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Barrows Stores
- Thread starter ringoosmeg
- Start date
Richard Dye
master brummie
I think it is a wonderful picture, maybe a little self selfserving!
A shame to have banished it to the Barrows Birmingham toilet wall !! Viv.
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Richard Dye
master brummie
I wonder why they did not just take it down?
Gerry Cannell
master brummie
As mentioned earlier, I worked there in 1956/7 on the veg counter. It was such a laugh, with the lads I worked with. The van, which carried the logo' "Barrows" Stores. Birmingham, used to deliver to the Streetly area, of Sutton, with one lettuce and a quarter of tomatoes! Just so they could have the van seen on their road. Yes...it really was a posh store. We had to wear celluloid collars, with studs, and striped waistcoats, and each counter had a pair of chairs for "Madame" to sit on, while we attended to her requirements. But it was a great place to work. Gerry.
paul stacey
master brummie
Yes, even Wrensons, and John Favours, had chairs to sit whilst being served!!
Radiorails
master brummie
From memory customers had one chair available either the law or a council bye law.
devonjim
master brummie
I notice way back in 2016 you refer to Mothering Sunday as Mother's Day, an American event, which by now has almost totally morphed into this alien identity!
Gerry Cannell
master brummie
Thanks. The Main entrance was on Corporation Street, and the side entrance was on Bull Street.
paul stacey
master brummie
What a great photo Gerry, though I can't remember either stores, the busy Birmingham Street scene, full of hither and thither ,I do remember , mostly on Saturdays.
Gerry Cannell
master brummie
I lived in Great Barr at the time, and would catch the 119 Midland RED into Birmingham. We would enter the store from the Bull Street entrance, and the store area was much the same as other big store back areas. a sort of organized chaos. We had a staff changing room ( unheard of then at most stores) with a long mirror, to ensure you looked smart; then we would line up for our manager (Greengrocery) to check us over, before being put on our counters. But having said that, it was a great place to work, and we had lots of fun working for them. Not too far from the underground shops in front of Lewis's, Zissman's was where I could by slim jim ties and multi-coloued socks, yellows and reds and white's; yes very happy times.
paul stacey
master brummie
NULLI SECUNDUS, Mate!!
Gerry Cannell
master brummie
Always Paul...ALWAYS ! 2365****.
pjmburns
master brummie
I always searched for Mothering Sunday cards for my Mother. Tricky to find but I always managed it.
paul stacey
master brummie
So true Janice, when I was young, we never heard of mothering Sunday, Fathers day, or Halloween.!!!
Richard Dye
master brummie
Unfortunately they are just days to make extra money with cards, sweets, dining etc. Halloween has become a little scary in the US (no pun intended).
Reading all this about Barrows reminds me of an embarrasing moment there foe me. At the early stages of the war my mother was ill. I don't know what it was but the doctor told her the best thing to help her was Oysters. the only place to get them from was Barrows. Even then she had to get a doctors note to say she needed them. So every saturday we travelled into Birmingham to get seven oysters, one a day. There was always a queue which seemed to me a mile long. I waited in the queue whilst she went elsewhere to get other stuff. Then one day while waiting for Mom to get served I was looking round a large centre display of lovely food stuff and spotted some meat in the shape of a bowl which had what looked like a glass bowl over it. In those days we had never seen Pyrex, When Mom had finished I took her to see it and excitedly said Look at this glass bowl". I pointed to it with my figure and touched it only to discover it was not glass but clear Jelly. It resulted in a real mess and Mom quickly grabbed my hand and we escaped before anyone seeing it. I was never left to wander after that
Richard Dye
master brummie
I love oysters but not more than a day old and certainly not a week old, frig or not!
I would have thought the oysters were in barrels of sea water, and still alive. Actually, don't you eat them when they're alive? Not a fan either, so not too sure.
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I watched the film "Tolkien" on Film 4 today, having recorded it recently. I think it might also be on Amazon Prime, for those that have it. I can highly recommend it.
Birmingham obviously features quite often, particularly Barrows (obviously filmed somewhere similar elsewhere) where Tolkien and his friends, who were then at King Edward’s School, met regularly as the "Tea Club, Barrovian Society", named after their Barrows Stores meeting place.
Birmingham obviously features quite often, particularly Barrows (obviously filmed somewhere similar elsewhere) where Tolkien and his friends, who were then at King Edward’s School, met regularly as the "Tea Club, Barrovian Society", named after their Barrows Stores meeting place.
I also worked there on the cakes counter in the late 1960s. I was always late and kept getting told off, so didn't stay there long.
RobT
Acemeccanoman
Gerry Cannell
master brummie
As I mentioned some years ago, I sometimes had to go with a delivery van to Roman Road, in Streetly, where a very small basket would be delivered, containing a quarter pound of tomatoes, a cos lettuce, a cucumber and a small punnet of strawberries. The obvious point, was to be seen having the BARROWS van outside.
Richard Dye
master brummie
And I think that mindset still persists with different names!