The Flat, Lodge Road, Hockley

[Peg Monkey]

Wot? No Bank?! The fact there was no bank on The Flat in the 50s didn't bother most households in the surrounding area, most families were living hand to mouth and if they were fortunate to have a wage coming in it would have been cash and spent by the end of the week, but of course there were traders and the self-employed who were in different circumstances and for them it was a walk to Hockley Brook or the Jewellery Quarter for banking services. 
My father, like many others, never had a bank account, it's not that he didn't trust banks - he just didn't need one, he worked a 12-hour nightshift in a rolling mill and spare money for our annual holiday in Brean Down he hid somewhere in the house - anyone adopting such a strategy was well advised to ensure their cellar grating was chained shut - a favourite entry point for robbers, particilarly those with an eye on your gas meter.
Peg.

[Peg Monkey]

The Flat - Brummie Accent Epicentre?

I didn't see it but apparently there was an article in The Coventry Telegraph, July 2015 which was very negative towards the Brummie Accent - some professor sort postulated the accent held us back when appyling for jobs and we would do well to be silent rather than speak, not sure how much importance (if any) we should attach thereto - 4 well known so called Brummies were featured in the article but only 50% were correct:
Benny (Cross Roads) - Brummie
Ozzy Osborne - Brummie 
Noddy Holder - Walsall 
Timothy Spall - London   
......in ertford, ereford and ampshire......
Peg.

[Peg Monkey]

The Flat - Brummie Accent Epicentre?

A few years back the results of a survey were published in the press (Coventry Telegraph?) revealing there was only one accent less popular than Brummie: Scouse. Don't know how the survey was conducted - another job for the Z Team?
Peg.
P.S. Is it my imagination or does a non-Brummie attempting to mimick our accent usually end up sounding like someone from the Black Country with a strangulated hernia?
P.P.S I now live in Hampshire - had my haircut yesterday lady barber from Surrey - I just said Short and before I could say back and sides, do you know wot? ......Yep!!! Worst thing was she didn't ask me to prove my age before giving me pensioner rate!!!!
Ah well, that's life!

[Peg Monkey]

Norton's Department Store - Anyone whose local shopping centre was The Flat in the 50s was fortunate to have a department store the quality of Norton's. I was about 8 or 9 when my mom and dad bought me a Hornby Model Railway for Christmas and on many occasions after that I purchased accessories from Norton's - great toy department in the basement. My mother worked there as a cleaner and she disputed her final pay packet - Mr Norton himself got involved even though the query only amounted to pennies.
Peg.
P.S. I don't know why my parents bought my train set from Gray's, in the city, logically I'm sure they could have got it from Norton's, maybe they got a better deal.


The store occupied a corner site on the northern side of Key Hill at the junction with Icknield St.: https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=18&lat=52.4924&lon=-1.9151&layers=168&b=6

[Peg Monkey]

Norton's Department Store - Anyone whose local shopping centre was The Flat in the 50s was fortunate to have a department store the quality of Norton's. I was about 8 or 9 when my mom and dad bought me a Hornby Model Railway for Christmas and on many occasions after that I purchased accessories from Norton's - great toy department in the basement. My mother worked there as a cleaner and she disputed her final pay packet - Mr Norton himself got involved even though the query only amounted to pennies.
Peg.
P.S. I don't know why my parents bought my train set from Gray's, in the city, logically I'm sure they could have got it from Norton's, maybe they got a better deal.


The store occupied a corner site on the northern side of Key Hill at the junction with Icknield St.: https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=18&lat=52.4924&lon=-1.9151&layers=168&b=6

Astoness Lyn - I suppose it's too much to expect there is a way of highlighting a building on the above map with a red outline? E.g. would have been good to show Norton's in red. Only way I can think of is a screen shot of the map, create a JPEG, mark building in red and publish as an image - I suspect there is some infringement of copyright then.
Peg.

[astoness]

if you ask mikejee he should be able to post a map highlighting nortons for you peg...

[mikejee]

Below is a portion of the map in Lyn's link, which i think was from about 1905, where I have coloured in pink where norton's seems to have been in c1956. they had , according to kellys, also got a greeting dept on the corner of Hadley st, which I hav e also coloured in

[Phil]

Looking up Key Hill c1950.

[Peg Monkey]

if you ask mikejee he should be able to post a map highlighting nortons for you peg...

Thanks.
Peg.

[Peg Monkey]

Below is a portion of the map in Lyn's link, which i think was from about 1905, where I have coloured in pink where norton's seems to have been in c1956. they had , according to kellys, also got a greeting dept on the corner of Hadley st, which I hav e also coloured in

Thanks.
Peg.

[Peg Monkey]

Looking up Key Hill c1950.

Thanks.
Peg.