The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 2,800 times in 2015. If it were a cable car, it would take about 47 trips to carry that many people.
We’ve launched a Face 2 Face support group in #Coventry today with parents like Donna: http://t.co/fKvLoNgceA pic.twitter.com/ySLz378eHD
— Scope (@scope) January 8, 2015
At the Ricoh for the launch of Face2Face. Extremely good turnout for a great cause.
— Matthew Duffy (@coventryculture) January 8, 2015
I WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL THE PEOPLE AT SCOPE FOR THEIR SUPPORT IN MAKING SURE THIS FEATURE IS ACCURATE AND FOR PROVIDING ME WITH INFORMATION TO HIGHLIGHT THIS GREAT CAUSE. I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO THANK LOUISE FOR ALLOWING ME TO INCLUDE HER STORY WITHIN THIS FEATURE. I FULLY UNDERSTAND THAT THIS WAS A DIFFICULT STORY TO TELL AND I APPRECIATE HER GENEROSITY AND WILLINGNESS ALLOWING ME TO INCLUDE IT HERE.
THIS IS BY NO MEANS THE END. IF YOU HAVE INFORMATION, CONTENT RELEVANT TO THIS EVENT WHICH YOU FEEL COULD BE INCLUDED HERE, LET ME KNOW VIA THE CONTRIBUTE TO COVENTRY CULTURE LINKS IN THE SIDEBAR OR BY EMAIL @ MATTHEWDUFFY11@ICLOUD.COM.
On Thursday 8th January 2015, I was invited to The Ricoh Arena for the launch of a new befriending service from the charity Scope. Face2Face is a service which provides parents of disabled children a chance to meet parents in the same position and through this, gain “the emotional strengths and practical skills to manage their family suituation”. There are currently 25 schemes running across the UK.
Face2Face services are available all over the country, from Preston, to Northampton, to Brighten & Hove, to Merthyr Tydfil. The event to which I was invited was to launch the Face2Face service in Coventry.
The event was attended by Coventry’s Lord Mayor Hazel Noonan, whom praised the work of the charity as well as the volunteer sector as a whole saying “”During my time as Lord Mayor, it never stops to amaze me when I go to organisations the amount of people who do things as volunteers. They do it because they want to help somebody, they want to help somebody less fortunate than themselves. They’re not doing it for any praise or financial gain, they’re doing it because they know what they do will make a difference to somebody’s lives”
The event brought together befriends to share their stories, one of such and with great thanks, CoventryCulture is able to share with you today. This is Louise’s story;
During our befriending training we were asked to share our own personal stories. I think I speak for all of the befrienders when I say this proved to be more emotional and difficult than any of us thought.
So today as I stand here it is to share a fellow befrienders story.
This is Louise’s story.
I fell pregnant with Daniel in 2003 after being told by doctors that it probably wouldn’t happen.
I had a few kidney problems during my pregnancy but finally Daniel was born and weighed 7.5lbs. He was healthy and beautiful and I and my husband Steve were instantly in love with him.
We loved being parents and enjoyed watching him grow and meet all his expected milestones. He was as bright as a button and walked for his 1st birthday.
I’m May 2006 things were changing for us as a family, Steve had a new job in Manchester and it was a great opportunity for us as a family. So we sold our house in Coventry and bought a lovely semi-detached property in Manchester.
I fell pregnant with our 2nd child in September and we were overjoyed. But due to developing health problems with my thyroid the pregnancy became high risk. I was placed under a consultant and found myself in and out of hospital.
Daniel had started nursery at this time and was doing well the teachers were really pleased with him.
But one evening whilst putting him to bed, reading him a bedtime story I noticed that Daniels mouth had started twitching and he was dribbling. Neither I nor Steve could get him to respond to us and we had ever seen anything like it before.
It only went on for a few moments and then stopped as quickly as it had started.
He settled down to sleep and he was fine in the morning but something about the incident bothered me immensely and I took him to our G.P. No one talked about what it might be he was referred to see a paediatrician.
