‘I came to Birmingham from Dublin on an adventure and I’ve been here since January 17th 1966, in this flat. I fell in love with the place. I love Birmingham, I’ve been here nearly 50 years myself. I used to work in plastics on Bradford Street, making the old Bakelite.

I lived here with my aunt. She used to be up in Knutsford Street. My Aunt had to be near the buses, she wanted a flat because they had baths, and she loved it when she first came. She was 91 years of age when she died and was at a wedding a month beforehand. She played the accordion – she could sing for anything.

It was all new then. This floor was the best. The women used to polish the floor in the corridors – people were afraid they’d slip on it. There’s only been 6 people on this floor in 37 years. They’re good neighbours, it’s lovely, there’s no trouble.

I chat to everyone, everyone who moves in here. They’re good people, don’t you know. I’ve made friends with more people recently. It’s such a handy place to live, there’s about 14 buses. You can get a bus to anywhere from here.

I class Birmingham as my home. Dublin has changed as well.’

Occasionally, and almost always by accident, we stumbled across a real piece of Birmingham history.