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I Remember When.....

I suppose its called progression and we must now accept that we have a multi racial society but but but but when I came to Birmingham for the day by coach (thanks to all for tips on shopping etc), a couple of weeks ago, I was desperate to hear the sound of Birmingham again and a good old Brummie accent, then I would know I was 'home' again.
Not a familiar accent anywhere - foreign in multitudes but no brummies, in desperation I asked a lady in 'the bullring' directions, she was obviously a true daughter of the soil, but what soil I still do not no, as she didn't speaka d English at all. So loudly I sing "Where have all the brummies gone" to the tune of where have all the flowers etc.
Bless you all where ever you are hiding.
 
I remember that it is 35 years to the day that two bombs were planted in Birmingham city centre pubs.:(

An awful episode in Birmingham's history.
 
I remember when we wore hand me downs .and shoes third hand .not trainers worth £100 plus ...i never went to a club other than gym club or such as what was available....mostly within school. We didnt have phones .landline or mobiles ..the local call box was what you used in an emergency,other than that messages were delivered on foot. Thats how we made a few pennies pocketmoney which we handed over to our parents..we used to borrow a "mashing" of tea from a neighbour or a penny for the gas..washing was done in a "brewhouse " once a week. The list is endless.
 
Hi brummie girl is it really 35 yrs .i remember that night well .one of my friends used to go to the tavern in the town she always sat on "her" stool by the bar that particular night someone called her over to them seconds later the bomb exploded .the people at the bar were killed ..she escaped with shrapnel although it changed her life dramatically. She went to live in spain after that.....terrible time for brummies but .....look how we all pulled together to get the injured away to hospitals and tremendous courage of the injured and the doctors and nurses who treated them ....taxis and private cars as well as ambulances....."you wont get a better friend than a brummie "
 
You must be an olden like me sandra to remember the brew house LOL Dont you remember the evening mail shoes? we used to get from a place down saltley bridge and they used to be stamped so they could not be pawned, but eventually they stopped the stamping so i never got to wear them and probably the same for many hundreds of kids just so we had some money for the leccy, i wonder if anyone had the charity new suits and shoes from digbeth police station ( pawned ) or remembers janet fraser who was a columnist with the sunday mercury, she would arrange holidays for the poor by the round table.
 
I used to get Evening Mail shoes from 'The Gate', black lace ups and long Gray socks... Girls could also have Barr-strapped shoes, but because Mom would pass mine on to the boys next door, I had to have 'The Hated ' lace ups.
I also had this pair too...

Buying New Shoes At The Bull Ring.‚..!
First published Nov 2004

Oh how I remember and have to confess
one trip to the market that wasn't much fun,
but one filled with stress.
My mom pulled me here and then pulled me there
it seemed about me she hadn't a care.

"Comon" said our Glad
"we need clothes for the lad,
and coat for your sister too".
But when I started to cry she said with a sigh
"Now 'Bab' whats the matter with you "?

I looked all forlorn, in my dress faded and worn
and said "someat's gone through the hole in my shoe".
"We'll find you a 'new' pair, now sit on that chair".
As through a pile of shoes she did rake.
"Oh look these will do and So's they'll fit you,
insoles of card we'll make".

"Now pull the laces tight and they'll be just right,
there's no hole in the sole and the heels are fine
in fact they're better than mine". (Laugh!)
The shoes were a disgrace with a black and brown lace,
they were two sizes too big but for only a quid,
what more could expect from that place.

Then home we did trot to show dad what we'd got
And it was then I wished I'd kept quiet.
He thought the bargains were fine
until Glad showed him mine
and by gosh did those shoes cause a riot.

Chris/Pom :angel:
 
It's all too easy to look back 40, 50, 60 years and recall life then with a warm, glowing feeling; but it wasn't all good. We lived in Perry Barr in a terrace house. I can remember when the only way to heat water for a bath was by means of a large metal pan on the gas-stove - the bath itself folded up into a cupboard in the kitchen. We didn't starve, but I can still recall how embarrassed my mother was when she asked for 2 slices of ham at Wrenson's. I know my parents scraped and saved all year to ensure that my brother and I had presents at Christmas. I can also remember fights in the local pubs, screaming feral children in the streets (not much changed there, then), and the occasional burglary. At least in those days the police bothered to investigate.

