Birmingham - 1980's & 2017

[Stravinsky]

Another one of my now and then series

The canals around Birmingham back in the 80's before the regeneration, and afterwards

[Clicker]

Fantastic  stuff  this is  Strav !    What a difference 30 odd years make eh ..Are you entering the  Calendar Challenge...?

 If you have  12 before images  you could do a Then  and Now Calendar of Birmingham with the  Before images as small insets  in the  Now  versions  ...

Just a thought ... 

pssst.  Looks like you missed the final M on the  title .... 

[kev7d]

It’s interesting how things change so much over a relatively short space of fine.  

[Stravinsky]

7 hours ago, Clicker said:

Fantastic  stuff  this is  Strav !    What a difference 30 odd years make eh ..Are you entering the  Calendar Challenge...?

 If you have  12 before images  you could do a Then  and Now Calendar of Birmingham with the  Before images as small insets  in the  Now  versions  ...

Just a thought ... 

pssst.  Looks like you missed the final M on the  title .... 

Well spotted ... it was late at night :-)

I'll have to look at the calendar challenge, as said elsewhere Ive been so tied up this year Ive lost track of a lot of things 

[NannyFerret]

I never even knew the canals existed in the middle of Birmingham existed until a few years ago,now I didn't know what they looked like before, so thanks for sharing.

We used to enjoy a walk along the canal side and went on one of the long boat trips.

I was especially interested in the really old rusty longboats that we saw further along the canal.

[Kobione]

Always interesting to see a 'then and now' Strav, nice ones.

[Stravinsky]

On 24/01/2018 at 09:01, NannyFerret said:

I never even knew the canals existed in the middle of Birmingham existed until a few years ago,now I didn't know what they looked like before, so thanks for sharing.

We used to enjoy a walk along the canal side and went on one of the long boat trips.

I was especially interested in the really old rusty longboats that we saw further along the canal.

I have quite a few canal shots ..... the rejuvenation in the 80's turned that area into a very desirable place to live .. as well as all the restauranta and bars that have sprung up.

[Korky]

Two fascinating images - I really enjoyed seeing them.

A good idea from Frau Klik as well - your 'then and now' shots would make a great calendar.

Korky

[kcbrecks]

We went on a Sunday school outing for the day around 1954 with us all in a butty boat pulled by a barge all through this and out to Barnt Green. It gave a few of us a 'good' idea so we used to go cycling along the towpaths all over the area including around Birmingham city centre. The canal workers weren't happy as 'Cycling Prohibited' signs were everywhere but there were so few people around we took no notice. We went as far as Dudley the other way from our home town of Smethwick. I did some work on a night club in Gas Street basin which I think was probably the first time anything was done like it in Birmingham, it was the idea of a small group of motor racing enthusiasts call the Opposite Lock Club - a pun in two ways.

In two or three years of towpath cycling none of us fell in, but there were always plenty of dead dogs and cats bobbing about - cheaper than the vet.

Thanks for the memory, Stravinski.

[Stravinsky]

9 minutes ago, kcbrecks said:

We went on a Sunday school outing for the day around 1954 with us all in a butty boat pulled by a barge all through this and out to Barnt Green. It gave a few of us a 'good' idea so we used to go cycling along the towpaths all over the area including around Birmingham city centre. The canal workers weren't happy as 'Cycling Prohibited' signs were everywhere but there were so few people around we took no notice. We went as far as Dudley the other way from our home town of Smethwick. I did some work on a night club in Gas Street basin which I think was probably the first time anything was done like it in Birmingham, it was the idea of a small group of motor racing enthusiasts call the Opposite Lock Club - a pun in two ways.

In two or three years of towpath cycling none of us fell in, but there were always plenty of dead dogs and cats bobbing about - cheaper than the vet.

Thanks for the memory, Stravinski.

Yes, the opposite lock was one of my haunts, saw George Melly there - it was owned by the Hone Brothers, and Martin Hone was an instigator ib bringing the motor racing to the streets of Birmingham in the 1980's. I cycle the canal path myself, but the opposite direction towards Kings Norton 

[kcbrecks]

Me and my father actually insulated the ceilings on the club as one of my colleagues was a member of the racing team's pit crew. John Morris of builders Morris and Jacombs was also in the team and probably the money behind it. As I remember the tale was they had already more or less fitted out an old lockside building at Tardebigge then had planning permission refused. The arrangement was you could help build the place and have life membership or get paid for the work. I wasn't bothered about clubbing so got paid. It was a hairy job, and right high up in the apex of the roof on the rather wobbly scaffolding was not funny, now my dad, who had been brought up in a very devout protestant family was singing 'Nearer to God am I' as we were gently swaying 30ft up. Oh Happy Days.