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Old 01-04-2013, 12:57
Madonna38
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I just went back as my son had an open day at the uni. He was born there, but we left ten years ago. The city was already being done up a decade since, but the Bull Ring and down by St Martin's is unrecognisable, now, even from ten years ago. Loved it. I hope to go back many times if he gets in (he has a lower offer from another uni, so he probably won't end up back in his home town!)

Museum just as we remembered it. And now everything pedestrianised - maybe twenty years after the cities in the North of England were, but still - it's lovely to walk down New St, now. Would be very interested to see old photos.

I have a slight link to Bham. We lived in a small row of houses that had a certain name - the smallest area in Bham. On the end house. Was our first home when we got married and we loved it a lot, an old Victorian terrace. Recently we broke down the biggest brick wall in my family tree and found my great grandad had grown up in Yorkshire with a stepfather. His stepdad, as a child (1850s)... lived in the end house of the same terrace where we lived for a decade. Same house! What are the odds of that in a city of a couple of million!

Chris, we lived in Kings Heath just before we left Bham. Just off the High St. Went back to look at all our old houses - two in KH. Felt quite nostalgic although we wre glad to get out of Bham at the time, now I have gone back, I realise how much we loved it, too.
Is it BCU he went for his interview? I go to that Uni. I was born just outside Birmingham and when I was applying at Unis I was convinced I wanted to get out of here but I went for a look around Birmingham and fell completely in love with the University. I was so happy to get in.

I know Brum sometimes gets a bad rep but I love it. It has a character. If you go down some of the little side streets you can find some great shops. Record shops being my favourites.
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Old 01-04-2013, 13:01
Libitina
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Does anyone else recall the 'ghost' of a spitfire that still flies over Castle Vale? My Nan swears she heard and saw it. This would be the very early 80's.
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Old 01-04-2013, 19:53
angelafisher
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Does anyone else recall the 'ghost' of a spitfire that still flies over Castle Vale? My Nan swears she heard and saw it. This would be the very early 80's.
I've not heard of that, but then I didn't move to Erdington until 1990. I do love the Spitfire Island and the new Jag on the side of the Jag building! Saw them putting it up. My son was fascinated.
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Old 25-04-2013, 18:53
Hassaan13
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Plenty of images here: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=468406

Have a rummage through and pick the best to show the rest on here.

Do you think we should just turn this into 'The Birmingham Thread'?
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Old 25-04-2013, 21:06
Steveaustin316
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Do you think we should just turn this into 'The Birmingham Thread'?
Good idea.
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Old 25-04-2013, 21:18
fender101
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I worked an 8 month contract in Birmingham a few years ago. My flat was a short walk from The Tap and Spile which became my 'local;. This pub must be pretty old.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7174/6...54a80079_z.jpg
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Old 25-04-2013, 22:19
mazzy50
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Plenty of images here: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=468406

Have a rummage through and pick the best to show the rest on here.

Do you think we should just turn this into 'The Birmingham Thread'?
I love this picture of the old library - before my time I'm afraid. It looks like a beautiful building.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y89...OldLibrary.jpg
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Old 25-04-2013, 22:32
stargazer61
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I love this picture of the old library - before my time I'm afraid. It looks like a beautiful building.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y89...OldLibrary.jpg
Oh. I used to love going to the library to study............it was such a fascinating place with a real atmosphere, unlike many of the souless palces today. Was there one afternoon when there was a thunderstorm; it went very, very dark, and you could see the lightening flashing around the dome!
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Old 25-04-2013, 22:58
mazzy50
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I kept seeing references to the old New Street station on that thread you linked to Hassan, but all of the photos had been removed. I've just found this photo on wiki and I cannot believe that such a beautiful station was demolished so that Brummies could spend several decades scurrying down to a dark, dingy miserable subterranean nightmare. Unbelievable.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Newstreetold.jpg
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Old 25-04-2013, 23:08
stargazer61
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I kept seeing references to the old New Street station on that thread you linked to Hassan, but all of the photos had been removed. I've just found this photo on wiki and I cannot believe that such a beautiful station was demolished so that Brummies could spend several decades scurrying down to a dark, dingy miserable subterranean nightmare. Unbelievable.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Newstreetold.jpg
The 1960's were a frenzy of demolition

The beautiful library went and an unside down step pyramid built in its place..........shockingly awful
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Old 26-04-2013, 05:57
Muggsy
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Plenty of images here: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=468406

Have a rummage through and pick the best to show the rest on here.

