Author Topic: Urban Degeneration  (Read 17930 times)

surg

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Re: Urban Degeneration
« Reply #22 on: April 03, 2008, 01:56:46 PM »
mazbeth

The green block soap I remember was fairy household soap.  It came in a carboard box and you used to break it in half to use it, because it was an extra long bar.  It was used for everything in our house, it washed the floor, it scrubbed the laundry and it washed the kids (not the same bar for all).  Sometimes we used carbolic soap, when you had washed in that everybody knew about it, if the wind was blowing the right way they could smell you coming.

Phil


Yes phil. I'm only 42 but still use both kinds of soap. O0

Bannion

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Re: Urban Degeneration
« Reply #23 on: April 03, 2008, 02:09:21 PM »
My mother had both the red and green Fairy soap blocks.  Don't know if there was any difference between them  but floors and faces, let alone necks were cleaned with them.  Seem to recall the red for the body as you say Phil.   Not that we could afford it - there was no need for smellies for having been washed it that you had a smell all of your own -and that of the other kids in the road.

Was it called "Lux"?  It came in a carton and was slices of white soap.  It would be sprinkled into the coal fired copper boiler in the bathroom in order to wash the clothes in.  If it was a few items they would be put on the stove in a saucepan and flakes added.  Big wooden stick, and my job was to stir the washing in both the boiler and the saucepan.

Mother would drag the washing out of the boiler and put it into the bath where it would be pummeled by the dolly to loosen the dirt.  Then back into the boiler for a final heating.  Recall the house stunk of soap on Monday (in our case) washdays.   

Claude

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Re: Urban Degeneration
« Reply #24 on: April 03, 2008, 02:19:35 PM »
Phil and Bennion,
fair enough. Now I understand your point.
It looks like we agree.

jasper14

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Re: Urban Degeneration
« Reply #25 on: April 05, 2008, 10:14:32 AM »
Tell you what it does,nt matter which soap one uses they all cost a packet.

I use Pears or Lux, but remember well Carbolic and Fairy soaps, Istill like
the smell of Carbolic its a nice fresh clean smell..Oh and do you remember
Jeyes Fluid to pour down the drain,and their horrible toilet paper all stiff
and shiny, we are really spoiled these days eh..

mazbeth

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Re: Urban Degeneration
« Reply #26 on: April 05, 2008, 12:25:46 PM »
we've got Jeyes fluid under our kitchen sink...

my husband unblocked the bathroom sink (soap gunk and my hair goes down it I think  :-[) last week with caustic soda (an old remedy) and boiling water...told him to be careful...as I think fumes can start, and it shouldn't be splashed.
The silver metal of the drain has faded somewhat now  :o

last time we bought one of them sink unpluggers that you leave in overnight, which was obviously more gentle to the metal.
Let those that love us, love us. And those that don't, may God turn their hearts. And, if He cannot turn their hearts, May He turn their ankles so we may know them by their limping!- Irish blessing

roy one

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Re: Urban Degeneration
« Reply #27 on: April 06, 2008, 09:53:37 AM »
thats nice to see no linkes to back up what you say

this is the thing to do

 first go down any road in brum and just look at the filth then look at the houses and just see how they painted  then look at the bits of wast land that may be there and see what you can find old bed you name it and it will be there old cars no tax dull lights bulbs in the houses front and back garden like a tip then just look around and see what kind of folk live there  the point im trying to make is its folk that make a place and its folk that distroy it
each day is a blessing and I bless each day when it comes

jasper14

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Re: Urban Degeneration
« Reply #28 on: April 06, 2008, 09:05:04 PM »
Does anyone remember some houses being built in I think Kidderminster
about 40 years ago, because some Council Tenants had destroyed their
homes and used the "lawns" as a tip, there where houses built that had
concrete floors and breeze block walls, Metal doors so they could,nt be used
as firewood and the front of the house was tarmacked,the tennants lived there until they proved they could live by the rules...Maybe that is what is
needed to stop the "Urban Degeneration"..just a thopught..

MattM

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Re: Urban Degeneration
« Reply #29 on: April 13, 2008, 01:32:03 PM »
Hello all...my first post...

I am very concerned about the state of Birmingham.

I was born and grew up in Birmingham until 18, left for university, and haven't lived there since (except for holidays from university etc).  I'm 24 and I now live and work in London and visit my family in Birmingham every 4-6 weeks.

