Harry lucas school

[carolina]

What year John?

 

[Mayfield]

Memoirs of an HLSS would-be guitar player
Hi folks, does anyone remember the name of the music teacher who was certainly in-post years 1964 and 65? Bearded, favouring cords and a rider of a Francis-Barnet motor cycle he was a superb Spanish classical guitar player. I remember, vividly, listening to him play during lunchtimes, in the artroom, whilst Mr Jones, artmaster, captured him in oils.
(This inspired me to to want to learn to play the guitar, but when after 2 years I hadn't progressed beyond page 3 of Burt Weedon's iconic guitar instruction book Play in a Day I was forced to conclude I didn't have a natural talent).
Regards,
Peg.
View attachment 112090

 

[Mayfield]

Memoirs of an HLSS would-be guitar player
Hi folks, does anyone remember the name of the music teacher who was certainly in-post years 1964 and 65? Bearded, favouring cords and a rider of a Francis-Barnet motor cycle he was a superb Spanish classical guitar player. I remember, vividly, listening to him play during lunchtimes, in the artroom, whilst Mr Jones, artmaster, captured him in oils.
(This inspired me to to want to learn to play the guitar, but when after 2 years I hadn't progressed beyond page 3 of Burt Weedon's iconic guitar instruction book Play in a Day I was forced to conclude I didn't have a natural talent).
Regards,
Peg.
View attachment 112090

If my memory isn't playing tricks on me, I think the music teacher was Mr Cole?

 

[john t]

What year John?

Iwas there 1963 to 1967 I think around 1966

 

[Peg Monkey]

If my memory isn't playing tricks on me, I think the music teacher was Mr Cole?

That's it! Well remembered!
Peg.

 

[Peg Monkey]

have to admit peg i had school dinners a few times and i loved them...would this be your cafe..farm st school visible on the left

lyn

View attachment 112228

Hi Lyn, enjoy the server shut-down, for my part I'm pretty sure I'll be working on my printer problem - can't clear a document stuck in the queue - has there ever been a software program that works properly and keeps on working?!
See everyone Friday.
Regards,
Peg.

 

[Astoness]

yes see you peg....i dare say i can find someone to annoy during the shutdown

 

[Peg Monkey]

Well Peg as you are forthcoming with all your mishaps I have to now admit I had my prefect badge taken off me. The reason - it was Christmas time, some good looking builders on site (one in particular). Someone shouted Miss Cadman is coming I ran at the back of a shed to get away but my gondola basket got caught and so I was trapped. Well it was the season of goodwill to all builders!

Hi Carolina, being coy about the contents of your gondola? No matter, how about an egg sandwich for a 1/- (5p)? The painful truth is my budget wouldn't stretch further than a single and it didn't help much when I got a paper-round at 7s-6d a week (37.1/2p) - can't believe I worked for so little, but it did go a lot further in 1963.
Regards,
Peg.

 

[carolina]

I did morning only paper round. Ford Street, Whitmore Street and Park Road. 8/-. Sometimes I fetched the lady owner (Peggy) a sandwich from the cafe on the corner and this would earn me another 2/-. When I think that I did this all before getting to school in Bartley Green.

 

[Peg Monkey]

I did morning only paper round. Ford Street, Whitmore Street and Park Road. 8/-. Sometimes I fetched the lady owner (Peggy) a sandwich from the cafe on the corner and this would earn me another 2/-. When I think that I did this all before getting to school in Bartley Green.

Hi Carolina, you may recall I lived in Heaton St. so I know all the roads you mentioned, Woolworths on The Flat was my virtual home - Toy counter especially. You really must have got up at the crack of dawn.
Regards,
Peg.

