Love Your Neighbourhood: Brewood

Express & Star

We travel to Brewood to find roaring fires going in The Swan pub and locals friendly and happy to chat.

Transcript

00:00And the blue plaque, I mean.

00:02So, Bard, you're a resident of Brood, are you?

00:05That's right, yeah.

00:06So why are they going to erect a statue of you right here, then, the legend of Brood?

00:09Because they can't forget about me, ma'am.

00:12What do you love about living here?

00:14It's, um, it's, um, everyone knows your business.

00:17Do you love that, though?

00:19Well, it's a bit awkward at times.

00:21What about your business?

00:22Well, there's only trouble, people.

00:24When you live in these small places, everyone knows your business.

00:28But what's good about it, though?

00:30What's good about Brood?

00:31What do you like about your neighbourhood?

00:33It's, um, a nice place to be.

00:36It's, you know, it's a friendly place.

00:39And there's lots of boozers.

00:42There are lovely, lovely pubs around here, actually.

00:45That place over there is a bit cack.

00:47Which one?

00:48The Lion.

00:49The Lion, oh, right.

00:50Well, viewers, avoid the Lion.

00:52So, I mean, what about, how long have you lived here?

00:56I've lived here this time around, 20 years.

00:5820 years, so why have you stayed here for so long, then?

01:01Because I, um, I don't drive and I don't work.

01:04I came back here 20 years ago after I had a stroke.

01:07Yeah.

01:08And I split up with my second wife.

01:10Yeah.

01:11And I came back and moved back with my mum.

01:13Um, and I, um, when I had my stroke, my job went,

01:17as long as I had my driving licence, my job went.

01:20But, I mean, you know, it's the worst places to be, isn't it?

01:23I mean, if someone was...

01:24Well, I've got to be living in Wolverhampton, couldn't I?

01:27Don't say that.

01:28I'm here in the front of Wolverhampton.

01:30So, OK, so if you had to tell, you know,

01:32if someone was thinking of moving to Brood,

01:33what would you tell them some of the best things

01:35about this town or population?

01:37There's a great cocktail bar over the road.

01:39So, great cocktail bars, great people.

01:41Good, friendly people.

01:43Would you say it's safe, apart from when you're out and about?

01:46I think so, yes.

01:48This is, this is actually...

01:50Recording.

01:51We're talking films here, aren't we?

01:52We are talking films.

01:53We're on the moving pictures.

01:54I'm going to be on the telly, am I?

01:55Yeah, yeah.

01:56Not the telly.

01:57But I'm famous already, so I'm going to be...

01:58And what are you famous for?

01:59Being...

02:00Does your reputation...

02:01Being a character on Brood.

02:02Yes.

02:03OK, anything else that you love about your neighbourhood

02:05that you want to add?

02:06I don't know, I don't know if...

02:07I don't know what else I can say about it.

02:08Is it safe?

02:09Is it safe?

02:10Safe, generally, yeah.

02:11I mean, you know, I've fell over a couple of times, but...

02:13That's your own fault, though, isn't it?

02:15But that's probably...

02:16I've had too many sherbets.

02:17Thank you, Bodge.

02:19Friendly people.

02:20Friendly people.

02:21And it's a nice restaurant.

02:22Do you drink good?

02:23No.

02:24Thank you for the telly, yeah.

02:25Oh, are we eating too?

02:26He is the legend of the town, as you can see.

02:27Who's he?

02:28Everyone knows him.

02:29Everyone...

02:30Sorry, the cat's gone.

02:31Bodge is a legend of the town here.

02:32Everyone loves him.

02:33Everyone knows him.

02:34What's your surname, Bodge?

02:35The Swan.

02:36The Swan.

02:37We're in The Swan with Sally, the lovely bartender.

02:38And Sally was born and bred in Brood.

02:39What do you love so much about your neighbourhood here, Sally?

02:40It's just such a tight-knit community.

02:41I think so many people come here.

02:42I think so many people come here.

02:43I think so many people come here.

03:15Just how tight-knit the community is.

03:16Everything's so close to everything.

03:17They've got loads of schools.

03:18You've got the shops.

03:19Yeah, everyone's just so friendly.

03:20So welcome to new people coming into the village.

03:21It's easy.

03:22That's a great thing.

03:23And did you go to a school locally here as well?

03:24Yes, I went to St Dominic's.

03:25So do you feel generally...

03:26Like, as a young woman, do you feel safe in this area?

03:27Oh, 100%.

03:28Yeah?

03:29When I walk home from work at 12 o'clock at night, I don't feel scared to talk to

03:30Wilco.

03:31Because, again, everything's so close, and you know too many people in the village.

03:32You get a lot of support.

03:33Yeah.

03:34Yeah.

03:35Yeah.

03:36Yeah.

03:37Yeah.

03:38Yeah.

03:39Yeah.

03:45I did feel...

03:46You know who I'm talking off on?

03:47Who's it for?

03:48Yeah?

03:49You really love her, don't you?

03:50Thank you so much.

03:51Thank you, BOD.

03:52BOD says he hates Brood, but I think he's lying.

03:53I hate Brood, too.

03:54All right, all right.

03:55Let's start again.

03:56Let's start again.

03:57I'm with Wes and BOD.

03:58We're here in the Swan Inn.

03:59Are you two...

04:00You live locally, to here?

04:01Not in Brood, no.

04:02Not in Brood?

04:03Oh.

04:04But while you're here in Brood, what do you like about...

04:05The beer.

04:06The beer?

04:07It's good here.

04:08Ah.

04:09Local Cascades is the...

04:10Yeah?

04:11Yeah.

04:12Yeah, well the Cascades are better than the local.

04:15Oh, well you like the Cascades.

04:17Yes.

04:18What else did you like about the village?

