Dave C
master brummie
what a great thread, well here's my threepence worth!
I grew up in 1950's Northfield, where dad was the school caretaker at the big victorian building that was the Northfield Institute on Church Road (Tel Priory 3638 - it's funny what you remember). The house we lived in was actually part of the institute, so although we were totally skint (Dad had a slate with Danks the Grocer on the Bristol Road and reckons we wouldn't have survived without it), as kids we had what must have been the best indoor playground you can imagine, playing football in the hall and hide and seek was a riot.
My bedroom, shared with my brother was medium sized (some years later we lived in a council house in Middlemore Road which just had room for 2 single beds and a mattress on the floor between them - so last one up got trodden on!). Anyway, I do recall the council painters coming to do the institute which included our room, and being quite happy to paint each wall a different colour - great. The view outside was of Sunbury cottages, which I think were part of the Cadbury estate, very idillic really and we had some great stone throwing fights with Geoffrey Carrington who was at number 2. When dad decided that the rats in the coke pile that backed up against the wall of the institute needed seeing to, he would tuck the legs of his overalls into his wellies and bang his shovel on the ground. This would bring Geoffreys dog Sandy running, and as dad shovelled, Sandy would go about his business!
From my bedroom window you could also see Matthews Auction rooms next door. The best thing about Matthews was that stuff that wouldn't sell he would throw out or give to dad to burn. We had a wind up gramophone with loads of 78's which was so exiting that we used to run downstairs first thing in the morning in our bare feet (no heating anywhere, boy it was cold), I remember dad shouting downstairs 'either turn that racket off or wind the bloody thing up!' Bonfire nights were best as we threw on Sofas and even pianos from Matthews, sacrilege these days I know but in those days you couldn't give them away. What a tangled mess of springs and piano wires the next morning.
Our bedroom was next to the first floor classroom that was was used for the Adult Education Classes, and of an evening I used to lie there listening to the Welsh Male Voice Choir through the wall, it was wonderful. It's funny how important sounds are to your memories. On one hand the sound of Billy Cottons Bandshow or Jimmy Clitheroe makes my mouth water at the thought of Sunday dinner, but as a teenager the Sunday sound of 'Sing Something Simple' on the radio would mean bath night in a freezing cold bathroom and school the next morning - horrible!
Being in the cub scouts was good (I think it was called Masville for some reason?), as they were held in the small hall in the back garden of the institute. Unfortunately my younger brother and sister wouldn't leave me alone and I remember standing proudly to attention at the head of red six one evening when the door burst open and the prop off the clothes line came flying through with my name being shouted out, a bit disconcerting really.
One last thing, the institute was used as an overflow from St Lawrence Primary School, which at that time was on Church Hill. I later attended that school which I loved, but before school age I remember walking from our living room along a small corridor and into a classroom, where I was allowed to sit and watch quite happily until the one day I spent the lunchtime colouring in the childrens books left open on their desks. Obviously they didn't recognise a child prodigy! My brother on the other hand got into trouble at the same age for sipping milk out of the small milk bottles that school kids used to get in those days and then pushing the foil tops back on. He thought that if he had a bit from each one nobody would notice!
Anyway sorry for rambling on but happy days.
Dave
I grew up in 1950's Northfield, where dad was the school caretaker at the big victorian building that was the Northfield Institute on Church Road (Tel Priory 3638 - it's funny what you remember). The house we lived in was actually part of the institute, so although we were totally skint (Dad had a slate with Danks the Grocer on the Bristol Road and reckons we wouldn't have survived without it), as kids we had what must have been the best indoor playground you can imagine, playing football in the hall and hide and seek was a riot.
My bedroom, shared with my brother was medium sized (some years later we lived in a council house in Middlemore Road which just had room for 2 single beds and a mattress on the floor between them - so last one up got trodden on!). Anyway, I do recall the council painters coming to do the institute which included our room, and being quite happy to paint each wall a different colour - great. The view outside was of Sunbury cottages, which I think were part of the Cadbury estate, very idillic really and we had some great stone throwing fights with Geoffrey Carrington who was at number 2. When dad decided that the rats in the coke pile that backed up against the wall of the institute needed seeing to, he would tuck the legs of his overalls into his wellies and bang his shovel on the ground. This would bring Geoffreys dog Sandy running, and as dad shovelled, Sandy would go about his business!
From my bedroom window you could also see Matthews Auction rooms next door. The best thing about Matthews was that stuff that wouldn't sell he would throw out or give to dad to burn. We had a wind up gramophone with loads of 78's which was so exiting that we used to run downstairs first thing in the morning in our bare feet (no heating anywhere, boy it was cold), I remember dad shouting downstairs 'either turn that racket off or wind the bloody thing up!' Bonfire nights were best as we threw on Sofas and even pianos from Matthews, sacrilege these days I know but in those days you couldn't give them away. What a tangled mess of springs and piano wires the next morning.
Our bedroom was next to the first floor classroom that was was used for the Adult Education Classes, and of an evening I used to lie there listening to the Welsh Male Voice Choir through the wall, it was wonderful. It's funny how important sounds are to your memories. On one hand the sound of Billy Cottons Bandshow or Jimmy Clitheroe makes my mouth water at the thought of Sunday dinner, but as a teenager the Sunday sound of 'Sing Something Simple' on the radio would mean bath night in a freezing cold bathroom and school the next morning - horrible!
Being in the cub scouts was good (I think it was called Masville for some reason?), as they were held in the small hall in the back garden of the institute. Unfortunately my younger brother and sister wouldn't leave me alone and I remember standing proudly to attention at the head of red six one evening when the door burst open and the prop off the clothes line came flying through with my name being shouted out, a bit disconcerting really.
One last thing, the institute was used as an overflow from St Lawrence Primary School, which at that time was on Church Hill. I later attended that school which I loved, but before school age I remember walking from our living room along a small corridor and into a classroom, where I was allowed to sit and watch quite happily until the one day I spent the lunchtime colouring in the childrens books left open on their desks. Obviously they didn't recognise a child prodigy! My brother on the other hand got into trouble at the same age for sipping milk out of the small milk bottles that school kids used to get in those days and then pushing the foil tops back on. He thought that if he had a bit from each one nobody would notice!
Anyway sorry for rambling on but happy days.
Dave
I haven't had that much time with the Grandkids being off school.