 

[Peg Monkey]

no peg nothing survived...i was put on double cookery lessons after that and i did not fair much better at that same with needlework..at that age i just was not the domestic type of girl..too much of a tom boy more suited to climbing trees and getting stuck up them..very happy days indeed

lyn

Hi Lyn, I've given the subject of sources for old school photos more thought and I've got a dim memory of seeing an article (must have been in the B'ham Ev Mail) about the closure of the school, it included a photo of Headmaster A.E.Walker holding a school trophy. I only mention this in the unlikely event you have not considered this source.
Do you remember the Palladium, Hockley Brook? (Saturday matinees bordered on a riot but it only took one usherette to quell the disorder.)
What were Lozells Girls School Colours? Are my maths correct? If you had chosen HLSS you would have been due to leave just about when it closed.
Regards,
Peg.

 

[Astoness]

hi peg will have to check re school colours (memory loss)..i stayed on to take cse exams mainly because i wanted to learn shorthand and typing and pass those...cant be sure of when i left either...i was born in november ..my sister was born in nov 69 (i was 16) and i know for sure i was still at school then but if memory serves me right leaving school accured twice a year so i must have left either late 69 or early 70 ...lozells girls closed sometime in 71...i didnt use the pally hockley brook but there are plenty of photos of it on the forum..its in a sorry state now...i used the villa cross pic hous

lyn

 

[Astoness]

just had my memory jogged by an fellow pupil re the uniform...its all come back to me now...bottle green jumper..white blouse and grey skirt..tie green and gold and the reason i cant remember wearing one is because i didnt the wearing of a uniform only came out a year or so before i left and it was optional..ie if your parents could not afford one...i now recall our mom saying it was not worth getting even they could afford to....on top of that and i shall always be grateful to them for this...they let me stay on an extra year to take those exams when really i could have been at work bringing in some much needed extra money..(eldest of 6)

lyn

 

[Peg Monkey]

just had my member jogged by an fellow pupil re the uniform...its all come back to me now...bottle green jumper..white blouse and grey skirt..tie green and gold and the reason i cant remember wearing one is because i didnt the wearing of a uniform only came out a year or so before i left and it was optional..ie if your parents could not afford one...i now recall our mom saying it was not worth getting even they could afford to....on top of that and i shall always be grateful to them for this...they let me stay on an extra year to take those exams when really i could have been at work bringing in some much needed extra money..(eldest of 6)

lyn

Hi Lyn, you were up early this morning. Not quite sure what you mean by just had my member jogged, so moving swiftly on; bit sparse on info' re CSE's - Subjects and Grades? Fantastic cinema the Villa Cross, really up-market, didn't it have an huge circular window above the entrance?
LGS colours almost the same as HLSS; I travelled to school by Inner Circle 8 bus from Aston Cross through Lozells and would see a sea of green (raincoats/blazers depending on time of year) from the upper deck, didn't know for sure they were LGS girls, don't suppose there was another school in the area?
Regards,
Peg.

 

[Peg Monkey]

Hi folks, when you were in your fifth year how did you spend your free periods in run-up to CSE exams? I and my associates did occasionally spend them as they should have been spent (revising) but most times we either gate- crashed Miss Chivvers' classes or, when we had the afternoon free, we would make our way to Handsworth Park and hire canoes.
Ah! happy days!
Regards,
Peg.

 

[Peg Monkey]

I also remember Mr Flemming the woodwork teacher , he was the only one I feared having the slipper off , he wielded it with passion ! . Yes , Madam de Mon Telk spoke with a very strong Parisian accent . As I sad , she only lasted a term , she simply couldn't handle our misbehaviour , she was there before I left in the summer of 65 . I think Mr Corfield was the science teacher ? . Was Miss Chivers a buxom bird who may have been an English teacher , albeit Mr Thomas was also an English teacher . Can I suggest to all who post threads on here put the date when they wrote them , im replying to some who posted them years ago . I don't mind admitting I can get a tear in my eye when I read these posts . the memories are priceless and its sad to think of the happiest days of my life are far behind me . I have said before that anyone wanting to chat to me can contact me on my email ........ johnstone1986@live.co.uk . I was at harry lucas from 60 to 65 ..... posted on 4th feb 2017

Hi John,
I never witnessed Mr Flemming administering corporal punishment but I did see Miss Gossmore doing the deed once, slipper was a bit of a misnomer she wielded a trainer with a sole like a Teddyboy's brothel creeper, I don't know what the lad had done but it must have been a major misdemeanor, I remember thinking, I'm glad I'm not on the receiving end of that!
Regards,
Peg.

