How I escaped Tees Street/Birkenhead : I got 7 CSE's from St Hugh's High School [Grades 2-5 = COMPLETELY USELESS] so I studied O'levels at Birkenhead Tech and scraped [5 C's] whilst living in abject poverty with Dad who was very angry & depressed and regularly told me I was the "thickest of the bunch" and "would amount to nothing" etc etc (I HAD TO ESCAPE OR DIE !!). I was taking no chances and applied to EVERY School of Nursing [except London] . The DOLE called me in to cut off my benefit but I showed them hundreds of Job Applications and by then I had 50 Interviews. They were impressed and gave me Travel Vouchers to attend the first 7, all seven offered me a place [Dad refused to speak to me because I was leaving]. I chose Redhill in Surrey, one of the most affluent parts of the country. I never saw the majority of my friends again, amazingly the Dole gave me a weekly grant to help me relocate for the first year. Of course I STUCK OUT LIKE A SORE THUMB, I had a chance and passed everything and became a Registered Nurse. I certainly proved I was not anencephalic but could never be like "the Lady with the Lamp". Peter Carey - Cert Couns, RGN, RMN, RNT, B Nurs [Hons], PGCE, Pg DIP, RN [ALWAYS PROUD TO BE NORTHERN SCUM].
Well done Peter. I lived in Wallasey but leaving school, there was nothing but schemes with nothing at the end. Eventually I joined the RAF and did well afterwards. But leaving school during those years was a depressing time. Being young, it didn't seem so bad as we still had optimism but if you were older with a family to provide for, it must have been horrendous.
You should be proud mate, I am still in the North End of Birkenhead and things have not changed that much around here, though I have a full time job as a Manager and not one of the unfortunate ones, but well done to you for striving so hard to achieve what you have.
peter carey Well done peter hope you’re proud of yourself mate sounds like you really worked to get where you are and to work as a nurse as well is commendable fair play to you
👍 well done! I was in apprentice training and there's still a lot of no hope and why bother attitude today. If you want it bad enough you'll get it but no one will knock on your door and offer it.
I somehow escaped such a street. It took a long time. But here I am , just turned 60, in Australia and doing far better than I would have if I had stayed home.
I also grew up in such circumstances as portrayed here. Thought about emigrating mid 20's. Didn't as despites it all I am a homebird and never regretted that decision and I have visited a fair few places including OZ. The UK has 3 advantages over most other place on the map. It's landscapes it's history and no1 it's people and yes I know it has sewer scum too
THIS is why my family emigrated back in the early 80's. An era of pervasive hopelessness and diminished horizons. People finished school and signed on. Around us was an ocean of poverty and hardship, while the tv shows the affluence that apparently existed elsewhere that only served to reinforce the hopelessness of your circumstance. That was tough to square, but I was 8 years old at this time. I still am not sure how my family gathered the funds together to pay for all the costs involved in emigration, but we did, and our collective horizons and prospects emerged. Still dearly miss 'home', but my life took off elsewhere and so far I've never had a need that could not be met. 40 years and counting... Have mercy, the fellow in the suit that was 42 years old looks 66. Such I suspect was the hard scrabble of life, and hardships.
The young lawyer featured here was an absolute star for doing what he did. I was brought up in Birkenhead - I sat my A levels at Borough Road Tech, while signing on, and I was expected to drop the course if a suitable job came up. Both mum and dad worked to support me and my younger siblings. I was also lucky that a full grant was available for university - I would not have been willing to accept the debt students have today. After paying tuition fees, my grant came to £2100 a year for food, books and rent (13 quid a week!) My Birkenhead friends were not all so lucky - several of them succumbing to the scag (which saturated the place from 84-87 ish) or doledrums. It’s sad to watch the disenfranchised young man playing darts who had given up trying to improve himself - I recognise the effects of schooling and surroundings in shattering dreams of success and breaking people’s spirit.
I am originally from Scotland I have been living in Birkenhead for the last 15 years and I can honestly say that Birkenhead people are some of the most hard working friendliest I have ever met in my life is life.
I'm from Scotland and have been living in birkenhead for the past 2 years now a days there just like everywhere else there's more work for people down here tho
Giuseppe - Be kind to people. Mick has had a lot of things on his plate. He has 3 kids. He lost his wife. How would you feel after that? How would you feel if somebody made unpleasant comments to you after all the above? Think before you post, and show respect.
Made in the days when programme makers had a certain amount of social conscience. Unlike today, where the occupants would be used, abused, blamed, scapegoated, then cast aside as empty shells, while the TV company responsible picks up the fat cheques and moves onto the next project.
This is because TV today is commercial rather than Independent. In those days, ITV had the monopoly on commercial TV and subject to public service broadcasting obligations. Today, they just chase advertisers who in turn now influence programming. Advertisers like the vilification of the marginalised and dole claimants. It's not an image they want to tie their product to. British TV programming has become superficial as a result. It used to have a plethora of working class hero characters in comparison to its American counterpart
Got to love Danny who is blind What a man he is and may god bless him,, I’m still in shock at Danny working with no complaints from him,, He is just unbelievable man with bad eye sight he gets up early than go’s to work,, God bless ya Danny
@@MrAlwaysBlue Business was already failing, grant would have paid for 3 months of service back when their was one provider that would have tied him into a minimum of 12 months service.
The ironic thing is the houses in this street actually look relatively nice. I've seen a lot of streets in quite prosperous areas which look a lot worse than this on the surface.
They knocked them down in the mid 80s and built some new ones, then knocked them down about 10 years ago because they were derelict. They've now built new ones again. These replaced the dock cottages that were there and knocked down in the 60s.
