well come lady jai  sit back and enjoy   your self     roy

Hi, I'm LadyJai and I actually live just over the border in Smethwick, but was born at St Chads Hospital on Hagley  Road which technically makes me half Black Country and half Brummie.


I'm 54 and enjoy looking at the photos of old Birmingham, especially from the 50/60's and the various changes that happened. I have to admit to being very fond of the 70's/80's City Centre and the Bull Ring, Rag Markets ect. It was "My Town", the one as a teenager living in Bearwood would travel to most Saturday afternoons.


I should also mention I support the mighty West Brom!


Well, that's a bit about me, I look forward to reading and joining in threads.

Thank you burdens for just being there when I was a kid. during my school days I attended Dennis Rd school annex just down the road from your shop. I would save my biscuit money which was supposed to be for my morning break and buy a cornet whenever I could. To this day Burdens ice cream was the best ever made. I now live very near Oldbury, it is so sad to hear of the demise of the business but rest assured at 75 years old I have never forgotten your Ice cream or ever will

A while before the 70s but I started my working life at Coleshill Street Post Office in 1962 and stayed there until 1964 when the GPO moved me on to another office.


The post office was, I think, next door to Geo. Alexander Machine Tools and just down from the Gaiety Picture House. I remember Gaskell and Chambers being the other side of the street and the unusually named Blackpool fish and chip shop also on that side.


I think it was a very deprived area to live in and was re-developed with extensions to what is now Aston University. I recently went a walk down there and, although it's difficult to envisage how it was when it's all been rebuilt, I suspect that the part of Coleshill Street that I know is now a car park as the road is divided.


Happy days though although I started work in the worst winter since 1947.

I was in The Oaklands from 1970-73.I remember the big sweaping stair case and the book shelves in the bedroom.I remember my favorite books were  Noddy & Big Ears (although I couldn't read at the time).I will always remember one night when we were all supposed to be asleep, we raided the book shelf and I brought it crashing down.We all jumped back in to bed (me with an armful of Noddy & Big Ears books).When Matron came in to the room, we all pretended to be asleep by snoring loudly (it didn't fool her...lol).I remember going Strawberry picking and we all sat down in front of the TV watching Skippy the Kangaroo while eating Strawberries & Cream.My favorite toys were the tricycles (one red and one blue...the blue one was the one I liked the most).It would be great if anyone could share some photos.I only have the one photo of myself taken at the Oaklands.