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Saturday jobs

wendylee said:
Oh thats it.... I couldn't remember the name! They had 2 salons in Hay Mills a small one coming in from the Swan direction, the main one right in Hay Mills, however , I guess you may already know that, you have a great memory.:) I worked mostly in the larger one but occasionally worked in the small one when they were short.
Wendy
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The reason that I know the name is because the manageress of one of them was my next door neighbour and occasionally met for drinks with her and some of her colleagues. Lovely bunch of people.
 
hi ade no wonder the veg shop where you worked seemed familiar i lived a stones throw away from it and at the time you were working there ...i was at the bottom of booths farm road in cramlington road been married a couple of years by 76...here are a couple of pics of that row of shops taken in 64 and 65

booths farm road gt barr 1964 001.JPGPerry Barr Booths Farm Rd -Perry Wood Rd 1965.jpg
 
wendylee said:
Well I enjoyed working there for a few years till I left school ,
Wendy
Astoness said:
hi ade no wonder the veg shop where you worked seemed familiar i lived a stones throw away from it and at the time you were working there ...i was at the bottom of booths farm road in cramlington road been married a couple of years by 76...here are a couple of pics of that row of shops taken in 64 and 65

View attachment 135767View attachment 135768
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Great photos Lyn thanks for sharing those, my uncle and aunt lived in cramlington about 20 houses up from the bell
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ade said:
Every kids dream job I reckon that toy shop would have been
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it was fun at times, particularly when the latest toys came out. I worked for part of the time at the stationery department at the front of the shop.
I do remember the 1966 World Cup Willy and the gold James Bond Aston Martin with the ejector seat. We used to demonstrate the toys to customers, great fun!
 
Had a Saturday job at Boots the Chemist in High Street Erdington - near the 6 Ways end of the High Street (image below from Street view - think it was the building on the left).

Got the job by walking into the shop and asking for Saturday job. No CV required, no interview except a little chat with the Manager/ Pharmacist. Started on the makeup counter to the right as you entered the shop. Was later moved to the more ‘responsible’ job on what was in those days was called the ‘drugs’ counter. This was on the left as you entered the shop. The pharmacy itself where prescriptions were prepared was up a few steps to the rear.

Spent any downtime cleaning glass shelves with methylated spirit. Loved to be asked to top up the stock. Stockroom was upstairs. You’d go up to select the items needed - liked the overpowering smell of toiletries in the stockroom - then a ‘porter’ would carry the items downstairs to the shop for you. Porters were usually part-time firemen.

Pay was good - £1.10s (£1.50) for a Saturday. We got, I think, 17% discount on all items. Consequently I bought endless items of makeup and toiletries. Spent some of my pay in Chelsea Girl a little further down High St near 6 Ways - same side of the road. Or buying a single, EP or LP across the road at the Music Box. Leaving a little amount to go out with Saturday night. Happy days.

Viv.
 

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Sat&Sundays for me when I was at Lea Village school between the age of 13-15 was to feed the pigs we reared .Someone had to give them their Breakfast & Evening meal and as treasurer it was part of the job even during school holidays
 
Vivienne14 said:
Had a Saturday job at Boots the Chemist in High Street Erdington - near the 6 Ways end of the High Street (image below from Street view - think it was the building on the left).

Got the job by walking into the shop and asking for Saturday job. No CV required, no interview except a little chat with the Manager/ Pharmacist. Started on the makeup counter to the right as you entered the shop. Was later moved to the more ‘responsible’ job on what was in those days was called the ‘drugs’ counter. This was on the left as you entered the shop. The pharmacy itself where prescriptions were prepared was up a few steps to the rear.

Spent any downtime cleaning glass shelves with methylated spirit. Loved to be asked to top up the stock. Stockroom was upstairs. You’d go up to select the items needed - liked the overpowering smell of toiletries in the stockroom - then a ‘porter’ would carry the items downstairs to the shop for you. Porters were usually part-time firemen.

Pay was good - £1.50 for a Saturday. We got, I think, 17% discount on all items. Consequently I bought endless items of makeup and toiletries. Spent some of my pay in Chelsea Girl a little further down High St near 6 Ways - same side of the road. Or buying a single, EP or LP across the road at the Music Box. Leaving a little amount to go out with Saturday night. Happy days.

Viv.
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Happy days indeed Viv, that feeling of been given a responsibility and getting paid for it at that age was great, then going to buy something with your own money without having to ask your parents for it was special. At that age we all wanted to be grown up, now we're all grown up we want to be that age again :)
 
Edifi said:
Sat&Sundays for me when I was at Lea Village school between the age of 13-15 was to feed the pigs we reared .Someone had to give them their Breakfast & Evening meal and as treasurer it was part of the job even during school holidays
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How cute , were they fully grown or young piggies?:)
 
jmadone said:
My first "proper" job was as a paperboy at Shakespeares on the Coventry Road, Sheldon. There were different rates, Solihull round and Birmingham round depending upon which side of the Coventry Road your round was. Solihull wage was higher because on Fridays you delivered the Solihull Times as well as the usual Birmingham Mail.
From there I went on to a milk round working with my uncle but that was Saturday and Sunday mornings. I then had a job at Fine Fare at the Yew Tree as a shelf filler. Really enjoyed that and that was when I had my first "Employment Cards" with my first National Insurance number which of course I still retain today.
From there I worked at Solihull Ice Rink in the skate hire which was great and then a friend asked me to come and work for him and his Dad in the Bull Ring outdoor market. This turned into a full time job whilst I was awaiting my GCE results and from there I went on to pastures new.
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Wow you certainly got around for a young one even before leaving school!
I know most of those places you talk about, I was often at the ice rink as a teenager and I lived in sheldon all my life till we came to Australia.
Oh, Happy days, lovely memories.
 
