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Where is This? 167
- Thread starter Phil
- Start date
bobsummers
Gone but not forgotten. R.I.P.
Phil it looks like Kings Heath high Street, but I think I'm wrong as usual!!
Frothblower
Lubrication In Moderation
I always classed it as on Tyburn road. Well it was on the corner of both.
Phil
Gone, but not forgotten.
I give way to the experts as Erdington is far removed from any area I would claim any expertise on.
It is E. Reeves Cafe 993 Tyburn Rd Erdington. Kelly's and a map put that between Kingsbury Rd and Burcote Rd on the East side of Tyburn Rd. So I suppose it is possible that The Norton on Kingsbury Rd could be opposite.
So Ragga I declare you the winner.
Phil
It is E. Reeves Cafe 993 Tyburn Rd Erdington. Kelly's and a map put that between Kingsbury Rd and Burcote Rd on the East side of Tyburn Rd. So I suppose it is possible that The Norton on Kingsbury Rd could be opposite.
So Ragga I declare you the winner.
Phil
Frothblower
Lubrication In Moderation
When I used the Norton, I always said Tyburn road, but I was wrong. The address of the Lidl store that replaced the good old Norton is 644 Kingsbury road.
Cheers Phil ...... it was a semi guess , i used the cafe around 1970/71
i use to play the bally hole in there you know the ones where you have
to get 3/4/5 in a line ... 16 used to be the best hole to get and they use
to pay you out in cash with 40 or over ........ happy dayzzzzzz
ragga ....
i use to play the bally hole in there you know the ones where you have
to get 3/4/5 in a line ... 16 used to be the best hole to get and they use
to pay you out in cash with 40 or over ........ happy dayzzzzzz
ragga ....
Frothblower
Lubrication In Moderation
The cafe and the Butcher is still there. Jenetta has moved a couple of shops up.
Paul Higgins
master brummie
Well, it’s not really opposite- and I’ll brook no disagreement! – Opposite the Norton was Eccentric Pumps. Couldn’t say what’s there now. On the other corner was the Birmingham Municipal Bank which became the TSB. That pic shows opposite and down a bit! As to whether the Norton was on Kingsbury or Tyburn Road, any Nortonite would say Tyburn Road. Though officially, I think it was Kingsbury Road.
I worked a Saturday job at Janetta’s in the early ’70’s, then known as Kay/Janetta’s after Mrs. Kay Ball, the then proprietor’s wife. Jolly’s was the local TV repair man and the shop with the clock (second from left) was an off licence (or was it the next one?). They used to sell draught beer from a tap if you took a bottle in- and would probably supply the bottle for a deposit.
The bike in front of the butchers was mine. I went to fetch it last year, and it was gone! The house, you can just see the roof, was the first in a row of houses and about three or four houses up lived Kenny Brittle, ex R.A.F. man and the most honest bloke I ever met. As the saying goes ‘straight as a die’. He would not, on principle tell a lie. If you spoke behind somebody’s back, next time you three were together he’d say ‘now tell him what you told me’.
Going up three or four houses more lived my mate Ray ‘Ghandi’ Gardiner. Frothblower might remember him. Sound as the proverbial pound, a good drinking buddy, except he was married and I wasn’t, which caused some friction at times! Many a Sunday morning, he’d say ‘another divorce, Higgy.’ If me and him went to town, or maybe Sutton drinking, his wife knew. As soon as he walked in the door she’d say ‘you’ve been with Higgins again, haven’t you?’
The butcher used to look after my mom. We didn’t have much, but he made sure she could always put meat on the table.
Lovely pic, Phil. Any more like it- I mean same area?
I worked a Saturday job at Janetta’s in the early ’70’s, then known as Kay/Janetta’s after Mrs. Kay Ball, the then proprietor’s wife. Jolly’s was the local TV repair man and the shop with the clock (second from left) was an off licence (or was it the next one?). They used to sell draught beer from a tap if you took a bottle in- and would probably supply the bottle for a deposit.
The bike in front of the butchers was mine. I went to fetch it last year, and it was gone! The house, you can just see the roof, was the first in a row of houses and about three or four houses up lived Kenny Brittle, ex R.A.F. man and the most honest bloke I ever met. As the saying goes ‘straight as a die’. He would not, on principle tell a lie. If you spoke behind somebody’s back, next time you three were together he’d say ‘now tell him what you told me’.
Going up three or four houses more lived my mate Ray ‘Ghandi’ Gardiner. Frothblower might remember him. Sound as the proverbial pound, a good drinking buddy, except he was married and I wasn’t, which caused some friction at times! Many a Sunday morning, he’d say ‘another divorce, Higgy.’ If me and him went to town, or maybe Sutton drinking, his wife knew. As soon as he walked in the door she’d say ‘you’ve been with Higgins again, haven’t you?’
The butcher used to look after my mom. We didn’t have much, but he made sure she could always put meat on the table.
Lovely pic, Phil. Any more like it- I mean same area?
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Paul Higgins
master brummie
Hello, frothy. That's because they moved Lidl up 6 inches!
Frothblower
Lubrication In Moderation
It was always on Tyburn road to me. Oh god I miss the old Norton
Paul Higgins
master brummie
Thanks Lyn. Frothy’s right. The Norton was one of a kind. There are stories yet to be told- if I dare!
Horace Stokes, the long-time landlord at the Norton was reputedly an ex-SAS man. Though we used to curse him, he really was a good gaffer. I don’t think he really barred anybody. He’d give you your ‘ticket’ if you misbehaved, but it was only a suspension. He’d say ‘you’ve got your ticket for three weeks’.
During the ‘80’s, after I moved to Tamworth it went right downhill, taken over by the druggies. It was sad the few times I went back to see what was a great local become real den of iniquity. Watching your back became the order of the day. Old Horace had retired by then. Can’t remember what the bloke who took over was called.
Good times, mostly good people. Saturday night playing three card brag. Sunday morning in at 12 for a hair (or two) of the dog. Sunday afternoon (before all day opening) a trip to the museum to while away the hours ‘til 7 and opening time!
If there’s an afterlife, let’s hope there’s a Norton. and if ther's a Norton, let's hope there's a Horace to run it.
Phil
Gone, but not forgotten.
Paul,
If you are tell me what you are looking for, I will see what I can do.
Phil
Paul Higgins
master brummie
Thanks, Phil. Pics of the ‘60’, ‘70’s of the shops or the Pype Hayes estate. If you could find any of the Norton, interior or exterior that would be icing on the cake. I have only ever found two, one on the internet after it closed and another in a book I have, about 1930 I think.
KarenDStokes
New Member
Horace Stokes was my uncle and he sadly died not long after retiring in 1986 at the age of 65. My cousin (his son) wrote a book about his life during his time in the Second World War call "No Ordinary Life" well worth a read.