Happy Childhood Days

A Memory of Harborne.

We lived directly opposite the Royalty cinema so I just lifted the net curtain to see what was on. Next door was Miss Corbet and then the Co-op where we did our shopping. I loved watching them cut the cheese and weigh the sugar and send the cash on the overhead wire system to the lady in the cash box. Tuesdays and Saturdays were cinema nights and I enjoyed going to the old harborne in Serpentine Road. Queues would stretch down to Morgans sweet shop on the corner. You could tell when the film was ending as a staff member would walk down the aisle and hide behind the lower curtain ready to turn the handle to close the curtain. He stayed on his three legged stool till they needed opening again. Saturday mornings were the kids club. Two hours for 6d (2 /1/2p) The singalongs (Hands Knees & Bumps-a daisy) were great fun before Flash Gordon or Tarzan etc. On the way home it was a sausage roll from Finchers. The shop hardly sold much else. On Saturdays we'd go to town visiting the zoo at Lewis's and Henry's. I went to Station road Primary and Secondary Modern Schools and York Road Junior. Miss McGowan was the head mistress of York Road and Mr. Stanton headmaster at Station Road. I produced a class magazine which we sold for 1d for School funds. Old mates were David Haddon, David Poller, David French, John Daniels and a lad who lived in Cadleigh Gardens, Peter Evans. Wonder what happened to them all? I left Harborne in 1961 and have been back twice. Not like it used to be, but what is? They were happy days. David Groves and sister Ann who went to Hodge Hill Grammar School.

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