I only ever went to Tees Street once in my life... in the early 90s to identify the burned out shell of my Vaxhaul Cavalier, that was nicked from my flat near Birkenhead Park. The fire was so hot, the number plate had melted and fallen off onto the road, so that's how I knew it was mine. Ah... memories.
They don't even walk up the path for the bin, we have to put it on the kerbside for them, my neighbour is 91 and she is expected to drag a bin down her path for some young fellas to put it on a automated lift, madness.
@@BintAlAbla1999 not that good .. most of them couldn’t afford cars! It’s okay we’ll get back to this with pcp contracts on electric cars and fuel at £2+ per litre
@@jaysmartin I,m into old Volvo's, my current car is 27yrs old ...and it will probably last me another 20 !...I would never buy an electric car !...ever !
John K 9 months was fast in 1980's. my mum got ours in 1979, even then it was a party line. she'd been on a waiting list since 1968! you literally had to wait till someone died and they re allocated the number.
June with ten kids! No wonder the electric was so high. Think of all the electricity being used on play station games, use of the power shower and laptops.
I would encourage people to believe one can come back from even the worst circumstances. I was out of work, in near despair; but kept searching, even engaging hobbies and things got hugely better.
Recent declassified documents have revielled that the Tory Government at the time, waged economic warefare on Liverpool, basically untying Liverpool and pushing it off to it's own catastrophic demise as is seen here during the mid 1980's. For a Government to do that to it's own People, to actively plan and prosecute such an act sends a cold shiver down the spine.
@@jillianhorsley5985 Thatcher had three "generals" who basically came up with a mind map of how to "curb" the Unions. But over the course of time, this became how can we completely destroy the Unions. Utter psychopaths.
My family lived on Tees Street [Catholics] , there WAS a way out. I am a Nurse, taught at several Universities and live in Adelaide, Australia, Dr Marg has a Doctorate Psychology and was a successful, Tax Lawyer [London], Owen University Lecturer [China/Cyprus], Kath Librarian [Wirral], Bob [Businessman], John Butcher + Law Graduate [Essex] and DrJoe DPhil [Oxford] MBA [Cambridge] CEO of Pharmaceutical Company [Cornwall]- Joe actually failed most of his O'levels at the first attempt then stayed in the house for a year and got mostly AAAAAAAs. It is fair to say WE DID HAVE A BRAIN and WE ALL GOT JOBS !!!
Actually I failed them all but got a GCSE (Grade I) in RE. It was a wake up call. In 1980 it was grim but does not seem to have improved much today for people there. The only way is to get away ASAP, there is a world out there. There are people worse off than shown here, and much better off of course. The point is for most people there is choice.
I was there in 1989, for drydock. Still remember all these warehouses, all derelict, as we went through the docks to the drydock basin. It was situated right next to an disused power station and a huge old tobacco warehouse. I used to try imagining all the workers being there..it was so derelict and sad.
Wonder what their all doing now almost 40 years later these documentaries from the past are fascinating and a grand for an electricity bill wow omg that’s even a lot today
my great uncle is the ariel fitter at approx 11 mins - he recently passed away, but did some work as a freelance photographer alongside being an ariel fitter :))
I am not British, but I do have an interest in Economics and History. I think Maggie Thatcher and Norman Tebbit have got something to do with this? Her cabinet's economic policies completely ruined the working classes in the early 80s. Yes, London aka the CITY, benefited with all those computers and fund managers and fancy MBA degrees, but the rest of the nation was a BIG TEE STREET! SAD.
Quick google and found out all the houses in this street were demolished some time ago. Now just grassland. Wonder what happened to the people? It's easy to joke about this film and the area, but fact is it must have been so depressing and soul destroying living there with such a grim existence.
Yep. Here's a pic. commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tees_Street,_Birkenhead_-_IMG_0339.JPG Wow. Yeah. Senseless. Who obliterared so many perfectly good homes? No wonder there's a housing crisis to this very day.
I understand...it was bad in Ireland also back then..in fact it was diabolical...50, 000 left that year for USA, Australia and UK...we worked morning, noon, and night if necessary to pay rent at London prices. The accomodation was rough, the pay wasnt stunning..hence always 2 jobs. The men did better, nothing less than 100 sterling a day, half day Saturday.
The year at the end states 1985 - not 1980 - as in the title of this video. Some parts of the programme do pass for 1980, but others are more '84-'85 era, going by people's clothes, hair styles and cars in the street.
THE NORTH END WAS A GREAT PLACE TO LIVE WHEN I WAS A KID . I LIVED IN THE AVS (HARDING) . 2 THINGS DESTROYED BIRKENHEAD , RUNNING DOWN CAMMEL LAIRDS AND SMACK . BIRKENHEAD WAS CAMMEL LAIRDS , 12000 WORKERS AT ITS PEAK , AND ALL THE ANCILLARY JOBS . AND COINCIDING WITH SMACK , I WAS A DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN . SAME WITH ALL INDUSTRIAL TOWNS , TAKE AWAY THE WORK , PEOPLE GET PISSED OFF AND DEPRESSED . SAY NO MORE . PROUD TO BE A JEDI . LOL
GunnersDream Gunz I know this is 6 years ago since youve written your comment. Ive just been on Google earth and its still there. Newer house's are there 1990s era
I came from Moreton, All Birkenhead people were weirdos who wanted to kill us. That said; my wife is from Birkenhead (gulps and looks at bedroom door).
It’s strange how these people with nothing. No prospects, no future still have pride in where they live. No rubbish on the street. But nowadays there’s rubbish all over the streets.
Part of the problem of that time stemmed from education with many youngsters at 16 leaving school with a few or no CSEs and then had problems finding work. Most jobs were for skilled in that Job Centre. It was rather strange that the guy had to sell his fishing rod to buy a packet of cigarettes. This proves that the mindset of that time was completely screwed.
