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