Walking round the Circle, about 1940

I lived in Hurlingham Rd so my approach to “The Circle” was along Kingstanding Rd from Haringey Rd, past a small school/Nursery, then the Birmingham Municipal Bank, past a high wooden fence, half way along the fence was a wooden hut, The Labour Party HQ. At the end of the fence was a drive way to the Community Centre. The first shop was Rochelles the butcher, they also had a shop on Kingstanding Rd in the Hawthorn Rd area of shops, Johnny Rochelle was in my class at Cranbourne Rd school. The next shop was Harris’s Cleaners and Dyers? Then Clares the Post office/Newspapers Sweets and Tobacconists Boots the Chemist Whitehouses a grocer. Bates a seed merchants Baines/ Wimbush the bakers not sure who? We then crossed the Kings Rd dual carriage way There were two shops Beresfords – Electrical repairs/ irons and steam radios etc Then came the Cozifit – shoes This brings round to Rough Rd the only shop I remember was Summers – the Barbers. There were one or two other shops on this corner but I don’t remember. The other side of Rough Rd was Recreation ground with a shelter and toilets, there was also a Roundabout. Next came Parkes the Greengrocers Then there was a little shop where they re-charged accumulators. I remember when I was older taking the glass accumulator in a metal carrying frame to this shop, the man wrote our name on a ticket and attached it to a terminal – ready for collection in “X” days he would say. Then came the chip shop. Palmers – sweets and tobacconists Hodgesons – Funeral directors This was the corner “shop” which brings us into Kingstanding Rd which at this point became a dual carriage way. I think we then had Knights – hardware and Knights – Grocers The Co-op was the biggest shop along here with it strange centralised payment system, when you paid for your groceries the assistant would write out a ticket for the amount along with your dividend number, place the ticket and the money into a metal cup which was clipped to an overhead wire, pulling a handle sent the cup whizzing across the shop to an office where the money was received and any change was returned in the same manner. Next to the Co-op was a butchers I think followed by Roses another Greengrocer. Opposite Roses on the Kingstanding Rd was the Police Station, on its roof was a siren which would warn us of air raids and of the “all clear” Then came the Billiard Hall where many years later I would spend many happy hours. Knights Cycle and toy shop was on the corner, its big window was empty they had nothing to sell during the war years. Round the corner was Kettlehouse Lane? I don’t know the shops here rarely went there. The rest of the “Circle” was taken by the Odeon cinema which stood between Kettlehouse Lane and Kings Rd and the Kingstanding Pub between Kings Rd and Kingstanding Rd That’s about as much as I remember of the “Circle” from about 1940, but I’m sure there is more to fill in.