 

[Astoness]

Hi Lyn, you were up early this morning. Not quite sure what you mean by just had my member jogged, so moving swiftly on; bit sparse on info' re CSE's - Subjects and Grades? Fantastic cinema the Villa Cross, really up-market, didn't it have an huge circular window above the entrance?
LGS colours almost the same as HLSS; I travelled to school by Inner Circle 8 bus from Aston Cross through Lozells and would see a sea of green (raincoats/blazers depending on time of year) from the upper deck, didn't know for sure they were LGS girls, don't suppose there was another school in the area?
Regards,
Peg.

oops should have read memory not member peg...edited the post..the raincoats and blazers could have been from burlington st school..think you are correct about the windows at the villa cross cinema...again there are photos of the outside and inside on the forum...

 

[Peg Monkey]

Hi Folks, I'm glad to report that I reached new heights of industriousness over the server shut down and after cutting 2 pieces of wood too short, 2 too long, drilling 1/2 doz holes in the wrong place, fitting the roof upside down and getting 3 splinters the pigeon-proof bird feeder nears completion, with only painting and final assembly remaining.
(I know what your are thinking, Has the magic deserted him or did he only deserve a CSE Grade 4 in Woodwork?).
Regards,
Peg.

 

[Peg Monkey]

Confessions of a HLSS carol singer.
Hi Folks, The Duke of Cambridge Pub (Near Lucas - Gt King St.) was one of a number in a circuit where I, one of a gang of three, delivered iconic carol-singing performances that I can genuinely claim were without equal.
We couldn't sing a note between us but we had a secret weapon: Jim (can't remember his real name) played the spoons and he wasn't just good, he was sensational; but that wasn't the only reason for our success me and my cousin shamelessly exploited the fact Jim came from a very poor family and this showed in his appearance. His clothes had been handed down from numerous older brothers and various parts of his anatomy showed through his thread-bare garments, and his misfortune didn't end there. He was slightly cross-eyed and wore wire-rimmed specs (John Lennon later made these a fashion item but they weren't then).
When my cousin Ray, first introduced me to him, just before our first performance, I asked: Couldn't he have worn his Sunday best? That is his Sunday best, was the reply. And now to our performance; an instant after we had started singing Silent Night Jim was up to speed and playing his spoons like a thing possessed, sounding very much like a First World War Browning Machine Gun and completely drowning out me and my cousin's choral contribution (which was just as well).
The sight of poor rag-a-muffin Jim playing feverishly and me and my cousin trying desperately to put two notes together brought tears to the eyes of everyone in the house - we rarely got beyond the second line of the first verse before the money started rolling in - we made a fortune.
My cousin, our business manager, 2 or 3 years older than me, had concluded our audience would give more freely after they had consumed a drink or two so we started at 9.00 pm. Our season was short so we performed at a different group of venues each night.
I still get the odd feeling of guilt at Jim's exploitation, but he did get 1/3 of the spoils, he deserved success, don't know if he got it.
Regards,
Peg.

