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Here is a photo of probably the first premises of AT Gittins in Broad street 1933

I hated working near the meat market in the 1960's, the noise and smell, pigs squealing all day long and the occasional bellowing of a cow when the attempt to stun it failed. Sometimes a poor animal would escape but would be mercilessly dragged back in.

I remember going in the White Lion one lunchtime as a 16 year old in 1962. Working in little bow street behind the Catholic school right opposite, I was with an Irish painter called Billie and we both had our overalls on so he led me in there and ordered a pint, what will you have he asked and I...

You may well be right, it was probably with steps so no ramps for pushchairs etc

-------------------------------- we kids from Weoley Castle used to run across the Bristol road there to get to the Yachting pool in the 1950's, I could have sworn that bridge was there long before 1969

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It seems that bed bugs are as common as head lice in the UK but it doesn't mean that people who get infested are dirty and unclean. My children came home from school with headlice and so have our Grandchildren, they spread so easily and the whole school ends up needing treatment including the...

This photo brings back so many memories from the 1950's & 60's I used to catch the number 22 bus to Weoley Castle in Navigation street, further down there past the GARAGE CAR PARK sign was a tool shop and they had a realistic model of a human hand, it showed a broken wooden handle with the...

------------------------------------------------------------------ In botany the word herb refers to any herbaceous plant without a woody stem and which dies back in winter. Contrary to popular belief Bananas don't grow on a tree but are classed as a perennial herb with old foliage dying off...

Note the wooden gate across the entrance, it's not much use for security so probably intended to keep courting couples from using it late at night. Back then car ownership among teenagers was rare so they had to use the bus after a cuddle in a shop doorway.

I don't recall Zisman shops in West Brom or Dudley either. It was a long time ago but I seem to remember the old man Zissman was short and had grey hair and a thin moustache like Walker from dads army. :p When we worked at their house I remember all the door frames had a little scroll thing in...

And what's more they are of the latest fashion with well worn fabric with holes in o_O

We had some toxic wallpaper for a set built for Pebble Mill in the early 1980's, it was a hand blocked William Morris pattern and probably cost a ludicrous amount of money. It was much wider than standard wallpaper and it had to be trimmed by hand using a 6ft steel straight edge. It smelled...

When I first started work in 1961 the painters had been using Walpamur water paint that came in a square cardboard box, it's texture was like butter, it had to be beaten in a tub and other things added to it before it could be used and applied with a whallop brush! Emulsion paint had only just...

When the National Trust first opened those houses they invited an old lady, a former resident, to have a look and she was disgusted at how their "experts" had perceived living conditions in those times pre WW2. There were no fancy lace curtains, pretty wallpaper, all nicely plastered walls etc...

There is some small creature who sleeps in a corner of our front porch because every morning there are a cluster of tiny black & white droppings, what could it be?

------------------------------------------- I've been in there for sure , cafe's like that were everywhere back then, all over Brum and no matter where I got sent from the shopfitting firm I worked for I knew I could find a cafe nearby

I also remember what they called Winchester rifles at the fair, they loaded 5 little bullets and handed you the rifle, you fired one then used the trigger guard to eject and load the next bullet, can you imagine that happening now!

As a young boy in the 1950's most of us had air pistols and rifles, there seemed to be no restrictions whatsoever back then. Aged 9 or 10 I remember I had a Webley pistol and another cheaply made one called a GAT where to set the action you had to press the barrel against something and push hard...