Oh Worrapalava!

Welcome to the second of a series of episodes - a ragbag of reminiscences in verse, song and story about the famous Black Country - The Industrial Midlands.

Contents

Sister Dora

Dorothy Pattison was born at Hauxwell Rectory, Wensleydale, in 1832 and was sent to Walsall as a novice by the Christ Church Sisterhood in 1865 to help resolve a staffing crisis. Her nursing was driven by faith rather than medicine and she turned down the opportunity to train as a doctor as time away from her vocation would go against her religious beliefs. She finally sucumbed to cancer at her cottage on Wednesbury Road on Christmas Eve, 1878, and, after a civic funeral, was interred in Queen Street Cemetery. Written and Read by Lynn Hawthorne

Lamp Oil George

A tribute to a local character - George Baker - Written by Keith Gwilliams - Solo - Kerry Halford

History - And Where To Find It

A dialect ‘conversation’ describing some of the historical gems around Wednesbury - Written and rated by Keith Gwilliams

Painted Ladies

A ballad celebrating the canals and narrowboats of the West Midlands - Written by Keith Gwilliams

Black Country AI

A dialect poem a confusion brought about by the local vocabulary - Written and Read by Brendan Hawthorne

Contents

E Day Arf Spake Funny

Tells of childhood memories of 1960’s Black Country. It uses true dialect of time and place to tell its story. It received over a million views on social media. Written and Read by Brendan Hawthorne

All Around The River Tame

A pastiche of snippets about the towns and people of the area. Written by Keith Gwilliams

Wrought From Smoke and Flame

A villanelle inspired by the production of Iran and steel - Written by Keith Gwilliams - Read by Kerry Halford

Black Country Country Blues

A song of local words and phrases to help you along with some traditions of the Black Country Written and performed by Brendan Hawthorne

Industrial Romance

Looks at the working women of the Black Country raising families against the industrial processes that employed these families through hardship - Written by Brendan Hawthorne and Read by Lynn Hawthorne