Birmingham Splunch - 18th Feb

[Gungeman]

Going to try and make it

[gungeychris]

Whoop, managed to book it off work, I'll be there!!

[brick]

Will definitely be there.

[BillShipton]

At the risk of being depressing it all hinges on how my mum gets on at her hosital check up on 31st. If she's all clear I hope to be there.

[Richard]

Good luck Bill. I know what its like looking after elderly relatives.

[NastyGunge]

At the risk of being depressing it all hinges on how my mum gets on at her hosital check up on 31st. If she's all clear I hope to be there.

Yeah I know how that feels at the moment.

You coming Richard?

Latest update on attendees, if anything changes me know.

Should be's:-

NastyGunge
Mikenomic
Smiley and WamInBed
Messy Jessie
Bosunbob
Jonny and MissBeans
Candy Custard
Amy
Custard couple (2)
Henry Wilkox
Will
Jackspratt
Tight and Messy
Nuruguy
Totalfantasy (2)
Iainecgune
WetLookStu
Dunktankbabes with Hayley
Wamadeus
Gungeychris
Brick
Sirmessalot

Maybe's:-

Jojo and Lori
Dungeon Master One
Sploshman
Rick Turpin
Scarlet-Rose
Cdw355
MessyLaura
Bill Shipton
Splatter and Sploshguy
CKWam
Davythree
Madmalc
Messy Farmer
Mordicus
Ben1976
MessyMaddie92 and Donnylad
Jkl2k9
Gungeman
Master_messy


And Remember to speak to Dunktankbabes to order any gunge powder if you want it!

Plus I know MessyMaddie92 is looking to find someone to give her a good gunging in Birmingham to help cover her travel costs. Contact her for special offer details.

NastyGunge

[Richard]

I have mixed memories of Brum. I was a Wolverhampton lad, born & bred and went to the polytechnic in Suffolk Street, Birmingham during the 1960s. As soon as I qualified and left, they renamed it 'Aston University'. So I didn't get given a degree, just an external diploma. I still hold a bit of a grudge and have never been back to Birmingham since!
I'm currently looking into trains and will probably attend if its practical to get there & back in the day.

[BillShipton]

As a fellow alumnus of Birmingham Poly (which it was still called in 1974-1977), one of the reasons I want to go is nostalgia. I had a great time in Birmingham in the 70s. I am however aware it has been almost completely rebuilt since then!

PS Birmingham Poly can also include Alex Lester (him off Radio 2 in the middle of the night) and Frank Skinner as fellow ex-students (though the latter did his degree much later as a mature student).

[Richard]

I think I must have got the address wrong. Just been looking at Google Earth and found the building in Gosta Green, although only the front was built when I started; one of the wings was built by the time I left. I see that the 'Sack of Potatoes' pub is still there, I had many a pint in there. Can't recognise anything else but vaguely remember the fire station nearby.

[BillShipton]

Gosta Green (home of the Commerce Centre where I was allegedly educated) is now one big science park for Aston University now. I think the poly now renamed something like University of the Centre of Birmingham or Quite Nearby is now mainly at Perry Barr but I could be wrong. There were two 'studenty' pubs in Gosta Green, The Sack of Potatoes and The Pot of Beer, Ansells show pub (complete with armadillo shell table lamps). Been in both frequently but I favoured the Black Horse just down the road next to the undertakers - a proper boozer that invariably only sold mild! I bought a second hand fridge from there which was covered in wood effect sticky-backed plastic!

[Sidi]

I met my wife in the Pot of Beer, she was working there 23 years ago while studying at Birmingham Poly.

[BillShipton]

Yay! Small world and all that!

[messyjojo]

Cue Dvorak's New World symphony to the wanderings down memory lane as Bill and Rich remember yesteryear. What was there before nostalgia??? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Mq59ykPnAE

[Lizzie_Claymore]

What an extraordinary co-incidence! Only the other day, I was reading about the location of BBC Birmingham before they moved to Pebble Mill Studios (now sadly a large flat area of rubble according to the aerial pictures on Google and Bing) and part of the operation was based in an old cinema at Gosta Green which is now, apparently, Aston's Bio-Energy centre.

Yes, I think Birmingham Poly became The Uni of Central England in Birmingham. Apparently, after quite a bit of indecision, it renamed itself to UCE Birmingham, then reverted to the full original title before becoming Birmingham City University. It appears that its Birmingham Institute of Art & Design is still based at Gosta Green, along with an associated library, though there are plans afoot to move several chunks away into new buildings at some stage in the future.

I assume that some of the confusion with Aston is because one of the colleges incorporated into the original Poly was Aston Technical College

[BillShipton]

Thanks for the info, Claymore.

Gosta Green's little cinema was known as the Arts Lab in the 70s (a name very much of the decade) but I thought it was the old ATV studio before they moved to ATV Centre (now also being knocked down) but may well be wrong.

ATV Centre at the other end of the city was, of course, the home of Tiswas and I was lucky enough to work there for a grand total of six weeks but it is in a very sorry state now. Perhaps the Munch should go and lay flowers there? Or flans?