We attended this appointment very unsure about what we would be told. We were asked numerous questions but then we were sent away being told not to worry he seemed fine and he wouldn’t need to be seen again.
I continued with my pregnancy, but doctors were now recommending surgery to remove my thyroid when I reached the 6months stage.
But at 23weeks I became incredibly poorly and admitted to hospital. The doctors said that due to my illness Daniel wasn’t allowed to stay on the ward and we as a family decided that Daniel should go to stay with his grandparents in Coventry for 2 weeks.
My parents drove him back to me in time to celebrate my birthday and I vowed right there and then that I would never let home go away again.
My illness had become worse and my operation had to be cancelled as the risk to myself and the baby had become too high.
Ciaran was born prematurely and was born by emergency C-section and he weighed 4lb 11oz and was quickly taken into special care. I don’t remember much after the birth as I was taken to intensive care and had 4 operations that weekend.
I finally got home at the beginning of June. 1 week before Ciaran.
Life started settling down and Daniel started school in the September.
He struggled to like his teacher and he was bullied.
The teacher approached me during the 1st halt term and was told that Daniel was untraceable and would never cope in school.
In May 2008 Daniel had a major seizure and we took him to the local hospital, we were surrounded by doctors. Daniel was injected with medication and this was the first time epilepsy was mentioned he was transferred by ambulance to the children’s hospital. Daniel was still fitting 6 hours later he was admitted overnight and I stayed with him. He didn’t sleep all night long.
Daniel was sent home once things had calmed down. And we were sent an appointment foran EEG to confirm whether he had epilepsy.It was difficult to explain to family and friends and everyone reacted differently. I don’t feel that we were supported by the medical staff and we were left to research this for ourselves.
The EEG was done but we had a 6 week wait for the results which eventually confirmed he had Focal epilepsy. Daniels seizures continued and were hard to control. His school gave no support and his education problems continued.
In 2009 Steve got a job in Birmingham and in December we moved to a property back in Coventry close to both of our families.
Daniel started Parkgate primary school in January he was now in year 1 and had a brilliant teacher who soon put additional help in place for Daniel. He was the diagnosed with dyspraxia and over flexible joints which explained his difficulties with reading, writing and accessing all areas if the curriculum.
The school were supportive and did everything they could for Daniel and most importantly Daniel was happy.
He had a good consultant and we were learning to come to terms with all the different diagnosis.
Daniel struggled in spite of all the extra help that was being given.
He was now in year 3 and evidence was being gathered to start applying for a statement.
The gap with his peers widened and Daniel was becoming more distressed about this, he was struggling to maintain friendships.
Then as he went into year 4 he was sent to see an educations psychologist it was then that I learned she believed Daniel to be autistic. We were shocked and yet again left to find out about what this was and more importantly what this meant for Daniel.
It was through my own research that I realised that Daniel was definitely autistic and it was going to be a long and ongoing process.
I have recently received the proposed statement for Daniel and I don’t mind admitting I am finding this process difficult.
Steve and I are looking at secondary schools for Daniel as he is in year 6
Daniel struggles with school but is happy there.
He is a kind, gentle boy who is well liked. He is helpful to everyone and never ceases to amaze me.
He sees the world in a beautiful and special way.
He and Ciaran are very close and they accept each other’s differences. I am incredibly proud of both of my boys and believe anything is possibly for both of them.
View the 2 videos which, due to technical problems, were unable to played at the launch;
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 6,800 times in 2014. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 6 trips to carry that many people.
BBC’s The One Show took it’s rickshaw challenge to Coventry, more specifically University Square, opposite Coventry Cathedral. This post seeks to show how the people of Coventry cheered on the Rickshaw in their home town
https://twitter.com/wirepatch/status/532606928560467968
https://twitter.com/PamelaIreland/status/532610108032045056
https://twitter.com/_HayleyMyers_/status/532615803062210561
The Rickshaw Challenge is part of the BBC’s Children In Need and six young people, supported by projects funded by CIN, are travelling 450 miles across England. Team Rickshaw is the name
You can find out more on the official BBC Children In Need Website at
and follow the hashtag
These words were spoken by the then Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey, on the eve of World War One, although this is still debated.