Vivienne14 said:
Had a Saturday job at Boots the Chemist in High Street Erdington - near the 6 Ways end of the High Street (image below from Street view - think it was the building on the left).

Got the job by walking into the shop and asking for Saturday job. No CV required, no interview except a little chat with the Manager/ Pharmacist. Started on the makeup counter to the right as you entered the shop. Was later moved to the more ‘responsible’ job on what was in those days was called the ‘drugs’ counter. This was on the left as you entered the shop. The pharmacy itself where prescriptions were prepared was up a few steps to the rear.

Spent any downtime cleaning glass shelves with methylated spirit. Loved to be asked to top up the stock. Stockroom was upstairs. You’d go up to select the items needed - liked the overpowering smell of toiletries in the stockroom - then a ‘porter’ would carry the items downstairs to the shop for you. Porters were usually part-time firemen.

Pay was good - £1.50 for a Saturday. We got, I think, 17% discount on all items. Consequently I bought endless items of makeup and toiletries. Spent some of my pay in Chelsea Girl a little further down High St near 6 Ways - same side of the road. Or buying a single, EP or LP across the road at the Music Box. Leaving a little amount to go out with Saturday night. Happy days.

Viv.
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A chemist is a dream job for a young girl :) discount on make up.
 
A friend of mine done as most of us done at the time just walked in and asked for a job but this was at the Clifton cinema on the walsall road, thinking he was onto a winner at 13 years old and been able to see all the movies for free he was delighted, so after 4 days of only handing out leaflets in the foyer and not even getting into the auditorium because of his age he left and got a job at Marcos the chip shop next door (which is still there) but when I think back, all of my mates had Saturday jobs in Birmingham, it was just a case of asking. A girl I knew from our group of friends got a job in the rag market at 14 selling fabric, she now has her own business selling fabrics to interior designers through out the country and she swears that her 6 years in the hustle and bustle of the Birmingham rag market gave her the knowledge and confidence to start on her own path, theory is good but hard honest graft is the only way to learn. As for my mate in the chip shop, well no he's hasn't got his own chain of chip shops he's a retired bus driver but I'd like to think he made his mark on Great Barr with his amazingly battered fish :):):)
 
Ade.There were28 of us in the pig club set in 7 groups so it was 4 on every day cleaning them out and boiling up the feed .Everyone bringing the left overs from their houses to help feed them.We all paid 3 old pence into the club funds ,I was chosen because I was good at maths(so the headmaster said)Every one turned up every day but I plumped for every sat so I could earn some money in the weeks of the school holiday picking on the farms .Shrewd eh at that age
 
Edifi said:
Ade.There were28 of us in the pig club set in 7 groups so it was 4 on every day cleaning them out and boiling up the feed .Everyone bringing the left overs from their houses to help feed them.We all paid 3 old pence into the club funds ,I was chosen because I was good at maths(so the headmaster said)Every one turned up every day but I plumped for every sat so I could earn some money in the weeks of the school holiday picking on the farms .Shrewd eh at that age
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haha shrewd thinking that :) so what year would this have been and where
 
In 1968 I worked as a house porter at the Midland Hotel. I polished brass everywhere and vacuumed half a mile of corridor carpet (yes I actually paced it out one day). In addition to that I had to vacuum the downstairs Neptune Lounge and sweep the staff spiral staircase that ran from the lower level to the top floor. Happy Days...
 
Harry Flashman said:
In 1968 I worked as a house porter at the Midland Hotel. I polished brass everywhere and vacuumed half a mile of corridor carpet (yes I actually paced it out one day). In addition to that I had to vacuum the downstairs Neptune Lounge and sweep the staff spiral staircase that ran from the lower level to the top floor. Happy Days...
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I can imagine the "Neptune" lounge in the sixties, cocktails, champagne, ladies walking around with beehive hair do's and very long cigarette holders :)
 
ade said:
I can imagine the "Neptune" lounge in the sixties, cocktails, champagne, ladies walking around with beehive hair do's and very long cigarette holders :)
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I have no idea. My day started at 7:00am. I did often wonder at the types of people that spent their evenings there. During the summer I worked at the Midland full time. I enjoyed it as there were some good people there.
 
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Super photos ade. My mom also worked at Woollies, Erdington High Street, on the sweet counter. She was 14 when she started work.
 
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Morturn said:
Super photos ade. My mom also worked at Woollies, Erdington High Street, on the sweet counter. She was 14 when she started work.
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Thanks morturn
You say your mom started work there when she was 14, would that have been a Saturday job or full time
 
Yes, this was a full time job. My grandmother had no interest in a career for my mom, she just wanted her at work "paying her way". Grandmother sent her to work in a factory in Aston, spraying the green and white enamel on factory lampshades. Mom said it was an awful job, she had to take her own newspaper and string to cover up with. Everyone in the place was covered in green paint.

She left after one week and took the job in Woolworth's on the sweet counter.
 
Gosh 14 and been made to work in conditions like that seems very wrong indeed, nice to hear she managed to get out of that so quickly and find the woollies job, I reckon 14 years old and working on a sweet counter would have been just the ticket and such a relief
 
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