Tag Archives: Carnival

The long march: 50 years of jazz band history

Readers who’ve been hanging around this ramshackle, leaky village pump for a while will no doubt remember how we’ve touched here on the history of local marching bands, particularly the Burntwood Blue Birds Jazz Band.

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Cliff and the Bluebirds – not Dover, but Birmingham!

Last week here I featured a film clip made be photo restorer and friend of the blog Lisa Ashby, celebrating Brownhills and the Black Country – Well, Lisa’s been at it again, and made a lovely clip about The Burntwood Bluebirds, the award-winning marching band from Burntwood.

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Burntwood Blue Birds reunion this evening

As usual, I’m a bit late to the party with this but this is a very important announcement for anyone who was a member of, or is interested in the marching bands so popular in our area that were huge from the 1930s onwards, but particularly in the 60s-90s.

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Float on

Here’s a nice image from the past for a Friday – and I’m hoping a fair few readers will recognise the faces and hopefully have memories of the occasion – the 1954 Brownhills Carnival.

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Marching through the memories

Long-term readers will remember well friend of the blog Wendy Jones, who donated so much material to the blog – both in the form of photos of the area before the mM6 Toll came through, and her main interest, the history of local marching bands, particularly the Burntwood Blue Birds Jazz Band.

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October 1993 – Quarry protest to Councillors

Continuing the scans of the Brownhills Gazette – I present issue 49 of the long lost freesheet, from October 1993 for you to peruse and download. I’ve had an incredible response to featuring these long, lost publications here on the blog.

Brownhills Gazette October 1993 issue 49_000001 Continue reading

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September 1993 – A day to remember!

Continuing the scans of the Brownhills Gazette – I present issue 48 of the long lost freesheet, from September 1993 for you to peruse and download – I’ve had an incredible response to featuring these long, lost publications here on the blog.

Brownhills Gazette September 1993 issue 48_000001 Continue reading

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August 1993 – It’s question time?

Continuing the scans of the Brownhills Gazette – I present issue 47 of the long lost freesheet, from August 1993 for you to peruse and download. I’ve had an incredible response to featuring these long, lost publications here on the blog.
Brownhills Gazette August 1993 issue 47_000001 Continue reading

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July 1993 – Sister’s anguish over grave theft

Continuing the scans of the Brownhills Gazette – I present issue 46 of the long lost freesheet, from July 1993 for you to peruse and download. I’ve had an incredible response to featuring these long, lost publications here on the blog.
Brownhills Gazette July 1993 issue 46_000001 Continue reading

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June1993 – All in a good cause

Continuing the scans of the Brownhills Gazette – I present issue 45 of the long lost freesheet, from June 1993 for you to peruse and download. I’ve had an incredible response to featuring these long, lost publications here on the blog.

Brownhills Gazette June 1993 issue 45_000001 Continue reading

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April 1993 – Community Student wins place at university

Continuing the scans of the Brownhills Gazette – I present issue 43 of the long lost freesheet, from April 1993 for you to peruse and download – I’ve had an incredible response to featuring these long, lost publications here on the blog.

Brownhills Gazette April 1993 issue 43_000001 Continue reading

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March 1993 – Shire Oak goes grant maintained

Continuing the scans of the Brownhills Gazette – I present issue 42 of the long lost freesheet, from March 1993 for you to peruse and download – I’ve had an incredible response to featuring these long, lost publications here on the blog.
Brownhills Gazette March 1993 issue 42_000001 Continue reading

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February 1993 – Dead-end village as bridge is renewed

Continuing the scans of the Brownhills Gazette – I present issue 41 of the long lost freesheet, from February 1993 for you to peruse and download. I’ve had an incredible response to featuring these long, lost publications here on the blog.

Brownhills Gazette February 1993 issue 41_000001 Continue reading

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January 1993 – Drugs Indifference

Continuing the scans of the Brownhills Gazette – I present issue 40 of the long lost freesheet, from January 1993 for you to peruse and download. I’ve had an incredible response to featuring these long, lost publications here on the blog.

Brownhills Gazette January 1993 issue 40_000001 Continue reading

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December 1992 – Governors respond

Continuing the scans of the Brownhills Gazette – I present issue 39 of the long lost freesheet, from December 1992 for you to peruse and download – I’ve had an incredible response to featuring these long, lost publications here on the blog.

Brownhills Gazette December 1992 issue 39_000001 Continue reading

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November 1992 – ‘The Community Cemetery’ – or is it?

