Originally Lodge Rd was a continuous road that started at
The Flat and rose steeply, as you travelled west, terminating near Winson Green Prison, I don't know where
Lodge came from (dictionary:
A small house at the gates of a park, but there are other meanings too numerous to list), in the old days of horse and cart deliveries a horse bolted from the top end of Lodge Rd and ploughed into Douro Wines' window causing considerable damage, thankfully no-one was injured except the horse which died, after that incident locals called the off-license
The Hole in the Wall. (Long before cash-points!).
Douro Wines was not the nearest off-license to my parents' house in Heaton St (in the 50s), about 15mins walk, but we did use it occasionally as it was en-route to my uncle's house in Park Rd, the off-license for me was notable as it was one of the few outlets in the area, at the time, for Blue Ribbon Biscuits.
Our nearest outdoor (off-license), as we called it, was a converted terraced house a few doors along from ours, from a very early age (5 or maybe even younger) I was pressed into service to get my folks' beer bottle re-filled, recycling was part of life then, you purchased a large brown bottle (at least 1 ltr) and then you just got it refilled, a flimsy paper seal was applied to the cork (which I guess was a licensing requirement) to evidence any tampering.
Happy New (Brexit) Year.
Peg.