Only when my dad had a promotion in about 1951 did we get a proper water-heater, electric fires, and a TV, but we didn't have a proper bathroom until about 1960 - although it was a rented house the landlady refused utterly to pay for it. I used to feel ashamed when friends asked me where the toilet was, and they were directed outside.

The other aspect I remember from the 1950's was how stifling my upbringing was - my parents really believed that kids should be seen and not heard. I was forceed to go to church, Sunday School and Cubs and hated all 3 with a passion. None of them did me any good at all. But at least we didn't have dumbed-down tabloid papers, political correctness, lifestyle TV and the dreadful celeb culture all of which push our own failings right into our faces.

I'll shut up now!

Big Gee
 
Great poem Pom, first time I have seen that.
I have been looking at this site for several years now. Scarcely a day goes by when I don't take at least a brief glimpse and my impression is that at least a half of the posters here are from away from the place now...all around the world in fact. I have not been there for 40 years and in all likelyhood will not make a return trip now. I do return via GE though and can see most of the detail there now and the missing places. The old photo's on here are mostly pictures to me of the way that I last saw it and often it is a shock to find that they are now historical.

I remenber when...
You walked up the old worn stairs into the dreary open fish market...we had little plates of whelks for a tanner with a pinch of salt and some vinegar. All of the product was on a tiled inclined table surface...you used your fingers...no washed hands, no harmfull affects were experienced. The fishy aroma was a thing of joy...but not for some.

Snow Hill Station was the perenial corner square on the Monopoly board for me. It was passed 5 times a week for several years...it always felt like I had collected $200 (excuse the $). It's gone and I hate it...who are the people who do these things.

I remember the Midland Red and occasional Stratford Blue making the turn in front of St Martins and pausing at the terminous there...under the trees in the church yard...before making the turn down towards Jamaica Row and past the rag market where a just prior poster was getting her pre-owned shoes possibly.

It's funny. Some of the things that we remember, fondly maybe, are only notable by their raw reality...but not all.

I am sure that there is the exception but I remember back then that no-one I knew had either the money or the expertise to invest in stocks and shares. It was something that only rich folk did.
 
I had my rant earlier but now ON TOPIC.....I remember at this time if year Turkeys on display hanging up in Butchers shops.The Joy of Dad collecting his Christmas Club Money, and ordering his turkey and Bellydraft. Xmas eve mon did hot pork and stuffing sandwiches foe me and my mates when we got in.
I remember Nan's xmas night party at Gt Russel St, all the family, Dad singing Jolson, Uncle jim singing "I'll Take you home Kathleen", and Nan Singing "Just like the Ivy. Nan drank "Green Godess" what ever that was. Cold Turkey and Pickle sandwiches...Luxury a taxi home.
Remember the sell off of meat and turkey at the fish market...open air new one still not built. As I got older, down the Villa Boxing day or up the Albion with my mate if Villa were away.
The feeling of being a menmber of ONE community. This year why don't we pledge ourselves to invite a foreign family in for drinks so that we can shre our joy with them and then they will invite us to their festivals....its the only way.
 
I remember when it was unheard of for 5 & 6 year olds to be expelled from school for sex or violence offences. I remember when the bully got the cane rather than the bullying being allowed to carry on and give the victim phsychological support. I remember when one could fish up the cut without having his tackle thrown in while being robbed. I remember when I did my paper round alone, nowadays a lot of paper kids are ferried around by their mothers for safety. I remember when Birmingham could go for several years without a stabbing and shootings were unheard of. I remember when shop assistants knew what they were talking about. I remember when children knew what Xmas was all about. Life was very hard at times we all know that but overall, people are not generally as happy as we were.
 
Well said Leonardjob, that's what the spirit of Chritmas should be about.

I think one of the reasons we always think the past was better is because we were YOUNG. That is the society we were used to, good and bad.

I feel totally alienated sometimes today becasue I don't understand what's going on. Then I say to my husband that I sound like my gran who used to complain about all the so called 'beatniks' thought you had to shout down the telephone and didn't understand the tumble dryer at all.