Continuing the scans of the Brownhills Gazette – I present issue 38 of the long lost freesheet, from November 1992 for you to peruse and download – I’ve had an incredible response to featuring these long, lost publications here on the blog.
Brownhills Gazette November 1992 issue 38_000001 Continue reading

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October 1992 – Police Station to stay open

Continuing the scans of the Brownhills Gazette – I present issue 37 of the long lost freesheet, from October 1992 for you to peruse and download – I’ve had an incredible response to featuring these long, lost publications here on the blog.
Brownhills Gazette October 1992 issue 37_000001
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September 1992 – Brownhills Bobbies

Continuing the scans of the Brownhills Gazette – I present issue 36 of the long lost freesheet, from ASeptember 1992 for you to peruse and download – I’ve had an incredible response to featuring these long, lost publications here on the blog.
Brownhills Gazette September 1992 issue 36_000001 Continue reading

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August 1992 – Post Office Telethon effort

Continuing the scans of the Brownhills Gazette – I present issue 35 of the long lost freesheet, from August 1992 for you to peruse and download. I’ve had an incredible response to featuring these long, lost publications here on the blog.

Brownhills Gazette August 1992 issue 35_000001 Continue reading

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July 1992 – Brownhills Carnival story and pictures

Continuing the scans of the Brownhills Gazette – I present issue 34 of the long lost freesheet, from July 1992 for you to peruse and download. I’ve had an incredible response to featuring these long, lost publications here on the blog.
Brownhills Gazette July 1992 issue 34_000001 Continue reading

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June 1992 – Rumours, rumours, rumours

Continuing the scans of the Brownhills Gazette – I present issue 33 of the long lost freesheet, from June 1992 for you to peruse and download. I’ve had an incredible response to featuring these long, lost publications here on the blog.
Brownhills Gazette June 1992 issue 33_000001 Continue reading

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May 1992 – Proposed development of Sandhills

Continuing the scans of the Brownhills Gazette – I present issue 32 of the long lost freesheet, from May 1992 for you to peruse and download. I’ve had an incredible response to featuring these long, lost publications here on the blog.
Brownhills Gazette May 1992 issue 32_000001 Continue reading

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A temperamental old lady

When I playfully prodded Tony Winn earlier in the week to see if as one of the most knowledgable contributors on the subject of Ralph Ferrie, he might have information on one of the entrepreneur’s old trucks, I never expected to strike gold.

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Start me up!

I’m hoping some of the transport buffs or maybe even Ralph Ferrie expert Tony Winn might be able to help with this one that partner-in-crime [Howmuch?] found this week in a junkshop – what appears to be a press photo of one of Ralph’s vintage trucks, with a young lad pulling on the starting handle.
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Strike up the band!

This is a huge post, but it’s just so wonderful I couldn’t butcher it – Wendy Jones has been working hard and supplying me with loads of material relating to her time in the Burntwood Blue Birds Marching Jazz Band.
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The march of time

I think it’s fair to say that in writing and curating this blog, fate occasionally turns up some remarkable material – whatever else this thing I labour over has done, it has actually seemed to have connected people to their history, and on rare occasions it has put back in touch people who were once familiar, but became separated by time or distance.
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Chasewater, Environment, Events, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Local Blogs, Local History, Local media, Local music, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall Wood stuff | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Local or distant?

This is nice, quick one that came in at the weekend from reader and friend of the Brownhills Blog, Stuart Cowley, whose passion is Marching Jazz Bands and their history…2511-0 Continue reading

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The Cossacks of Walsall Wood

Horses are in the Black Country DNA – whether it was working with them to tow narrowboats or transport goods, marshalling them down the pit, or riding them for the sheer joy, these noble animals have a secure place in the local heart.cossackridersclearphotos2 Continue reading

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Fit for a queen

Continuing the Carnival theme (can there be a better one for such a summery spell?) Peter ‘Pedro’ Cutler has been weaving his rapscallion magic and dredging the newspaper archive, finding two pieces in the Lichfield Mercury of 12th July 1935 and 25th July of the same year.
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Marching on

I’ve had a blistering article mailed in from reader and friend of the Brownhills Blog, Stuart Cowley. Stuart, you’ll recall, has written and supplied some great material on the subject of Chasewater, and his pictures and recollections of the cafe there have been very popular.
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Cannock Chase, Chasewater, Environment, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Local Blogs, Local History, Local media, Local music, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community, Walsall Wood stuff | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 87 Comments