 

[Astoness]

the original duke of cambridge was demolished in the 30s so this replacement is the one you would remember peg

 

[Peg Monkey]

the original duke of cambridge was demolished in the 30s so this replacement is the one you would remember peg

View attachment 112475

Hi Lyn, Great shot, thanks. You can see why I remember it - its unusual shape due to being at the intersection of three roads. The only other pubs I can remember where it's possible we performed (these were close to my home in Heaton St.) were The Bull (or Bulls Head) corner of Key Hill and Icknield St, near The Flat and the Gt Western corner Park Rd and Icknield St, opposite Key Hill Cemetery, near Hockley Station.
My Father and Grandfather were members of the fishing club at The Bull, occasionally I would accompany my father on his Sunday Jolly, lots of the time it wasn't much fun - spent all day sheltering from the rain under his giant umbrella.
Regards,
Peg.

 

[Peg Monkey]

1960

Hi Carolina, nice pic, would make a great Avatar. Do you remember Nortons at the bottom of Key Hill where it joins The Flat? My first department store experience, they had a great toy department where I purchased many a model railway accessory (The main train set came from Greys in the city, they had a great toy dept. to). It's an indication that money was around Hockley at the time (mainly due to the Jewellery Quarter), although I know there was severe deprivation as well. I remember a chippy in Key Hill which was notorious at the time for increasing the minimum cost of a bag of chips to 6d, for years the going rate had been 4.1/2p, there was a public outrage in Heaton Street.
Regards,
Peg.

 

[Peg Monkey]

YHA
Hi Folks, who went youth hostelling with Mr Watson? I did, had a great time, it was only 3 days/2 nights in the Cotswold, 1 night in Stow-on-the-Wold the other in Bourton-on-the-Water (Isn't there a Witches' Museum there?) I've tried to remember the rail journey, I know we departed New Street and I guess we got out at Cheltenham(?), must have been a bus ride after that to get us into the hills, Easter or summer break as it was mid-week, not sure of the date maybe 1963 when I was 13/14.
Does anyone remember the 1956 Heaton Street Go-cart Crash? No? I'm not surprised it was not widely reported in the media. I'd been building go-carts since I was 6 (sounds advanced but they were simple things, hardest part was getting the wheels and a nut & bolt for the steering). There were 3 of us on the cart (built by me and designed for 1) and our aim was to descend the hill at the top of Heaton St. (Where it joins The Flat) in record time. The hill is short but steep and the route took us down the footpath, must have been a weekday as we'd have chanced the road on a Sunday, about 3/4 of the way down the steering rope broke (normally I adopted the belt and braces (and safest) steering technique using rope and feet but on this occasion because the cart was over-loaded I hand't got room to get my feet on the front board to which the pivoted front wheels were attached, so there was no back-up steering system), not sure what we hit could have been a lamp-post or we just careered into a wall, anyway we were all thrown head-long from the cart onto the road and pavement, no-one needed hospital attention but plenty of grazed elbows, knees, knuckles and chins. The subsequent accident investigation (carried out by me) revealed the steering cord was old sash window rope, long past its use-by date. Did it put me off go-carts? Surprisingly no.
Regards,
Peg.

 

[carolina]

Here you are peg.

 

[Peg Monkey]

Here you are peg.

Fantastic, Carolina! Can't believe it's been around 60 years since I was last in there!
Regards,
Peg.

 

[Peg Monkey]

Hi Mayfield, which fishing club were you/are in? I never caught the bug from my father who was very keen and a member of The Bull Fishing Club, Key Hill, most Sundays during the season he spent on a fishing trip, most times I tagged along to places like Ross, Tewkesbury, in fact anywhere where the fishing was good and you could get there and back in the day - sometimes a bit uncertain as the club must have been operating on a shoe string hiring coaches that should long have retired (we called them bone-shakers) I remember one occasion the gear-box fell apart on our way home, was 1.oo am before we got back, my mother was frantic, it was before the age of 'phones and there was no way we could get in touch with her to let her know what had happened, don't know if I was allowed to miss school on the Monday, probably not!
He fished the Severn, Wye, Avon and probably others I can't remember (Holt Fleet (?) seemed to be a favourite destination for the family as a whole). My favourite part of fishing, when I did eventually get my hands on a rod, was casting, I got great delight seeing how far I could get the weights and hook - ok on a river like the Severn, so on those occasions we arrived a canal to fish my heart sank.
Regards,
Peg.