Then the next generation, my father who used to despair of men with long hair (often my boyfriends!) and the noise of rock music coming from my bedroom. Funny, I used to hate Sinatra and the Rat Pack as old fashioned tosh, now I find I quite like them! Comes to us all!:)
 
I think we are all looking through Rose coloured spectacles to the past and it is lovely isn't it.

It isn't just Brum that's changed ,we have and the world has.

If you go back to the France you visited 20 years ago,the USA you visited 10 years ago they have completely changed.

I went back to Ilfracombe last year ,last visited 50 years before.
I thought it was dreadful and couldn't get out quick enough,just me,others of you may love it but my judgment was made against the Ilfracombe I knew 50 years ago.

I was born in a small market town in the Staffs moorlands,my childhood was idyllic,fresh air,no traffic,everyone knew each other etc.I had always planned to retire there one day,visit there today and the traffic to Alton towers is horrendous as are many of the visitors to the Towers.I shall stay where I am.

The Birmingham I came to in 1947 was completely different to the one today but whenever I have been abroad I have only to hear a Brummie accent and I am so proud to be a Brummie(after 60 years I stake my citizenship LOL) and I love Brum.

Just to add,about discipline,I went to Erdington Grammar and if we were seen eating in public we were in real trouble,(not very ladylike gals).I once met my mom in Erdington high street and she offered me a peach but I was too afraid to take it in case a prefect would spot me and report me.
 
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I agree with the looking back with rose coloured spectacles theory.
You often here people say “you could leave your doors unlocked in the old days”
That’s probably because there was nothing in the house of any value,
I do remember all the houses that had cellars used to have a chain on the grill to stop thieves getting in and breaking into the gas meters.
It wasn’t all great in those days. :)
 
Hockleybrook said:
I suppose its called progression and we must now accept that we have a multi racial society but but but but when I came to Birmingham for the day by coach (thanks to all for tips on shopping etc), a couple of weeks ago, I was desperate to hear the sound of Birmingham again and a good old Brummie accent, then I would know I was 'home' again.
Not a familiar accent anywhere - foreign in multitudes but no brummies, in desperation I asked a lady in 'the bullring' directions, she was obviously a true daughter of the soil, but what soil I still do not no, as she didn't speaka d English at all. So loudly I sing "Where have all the brummies gone" to the tune of where have all the flowers etc.
Bless you all where ever you are hiding.
Click to expand...

What's a Brummie though?, to me it's someone that lives here and makes a contribution. As this is a history site i have to remind all of us Brummies that we've always been a hybrid bunch, my ancestors were immigrants and when i checked others on the street where they lived they were from all over the place as well, does this make me less a Brummie??????.
 
I remember when you could still stand down the Blues and get in for a few pennies, good win today though!...
 
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Times have changed??

In July 1967 I was in Sutton Park in the early evening with some friends when without warning we were pounced upon by a bunch of shaven-headed yobs. I ended up in Good Hope having my left eye stitched back in. Yes, this was 42 years ago, not last week. At least the Sutton police came to my house to follow matters up, but they had to admit that the chances of actually catching anyone were remote.

Some time before then, our next-door neighbour opened the door to a bloke who said he'd come to read the gas-meter. She let him in, then went back to her kitchen to look at her cooking. By the time she returned to her front room, where the meter was, the 'meter-reader' had emptied it and also nicked some ornaments from her mantle-piece. I can remember that she was so upset my mother went and slept in her spare room for a couple of nights.

And finally, also in 1967, I took my lovely 1952-vintage Morris Minor to a garage in Perry Barr to have its ignition checked, and some kind soul broke into the premises overnight and pinched its battery, its carburettor (yes!) and a transistor radio I'd shoved under the passenger seat. The proprietor of the garage couldn't have cared less.

So crime is a modern phenomenon?

Big Gee
 
No crime is certainly not a new phenomenen, but 42 years ago the prisons were not grossly overcrowded. Dangerous criminals were not released early to make room for more criminals, hundreds of thousands of ASBOS were not dished out instead of proper sentencing. Most of these ASBOS are ignored anyway. Shoplifters were prosecuted and not given a caution if their booty was less than £75. Thereby encouraging them to make regular trips home with stolen gear worth a bit less than £75 then they go out for the same amount again several times each day. And of course if you got sentenced to 5 years then you would serve almost all of the 5 years. No, crime is not a new phenomenen.
 
