Happy Black Country Day! 🏭🥳🍻

Kate1949

Sue Nicholls (Audrey from Corrers) was born in Walsall as was Noddy (Neville) Holder.
Meera Syal is from Wolverhampton.
There is a statue and a bust of Phil Lynott in West Bromwich. Neither very good (in my opinion).

Sue Nicholls is actually rather posh, her father was an MP, Lord Harmer Nicholls.
Some of my college friends went to the same private school as The Hon. Sue Nicholls. 🙂

Wow! I didn’t know about Sue Nichols or Phil Lynott!
Especially the statue. I’ll have to look it up.
I thought that Phil was from Ireland

Callistemon you’re right about KE colleges, I’ve often thought the same.
I wonder why there are so many? 🤔

I’m a bit confused about Lynott.
He was born in West Brom but is Irish.
This is the bust. It’s blooming awful

Two more for the Hall of Fame, if they haven't been cited already:

Gwen Berryman (Doris Archer, matriarch of the Archers for many years)
Rachel Heyhoe Flint (Captain of English Women's Cricket Team)

FannyCornforth

Callistemon you’re right about KE colleges, I’ve often thought the same.
I wonder why there are so many? 🤔

King Edward VI, during his brief reign, founded grammar schools for boys and the charitable trust has built more, many during the Victorian period I think.

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202307/medium-740984-324fb003-f931-4eee-b45a-bc13bdd003d8.jpeg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202307/medium-61386-2e32a40b-c77d-4bdd-984e-0be41488fbe4.jpeg

Thanks Calli

Well I never! I’ve just learned that legendary horror film director James Whale was born in Dudley in 1889!
There is a memorial statue to him outside Dudley Cinema.
He went to The Blue Coats School

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Whale

My DBs went to a KESS Grammar School, * FannyCornforth* 🙂

And I knew a lot of boys who were pupils there too 😁

I bet you did, you minx!

We were all just good friends.

Although some of my friends marry KESS boys later on.

Married

Autocorrect

eazybee

Two more for the Hall of Fame, if they haven't been cited already:

Gwen Berryman (Doris Archer, matriarch of the Archers for many years)
Rachel Heyhoe Flint (Captain of English Women's Cricket Team)

I bet that a good few of The Archers cast are too.
Carrot’s daughter Lucy (can’t remember surname) was in it before she found fame in The Office.

I think that the actress Tamsin Greig, who was also in The Archers, maybe from the BC too.
I’ll check…

I had no idea about Rachel HF being from there 🏏
She’s a legend too

Sue Lawley the news reader was born in Sedgley. My husband used to drink in a pub in Kniver in the 70's and Rob Plant used to take his guitar and sing and play while having a pint. Regulars had their pint mugs hanging up on hooks. My husband called it the steps but that wasn't what it was called can't remember the real name. Roy Wood lived in Stourton in the road over the cross roads by where the Stew pony was . It had a huge brick wall road it . The Stew pony had its own outdoor swimming pool. It was knocked down years ago and houses and apartments built.

Anyone been to the Crooked house in lower Gornal where a bottle would roll up hill.

In the 80's Himley Hall had the Dudley show every summer. The glass firms had their own shows and other parts of the BC did to. My dad won prizes for his home made wine mainly at the Dudley show . Made from veg peelings or fruit. Mom had prizes for her knitting and I won some cut glass from one of the glass firms for my scones and Victoria sandwich.

Johnny Briggs was see in Stourbridge a lot of times.

The writer of the Shoe people books also came from the BC. But can't remember his name .

Godfrey Baseley who produced The Archers was from Alvechurch, not in The Black Country but he seems to have favored local people from the Midlands when casting for The Archers. He was a friend of my Godfather and we spent New Year’s Eve at GB’s house in the late 1950s.

Hugh Porter the legendary cyclist was born in Wolverhampton. Steve Bull who played football for Wolves was born in Tipton

How many of the Crossroads cast were from the Black Country?

Ann George (Amy Turtle) was from Smethwick

There was a sort of health spa next to my school in Quarry Bank.
It was used as the spa in Crossroads many times!
My and my mate Debbie often had a crafty menthol ciggie beside it!

The dad of my boyfriend sold a car to Stevie Bull.
He had a framed photo of them together in the kitchen!

Whiff re Robert Plant - wow!
The previously mentioned boyfriend was once on a train with him.
He was wearing a Wolves scarf and (very disappointingly) being a bit of a d***k with some teenage girls

Yes, Johnny Brigg s lived, handily for him, across the road from Stourbridge Golf Course.
Interestingly Stourbridge Golf Course is mentioned in one of Wodehouse’s books as being one of the finest in the country

I remember Roy Wood’s house!
We share a surname, and once at a university party I convinced everyone that he was my dad (no idea why!)

My brother regularly stood in the stands watching The Wolves. Robert Plant was often standing near him. They used to have the occasional chat.

I must admit that if I was one of the teenage girls on the train with Robert Plant I would have ended up in a bit of a pickle

A nice part of UK , Dudley , Walsall, Wolves .
Apart beer drinking in the area , can go back to late 60`ss with going to Discos in Walsall and Wolves the night club of sorts the catacombs .
When in RAF used to train it to Wolves, but also bused it from Stafford to Walsall.
Like to local food dishes as well .
Mick

Thanks Mick

Did anyone else go to the legendary club BJ’s in Dudley?
For a couple of years I went at least twice a week

Sorry, it was JB’s. Typing too fast!
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JB%27s_Dudley