Tonight, lights went out all over Coventry, replaced by candles, each commemorating the serviceman and women whom died.
Make no mistake, for our lives and our freedoms, we have the fallen to thank. They who sacrificed their own lives so that we could live.
We will remember them
Lest we forget.
Image used with permission of Sharon McClean
Image used with permission of Ian Smith
Image used with permission of Sian Pall Williamson
Image used with permission of Kerry Dunn
Image used with permission of Steve Kennedy
Image used with permission of Maureen Clifton
Image used with permission of Shirley Harvey
Further information on A Coventry Kid Am I can be found in a previous post at https://coventryculture.wordpress.com/2014/02/09/a-coventry-kid-am-i/
@coventryculture hiya, just thought ud want to know Albany rd drain bust again, police on site.
— Angie Addey (@angieaddey) August 10, 2014
Image used with permission of Robbie Robinson
https://twitter.com/allanandrews/status/490978052189716480
A Coventry road has now reopened. A collapsed manhole caused Albany Road in Earlsdon, Coventry to close on late Saturday afternoon. Binley Fire Station attended the area at 17:02pm. At 17:20pm, The Earlsdon Police Team tweeted that “a collapsed drain has made the road unsafe to use”
Crews currently in attendance at collapsed road / drain in Albany Road. Road has been closed. We suggest drivers take an alternative route!
— WMFS Binley (@Binley_Fire) July 19, 2014
https://twitter.com/Earlsdon_Police/status/490527901495087104
https://twitter.com/Earlsdon_Police/status/490531628079652864
https://twitter.com/allanandrews/status/490608841105891328
Cllr Allan Andrews, councillor for Earlsdon Ward, wrote on Twitter (20.07.2014) that he contacted the Head of Highways at Coventry City Council (will update this post when a response is received)
https://twitter.com/allanandrews/status/490827205170438146
https://twitter.com/allanandrews/status/490827573812015104
Whilst researching this, I came across a tweet from @ThomasCRadford, which brings you the closure of Albany Road from the “Thoughts Of A Sustainability Engineer”. Please read!!! Thanks to Thomas so much for allowing me to include his tweet & blog page within this feature
The Road Exploded! Thunderstorm in Earlsdon ruptures Albany Road: http://t.co/RxNRSUK7de
— Tom Radford (@ThomasCRadford) July 19, 2014
This post is no longer updated
UPDATE: 14/07/2014. The Coventry Telegraph is today reporting that Sky Blues officials are “ready to talk” about an interim return to the Ricoh Arena, but will not drop it’s legal appeal against Coventry City Council. For further information, click on the link in the tweet below;
#skyblues ‘ready to talk’ about Ricoh return – but will not drop legal appeal #bringCityhome http://t.co/HibqFNMYdl pic.twitter.com/9B3MRml9bQ
— Coventry Telegraph (@covtelegraph) July 14, 2014
Used with permission of Nicky Dawn Muir *
Used with permission of shawry1970
This is the Sky Blues Song. Written by Jimmy Hill and John Camkin. This post tells the story of Saturday 12th July 2014 and Coventry City FC Supporters From Gosford Green to Broadgate, they made their way down the road, built for the event of which its team is often remembered, the 1987 FA Cup Final.
Whilst the teams supporters were in Coventry, it’s team are not (yet). This is their story;
Image used with permission of Craig Wyatt
https://twitter.com/JoeyCoombes/status/487976040619601920
Images used with permission of Tom Sundance Keaveney
Image used with permission of Wayne Kirby
Image used with permission of Shaun Pastieman Payne
Videos used with permission of Wayne Smith
Image used with permission of Shaun Pastieman Payne
Used with permission of Kenny Ward
All across the country, people have been doing their bit.
How was Civic Day marked and celebrated nationally?
