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On a circular bus route am I right in thinking the two clocks could theoretically be anywhere on the route? They didn't need to be opposite one another, or even near one another?

I can see something fixed to the wall behind the man, it's got a kind of pointy top. Maybe like this one?

Wow, the Vulcano looks quite innocent, but @Astonian describes it as a hotbed of gang activity and the gaffer was shot! Perhaps he's the geezer up the ladder! Did you go in either?

Wow that's amazing! What book is that? My mom says it was 'dining rooms' because there was also a room upstairs, not sure if it was open all the time or was like a 'function room' type thing. Also, I thought the window was bricked up in that photo, but seeing a higher res one, it looks like it...

In all 3 images, there is a vehicle in the way of the place where the front of the bus would be, so it might be hiding from us. My mom definitely remembers the clock, she said it was because of it that Sydney had the business opportunity to sell the tea.

Here is the image @carolina was trying to post (it's different to the Birmingham images one linked by @Astoness). She says it's early 60s. Thankyou @carolina You can see that the cafe window is bricked up. I must have been wrong about the timeline I think, they must have been there late 50s to...

Yes it's strange, the guest OP in this thread, who mentioned their parents ran the pub, said the buses stopped outside for the drivers to clock in. @Astonian also described "the little cafe out side the clock". Maybe it was on the other side of the road?

:D excellent! Thank you so much! I wonder what that board was on the window. I wonder if that was after they closed it, or it was something they put up after hours for security, given the fights? Also, I'm squinting to see if I can see the clocking in device, but I don't know what it looks like...

Looking at other threads, I wonder if @dib44 @maggs or @BOBJ can help us, it looks like they might have known Sydney's cafe.

@Astoness, I just found this photo you posted from a pubs calendar of the Royal Mint, with shops to the right of it, which must therefore include the cafe, but the sign isn't visible, nor the bus clock :(

I just found this thread from 2003 where @Astonian extols the virtues of Sydney's cafe, sadly he's not still with us and the OP was a guest.

If anyone from this thread is still on the forum, please see my recent post in this thread about Icknield Street. My grandparents ran the cafe next door to the pub, which is mentioned by Astonian.

Thank you so much. They were married before the war, so maybe just his name on the lease. I didn't know they were there in the late 50s. By the way, they did really well out of grafting in the cafe: by 1962 they had left Oldknow Road and bought a lovely house in Shakespeare Drive, Shirley and...

I've just put my email address in a message in case it's possible to send it as an attachment. I can then try to upload it here from my end. Many thanks :blush:

Astonian meant decent, reliable I think. As opposed to the Rimini which was beset by fights! I formatted his quote above with the red highlighted text which I think is referring to Sydney's cafe. He mentions it being 'by.. the number eight clock in' which sounds exactly right. He is mostly...

Thank you so much but it wasn't the Vulcano / Rimini. @Astonian said (my formatting to distinguish the two): The one in the photo above was the Rimini (Rimi) on the corner of Hingeston St, which then changed name to the Vulcano (appropriate given the fights!), then moved across the road and was...

I was playing netball at school aged 12 and we stopped the game in surprise!

Adding to the cafe chat, I am wondering if anyone remembers my grandad Sydney Tibbatts who ran a cafe with my grandmother Irene in the 1960s, which my mom remembers as being right opposite the Mint. I am told they had a dining room upstairs, and I am hoping it is the 'proper' cafe remembered by...

Thanks so much, I have posted over on that one.

My grandparents ran a cafe opposite Birmingham Mint, and it was where bus drivers had to stamp a time clock. My grandad Sydney Tibbatts did a thriving trade supplying the drivers with tea, which he would do by going out to the drivers, collecting their cans, and taking them into the cafe to fill...