Our Lives, Our Stories with Carl Chinn

Carl Chinn sits down in conversation with Larry Hanks, one of the four founders of Birmingham's Pen Museum and, a quarter of a century after it opened, still one of its most devoted volunteers. Larry grew up in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham.

Larry talks about starting as a trainee draughtsman, and how he learnt that the man who swept the floor had just as much to teach him. He remembers being an ink monitor at school, watching bombs fall in a row into a stream near his home during the war, and turning 21 in Nicosia during the Cyprus Emergency. His career took him from site checks across Europe, America and Singapore to a factory in Russia.

A warning about retirement led Larry to collect fountain pens and pen nibs, and to discover that Birmingham once made 75% of the world's pen nibs. Brian Jones, Colin Giles and Ray Handley and Larry formed the Birmingham Pen Trade Heritage Association, cleared out a derelict room in Frederick Street, rebuilt old library cabinets by hand and funded much of it themselves. Larry reflects on why the museum is the thing he is proudest of, and speaks about Margaret, his wife of almost 64 years. It is a story about what a few determined people can do to make sure a city remembers how it made its living.

The Pen Museum - https://penmuseum.org.uk

Record Your Own Story:
Our website https://www.ourlives-ourstories.com has free guides on how to unlock your memories and record them.

My Life, My Story:
My Life, My Story is a guided legacy journal curated by Carl Chinn that includes prompts to help you reflect on your memories, experiences, and family history. It's a keepsake to help preserve your story, or a special gift for a parent, grandparent, or loved one.

Available now on Amazon.
https://ourlives-ourstories.com/mylifemystory
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From our archive: first released in March, Carl Chinn sits down with comedian, artist and TV presenter Joe Lycett to talk family history, building a comedy career, creativity, and what it means to be a champion for Birmingham.

Inspired to tell your own story?

Free guides at our website https://ourlives-ourstories.com

My Life, My Story is a guided legacy journal for writing down the memories that matter, ready to pass on to the people you love.

Paperback: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0GNPTVHVV
Hardback: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0GN6J3TZ6

Content warning: This episode contains some strong language.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Carl Chinn sits down in conversation with Peter Connolly, a publican with Irish roots who opened Nortons in Digbeth and went on to take over The Anchor, one of Birmingham's best-loved Victorian pubs.

Peter talks about growing up in a second generation Irish family, finding his way to Digbeth's Irish Quarter, opening Nortons on Friday the 13th just months before the pandemic, bringing a historic boozer back to life, and why he believes a good pub is worth far more to its community than anyone has ever measured.

Content warning: This episode contains discussion of the death of a parent and of serious illness. Please do take care whilst listening or skip this episode if this could be distressing for you.

Nortons Digbeth - https://nortons.bar
The Anchor Digbeth - https://www.anchordigbeth.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Carl Chinn sits down in conversation with Patricia White MBE, a Hodge Hill-born Brummie who set up Birmingham's first Trussell Trust food bank in Ladywood and went on to found Suited for Success, a charity helping people into work.

Patricia talks about growing up with her mom and two sisters in a family with roots in St Kitts and Nevis, ten years at BBC WM, a secondment with the BBC World Service in Nigeria, the faith that drives her, and why dignity sits at the heart of everything she does.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Carl Chinn sits down in conversation with Lauren Broxton, a bespoke leather designer and maker from Walsall who has been drawing, sketching, and making things out of whatever she could find since she was a girl. She has also been one of the key campaigners that saved Walsall Leather Museum from moving to a new building.

Lauren grew up in Rushall, a borough that had watched its industry slip away. She talks to Carl about the misfit teenager who found herself through clothes, the tutors who saw something in her long before she could see it herself, the influence her family and especially her nan's have had, and the heavy reclaimed saddlery leather that the trade had dismissed, which has become the material she is known for.

Lauren Broxton - https://laurenbroxton.com
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lauren_broxton
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.