Author Topic: Selly Oak Memories  (Read 40255 times)

berniew

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Re: Selly Oak Memories
« Reply #11 on: May 11, 2009, 09:09:06 PM »
Hello Phil one of the strangest houses I have ever been in was around there , the occupant all had drink problems and after what must have been a real bender they decorated the kitchen with broken mirrors , like crazy paving grouted with glue. They had done the walls the ceiling and the kitchen units and covered the boors in an felt material and you can imagine how well it was cleaned and maintained , must find a new job soon   Bernie

Phil

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Re: Selly Oak Memories
« Reply #12 on: May 11, 2009, 09:43:16 PM »
Bernie

One of the jobs that we used to do was clean out the void properties for one of the largest Housing Associations in Birmingham. This was usually after the tenants had done moonlight or died.

All I had to do was go round and inspect each property to give an estimate. I have to be honest more often than not after some bad experiences I just opened the front door took a whiff shut the door and put the maximum price I thought I could get on the estimate.

I know I was a coward, but I generally like the contents of my stomach to stay inside my stomach. I felt sorry for our lads when I heard the horror stories they told me. The worst ones to clear out were the ones where someone had died and not been discovered for weeks. They were still pretty bad even after they had been fumigated.

Phil
Phil died in 2020. RIP.

tramp

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Re: Selly Oak Memories
« Reply #13 on: May 11, 2009, 09:46:43 PM »
Hi Roy,

2/9d was an awful lot back then.....so I was surprised you said that you were with the m.e.b. It was before my time of course, but I'd never known that they had electricity that far back - had they got wall to wall floors as well??? ;D ;D O0

tramp

Phil

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Re: Selly Oak Memories
« Reply #14 on: May 11, 2009, 09:52:45 PM »
We used to use a cafe in Selly Oak in the early 70's it was near the bottom of one of those long roads than ran from Raddlebarn Rd to Bristol Rd. It may have been Tiverton Rd and on the corner of Exeter Rd. Perhaps Sueb can confirm it.

It was high up off the street and had three or four steps up to a corner door. The reason why I remember it so well is because you got a very good value meal. If you ordered chips with anything they were always served on a separate plate, because there wasn't room enough of the main plate. No they weren’t small plates. They were both full size dinner plates. We sometimes drove a few miles out of our way to use this cafe.

Phil
Phil died in 2020. RIP.

berniew

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Re: Selly Oak Memories
« Reply #15 on: May 11, 2009, 09:54:57 PM »
When you see the bottles of Frosty Jack or White Lightening you can bet it's going to be entertaining ,the bigger the bottles the more entertainment Bernie

tramp

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Re: Selly Oak Memories
« Reply #16 on: May 11, 2009, 10:14:48 PM »
Phil,

I can see why you went out of your way - I knew a place that did a similar kind of thing in Cyprus - except that you actually got 3 plates!  The third had their own ''salad of the day'' which was always very good - I could only get there in the evening so always took my girlfriend - they were Turks and treated her like a princess, and without any 'side', genuine respect as we'd openly mentioned that she was at the British Military Hospital - most Turkish casualties were taken there - while I was obviously UN as I had to be in uniform out of camp.  We went twice a week for a good few months until I left.  A really memorable little place up a back alley that we found by chance.  They were a good open-hearted family that had that little gem.

tramp

roy one

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Re: Selly Oak Memories
« Reply #17 on: May 12, 2009, 11:25:48 AM »
tramp you are silly you know yes they did along with the gas tv and a milk man that had a n ors ancart don!t ya know
each day is a blessing and I bless each day when it comes

tramp

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Re: Selly Oak Memories
« Reply #18 on: May 12, 2009, 02:14:08 PM »
Roy,

Now you're talkin - when the milkmen were collectin on Saturday's and a bit on Sundays, the orsiz stood standin abowt fer longa so there were more orsmuck and I cullected that fer me granddad's wall climbing rose, his pride and joy - it wasn't the cullectin - it was getting it to him - when I didn't have a cart/trolley it was a right bu**er as we only had one bucket and it was back and forth a few times if the orsiz 'ad bin well fed,  And when I'd done, she said, "Ave you got any idea how you stink? Get that bucket washed out proply, then get ta the lav an' get them clothes off an purrem in the bucket - I'll get you a towel or somethink''  It was always the ''or somethink'' ::)

tramp

tramp

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Re: Selly Oak Memories
« Reply #19 on: May 12, 2009, 02:19:32 PM »
Roy,

Then came the price of progress which cost granddad while I made a few bob.  The Midland Counties got electric floats and I got a Saturday morning job with 'our' milkman to pay for football or a week of Moseley Rd baths.   I still got granddad a bit on Sundays, but the rose was on short rations some weeks!

tramp

sueb

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Re: Selly Oak Memories
« Reply #20 on: May 13, 2009, 06:33:08 PM »
Sorry Phil, I don't remember the cafe you mentioned but I do remember the Oak Tree Cafe.  That was definitely still there when I lived in Selly Oak.  There was also a brilliant book shop on the Bristol Road by the Bournbrook pub, which had loads of second-hand books, as well as new.  I worked at a firm called Lewis Woolf off the Bristol Road for a short time. 

Phil

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Re: Selly Oak Memories
« Reply #21 on: May 13, 2009, 06:53:01 PM »
Sueb

I know the bookshop you are talking about, I remember once asking him if he wanted to buy some books. When I told him how many he nearly fell off his chair. I told him roughly 25000. We had cleared a warehouse out that was full of them.

Phil
Phil died in 2020. RIP.


 

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