I remember my mum telling me that after she had won a prize for essay writing at her school she was not allowed to read it out because her Birmingham accent was considered too thick!

I remember being caned across the hands for wearing the wrong colour gloves in the school playground and that disgusting sour smell of the compulsory milk drink. Argh, still can't drink milk now! I remember having my plaits dipped in the ink well at school so that when I flicked my head the black ink sprayed everywhere and I got the punishment. I remember not being told about girls having periods, so that we all thought we were dying!

Whilst I am so glad those things don't happen anymore, I am also glad I got a chance to be a real child annd not have to grow up so quickly. In the 1960s we thought we would make Utopia, peace and love man and yet the legacy seems to be just the reverse! I sometimes look at my generation and wonder how did that happened?
 
I remember going to the newtown pali bingo hall many moons ago and hoping to win afew bob [ shillings] but ended up loosing my money
the bloke in front of me won one of the full houses 1 HUNDRED QUID IN FACT
The young whence brought over to him is winning; he put it is back trouser pocket
as he thought ; but it fell back out on the floor under the seat
i noticed it and tapped him on the shoulder; he turned around and looked at me
i said you have dropped your money old pal ; and he said ho'
not the words of thanks and put it in his coat pocket and turned and carried on playing bingo when it was time to go home i came out making my way back
towards town there was a big five pound note blowing in the wind up by my foot
i stopped and picked it up and purt it in my pocket
i emediately looked up to the sky and said thank you lord
and that lifted my spirits up most cerainly
I REMEMBER THAT ;;
 
School bullies have always been around but the grief they cause has multiplied a few thousand times over the years. You must be aware of the recent spate of suicides involving children caused by bullying.
Where someone comes from is not a factor in this debate. It is all about 'do you remember' and I remember when everyone was polite. Everyone was helpful and everyone had respect for themselves and others.
 
I remember the run up to Christmas Len three weeks before stocking up on turkeys capons and poultry of various sorts :) dressing them and freezing them to sell them later towards christmas eve as Fresh:shocked: after thawing of course ;) I also remember selling smelly old chickens past the sell by date to various :rolleyes: types of ..... resturaunts I also remember various types of White fish sold as Haddock or cod "trust us to sell only the best love " that was the pitch "I was There and I remember it well":D:D:D
 
I remember some Blokes I knew breaking into a T.V/Radio shop in Aston, they could only fit a few items in there Ford Anglia... so they went back the next night and pinched the rest.
I also remember the same chaps seeing someone moving house and joined in pretending to be part of the removal gang ... they came back knocking on doors offering stuff at cheap prices!
One of them who also when walking past a shop where there were goods outside on display, going in the shop asking the 'Nice man' behind the counter if he had some brown wrapping paper and string he could spare so he could wrap a present for his wife's birthday. This 'Nice man' obliged, never even charged him for it... you've guessed it... the chap walked outside and took a small coffee table and walked away with it wrapped in brown paper. I have heaps of true stories like those after all I did grow up in Highgate & Nechells...
I remember the violent fights in Highgate and Nechells every weekend between drunken neighbours, with no holds barred and yes in some cases knives, knuckle dusters and bottles were involved, The next day we kids would see how much blood had been left and follow the trails that had been left on the yard cobbles, pavements and horse road.
I remember being frightened because there was a fight right outside our door and my Dad (who was half blind and know by these blokes as 'Blind Les') going out to try and stop it, or move them on, but got punched in the face for his trouble...
The sad part is, there is one chap I knew very well and liked very much who's been in prison for over 40 years for Murder...
Yes Rose coloured glasses alright... Kids I knew also got away with pinching stuff from the shops... The local shopkeepers, or Coppers would give them a clip around the ear and tell their parents, but it never stopped them from doing it again.
(What only cost a couple of Bob back then would be equivalent to much more in Pounds to day, it's all relative...!).
I remember two young girls getting Murdered, a young woman being found decapitated in her room, and a girl I know from our school being molested in St Martins flats while playing Hid and Seek with \her friends.
I think part of the problem today is everything gets reported in the News papers, on T.V and the Net, so as a population we are more aware of it... happening over the the whole City and the World as a whole. Rather than just in our own little enclosed areas as it so often was when we were younger.

