Stories of Special and not-so-special Places
Last Saturday, the 22nd of June, we celebrated the launch of our book at the Oasis Café on Upper Spon Street. The event was very well attended and filled with joy and happiness. We owe a lot of gratitude to those who joined us in the celebration. We are especially thankful to Lindsey and Bethel… Continue reading Thank you, and next steps!
We are happy to announce the launch of our book "Spon End: A Local Guide". To celebrate this exciting occasion we would like to invite you to our launch event on Saturday, the 22nd of June, from 11am to 2pm at the Oasis Cafe on 81 Spon Street.
We will continue to update this section throughout the duration of the project. Conservation Area English Indices of Deprivation, 2015 Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) Rank, (where 1 is most deprived): Coventry 031D (Sherbourne): 576 Coventry 031C (St Michael's): 5,918 Coventry 030B (Whoberley): 11,055 Sherbourne River A map drawn by Colin Walker from the Spon… Continue reading Maps
The Man Who Planted Trees is a novel by the French author Jean Giono. The book tells the story of a man, a shepherd actually, who over a period of four decades successfully re-forests a desolate valley in the foothills of the French Alps. By the end of the story, which is translated into many… Continue reading Trees of Spon End
If you spend enough time in Coventry, at some point you inevitably will cross paths with Alan, Coventry's talented independent film maker. Alan has been, for a long time, among the most dedicated of chroniclers for happenings in Coventry, both big and small. If you have not had the pleasure of meeting him in one… Continue reading Alan
While our walk-and-talk interviews sometimes fall into familiar patterns, our interviewees always guided us to seeing each and every spot in Spon End with fresh new eyes. One of our interviews that did just that was with 'Toecutter' (a name adopted from the Mad Max movie), a skateboarder with a keen eye for all the… Continue reading Toecutter
Mandy's name has come up multiple times throughout many of our interviews and meetings. She serves as Spon End's neighbourhood officer from Whitefriars Housing. Among many of her responsibilities is the hosting of regular housing and community surgeries in the Oasis Café (see our post on Lindsey here). She has been especially helpful and proactive… Continue reading Mandy and Ian
Few, perhaps, would come to use the term 'luscious' for describing Spon End. Having said that, David’s story of Spon End was an eye-opening walk through the traces of the hidden gems of Spon End that speak to memories of treasures past and present. David, more even than any of our other storytellers, instructed us… Continue reading David
What ultimately binds us to the places we live in, the places we love, pass by or leave? What makes a neighbourhood? We don't play favourites, although throughout our project we have had soft spots for Spon End's animals, its many plaques, colourful tiles and walls, as much as we have been engulfed with the stories… Continue reading Paul Leather
Tucked away in front of the Oasis Café and close to Spon Gate School is number 1 Upper Spon Street, the home of a beautifully renovated, small, red brick church. If you happen to be walking past it during the weekend, the sound of singing and sweet choir melodies catch your immediate attention. It is difficult… Continue reading Pastor Abiodun Olaitan
Spon End 