Do you think we should just turn this into 'The Birmingham Thread'?
You're posting some great links.

I'd forgotten the 'temporary' Camp Hill Flyover.
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Old 26-04-2013, 13:04
Hassaan13
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A flat being demolished in Lozells a few years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8DoSvCDsIg
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Old 26-04-2013, 13:11
mildredhubble
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A flat being demolished in Lozells a few years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8DoSvCDsIg
You have to listen to the sound, the countdown is hilarious.
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Old 02-05-2013, 19:46
Hassaan13
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You have to listen to the sound, the countdown is hilarious.
5, 3, 4, 3, 2...
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Old 02-05-2013, 19:58
Welsh-lad
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I'm not from Birmingham, but the redevlopment is sad to see. All towns suffered the horrors of 1960s/1970s 'achitecture' e.g:

Before:
http://farm1.staticflickr.com/125/37...8ca_z.jpg?zz=1

and after:
http://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/...4_3e6ec0ec.jpg
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Old 11-05-2013, 10:57
Hassaan13
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The canal surely is a nice place to have a walk.

Someone found some rare colour footage of London in 1927, it would be great if we could find something similar for Birmingham.
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Old 11-05-2013, 11:12
Rhumbatugger
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Thanks for all the pics. I'm terribly fond of Birmingham, I moved there when I was twelve and went to school in Kings Heath. I lived in the wrong end of Moseley.

It was a fabulous place to grow up in the seventies.
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Old 11-05-2013, 11:29
Hassaan13
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And the thread has been renamed!

It'll work better now. I've heard they are redeveloping the Bull Ring soon am I right?
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Old 11-05-2013, 11:38
angelafisher
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You're posting some great links.

I'd forgotten the 'temporary' Camp Hill Flyover.
If you went over it on the top deck of a double decker bus it was almost like a white knuckle ride....it was back in the 70s!!

I used to love going to concerts at the Town Hall and the Odeon on New Street, they got some big names there too, Billy Joel, Abba, Black Sabbath, Bread, The Shadows, Blondie, Duran Duran, David Soul...well, some not so big names too.
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Old 12-05-2013, 05:31
dave clarke
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Is it BCU he went for his interview? I go to that Uni. I was born just outside Birmingham and when I was applying at Unis I was convinced I wanted to get out of here but I went for a look around Birmingham and fell completely in love with the University. I was so happy to get in.

I know Brum sometimes gets a bad rep but I love it. It has a character. If you go down some of the little side streets you can find some great shops. Record shops being my favourites.

Is Reddingtons Rare Records still going I used to work with a couple of the brothers and one used to bring stuff into work to sell before he got a shop
This was at Serck heat transfer in greet I lived in Sparkbrook
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Old 12-05-2013, 07:47
clive1975
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Is Reddingtons Rare Records still going I used to work with a couple of the brothers and one used to bring stuff into work to sell before he got a shop
This was at Serck heat transfer in greet I lived in Sparkbrook
Nope, reddingtons closed down some years back, eBay took a lot of the second hand trade away. It was my uncles shop so sadly missed.
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Old 12-05-2013, 10:35
Thine Wonk
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7X5zdWK6zc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkXEKHnn8TI - that's when they first opened the new terminal of the airport.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f63kIyo87o4 - construction works about 10 years ago.
When did the 'maglev' link stop, and I wonder why such a clever technology was discontinued. I'm sure it was still there recently, but not in use. I'd love to know why.
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Old 12-05-2013, 10:38
mildredhubble
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And the thread has been renamed!

It'll work better now. I've heard they are redeveloping the Bull Ring soon am I right?
Erm ???? Why would they need to do that?
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Old 12-05-2013, 11:21
Rhumbatugger
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Nope, reddingtons closed down some years back, eBay took a lot of the second hand trade away. It was my uncles shop so sadly missed.
That's made me sad. I loved that shop.
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Old 17-05-2013, 16:04
Hassaan13
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Anyone here visited the NEC, whether it be conferences, exhibits etc?

I remember visiting Lickey Hills at least 8 and a half years ago with school and managing to view more-or-less the entire city.
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