Westley brook meandered all over the parkland now used sometimes as a fairground next to the Coventry Road. I remember hunting for 'tiddlers' right over by the Barrows Lane side. There were some sort of flat eel that would wriggle through the marshy area there.
On the subject of shops, going along the north side of Coventry Road heading out of town there was a branch of the Birmingham Municipal Bank in a wooden building not far from the brook bridging. There were a pair of shops, one called Caves, that sold china. Before the Wells Green parade was built I don't think there were any shops until the Wheatsheaf junction. On the corner, before Woolworth's and Barclay's bank were built was the Co-Op greencrocers, a very cold shed, more like an old-fashioned garden centre. Across Sheaf Lane there was a branch of Dewhurst's. It had a cashier's cubicle on the opposite side to the serving counter so the butchers didn't handle cash. Shakespeare's had a single shop unit on the same parade. They sold newspapers there but also a lot of toys. My dad ordered Triang train and Meccano items from them for special Christmas presents! On the other side of Coventry Road was the main Shakespeare's. They handled deliveries of newspapers and magazines like Readers' Digest and Argosy(?), oh, and our comics! On the other side of Coventry Road was the main shopping parade. Steed's sold ice cream and roasted peanuts from a little illuminated heated stand. If you asked for a block of ice cream ( two shillings or two and six) you never knew if he had one as there were two small rubber lids that were hinged on the outer edges that covered the tiny opening to the freezer. Mr Steed would rake about and hopefuly produce what was wanted. Nearer the Coalway Avenue end was Taylor's the grocers. They had glass-lidded biscuit bins by the chrome rails that many shops had for supporting housewives shopping baskets. On the other side of the shop were the red painted coffee grinder and the bacon slicer, a fascinating machine with all its fastenings and moving bed that carried the meat. Nearby was Clark's ironmongers. There were two Mr Clarks, one the owner. They weren't related. They stocked Aladdin Pink paraffin that we used for heating in the bedroom or the garage. Right on the corner was Munday's, the toy shop, the times I must have spent looking in those windows, (one on each road). On the opposite corner was a garage and beyond that an empty field that backed onto Goldthorne Avenue's odd-numbers gulley. That was where we held our Coronation event. I was dressed up as The Muffin Man, from the nursery rhyme. Captain Harris, St. Giles' superintendent, lent me his handbell. Each child on our road received a bible that my dad carefully labelled inside with their name.
On the subject of shops, going along the north side of Coventry Road heading out of town there was a branch of the Birmingham Municipal Bank in a wooden building not far from the brook bridging. There were a pair of shops, one called Caves, that sold china. Before the Wells Green parade was built I don't think there were any shops until the Wheatsheaf junction. On the corner, before Woolworth's and Barclay's bank were built was the Co-Op greencrocers, a very cold shed, more like an old-fashioned garden centre. Across Sheaf Lane there was a branch of Dewhurst's. It had a cashier's cubicle on the opposite side to the serving counter so the butchers didn't handle cash. Shakespeare's had a single shop unit on the same parade. They sold newspapers there but also a lot of toys. My dad ordered Triang train and Meccano items from them for special Christmas presents! On the other side of Coventry Road was the main Shakespeare's. They handled deliveries of newspapers and magazines like Readers' Digest and Argosy(?), oh, and our comics! On the other side of Coventry Road was the main shopping parade. Steed's sold ice cream and roasted peanuts from a little illuminated heated stand. If you asked for a block of ice cream ( two shillings or two and six) you never knew if he had one as there were two small rubber lids that were hinged on the outer edges that covered the tiny opening to the freezer. Mr Steed would rake about and hopefuly produce what was wanted. Nearer the Coalway Avenue end was Taylor's the grocers. They had glass-lidded biscuit bins by the chrome rails that many shops had for supporting housewives shopping baskets. On the other side of the shop were the red painted coffee grinder and the bacon slicer, a fascinating machine with all its fastenings and moving bed that carried the meat. Nearby was Clark's ironmongers. There were two Mr Clarks, one the owner. They weren't related. They stocked Aladdin Pink paraffin that we used for heating in the bedroom or the garage. Right on the corner was Munday's, the toy shop, the times I must have spent looking in those windows, (one on each road). On the opposite corner was a garage and beyond that an empty field that backed onto Goldthorne Avenue's odd-numbers gulley. That was where we held our Coronation event. I was dressed up as The Muffin Man, from the nursery rhyme. Captain Harris, St. Giles' superintendent, lent me his handbell. Each child on our road received a bible that my dad carefully labelled inside with their name.
