Author Topic: Lewis's in Birmingham  (Read 62014 times)

maggie

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Re: Lewis's in Birmingham
« Reply #22 on: October 04, 2011, 11:29:08 PM »
Does,nt anyone else remember the Zoo on the roof :(
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Angela K

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Re: Lewis's in Birmingham
« Reply #23 on: October 05, 2011, 12:10:10 AM »
Maggie, before my time I have to say but I do remember reading about the zoo on Lewis' roof; apparently the Manchester store included a full scale ballroom on the fifth floor.
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maggieanne

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Re: Lewis's in Birmingham
« Reply #24 on: October 21, 2011, 10:39:15 PM »
Does anyone remember the broken biscuits that you could buy in the food hall, oh, and the angel cake, lovely. My mum sometimes took me to the restaurant where I would have bread and butter pudding with custard, funny, I can't remember what dinner I had. How about queueing to see Father Christmas, all the way up those stairs, five flights I think. I don't think todays youngsters would have been as patient as we were.

Angela K

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Re: Lewis's in Birmingham
« Reply #25 on: October 21, 2011, 10:47:53 PM »

Does anyone remember the broken biscuits that you could buy in the food hall,
 

Hello Maggieanne,
 
I loved Lewis's food hall. I remember my mother buying nice biscuits to take home and also a little bag of broken biscuits which we would start to eat on the bus. My brother and I would try to help ourselves to as much food off the sample plates at different counters as we could - pork pie was our favourite.
Life is for living...and laughing!

sandrac

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Re: Lewis's in Birmingham
« Reply #26 on: October 23, 2011, 08:14:54 PM »
Oh the joy and excitement of queing all up those stairs to visit the real Father Christmas ( all the others were only his helpers ). Do you remember the fantastic window displays with moving figures and the amazing grotto,  Uncle Holly was a jovial man but I never knew why he was there . I nearly always got a john bull printing set ,  Know of the roof garden but think it had gone before my time We walked down New Street to see the lights and bought hot potatoes from a man at the bottom.
What happened to all of the starlings that used to roost in the city centre.
We used to take bread to pigeon park on a day out.
 

phil48

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Re: Lewis's in Birmingham
« Reply #27 on: October 30, 2011, 02:42:14 PM »
I remeber seeing father christmas, and uncle holly ,walking through the grotto with all the snow scenes also queing up the stairs but worth the wait i suppose modern day parents would be moaning and groaning about the wait but our parents were used to queing due to rationing  just took it as the norm, having a bowl of soup in the restaurant and the lifts with attendants calling out the floors and what was on them they seemed to go so fast and stop so smooth and the bottom floor that sold the best custard creams ever magical store! also the roof scared to death when i looked over the railings.
phil

maggie

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Re: Lewis's in Birmingham
« Reply #28 on: October 30, 2011, 06:55:13 PM »
I,m beginning to feel left out,  I never queued for Father
Christmas at Lewis,s but then again most of you lot never
saw the Zoo on the Roof either..
I remember going to the Co-op down Bull St for my Father Christmas visit.  The beautiful windows of the shops
along New St all decorated with Xmas themes.memories.
Had the shock of my life when coming here, Christmas is
of course our Summer but that had,nt registered then so
to see the shop windows with models in Bikinis drapped
with Tinsel, and dear old Santa in shorts sitting on the
beach  supping a beer was rather a shaker.
 
Skiting I can say I have already finished my Christmas
shopping and its all wrapped and put away, have made
my first lot of Rum Truffles so am quite on top of the Season.
 
do unto others as you would be done by

Spud

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Re: Lewis's in Birmingham
« Reply #29 on: November 02, 2011, 01:06:49 PM »

Just hope that the good lady does not see this Photo she was only 9 at the time.If she happen on it and I disappear off line for a few days you will know that I have been disconnected [or worse] ;)
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trapio

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Re: Lewis's in Birmingham
« Reply #30 on: November 02, 2011, 02:29:35 PM »
Don't regret it maggie, I never saw one ''on the job'', but once in some store a FC striding fairly briskly across a sales floor and off it through presumably staff door.
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Mary8790

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Re: Lewis's in Birmingham
« Reply #31 on: November 02, 2011, 10:52:15 PM »
I don't remember the zoo on the roof but I remember when you went through the door onto the roof there was like a little stream with goldfish in it and I seem to remember rabbits there also.  There was always great excitement queueing up those stairs to see Father Christmas and anyone remember the badge you got with a picture of uncle Holly on it?  We used to go over the road to Greys then and they had a little playhouse with wooden furniture in it.  We were easily pleased in those days but what great memories.

planetmalc

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Re: Lewis's in Birmingham
« Reply #32 on: November 03, 2011, 05:12:03 PM »
I think the zoo-on-the-roof was only on the roof in the warm season.        It was moved indoors during the winter and was on the toy floor (top floor), possibly on the overbridge between 'A' and 'B' blocks.        It got closed down (in the 50's?) after a guy died from a creature-bite (parrot or monkey).  :-\
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