I have a sense of pride for my city but I am concerned about it's long term future.  Even the City Council's own reports for the long term admit that it has an economic disadvantage compared to many other cities like Manchester, such as the failure to attract talented qualified people to live in the city.

I get a month by month snapshot of the city as I come and go - what disturbs me is the fact that I see problems in prime landmarks like the bullring that go unfixed month after month after month!  Frames for signs with missing signage just left rusting month after month, temporary signs for events/developments left up years later! litter everywhere, cannabis smoking on the buses, evening buses only running every 30 minutes - it drives me mad to have to put up with these things in the second city! But what really exasperates me is when I see smaller cities in Europe with none of these issues...what is Birmingham doing wrong?!

I live in the Borough of Camden in London.  I live on an average quiet residential Victorian road - our road is swept throughout the day 7 days a week! Yes Sundays too! This is just an average residential street!!  When I first moved here I was amazed by that. When grafitti goes up on local walls or cable boxes, it's usually gone within a week! Dumped furniture etc goes within a day as special council  vans do their daily rounds for flyipping - Camden Council is pro-active and not responsive in providing these services - it looks for problems all the time and fixes them straight away.  I am extrememly impressed with the quality of council services I get here - Yes, I pay twice the council tax and get ten times the service here - excellent value.  Its the same in Europe, higher taxes, much better services.

London buses are much better than Travel West Midlands joke of a bus service - most routes run for 24 hours, and many are every 15 minutes between 2am - 5am.  You never look at a bus timetable in London, buses just come!

Don't get me wrong - London has some huge problems too - especially on council estates south of the river but some borough councils are doing an excellent job in the city and I'm lucky to be living in an example of how things should be done.  Birmingham City Council should take notice of how things can be done.

Phil

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Re: Urban Degeneration
« Reply #30 on: April 13, 2008, 02:35:26 PM »
Hello MattM

Welcome to the site, you are lucky to live in a nice leafy area of London (if it hasn't changed that is). I lived in SE8 for a while not so nice.  Like all cities Birmingham has its problems, but unlike London it does not get billions of pounds thrown at it for the slightest thing it needs.

You must remember that London is a showpiece and gets special treatment from the government, unlike Birmingham who does not have the finances to even sweep the street once a week, let alone 7 days a week.  I also think parts of London are in a worse condition than Birmingham even today and some that are quite literately falling apart

Those of us who remain here, think that Birmingham is doing the best job it can in very difficult times.  Unlike London we can't go running to the government everytime we want some grandiose scheme financed.

Phil
Phil died in 2020. RIP.

roy one

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Re: Urban Degeneration
« Reply #31 on: April 13, 2008, 03:47:27 PM »
welcome to the forum mattm phil hit on the head London gets the money brum gets some but not the same amount  but do not forget that London is going to get the games and that is going to cost but I'm sure that us folk in the midlands will not benefit from the games but we will have to put our hand in our pockets and help pay for it then you see London go down hill cut backs on this or that just like we are and i think the folk in London will be paying Lot more

 brum is doing OK yes some things do get left but its not to bad  the buses are OK the roads not to bad and the bull rings all most done and it looks good but mattm  you would not know how it used to be and the back to back houses they called them slums most have gone and so did the heart of brum
each day is a blessing and I bless each day when it comes

tramp

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Re: Urban Degeneration
« Reply #32 on: April 13, 2008, 04:32:07 PM »
Welcome mattM, and enjoy the forum.

Roy's absolutely right . I'm hoping to visit brum for the first time in almost 50 years, and everyone on here that I've come across as being worth listening to backs him up.....some others have even said, ''your memories are untarnished, keep them unsullied by what you'll find today''.  Yes, I'm nostalgic about the city that raised me; it (and we) didn't have a lot, most open spaces were ''bomb sites'' ( the original and real adventure playgrounds) when we were children and there were almost no tvs, fridges, washing machines and very few cars ''down our way'', but because, rather than despite this, the place had heart, as Roy said ''..houses they called them slums most have gone and so did the heart of brum''.

I'm glad to hear that you live a clean pleasant area.  I lived very briefly in the original Barbican almost 40 years ago, found the street markets good value and very interesting, and there was a department store called Gamages 5 minutes walk from Smithfield and Bart's that was utterly unique - they didn't just sell detached stiff collars (which I quite liked) they had them with rounded collar tips from before the war, and a wide range of armlets and tie pins, if anybody remembers them.  Even Harrods was still a civilised store with much merchandise within the reach of most folk, if they saved up for it.  They'd accept your cheque before bankers cards had been thought of.


 

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