| Description | An interview with Kay MIRSHAHI, a married woman with one daughter, who is a Nursery nurse (management), born in Birmingham and now living in Birmingham. Kay MIRSHAHI’s father was a sweet manufacturer, born in England and her mother a sweet manufacturer born in England. In the interview, she talks about …
'MS2255/2/119 MIRSHAHI, Kay, logged by Azma Shain
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Kay Mirshahi, born 10th of the 1st 1962, living in Small Heath. Disk Skips
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05 I was born in Greet, Sparkhill. Lived in a pub that had been converted into a house. Parent’s profession was making sweets.
36” Father’s side of the family were fairground people, called Kimberleys.
52” Father died when Kay was 3 years old, brought up by mother alone. Went to Golden Hillock Secondary School and moved house at the age of 13 to Quinton.
1.18 Moved to council estate. Did not like it.
1.40 Fond memories of childhood days when people would not lock their doors and everyone knew each other.
2.07 How parents met, father very different to mother,
2.45 Father was in the war and was a prisoner in the Second World War. Spoke good German. He was a fairground man like his family.
3.46 Mother came from working class background.
Talks briefly about mother’s family.
4.41 Parents originally had secret relationship.
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Disk Skips
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02” Talks about father’s family, owning fair rides.
20” The grandparents brought a shop where they would make candy floss.
Description of workshop.
2.14 Memories of an extended family in a fairground lifestyle.
2.53 Mother kept sweet stall in Bull Ring market.
4.12 The house was constantly full of people.
4.30 Greet was fairly working class.
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Greet was a lovely area to live in. Description of the house the family lived in and all the strange objects in the house.
1.10 Talks about local shops in Greet.
1.51 Feeling of being comfortable and friendly in the area.
2.20 Co-op was anything comparable to a store.
2.42 School was wonderful, mixed cultures, 1965/66 onwards.
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Talks about mix of cultures in area.
1.14 Greet was a melting pot of cultures. Everyone played together
2.31 Secondary school –good sense of community
3.59 Decided that she wanted to be a nursery nurse
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Talks about secondary school
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Studying religion – only studied the Christian faith. Secondary school did discuss themes of religion everyone was more open.
2.00 The school decided to stop using corporal punishment.
2.56 Left school in 1977 to study nursery nursing at the College of Food and Domestic Arts. Leaving school was a sad time
4.08 Enjoyed college. Got married in the second year.
4.34 Loved being with a mature students at college, mix of age groups.
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Met husband in a pub and still happy together.
50” Socialising as a teenager – would go to the local cinema to watch kung fu films, which has now been converted into a Hindu temple.
1.35 Went to local clubs and pubs.
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Foreign students in the community, boyfriend was from Iran.
1.25 Got married in 1978 and moved to Edgbaston, “bed-sit land”, many students lived nearby. Talks about the house they moved into and neighbours.
2.40 Moved to Selly Oak.
3.18 Daughter born in 1983 and the family moved back to Small Heath.
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Talks about course at college, general teaching which did not look at personal needs of children.
3.01 Started work straight after college
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Talks about different jobs involving child care
2.40 1986 - Got job as pre-school worker, classroom work and home visits.
3.40 Gained an insight into how it felt for women coming from different countries to a new place.
4.28 Nursery manager for 12 years
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Did extra studying, started new job.
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08” Hardest challenge was as pre-school worker because sometimes the families needed more support, social work needed to be provided.
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Moving back to Small Heath
Husband was working near Small Heath and the couple wanted to buy a house there in 1985/86.
1.42 Sense of community, the area is highly Muslim populated, area is mixed but there is no animosity.
3.44 A personal feeling of belonging in the area. Feel safe in Small Heath
4.36 Both husband and wife are atheists. No strong religious beliefs.
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Short Track
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Loves children, having daughter meant so much.
32” The reality of being a parent was far greater.
1.31 As daughter became older she had more freedom than the girls of the local area did.
2.26 At the time it was difficult when their daughter was bringing boyfriends and friends home unlike the other teenagers in the area.
3.20 The family is happy living in Small Heath area but have friends and a social life in the area.
Talks about daughter’s freedom and the responsibility of being a woman.
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02” Responsibility of being a woman pressures.
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Roles for women – Influence from mother.
1.26 Parents’ relationship compared to their own. The differences between generations.
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