Stories of Special and not-so-special Places
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
On several earlier occasions, we had tried to get in touch with Kay, who is known and praised locally for her community involvement and social commitment. Fortunately for us, we were lucky enough to catch her during one of our mid-August walking rounds. She invited us into her home for a long, candid and detailed… Continue reading Kay
Spon End brings together people from around the world. Many of our interviewees share an Irish background, while others come from much further away. Carol and I met with Badria and two of her friends, Muna and Chaltu (read their story here), to listen to their experiences of living in Coventry. This post covers the… Continue reading Muna
John has lived in Spon End all his life. It was difficult to interview him because we were constantly interrupted by people passing by wanting to have a short chat with him. "In the old days", he said "everybody knew everybody." Perhaps that might not be the case anymore today, but everybody knows John. We… Continue reading John
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… Continue reading Lindsey
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… Continue reading Kylie
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… Continue reading Cuckooing
Avi, the new owner of the Synagogue on Barras Lane, was among the first Spon End residents we interviewed. We met on the last Sunday of July for a coffee at MacDonald's in Alvis Park, named after the legendary factory that stood here once. It took a while to find out who the owner of… Continue reading Avi
It is a little known fact that Spon End used to host a sizeable Jewish community. The only book written on Jewish history in Spon End is Harry Levine's The Jews of Coventry. The text, which is difficult to get hold of, was published by the Coventry Jewish Community at the centenary celebration of the… Continue reading Jewish Spon End
Spon End 