Lindsey

Lindsey runs the popular Oasis Café on Spon Street. She is a member of the leadership team of the local Bethel Church. The Church was founded in 1937 and has as its mission: To be present in the everyday rhythm of life in the community of Spon End where the church building is physically located and…

Kylie

I met with Kylie and her fiancé on the rainy Friday morning of August the 24th. We had met earlier already while she was walking her big, but friendly dog just off Windsor Street. We arranged for an interview to chat about her experiences of living in Spon End. She explained to me that she…

Spon Spun Arts & Heritage Trail: ‘Reinvention’

After visiting a couple of Spon Spun Summer Saturdays, we attended the Spon Spun Arts & Heritage Trail on 15 September 2018. The trail spanned from Lower Holyhead Road to the Broomfield Tavern. Our starting point however, was the subway, it is from here where this project started, after all! It was a gloriously sunny day as we…

Cuckooing

We had never heard of the term "Cuckooing" before it was first mentioned to us by one and then a few of our other interviewees. The term originally derives from the Cuckoo bird that takes over nests from more vulnerable bird species. In a social context, however, it refers to a criminal practice in which…

Spon Spun Summer Saturdays

The "Spon Spun Summer Saturdays" are an important part of the annual Spon Spun Festival. This year they took place on August 25 and September 8, next to the Rose community centre and in the Oasis Cafe. The Saturdays brought together more interesting stories of Spon End. The Photo Archive Miners displayed old photographs from 22 Norfolk Street,…

Hope Street- then and now

Part of our project includes collaborating with the brilliant Photo Archive Miners team, as they also dig up photographs and stories of the city. One of the finds that they shared with us is an image from a Coventry Art College Exhibition (1964), showing George Poole House on Hope street. Mark Cook has provided us with…