I have just come across this site and am looking forward to reading the posts regarding smethwick. I grew up in smethwick, i went to corbett street infants school, mrs robinson was the head mistress then, sadly,thats the only name i can recall. There was a bakery on the corner of corbett street,the cakes were lovely especially the dripping cakes, my mum used to buy fresh cream from there, she used to take a bowl in. Then i went to cape hill junior school, i well remember the smell from mitchells and butlers brewery, think it was the hops.Teachers at cape hill, mr Burns was the head master and he was also a j.p, there was mr lane, and mr sharma, also a teacher who had wild hair, we called him fuzzy peg, he dies suddenly from a heart attack.There was also a mr johns, a welsh teacher, who i disliked intensely.Mostly happy days here. I moved up to Shireland high school in 1973, mr hill was the head master, he scared me!! I lived in windmill lane in the new town houses from 1971, we had the chinese playground opposite, it was on two levels, one we called big china and the other little china.My mum worked at gkn, i remember going down to meet her outside the work gates in heath street on friday at tea time when she was on afternoon shift, she would give me money to go up the precint to the chippy to get tea for me, my brother and sister.On friday nights, there was a disco at st matthews school 7-10, we felt really grown up being allowed to go and it was great fun.Saturday we would go up the cape to the market to do the shopping, the market was great back then, there was something for everyone, i remember buying ex model shoes for about 50p, and buying the latest fashions. There was a china stall, teddy greys, len russells fruit and veg who i worked for after leaving school, there was also his son tony who also sold fruit and veg and then later, tonys son also went into the family buisness.The little market was just as good, the last time i was there it was very run down and not at all how i remember it. All of my family lived close to each other in those days.My great nan lived in oxford road smethwick, we used to ride up to see her and do odd jobs and shopping for her, the days seemed sunny and longer then, oxford street seemed to be full of old people.There was a fruit and veg shop, a little shop which sold everything, sweets included, just down by st stephens church( no longer there) there was a butchers where i would go to get my nan a chop with a kidney if possible.The coal man used to call to deliver coal for her real fire and davenports for beer.On saturdays if west brom were at home, you could see people walking to the hawthorns in their hundreds and the noise was deafening. Smethwick high street was brilliant, it had everything including woolworths, the little toll house was a hat shop back then, happy days
