessly chasing one another, climbed a few trees, played on the swings and roundabouts and had little paddle in the pool. Now it was time to go home. Little legs are tired now and there is still a fair bit of...

THE GROCERY DELIVERY BOYS. ( Around 1945+) To be seen cycling round the district, riding their ' adapted ' bikes with the front carrier basket loaded with groceries to be delivered to the customers. They always appeared to be cheerful types of lads. We had two of the lads in our group who took...

POSITIVE THINKING. ( Always worth a try ). Another part on the " Growing Up " curve. Recognise any of these situations ? THE COMPETITION " Blazes, I'm so disappointed. I only came second in the finish ". ( Hand on a bit, doesn't that mean that apart from one other, you were better than all the...

Re: Birmingham History " HEY, HANG ON A BIT. THIS LOOKS PRETTY GOOD ". Period : 1946. One afternoon, as a group of young blokes, we were on a visit down Perry Barr, just having a general 'nose around '. Having exhausted our interest in walking up and down the Birchfield Road we decided to make...

Nickee101. True enough that, I wonder what it was with the kids digging holes. The deeper the better and as you say didn't bother too much about a cave-in neither.

STUCK IN THE HOUSE . The steamed up Window. Perfect to do a little drawing on. Pre Double Glazing period. I wonder how many times would the kids get told off for doing this. Weather outside unsuitable for ' playing out ', the kids are getting a bit bored. A few back and forth visits to the front...