Coventry was no exception. Starting at 11pm this morning, The Charterhouse in Coventry held host to an Awareness Day which sought to highlight the city’s River Sherbourne, which twists and turns through and out of the city.
The morning began with a presentation, a walk down the Sherbourne, taking us under, over and across Holyhead Road, Spon End and under the City Centre (Not in the order of which I’ve just wrote however, I’ll leave this to Colin’s Cornucopia of whom and which has a far vaster wealth of experience than myself).
The day continued with walks, litter picking (of which the results can be found in the Flickr photo stream which The Coventry Society have set up and which can be accessed above) and continual preservation. I thoroughly enjoyed the presentation and even managed to find some pictures I had never seen before, such as the Reynold (where my Nan used to work, I always wanted to find a picture of where she worked, so I was extremely happy about seeing this).
I really wanted to preserve today’s presentation and not let it pass into the ether of time and it’s because of this I recorded the audio, of which you can hear above, courtesy of MixCloud. I hope in the future to get hold of a copy of the presentation itself, which I may include the talk to create a visual walkthrough, but this is FOR the future.
At this point, I would like to thank The Coventry Society and the Hawkesbury Village Residents Association.I really am grateful.
30 minutes left!! Almost there !#24hourchallenge #onyourbike #spin pic.twitter.com/MPc326iYTM
— Ricoh Arena (@RicohArena) June 22, 2014
Cycling home together! Coventry to Kenya….and back in 24 hours COMPLETE! @OnYourBike2014 @Memusi_Tweets pic.twitter.com/pX2JSM5I9M
— Ricoh Arena (@RicohArena) June 22, 2014
Cycling home together! Coventry to Kenya….and back in 24 hours COMPLETE! @OnYourBike2014 @Memusi_Tweets pic.twitter.com/pX2JSM5I9M
— Ricoh Arena (@RicohArena) June 22, 2014
The final few minutes and miles of #OnYourBike2014 http://t.co/slViqkmlQ0
— Ricoh Arena (@RicohArena) June 22, 2014
600 riders. 100 Static Bikes. Multiple World Records. Cyclists at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry were yesterday asked to get “On Your Bike”, all to raise money for the Memusi Foundation. At the time of writing (Sunday June 22nd), over £17,526.38 has been raised. For further info at this time, follow the #OnYourBike2014 hashtag and @OnYourBike2014 . Further information on Coventry Culture will be provided soon (because as you can see, there’s a lot of stuff to cover)
Used with permission of Hawkesbury Village Residents Association
Used with permission of Lisa Miller of the True Conventrian Facebook Group
Used with permission of James Kybird of the True Coventrian Facebook Group
Used with permission of James Kybird of the True Coventrian Facebook Group
Used with permission of James Kybird of the True Coventrian Facebook Group
https://twitter.com/astroforfun/status/480799054637858816
Image used with permission of Coffee Bean
Isn’t it a great? But what’s the story behind it?
Imposing and awe-inspiring, the Coventry Cathedral elicits many emotions at once – wonder, amazement, admiration and humility… even a casual passerby cannot fail to register its majesty… with my watercolour artwork, I intended to abstractify the vision of the Coventry Cathedral as one would recall it in their dreams – fluid, floating, suspended – but still wanting to retain the magnificence of this structure… I am unsure of how much justice I have done to this resplendent creation, but, purely from an emotional satisfaction perspective, it stands by far to be one of the most fulfilling works I have completed. – Roasted Coffee Bean
At 7.32am on Wednesday 26th March 2014, BBC Coventry and Warwickshire tweeted the following;
Work to stabilise the walls of the former Coventry Cathedral – bombed during World War Two – is set to start today http://t.co/47qzHqWgPU — BBC Cov & Warks (@BBCCovWarks) March 26, 2014
https://twitter.com/ClaireStokes65/status/448723853309521920
https://twitter.com/JeanLWislon/status/448856584416800768
The works, funded by the World Monument Fund (WMF) and ChurchCare, continue the preservation of Coventry’s Old Cathedral, which was bombed on the night of November 14th, 1940. The Cathedral has provided a step by step guide, detailing funds and targets on it’s website, which you can view at; http://www.coventrycathedral.org.uk/about-us/ruins-challenge-fund-appeal.php
In 2010, repairs on the Apse within the Old Cathedral was funded by English Heritage, WREN, National Churches Trust and the Cathedral Development Trust (page 8),as well as £40,000 by The Headley Trust “towards the stabilisation” from it’s Cathedrals Programme (page 10). In 2012, Waste Recycling Environment Limited (WREN) provided £77,383 from it’s Landfill Communities Fund and finance company American Express provided around £100,000, as well as £80,000 from the Cathedral Fabric Repair Fund, a partnership between the Wolfson Foundation, The Pilgrim Trust and the Cathedrals Fabric Commission For England (CFCE) (page 11), with a further £20,000 provided in 2013, for repairs to drainage.
