00:00expressionstar.com we're doing a love your neighborhood today and we're in Bearwood
00:05sunny Bearwood it's often associated with Birmingham and Edgbaston and parts of it
00:12are indeed in the Edgbaston ward but the main part of Bearwood has been incorporated into
00:18Samwell and Smethwick and there's a real sense of identity in the area some of it surrounds the
00:24famous Bear Hotel which still stands on the corner of Bearwood Road and Three Shires Oak Road let's see
00:32what people like about living in Bearwood now Julie what do you say when people ask you where you're
00:40from I say I'm from Bearwood right and if they're from something far afield I always say near Birmingham
00:47if I'm abroad I'll say near Birmingham because they're now Birmingham and then I'll tell them
00:52the accent oh I can tell by your accent but I'm black country yeah so but yeah I'm proud to live here
00:59it's it's a lovely community lots of things going on there's lots of arty things coming up and
01:04Thimble Mill Library you've got theatre down there and bands it's yeah it's brilliant and have you
01:10lived here most of your life or all your life since the early 80s right okay and when Wendy you've
01:18fairly recently retired as a librarian at Thimble Mill Library you've been working there since 1991
01:25so you obviously know the area and the people what is it about the area you like okay it's just a really
01:30good community and working at the library as well that was the hub so you know lots of people from
01:37Bearwood go in there and people make friends there you know we have all different events and young mothers
01:43meet people so it has got a really good community lots of things going on and what are you what are
01:48you doing now you've kind of retired or took a break from that just going out and enjoying having
01:54coffee mornings basically yeah that's uh yeah and fish and chips at the Bear Tavern which which look
02:00lovely so famous fish and chips yeah famous pub as well so we won't keep you any longer because you've
02:06got your lunch so thanks for talking to us yeah and we're here with uh Bob Bob Adams uh who's not
02:13actually from Bearwood uh you're from the Langley area but you come to Bearwood regularly to meet your
02:19friend Nigel and do you do a bit of shopping as well um occasionally but generally i can get the
02:28boat straight to you from Langley yeah good um communications isn't transport uh communication and
02:35you're sprightly 85 you don't mind us saying no no no no what is it you like about Bearwood in
02:42particular the high street uh i used to come here to go to to uh Bearwood Chapel yeah which is just down
02:54the road yeah and uh um i sort of there's a good range of shops here yeah but that that's that's true
03:04at any place yeah because the Langley's a bit of a smaller area isn't it in terms of shopping well
03:12it's it's actually it's still a village atmosphere yeah yeah this isn't so i mean Bearwood's the posh end
03:22of smithy and Nigel um you're not actually from Bearwood are you from Cradley Heath black country
03:29lad black country lad yeah oh deal oh deal well Bearwood's a black country as well isn't it it's
03:34more Birmingham is it does he come into black country does it this is well this is what we're talking
03:39about today identity and uh uh people who live or or come here my dad my my dad's side my gran was uh
03:47she did the the nails and the four jeans in back in the day my dad was a drop food stamper yeah right
03:52until he retired 17 20 years ago whatever wow used to love it yeah so it was very well when i was left
03:59school it was very heavy industry hence the black country yeah four jeans pieces for the for the mine
04:05for cars yeah and of course computers and things things have moved on yeah but you used to play golf
04:12at walley woods did you yes i've played there yeah yeah do you still play golf no no i was rubbish at it
04:17i played on the computer yeah and also played at brand all as well yeah brand all wally woods
04:26what's the sort of vibe when you come to barrel because you meet uh bob uh regularly what what what
04:33sort of it's very relaxing as you can see it's relaxing do you think that the prices are a good
04:39around here for shopping i don't know i don't know i don't know i don't know shopping but the food
04:42i mean i've had that that was six pounds yeah i mean you couldn't do it yourself
04:47no for that i mean two lots of chicken potato um sweet corn well you pick what you like
04:55and the guy's friendly he he knows what you like and he brings you he brings the drinks over and that
05:00yeah and there's it's a short hop on the bus for you just for me 25 yeah not for a lot
05:06no he goes into our zone then up the agony road yeah and drops me at bearwood yeah so you're going to
05:11continue to meet here and in bearwood in the near future yeah like it yeah it's nice quite a few times now
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