Birmingham Girls

by Carol Arnall

This is the story of my sister and I growing up in post war Birmingham. The story tells of our early lives in Balsall Heath, Birmingham, where we lived in a back to back house. How we moved to Northfield, and despite setbacks along the way, managed eventually to find excellent jobs at TASCOS in Stirchley, Birmingham. After which our lives followed different pathways; yet we still maintained our closeness as sisters.

136 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Following a serious road accident in the late 1980s, Carol Arnall made the decision to begin writing.
Having always had an interest in the Supernatural and reading tarot cards, she knew her first piece had to be about ghosts. When reading tarot, many people had shared ghost stories with Carol, so with their permission these were included. Local newspapers proved a great source of information, publishing appeals for stories, and there was no shortage of people willing to share their ghostly tales.

Carol produced her first booklet of ghost stories, Mystical Staffordshire, in the early 1990s. Carol had only intended writing one booklet, but it was so popular she wrote another, then another. Numerous ghostly booklets later she combined them into a book: Mysterious Happenings.

Carol's other non-fiction works include Birmingham Girls, Choosing Your Psychic Pathway and Ghosts, Angels & Hauntings.

In 2007, Carol decided to turn her hand to fiction and thoroughly enjoyed the experience of writing Dancing with Spirits and its sequel, Spirits of the Lights. These were followed by The Other Place, and most recently Jen's Story: Torn Between Two Worlds.

All of Carol's books, with the exception of the autobiographical Birmingham Girls, are full of mystical happenings.

Reviews

[linda osborne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Memories

I had a dear friend who once lived in several of the places mentioned in the book, I relived many happy memories of my dear friend "Dotty" I would recommend this book to anyone who knew the area in the 1950 and 1960. I picked this book because I am a very nostalgic person and love reading about history.

[Indie Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Please note: Indie Reads reviewers do not subscribe to star ratings. All reviews uploaded here will be assigned 4 stars.

Reading Carol’s book of reminiscences was akin to dropping into a friend’s home for afternoon tea and biscuits. Anyone who has ever read books by Margaret Powell, the chirpy Cockney, will enjoy Carol’s tales of life in the years during and after WWII. This book certainly stirred up my own personal memories of grandparents and family members, people and places who have a profound influence on our present lives. Carol has been lucky to have had a strong loving family unit to sustain her through her formative years and in this book we meet them all. We rejoice with Carol through the happy memories and sympathise with the unhappy times, all told with her warm West Midlands candour.

This book is a most enjoyable read for anyone who remembers these years and knows the area. Students of social history would be well advised to study this book for the background events and also how families adapted and made do in a country bankrupted by war. Carol’s personal story is a tribute to the family and friends she has known and loved and an affirmation of the power of the human spirit to win through at all times. History isn’t just about the good and the great, it’s about you and me as well.

Review by Joy.

[L.C. Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author Carol Arnall shares her memories of growing up in Birmingham, England, in the 40's and 50's. Her family struggled up from poverty after desertion by her father. Ms. Arnall adds many vivid details of day to day life that put the reader right in the picture. Her descriptions of the tiny homes and inadequate sanitary facilities point out just how rough it was in those days for poor families. She shares memories of her school days and her friends, visits to relatives in the country, and later tells about her jobs. Eventually her circumstances improved and she married and had a family of her own.

The book was written in a folksy way and made me feel as if the author were chatting with me while we shared tea in her home. She broke the book into small sections, such as school, pets, etc. My only complaint was that the book ended abruptly without a summing up. But overall, this was a charming book and well worth reading.

[Carole · Rating 4 out of 5]

a simple book written by the author, on stories and tales of her journey though adult life years ago.
Nothing remotely heavy or or anything but just a simply wrote book about life and ties past.

[Sharon Foxon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great quick read