Thanks for posting John. Perhaps the only plus, is that there are no visible tent city homeless camps filling the sidewalks like there are in so many cities such as Vancouver.
I enjoyed viewing the video walk, passing stores that were familiar from my childhood through adulthood. Not too much has visually changed since my last visit in 2004, although I don't recall St. Barnabas Church with that awful glass frontage tacked on. Out Boy Scout troop 1st Erdington, 15th Birmingham was associated with St. Barnabas Church. I recall marching with the flag pole in hand, around onto Barnabas Road after we left the church, before disbanding on Sundays.
A friend of mine Peter, was the licensee at the Swan for some years when it was built after the old Swan was demolished. I recall Abbey Motors opposite the Coop Society, with the big BMC rosettes on the windows as a child, before they moved further up the Sutton New Road. I actually worked in the alley next to the dealership in a small vehicle repair shop. I think that it had become Rover by then, with Startins being mainstream British Leyland.
That alley housed KenRoy Welding a high quality autobody repair and fabrication shop, Specialist Supplies motorcycle parts, Jim Robinson motorcycle brakes, a sheet metal stamping shop, Johnny McGoldrick's auto body, Salisbury Vehicle Repairs and a limousine hire garage, plus another few cottage industry businesses.
The alley ended at Orphanage Road, next to Thomas Startins British Leyland dealership, where a friend of mine Ray who lived at number 1 Reservoir Road, worked as a mechanic. I was recently having a conversation with David Whiteley, one of our local GM dealership service managers here in BC, for whom I am the GM trainer. He worked at Startins back then!
Opposite Startins, next to the Conservative club, down the alley was an Irish Working Mens' club run by Amos and Sylvia. I worked there for a short time at night around 1970. I attended the City and Guilds of London apprenticeship at Erdington Technical College, just below the fire station one day each week (Friday), with lunch times spent at the Cross Keys at the corner of Station and Sutton New Roads.
I also worked at Mason Road Garage for a few months, the entrance almost opposite the Erdington Swimming Baths being an alley way that has since led to a car park for many years. My Dad taught me to swim at the Erdington Baths before entering Marsh Hill Boys'. Our school used Nechells Baths and some years later en route from work, a freshly run hot bath at the Nechells Baths or Bordesley Green, was the most relaxing order of the day!
The "New Roebuck" with it's cellar bar appears to be closed and named the "Happy Lemon" in its most recent guise. The "Old Roebuck" was set back from the street, next to the church, opposite Woolworths. "Woolies" may still have been there in 2004, but definitely was in 1993, when I visited with my wife and children.
My mother in law worked as a cleaner at the Palace Cinema for some years before immigrating here in 1969 as the final phase of their family emmigration from England. Then, along came Safeway, now disappearing most everywhere due to the parent company Sobeys restructuring.
I noticed that the "New" Acorn as we called it, is now the Church Tavern, although I only stopped in for a pint at the old Acorn that spanned the corner of Church Road. The heritage sign up between the windows across the street identifies the old Carlton Ballroom, Mothers to many, where we spent time on Friday nights.
While I worked as a mechanic (auto technician) by day, I also drove private hire for Star Taxi (formerly JJJ Cars in Slade Road), first in South Road and then in York Road at the Sutton New Road end. That was opposite the Poppin Restaurant, where I met my first girlfriend Valerie Jones as a young adult. When I immigrated to Canada, Star was still based in York Road.
Barclays Bank at 6 ways is long gone and with it, any hope of recouping money from a small business account shared with my partner, requiring both signatories, because he couldn't be trusted! I assumed that unclaimed funds were eventually assumed for cost recovery, but we did have a few hundred pounds there. Since our paths rarely crossed, we could never coincide a visit to close the account. There was a nice little corner cafe next to the bank round on Gravelly Hill.
I see that Dixons Camera Store is still there and Tesco moved across the island to the corner of Reservoir Road.
It's uncanny that there are a few stalwart business, butchers and others, that remain firmly rooted in their original locations, despite change having affected much of the street.
After viewing that video, I checked out a couple of other links, one going back to the original village to the '60s, which was very familiar.
You know, our little main street in Mission is on the Highway 7 route, known as 1st Avenue, formerly Washington Street, from when it had boardwalks and dirt track. It was made one way in the late '70s and 40 km/hr max speed. Over the years, the frontages became dilapidated, much like downtown mainstreet anywhere in USA is represented. Other local municpalities likewise experienced the same worsening state, until the local downtown business aassociations took charge. The beautification of all, has been quite amazing, with facades freshened, a common heritage theme and sidewalks (pavement) widened, with seating, trees and more.
What seriously detracts from the original style of the High Street in Erdington, are the myriad of gawdy, downright ugly signage and tacked on posters. The streets, sidwalks and buildings need a serious cleanup and to adopt a uniform standard for exterior signage and advertising that is inside the buildings, not plastered everywhere.
Erdington was once a proud little village and it is quite disheartening to see it deteriorate, while those traversing the streets daily, probably don't even notice it happening.
Anyway, despite the sad current appearance of the "village", I have many happy memories of the place that are rekindled when viewing posts or shared external links. Then the rambling begins......!
Martin