Chris/Pom :angel:
 
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I remember being 'flashed' when I was a kid on my way home from school in the fifties - and a guy sitting next to me in the Birchfield cinema with his hand on my knee (moving slowly upwards) - but I also remember being able to buy food that wasn't double wrapped in plastic, taking large potatoes out of the bag to bake, without having to pay extortionate prices for specially selected baking spuds, getting hurt and not sueing anyone for compen-say-shun and - of course - the sun always shone during the school holidays:rolleyes:
 
During the year 2008-2009, 10.7 million crimes were recorded and investigated in Britain some solved and some not. These included 10,220 knife crimes. I do not have the figures for gun crime. Theft from the person was up 25% and the risk of you being a victim was up to 23%. Less than 10% of recorded rapes against women ended in a prosecution. 4,000,000 illegal vehicles on the road.i/e no insurance, mot or driving document. These figures are what the authorities produced after the genuine ones were no doubt doctored to try and show an improvement. Firemen being stoned by gangs of ferral youths whilst risking life to save others. Paramedics getting beat up whilst saving others. Graves getting robbed. Houses being burgled whilst the families are attending funerals. A&E staff being beat up whilst at work. I am not even going to get onto drug related crimes. If your car is stolen you will get a crime number over the phone, no investigation. If you are lucky or unlucky enough to see what is hapening and ring the police, they will be too busy to attend. If you have a go and win you will be arrested double quick and may have to pay compensation to the thieves. People awaiting trial for murder are out on bail. Violent prisoners released early to make room in prison for more criminals, are re-offending and this sometimes includes a second murder.
I have to admit that some of you are correct in saying some one is looking through rose tinted glasses. I would prefer all the crime statistics from years ago along with the scallywags who commited the crimes. Methamphetamine abuse is growng in this country and that will really cause a stir when it becomes rife.
I have to repeat that I know I was happier than a vast amount of children I see going into and out of schools in this area. I know I never cried and screamed contiuously when mom took me shopping. I knew the reason for the season at Xmas.
I Remember that my Parents left a better world than I will leave and that worries me for the sake of my Great Grand children.
 
i remember when we used to nick the washing line and play skipping with the rope stretched from one side of the road to the other ..."all in together girls .never mind the weather girls,when i count to twenty the rope must be empty ".is what we used to chant .can anyone remember any more ditties /
 
Sandra, keep this to yourself because being male I would not want too many people to know it. I remember that verse when we were skipping. Later in life I skipped for hours during the winter. I used to train as a boxer and if the weather was a bit iffy we skipped for two hours instead of running behind the trainer who would be on a bike. I also remember playing Hop-Scotch.
 
no one should put birmingham down it was and still is a wonderful city
plenty of choice ,friendly people, great banter and sense of humour
most of the public services are well run
loads of buses
choice of hospitals schools need i say more lived there for over 60 years now live happily in folkestone but do miss brum a little
 
I love Birmingham, I am extremely proud to be able to say that my dads forefathers for generations were born in Birmingham. I am very proud of everything Birmingham has done to further the wealth of England and Britain. A number of years ago, cars, tools , machinery, locomotives and thousands of other manufactured items were used all over the world and carried the stamped mark, MADE IN BIRMINGHAM. Birmingham played a massive part in the two world wars, and the way the residents of birmingham dealt with the bombing as well as military deaths was replicated all across the Commonwealth. Unfortunately, wealth and improvements across the whole social spectrum in Birmingham and most other British cities have put an end to communities and social life as we knew it. I am still proud of my roots, I am still proud to be able to say I am a true Brummie. I am proud to say the majority of this country's population still work and keep the N.H.S, Pensions and benefits system running. I am disgusted at the growing number of scroungers and spongers, alcoholics and druggies and many others who abuse the system. That is not to say I class all unemployed as scroungers. I believe that if we had a night of ww2 bombing tonight, many hundreds of us would be robbed before help arrived.
 
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