04:20Um, cleanliness.

04:22Cleanliness.

04:23Um, people.

04:25People.

04:26Do you know actually, no one said cleanliness, and I think that's a very important thing about where you live,

04:31because you don't want to see litter strewn around, you know.

04:34But it's a very beautiful, like it's a historic place really, isn't it?

04:38Old buildings.

04:40So, I mean, what would you say to someone who's thinking of moving here, let's say?

04:47Um, I think we're overpopulated enough, aren't we Bob?

04:52Yeah, there's enough here really.

04:54Plenty of people are there.

04:56Yeah, there's enough. I think we'd have to have a house in the place.

04:59Okay.

05:00There's a lot of old people improving.

05:02Well, so do you think everything's...

05:04Speak for yourself.

05:05Not so fast paced.

05:06This is where the elephants come to dine.

05:09Guys, come on, we're doing a healthy pizza, aren't we?

05:12One or two anyway.

05:14I think you've come to the wrong corner of this healthy room.

05:19My one friend, he's 94.

05:22Yeah.

05:23Then it goes down, uh, late 80s.

05:27He was two or three in the late 80s.

05:31Whole blooded was in the mid to late 70s.

05:34Well, why is it here that you choose to come to then and spend your time?

05:38Because we like the pub.

05:39You like the pub?

05:40And this pub specifically?

05:42Well, we like the pub and the general chit chat that goes on here.

05:47Yeah.

05:48Surrounded by good people, good beer.

05:50What more could you need?

05:54I haven't actually, can you tell me some?

05:56Yeah, go on then.

05:57Take it in there then.

05:58Oh, alright, we're going...

06:00Watch him.

06:02Alright, let's go and learn some history of Simon in this one.

06:05Simon used to live in Brood many years ago, moved to New Zealand,

06:10and now you're back here.

06:11Tell me, Simon, what brought you back?

06:14I mean, you can tell me the passport story.

06:16Just for the listeners, he found it in the washing machine and couldn't go back to New Zealand,

06:20so now he's still in Brood.

06:22What do you love about your neighbourhood here?

06:24I just like the whole vibe here.

06:26Like, from everyone behind the bar to the regulars.

06:31Everyone mocks me every time I come in here because I'm still in shorts and flip-flops,

06:36even if it's snowing.

06:38But, you know, everyone makes an effort and it's nice.

06:41Do you live far from this little centre where this pub is?

06:45I'm about ten minutes away.

06:47Yeah? And what do you like about where you live?

06:52Where I live's really nice, but I miss having a little community

06:57because where I live on Weston Park, it's very isolated.

07:02So this is my release right here.

07:04Say hello to the guys.

07:06So would you say one thing that you come here into the centre for more

07:11is for more socialising.

07:13Yeah.

07:15And what else do you love about it?

07:17If someone was going to move here, what would you say to them to try and convince them to come?

07:21It's a nice area and it's close to a lot of things as well.

07:25You know, transport routes if you want to go somewhere.

07:28There's a lot of stuff to do around here.

07:31Okay, well we're due to end over here in Rainbow then.

07:34It's a little business here in Brood.

07:37So how long have you folks had, I know you've had your business for 17 years,

07:40but how long have you been here in Brood for?

07:42For 17.

07:44I was started here.

07:46Oh, sorry, yeah, my mistake.

07:48So you know the other two locations, did you say that you've had?

07:52They were in Brood as well.

07:54Okay, so it's always been Brood.

07:56So you love it here, I'm guessing.

07:58There's a nice energy and it's people are friendly, you know.

08:03Generally.

08:04It's always a good sort of buddy, isn't it?

08:06Yeah, yeah.

08:07I love having a bad day.

08:08But the majority.

08:09The majority are really nice and a very caring sort of community.

08:14A caring community, that's important.

08:16And I feel like in the smaller villages, they can be more...

08:20You do get that.

08:23So, I mean, what would you, you know, if someone was thinking of moving here,

08:27what would you say are like the best bits about?

08:30There's some lovely walks because it's a small village,

08:34so you haven't got far to go to like have a little wander around.

08:38And nature, I guess, is close by.

08:41You've got the canal, obviously, that brings people in through the summer

08:44and up to the wintertime.

08:46Someone mentioned the cleanliness, actually, which I didn't think of myself.

08:51Because they do litter picking.

08:53It's like the best kept village.

08:55But then they do it all year round, really, a lot of them.

08:59They'll go around picking up litter.

09:01And they've got a local gardener that does all the...

09:04Trims all the hedges and makes sure...

09:06And he's nice.

09:07To be honest, it goes above and beyond because he does all the like,

09:10you know, where the grass goes onto the pavement.

09:12He does all that as well and he's not meant to,

09:15but he so wants to make the village nice.

09:17Because he cares about his village, I guess, and, you know.

09:20It's that caring aspect.

09:22Yeah, they're very proud of the village, aren't they, and how it looks, I suppose.

09:25And they have this competition every year, I think it is,

09:29for like medium, small and large villages.

09:32They have like a competition for the best kept village,

09:35and I think they've won it a few times.

09:38Yes, it has, actually, and I'm not surprised.

09:40I mean, it's so beautiful.

09:41As I said to you, it's my first time here and I absolutely love it.

09:45Yeah, so, I mean, and you've got a wonderful business here.

09:48So you're happy here in Brood.

09:50Oh, yes, definitely.

09:51No fans to move anywhere else.

09:53No, and you just get to know people and it is that nice.

09:58And you can tell that people care about each other.

10:01Just, you know, what they're saying.

10:03Judy would move to Glastonbury if you could.

10:05Oh, for the festival?

10:07No, just generally.

10:09If I could, I would.

10:11That's so nice.

10:12Thank you so much, guys.

10:13That's okay.

Category

Transcript

Recommended