Hi Phil. I have just joined. Got to you via an old schoolfriend Janet Holmes(Nee Kimberley), whom I sat next to in St Joseph's School Long Acre/Thimble Mill lane. My parents owned a hardware shop which they bought from my Mother's widowed Aunt; in Bloomsbury street. we were there for the Coronation in '53. Shortly after that the property was served with a Compulsory Purchase Order by the council and we were offered new premises at Revesby Walk, which Mom and Dad declined owing to the gargantuan increase in rent !! We then moved to Kings Heath. The days in Nechells were most significant for me. The interspersing of two aromas first thing in the morning. The gasometers of Saltly and Duddeston Mill, vie-ing with the Hops and Malt from Ansells Brewery at Aston Cross - what could be healthier than that then? Summer evening playschool at Loxton Street School or a stroll to the Rock Cinema at Alum Rock or the Ashtead in Ashtead Row. Then a bit of Trainspotting:- left at the Turks Head, past the Library on the corner of Lingard Street, across the bombed site to the Railway line running through Saltly
Kind regards Tony