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Gosta Green Through Duddeston

Phil yes i know Joe many years ago though,he was a brilliant snooker player he played for the club in the walk

I can remember one time in the club,i went to fetch some drinks,and when i went back into the snooker room there was Joe fighting the then secretary Sonny Smith it was so funny at the time,Joe was certainly a character

Mossy
 
Mossy

Joe was one of my old drinking mates, as you say a brilliant snooker player. None of us would ever play him for money. I never won one game against him, his idol at the time was Hurricane Higgins and his playing style was very similar. I knew him and his wife well in the the sixties. As you are aware the only thing you had to watch with Joe if you were out with him is that you didn't end up in a ruck.

Have you seen him lately, It must be over forty years since I last saw him.

Phil
 
Phil it must be about 30 odd years ago since i last saw Joe,and i do know he used to play snooker for money a bit of a hustler and he had a short fuse,but a very like-able sort of bloke,i always got on with him

Mossy
 
brumgum said:
Thanks so much for this picture of Aston Rd, seen it before but not this clear. My Mom used to live in that row of houses next to the Delicia on Aston Rd, she passed away 22 october aged 78.
Click to expand...

I know that this isn't quite the place to say this but have just seen your post ....I'm really very very sorry to hear about your Mom... will e-mail soon.... Georgie
 
pmc 1947, Your photo 416 of Lingard St fire station is commented on by GER22VAN in photo 418 about round the corner looking at the engine i think that maybe where i saw the photo of when the station had been closed it had been turned into a garage with 3 petrol pumps outside, do you know of such a photo?. Len.
 
Len,

I had forgotten this post, I also have memories of the station being taken over by a garage, but I think they specialised in mechanical repairs. I have no memory of petrol pumps, but that does not say your memory is wrong. It was a little out of my way and I did not use Bloomsbury St much. If our little mob went to the El Greco Café on the green which we used we tended to cut through the side streets from where I lived.

If you look at the photo, it seems to have been acquired when this photo was taken as there is a name plate over the doors that looks like David Hudson Ltd.

Phil
 
Over the last few days, realising that I knew very little about the areas of Kingstanding, Great Barr, and Oscott and such places. I decided that I would read up about these places and thus increase my knowledge of our city.

On seeing the photo’s of the bright clean new houses with clean streets and neat gardens, I grew a little jealous, when I thought what I had missed out on in my childhood. The open countryside all around me, clean fresh air to breathe and everything with that new look. Inside toilets and bathrooms, Three and even four bedrooms, electric lighting in all rooms and hot running water a gas stove for cooking on.

What a difference to the dirty vermin infested streets of Nechells, with tiny back to back houses and back court houses of my childhood years. The house where I spent my childhood had two bedrooms, and one of those was for seven children. A shared toilet with two other families and one wash house between nine families. The house had only two electric lights and one double plug. The only water supply was cold water and when we first moved in the cooking was done on a cast iron fire range. No gardens, no country air. Comparing the little I had with what I have read about Kingstanding and the surrounding area I was feeling quite cheated.

As I thought some more, I brought to mind all those times of trouble when the neighbours gathered round and offered help and support. I also remembered how my mother used to love washday as a day when she could have a natter and a laugh and joke with her friends, and how it was not unusual for the women to bath the younger children in the boiler as the water was heating. What about us older kids, the public baths were handy. If not it was the dreaded tin bath in front of the fire, anyway if you had been swimming that week at Woodcock St you didn’t need a bath.

Then we had a wonderland of pecks to play on, all those part demolished houses could become a war zone or Nottingham Castle or whatever you wanted. Those derelict factories, some with abandoned machinery and equipment became a wonderland of exploration and education to us youngsters. We would often take something home that we found appealing and thinking to be of great value, only to be greeted with “you are not bringing that junk in here”.

Again there was all the wood that could be collected, sorted, sawn and broken up in to that precious commodity firewood, which could be sold to the grown ups and paid for the entrance fee to the local flea pit, and sometimes you could earn enough for an ice cream as well.

Then there were the Sundays when we would leave on an old steam train from Vauxhall & Duddeston Station for the distant world of Sutton Park where after paying our penny on the gate we could run for miles on grass, or perhaps the train would drop us a New Street where across the road in Navigation St we would catch the tram to the Licky’s and spend the day climbing hills. So we were surrounded by countryside and fresh air only it was a little further away, but it was more fun to get to.

On reflection, perhaps we weren’t as bad off as I first thought, anyway all my friends were in Nechells not somewhere that was a fourpenny bus ride away.


Phil
 
Phil
considering where you are in your life now, they certainly dragged some fine people from Saltley, Nechells and similar ares in Brum, and I would guess there are still some good folk there today. People must be still struggling in the inner city areas, more the pitty in this the 21st century.

Thank god for toilet paper and entertaining friends on this site.
Thanks a million Phil, I for one certainly enjoy reading your educational and humerus posts!
 
Georgie

I've tried enlarging the photo of the lorry, but I'm sorry the more you enlarge it the more blurred the signwriting becomes. Sorry mate perhaps someone with more idea than myself would do better. Have you tried one of the kind people who restore photo's on this site.

Phil
 
Don't know if any other of you ex Nechellites have any memories of this place, but I was reminded of it the other day. There used to be a second hand book book shop on Great Lister St.

I think it was called Slade's. They used to sell second hand comics, they had piles and piles of Dandy's Beano's, Eagles and all the other English Comics, but my favourites like many other lads of my age were the DC comics. The Americans ones with Batman, Superman, The Fantastic Four and all the others.

