A Heatwave Hub Marketing Homage

The summer of 1976 has gone down in folklore as one of the hottest ever on record, with day after day of baking heat lasting for weeks. The young Chairman was there to experience it first hand, living near West Bromwich and being subjected to the Wurzels’ ‘Combine Harvester’ repeatedly by neighbour Mad Matthews. Fifty years on, another prolonged heatwave is taking hold so we have perfect conditions to relive D9's youth... 

- All aboard the 47 -

Trip Log: Thursday 16th July 2026 and it doesn't seem five minutes since we were last in the Wednesbury area, full of World Cup excitement. Alas the country is now recovering from the agony of England's semi-final defeat to Argentina but the Hub Marketing Board put aside any lingering melancholy when meeting at the Great Western Street tram stop. Chairman D9 is in charge of the evening's itinerary, picking out places that bring back personal memories of his schooldays - he had hair back then! - and his first instruction is to board the number 47 bus for a ride along Ridding Lane, Hydes Road and Crookhay Lane. To get ourselves into even more of a nostalgic mood, the WME Silly Song is Max Bygraves and 'The Drought of 76', complete with references to water rationing and Percy Thrower's radishes!

- The Coach & Horses -

Passing the Gough Arms as Mr D9 recalls a character nicknamed the 'Hateley Heath Beast' (she had a certain liking for bus drivers), we make our first port of call the Coach & Horses on Kesteven Road. This has been spruced up since we last came and has banners stating that it is under new management, although it still counts as a flat-roofed estate pub however much they try to make it look more fancy. According to the Chairman, some teachers at the nearby Menzies High School (nowadays renamed as the Phoenix Collegiate) might have been known to have a sneaky tipple in here back in the day. Our choice of lubrication is Carling, giving the Secretary a £3.50 discount which would seal spreadsheet honours as the trip unfolds. ODI cricket meanwhile shows on the big screens with Jasprit Bumrah batting for India at Cardiff.

- Remembering Menzies C Block -

Our very own Chairman was himself a pupil at Menzies in the 1980s so Marsh Lane has us travelling back in time, pointing out where the entrances to B Block (containing the school's library plus Maths and Geography classrooms) and C Block (housing the English, Drama and Art facilities) would have been. The athletics track appears to have been repainted and tidied up after previously falling into disrepair, although it's far too warm to contemplate running the 400 metres today. Instead we recreate the route a youthful D9 would have taken to get home at the end of a busy school day, briefly linking onto Jubilee Street before Princess Grove has apparently changed very little since the late 1970s. Some of the garden fences and concrete lampposts could well still be intact from when this part of the estate was originally built.

- Outside the former D9 family home -

It was back during the spring of 1976 when the Chairman first moved to what would be the D9 family home for his formative years. This means the likes of Caldwell Street, Walsall Road and Alexandra Terrace inspire fond reminiscing on the long hot summer, even though hearing the Wurzels ad nauseam must surely have driven everyone to distraction! Other tunes to resonate off the Chairman's playlist include 'Save Your Kisses For Me' by Brotherhood of Man and 'Let Em In' from Wings, the latter a reminder of the chimes on Mrs Morris's doorbell. D9 thoughts of next door neighbours and old friends come flooding back at this stage of our stroll, not to mention the lady who ran the local sweetshop.

- Pennyhill Primary School -

And the memories don't just end there. Next up is Pennyhill Primary School, occupying a site bounded by Hollyhedge Lane, Willett Road and Connor Road. When the Chairman attended lessons here, it was effectively two conjoined schools (Charlemont and Hollyhedge) with the current name adopted circa 2007 when these were amalgamated. Young D9 would have been taught in the Charlemont side, where provision had first been established in 1929, whereas the Hollyhedge counterpart was set up from 1964 onwards. Some of the school railings look as though they might have been around since the 1960s actually, and our accompanying soundtrack has now switched to hearty renditions of 'Jeans On' by David Dundas.

- Royal Oak (Newton Street) -

All this wallowing in the past has made us rather thirsty so a pit stop in the Crown & Anchor is deemed necessary. More commonly referred to as the Jinglers, this falls under M&B's Sizzling brand with a predictable offer in terms of both food and drink, majoring on stacked skillets and big burgers. A cool glass of Carling is sufficient for our needs, allowing the Chairman to recall when the Edwards family used to run the place. The Secretary is pining for quality cask ale however and gets his wish granted care of the Royal Oak, a homely free house just around the corner on Newton Street. We've been here a couple of times before but it suits us nicely for well-kept Enville White, watching the Open golf from the comfort of a very cosy lounge.

- Spotted near the Spinney -

Pressing onwards, the next location lined up for D9 reflection is the Charlemont estate where Beaconview Road offers glimpses of several blocks of flats. Marshall House was demolished many years ago but others have survived, notably Camberley and Briarley (the tallest tower) which still have the hallmark of 1960s construction albeit with modernisation over time. Of the local pub provision, the Mill is sadly no more after falling victim to fire damage, leaving us the Spinney to supply our next slice of Carling action. We begin indoors in the presence of signed Chris Brunt West Bromwich Albion shirts then move outside to a plain beer table so that the Chairman can fully appreciate what he calls 'proper scenery'.

- A Gospel Oak nightcap -

It isn't only 1976 that the Chairman is keen to relive so the final two pubs on our mini-crawl enable him to dip into his 1980s catalogue. The Stone Cross is a large roadhouse midway between Walsall and West Bromwich, perched on a busy gyratory encircled by the A4031. The current pub building replaced the previous one in 1934, and after years of Mitchells & Butlers ownership it is now an Indian bar and grill. Yet more Carling is supped to the tune of Judy Boucher's 1987 smash 'Can't Be With You Tonight' and a bit of Bros might have entered the equation too. After helping hands from the 40 and 11A buses, our landing point ends up being the Gospel Oak near Tipton for a 1988-themed nightcap listening to the likes of Kylie and other Stock Aitken Waterman alumni. With that, our wander down memory lane is over but it goes to show how certain songs, locations and temperatures can really trigger vivid recollections of people and places that mean a lot to us. Cheers!