Author Topic: Milk Street old flats  (Read 33737 times)

Phil

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Re: Milk Street old flats
« Reply #11 on: March 05, 2009, 08:30:28 PM »
berniew

I don't know if Quarashi still has anything to do with the Manzil, but I can't see the crafty old fox letting go of it if it was still making money.

The thing I remember most about when it was being fitted out was he got an old Sikh chap about 70 to do the frontage woodwork. I watched him cut all the Indian temple style arches out free hand with a handsaw that cut on the back stroke. It was wonderful to watch and he did a better job than most would today with templates ans power tools.

I haven't been that way for years now, at least five so I don't even know if it is still open.

Phil
Phil died in 2020. RIP.

berniew

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Re: Milk Street old flats
« Reply #12 on: March 05, 2009, 09:59:12 PM »
the Sikh chippies used to fascinate me with their back to front saws they looked good tradesmen to me but seemed to carry comparatively few tools , but my knowledge of carpentry is very limited , I haven't seen a Sikh chippie on site for donkeys years ,they must have found something that pays better . Bernie

Phil

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Re: Milk Street old flats
« Reply #13 on: March 06, 2009, 01:23:21 PM »
berniew

I know, you could watch them turn up on site. an English chippy with his massive toolchest and a Sikh chippy with his little bag and that mostly was to carry his curry for lunch. They turned out the same amount of work and sometimes of a better quality.

I spent most of my working life allied to the building trade and watched it go from being an industry where you could make a fortune to what it is today. Ruled over by the government, the taxman and idiots from the Dept of Health & Safety. Not that I disagree that it needed some reorganisation but you can take thing too far.

Phil
Phil died in 2020. RIP.

john2000

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Re: Milk Street old flats
« Reply #14 on: March 06, 2009, 01:47:33 PM »
I did some work to a coffee bar across the road from the Cannon Pub, this little guy was working for the owner of the coffee bar, I'm doing my bit fitting the counter and back panels with mirrors, when this little guy came his boss said, something about a new front door, at the back of the shop there was some hard wood planks, this guy also had Micky mouse tools, but he made a front door that any carpenter/joiner would be proud to say he had made it, ( this little Sikh looked about 90 years old, ), but he made a beautiful job of the door,

This taught me to let the man do his job, when I was in Africa, all I said to the carpenter, hang the doors, and he did, OK, it was a bit funny the way he started but when it was finished I could not fault the carpenter.
Only one time did I have a "carpenter", who didn't understand what I said, so it was hands on I hung the door fitted the lock, and said OK now thats what I want,
the "carpenter". hung the doors just the way I had, he even put a cross on top of the door to tell him which side the hinges where Tobe as I did,

lessen learnt.... let the guy show you what they can do, don't think because he's black/green/blue, he doesn't know what to do, ( he may know more than you"),

J2..




Growing old is mandatory..........Growing up is optional

Phil

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Re: Milk Street old flats
« Reply #15 on: March 06, 2009, 01:59:44 PM »
John

That cafe across the road from the Cannon Hill would it have been the Moonshine in Court Rd?

If so, it was the first place that I ever heard proper reggae music being played on a juke box. It was a fantastic place in the early 60's.

Phil
Phil died in 2020. RIP.

john2000

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Re: Milk Street old flats
« Reply #16 on: March 06, 2009, 02:47:10 PM »
Phil, yes it was, the main contractor was Pakistani, I did some work for them over the years, and they paid well, ..J2
Growing old is mandatory..........Growing up is optional

berniew

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Re: Milk Street old flats
« Reply #17 on: March 06, 2009, 11:37:57 PM »
Phil you don't know how lucky you are not having to work in the current  " Health and Safety "conditions I am currently doing electrical surveys on council houses and I am required to wear hi viz vest ,steel toe capped boots , gloves , goggles ,and if there is any scaffold a "hard hat " in addition i carry a first aid kit and a fire extinguisher , once inside the properties there are 2 year olds with no shoes on and 80 year olds in sippers and pyjamas neither of which need any protective clothing of any kind .  these people live in the environment that i am working in and if it's not safe to walk around your own house without protective clothing then they should be moved out while these jobs are done , otherwise there is no need for me to be dressed like Bob The Builder,it's really frustrating. John your certainly right there never judge a book by it's cover  Bernie

Phil

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Re: Milk Street old flats
« Reply #18 on: March 07, 2009, 01:57:04 PM »
berniew

I'll tell you what use to frustrate me, when I retired health & safety were just begining to amass their powers. So when tendering for a contract in addition to having submit method statement, you also had to submit a health & safety plan both specifically tailored for the contract in question. Depending on the size of the contract this could put an extra day on submitting a tender. Nobody paid you for this extra time and there was no chance of adding it to the price.


Phil

 
Phil died in 2020. RIP.

Phil

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Re: Milk Street old flats
« Reply #19 on: March 07, 2009, 07:06:06 PM »
berniew

Did you go to school here? I would imagine it was your closest school (Floodgate St). Or did you travel further afield.

Phil
Phil died in 2020. RIP.

berniew

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Re: Milk Street old flats
« Reply #20 on: March 07, 2009, 10:06:49 PM »
Hello Phil  I used to live in Small Heath and went to Little Green Lane and Alston Road senior school but both my parents went to St Micheal's in Floodgate Street . On the subject of Health and Safety , about 4 years ago I worked for a company at Walsgrave hospital in Coventry and they had prepared method statements and all the rest of it and bought 10 pairs of glass fibre steps , at about £200 per pair as the H & S spec required , after 3 days all steps were only to be used on a permit basis and this chap had no option but to hire podiums & pop ups and his steps were just a waste of money Bernie

Phil

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Re: Milk Street old flats
« Reply #21 on: March 08, 2009, 08:56:39 PM »
berniew

Part of my game was demolition, it is hard enough tying to word a method statement for that. What is harder still is trying to keep the blokes to follow the procedure laid down in it.

What was even harder was trying to get these safety officers who didn't have the first idea why sometimes circumstances just wouldn't allow the the method statement to be followed.

They would come up with pearls like you can't do that its not in your statement when you were trying to stop the side of a building where a crack had opened up unexpectedly dropping into an unprotected area.

Phil
Phil died in 2020. RIP.


 

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