 

[Peg Monkey]

Here you are peg.

Talking of department stores, did you ever take a pedal car ride around Lewis's Miniature Roof-top Roadway? I did, it was magical. Intended primarily as a children's road safety aid it was also good at drawing customers to the store, it had traffic lights, pedestrian crossings, junctions, round-abouts etc. There was no charge but usually a long queue. The cars were the "Rolls Royce" of pedal cars wonderfully made by disabled coal miners in a South Wales factory, the Austin J40's, as they were called, were well equipped with lights, brakes, etc, (Google Austin Pedal Car for more info') you can still get one for about £3500 (I've seen them up to £9500).
I was gutted when Lewis's closed, I found it hard to believe such an iconic store could be trading normally one day and closed for good the next; the closure was reported on the Midlands News, staff were working normally one day and turned up for work the next only to find they were locked out.
Regards,
Peg.

 

[Peg Monkey]

have to admit peg i had school dinners a few times and i loved them...would this be your cafe..farm st school visible on the left

lyn

View attachment 112228

Hi Lyn, our teacher for my last year at Farm Street School (term starting Sept 1959, over-spilled to a room in Friends Hall) was Mr Eggerton who taught every subject. I remember one unfortunate occasion when a huge section of plaster fell from the wall of the main hall. There was a large refrectory table with a bench in front and the class could not resist climbing on the bench and onto the table; on this occasion we must have timed it perfectly and all go on to together, the table banged against the wall and down came the plaster! As the dust settled we all looked at each other and thought, now we are really in trouble. The caretaker (a lady) was very good about the whole thing, the wall was due for re-plastering and we just hastened it!
Regards,
Peg.

 

[trevor bow]

Fantastic, Carolina! Can't believe it's been around 60 years since I was last in there!
Regards,
Peg.

Hi Peg,
My aunt and uncle lived in Heaton Street before moving to Popes Lane, Kings Norton, around the mid 1950's I think. They were Wal (Walter) and Violet (nee Wheeler) Neal. They had 4 children: Sylvia, Brenda, Alan, and David. Just wondered if you might know of them. Sylvia and Brenda were members at a church hall at the end of the street, quite small as I rememenber and I think it was of the Pentecostal denomination. I lived in Bridge St West right next door to St Savious church.
Trevor.

 

[Peg Monkey]

Hi Peg,
My aunt and uncle lived in Heaton Street before moving to Popes Lane, Kings Norton, around the mid 1950's I think. They were Wal (Walter) and Violet (nee Wheeler) Neal. They had 4 children: Sylvia, Brenda, Alan, and David. Just wondered if you might know of them. Sylvia and Brenda were members at a church hall at the end of the street, quite small as I rememenber and I think it was of the Pentecostal denomination. I lived in Bridge St West right next door to St Savious church.
Trevor.

Hi Trevor, I was born in Heaton Street in 1949 and lived there until 1959, but the family had lived in the house a number of generations before that; it was a close-knit community and there is every chance I knew your relatives but I don't remember the names. I also lived in Kings Norton for a short period at the Cotteridge end of Middleton Hall Road (circa 1981). Hockley Pentecostal Church was located in Lodge Road on what was known locally as The Flat, I did not attend but I do have a family connection with a retired minister and I knew the caretaker there, it's quite an active church with an enthusiastic congregation, they had their own impressive bus fleet for church outings. There was a small hall at the other end of Heaton Street (The bus depot end) on the same side and just a few doors away from Icknield Street School, its main use was as a youth club, they had snooker tables.
Having gone to Farm Street School 1954-60 I knew St Saviour's Church well (annual Christmas carol services and other celebrations).
Did you attend Farm Street and Harry Lucas Schools?
Regards,
Peg.