Despite the frequent union activities in the 1980s, people who worked at JH Butcher talk of a happy place with a lovely atmosphere, even of a big family, with, "singing both upstairs and downstairs." (Maureen Devine)

It was quite an old-fashioned company, with ritual lunches and morning and afternoon teas laid on for the directors, even as late as the mid 1980s. Social evenings, lunchtime dances and Friday pub evenings were common amongst the workers. The highlight of the social year was the Christmas party arranged at The New Inn across the road or the Moseley Dance Centre.