You could get any comic or annual at half price, it was fantastic, I spent hours in that shop. I also remember you could get Those horror comics then. They were supposed to be really scary and they were banned in the late 50's I think for that reason and the fact that they were supposed to be giving some young kids nightmares. I loved them, no nightmares here.

Phil
 
PMC1947
I remember those days from Nechells. As you well know I shared the toilets and wash house with you and your siblings, I remember the bomb pecks and the swimming baths. I also remember Chris getting into bother all the time in the derelict factories, do you remember the fire brigade winching him up after he fell threw a factory roof? He was a lucky boy coz all he did was broke his leg (and not his neck!). For every thing you've said I still cannot think of anything good about 'the old end'. We were all poverty stricken.
 
Carol

So you don't miss the community spirit and togetherness that was part of our daily life. I think that is the thing I miss most. I do have a hazy memory of your brother falling through the factory roof.

Ernie,

Yes it was by the Royal Oak, I would say about half way between Willis St and Henry St.
 
Phil. A great shop, all the comics and magazines spread across from one side of the window to the other, Wish those kind of shops were around today.
A few years back I see the same things selling at £2-3 a time.
 
hi lad,s just thought i,d say hello and to say i remember the shop in grt Lister st.
is that the shop that had the yellow type cellophane on the windows,
or am i on another planet? as ger22van said by the royal oak,not sure if that one sold
the corgi car,s or was that the news agent on the corner of Willis st opp st Mathews church. happy days regards Derek.
 
Derek

You must be thinking about Dennett's the newsagents. I don't think the second hand book shop sold anything but books and comics. I remember I used to have to collect faggots & peas in a jug from nearby for my mother. I always popped into the comic shop on the way back. After spending about half an hour choosing a comic, I headed for home.

Of course by then the faggots & Peas were cold with grease floating on the top of the jug. So that usually earned me a clip round the ear, but I didn't care I'd got my comic.

Phil
 
pmc1947 said:
Derek

You must be thinking about Dennett's the newsagents. I don't think the second hand book shop sold anything but books and comics. I remember I used to have to collect faggots & peas in a jug from nearby for my mother. I always popped into the comic shop on the way back. After spending about half an hour choosing a comic, I headed for home.

Of course by then the faggots & Peas were cold with grease floating on the top of the jug. So that usually earned me a clip round the ear, but I didn't care I'd got my comic.

Phil
Click to expand...
hi phill we,re on the same side of the road then, i also with my older sister used to have to fetch the fagots and pea,s,was,nt there a shop there that did the accumulator batteries as well?
regards Derek.
 
Dereck. I wonder if that second hand book shop ( looking at the photograph ) was two doors away from the corner paper shop? or was it a little further along the road towards Lister Square ? The only accumulator battery shop I knew of was in Great Francis Street on the opposite side of the road as you would approach Duddeston Mill Road.
 
GER22VAN said:
Dereck. I wonder if that second hand book shop ( looking at the photograph ) was two doors away from the corner paper shop? or was it a little further along the road towards Lister Square ? The only accumulator battery shop I knew of was in Great Francis Street on the opposite side of the road as you would approach Duddeston Mill Road.
Click to expand...
Ger22VAN, do you recall a accumulator shop on the corner of Loxton Street , they also rented out bikes
 
GER22VAN said:
Dereck. I wonder if that second hand book shop ( looking at the photograph ) was two doors away from the corner paper shop? or was it a little further along the road towards Lister Square ? The only accumulator battery shop I knew of was in Great Francis Street on the opposite side of the road as you would approach Duddeston Mill Road.
Click to expand...
hi ger22van,i can remember a shop that sold toy cars me thinks the gap was bombed out buildings in between the paper shop and the pub i thought it was farther along, mite have been past the square,it was that side though i think?it was a long time ago,things were,nt that important then being younger.
i can,t say as i can remember the shop in grt Francis st though,the same to be said for the shop,on the corner of loxton st,even though i went to school there,be nice to go back in a time machine we will have to ask the Timelord. catch you later mate,hope you and your,s are well.
regards Derek.
 
dereklcg said:
hi ger22van,i can remember a shop that sold toy cars me thinks the gap was bombed out buildings in between the paper shop and the pub i thought it was farther along, mite have been past the square,it was that side though i think?it was a long time ago,things were,nt that important then being younger.
i can,t say as i can remember the shop in grt Francis st though,the same to be said for the shop,on the corner of loxton st,even though i went to school there,be nice to go back in a time machine we will have to ask the Timelord. catch you later mate,hope you and your,s are well.
regards Derek.
Click to expand...
Derek, did you know the Jenkinsons they attended Loxton Street school(1943-48) they lived opposite the school at number 5
 
Ernie & Derek

The book shop was next to Lister Square at no 89, and I think the radio shop was Lloyds at 54 both on the same side of the road.

Phil.
 
Thank,s Phil that,s restored my brain back to normal,(not)
i was sure someone would know thanks again mate regards Derek.
 
Sorry coopbill7 i did,nt start Loxton st till 1953 when i was five,
then went to Charles Arther st.
there is lot,s of us on here that went to locko,i,m sure you will
find a link. regards Derek.
 
dereklcg said:
Sorry coopbill7 i did,nt start Loxton st till 1953 when i was five,
then went to Charles Arther st.
there is lot,s of us on here that went to locko, i,m sure you will
find a link. regards Derek.
Click to expand...

Derek 1953 was the year I left Locko and started work, so I can see we are in a different time warp, it would still be great to go back for a day to those times.
Cooperbill 7 There may have been an accumulator shop in Loxton Street but my 70 year old head is a bit fuzzy and it tells me there were no house on the opposite side of the road to the school. As I say my head is a bit Fuzzy.
 
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