Nationwide
Millions of members strong
Building society
Nationwide
Staffordshire
Portman
Nationwide
Since ’67 in Dudley town
Nearly sixty years serving a community
People love a building society don’t they
Not quite a bank
More like a club
They come clutching blue passports
A steady trickle
Popping in to do their financials
There’s bunting over the office door
Radio through the speakers
Comfy chairs to rest awhile
Friendly
Homely
Familiar
Certificates recognise commitment
From one to thirty years
Ashleigh, Sarah, Isla
Lisa, Samantha
Displayed on shelves alongside photographs
Pride of place
The buzzer brings a rush for the door
Scurrying footsteps on laminate floor
Jangle of keys on a lanyard
Always a thank you and a kind welcome
As chat starts up
About Covid
Hearing aids
Lost keys
Shopping up the town
Holidays
Pulled back muscles
Schools going back
Family
The drive to Cornwall
The cash machine whirs in the background
Dispensing spendies for the Full Moon next door
As an old couple
In matching purple fleeces
Shuffle up to the counter together
I look at the Community Board
Wonder if my wife is up for knitting
Bonnets and booties
For Russells Hall
Or if I know a charity that
Might benefit from the community fund
Or if I have some spare tins
For the food bank
There’s a lot going on
A lot to support
I see stability
Even though the future of the High Street
Is hard to call
Not sure where it’s going
Without investment in the shops
Which they watch come and go
Having looked out the window for six decades
Seen it all
In all its glory
This place is about people
Conversation
Continuity
Permanence
In a world that’s shifting fast
Leaving some behind
Who come here
To remember what helpful feels like
Connection
Belonging
Inclusion
The couple are at the door now
Saying their goodbyes
See you next week
Take care of yourselves
Tarabit
As they link arms and
Waltz out into the sunshine
My purpose of my Gift to Dudley High Street is to encourage the users to become involved in the changes that occur in a place they use. The aim is to gain feedback from the users of the game to inform any progress made, this way, the focus of regeneration can come from the users themselves, becoming a collective collaboration. Through the users interacting with each other on the High Street using this game, the presence of users can be recognised, reminding the people of a sense of community to promote and celebrate going forward.
Ryan is the owner of Slick Barbers he was born and grew up in Dudley and has been a long standing black business owner on Dudley High Street. He opened his shop when he was in his late teens and continues to be a role model in Dudley's Black community.
A day out in Dudley
Time inside passes slow,
So we went out for the day,
My favourite place to go,
The high street in Dudley
I'm sure that you'd agree
It's not like any other town,
There is lots to do and see
And there's space to run around
There's a playground there
Just in the middle of the street
And fruit growing everywhere
The strawberries taste so sweet
There's lots of places for grown-ups
Where they like to chat and sit
They say 'hello ya right bab?'
And then Tarra a bit.
There is no need to in
When it's black over bill's mother
Because should the rain begin
The canopy is the perfect cover
The grown-ups pick the veggies
And call come get some grub
We jump down from our climbing trees
And head over to the food hub
We get the buz back home for tea
And get it down our wazzin
I look back on the day with glee
My Dudley town is bostin.
My gift was created to highlight the importance of connections to Dudley high street through the use of transportation which is key to encouraging people to come and use the high street. The jigsaw shows a map of Dudley with the different types of transport and was made from paper and card.
Provision
I invite you to stand in my shoes
In the space between dark and light
To imagine a room laid bare
Where you sleep in the bath
In the clothes you wear every day
Because you don’t have a bed or
Even a mattress on the floor
To rest your tired frame.
You are in crisis
Slipped through the cracks It doesn’t matter how or why Just that you are here
Needing help
Needing compassion
Practical support
To get back on your feet
To feel cared for
Provided for
Prayers answered.
I sit here listening to Blur
On the CD player I have just bought from Provision House
A beacon-topped Aladdin’s cave of treasures
That occupies a space right opposite
It’s higher calling
Old Co-op
Old shoe shop
New lease of life
For this art-deco giant
Three floors of stepping back in time
Down history rich stairs
Through formica inlaid doors
Its belly stuffed with
Furniture and bedding
Tables and lamps
Wardrobes and kitchenware
The things that we take for granted
Destined for those that have nothing
Absolutely nothing
A lifeline.
In the shop I can still buy a pair of shoes
Anything an old department store may well have stocked
Ironic I feel.
They save the sleeping bags
To hand to homeless folk
Health-packs and new socks
Whatever helps.
The Food Club caters for those
That need to feed themselves
Their families
On budgets stretched to breaking
They mind the gap that governments should fill
By remembering that everybody counts Black Country rules.
Kim chats to a woman
Buying sticker-books for her granddaughter
Laughter slips through this conversation
Two books for a pound and you know
The girl will have a fun filled afternoon.
I ask about the future
Plans for expansion
Rooms to hire
Office space
Training programmes on their way
Perhaps a life for the room upstairs and I see progress
New from old
Right from wrong.
So, step through this door and lend a hand
To those that need it more than
You and I will ever understand.