The Old Cathedral is currently on the English Heritage’ Heritage At Risk Register (page 74) as well as the World Monuments Fund (WMF) project list.
Further information on the cathedral, including the work of Crick-Smith Conservation to conserve the Old Cathedral’s medieval glass, can be accessed below, courtesy of World Monument’s Momentum magazine;
http://www.wmf.org/sites/default/files/wmf_publication
/WMFB%20newsletter%20Spring%202012.pdf (Spring 2012)
http://www.wmf.org/sites/default/files/wmf_publication
/WMFB%20newsletter%20Autumn%202012.pdf (Autumn 2012)
http://www.wmf.org/sites/default/files/wmf_publication
/Monumentum-Spring-2014.pdf (Page 8, 2nd to last panel on right side of page)
For further historical information on both the old and new cathedrals, visit Rob Orland’s Cathedrals section on his website, Historic Coventry;
Used with permission of The Coventry Society
When one thinks of War and Coventry, one looks to November 14th 1940. But this wasn’t the only war to afflict Coventry. The 1914-18 war, known as “The Great War”, was one such other. Like the first, men lost their lives serving their country, families were torn apart, in both a physical and mental sense. In modern times, the BBC comedy series Blackadder (most specifically Blackadder Goes Forth), is used to show life during that torrid time. But this isn’t reality. This isn’t what war was like. There was no laughter, there was no audience. This was real life, men sent to war, whether they wanted to or not. There was no laugher, there was no audience.
2014 is the centenary of the First World War, 100 years. 2014 is the year where the sacrifices, the loss are laid bare once more, this year all the more prominent.
On the 21st September 2013, I conducted an interview with Julie and Chris O’ Connell of local theatre company Theatre Absolute, as regards to it’s 100 Project, a project which sought (and indeed seeks) to tell the story of the Great War through theatre. A few weeks later (18th October 2013), I visited the 100 Project for myself, my first time visiting such an event. You can read my review, along with donated materials from Theatre Absolute as well as really great overview video from Mindriot Productions below.
Last night, purely by chance, I came across this great (as in great feature) set up by The Coventry Society, a civic society which I have come to be informed about on a regular basis, which seeks to detail the many War Memorials in Coventry.
If I am entirely honest, I’ve never stopped to think such before, but as with everything on this blog, I’m finding new things to showcase and promote everyday and I continue to be amazed as the gems that Coventry uncovers.
Anyway, back onto topic.
The Coventry Society’s War Memorial list is not finished, not complete and they would really like your help in uncovering other memorials. If you have any information, contact The Coventry Society via the web form on their site or via info@coventrysociety.org.uk
But enough words from me….head on over to the site via the graphic below…
But there’s more….with permission from and thanks to the Imperial War Museum, below is a link to their official 1914.org site, the official website to mark the centenary of the First World War. Also be sure to visit the official First World War records at The National Archives via the corresponding link;
Thank you once again to The Coventry Society for use of their images and the Imperial War Museum: WW1 Centenary for the linkage to it’s site
Coventry Culture 