Coventry makes us proud!

Hi. Just seen this regards Kenilworth Tomatoes. The railway took the produce to London where Kenilworth tomatoes had a reputation for quality. The Victorian era saw a large expansion of the town to the west ... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenilworth

Hi Philip! Kenilworth tomatoes were said to have a unique flavour because of something in the soil there. I think Grindrod's nursery was in Whitemoor Lane, near where my father had his first business premises, and he was sometimes able to get some off-ration. I should think most of the produce went to London hotels like Claridge's etc - the quality really was that good.

Hi One year at a church harvest festival, loads of tomatoes were on display that had been grown in grow-more bags, window boxes & greenhouses. So as I decided that I was not to be out-done, I actually put a label on mine which stated that mine were all free-range. I had grown mine up canes at the bottom of my garden. I still have not got my head around fruit & veg being described as free range, as some are. Are some kept on leads or left to roam around in the garden? Maybe like the advert for some cordial drinks.

What a lovely thread, even though we've been "down under" for 40 years I could relate to almost every comment! I remember going to the markets every Saturday on the bus (Number 2) with my Dad. We'd get the fruit and veg and usually some fish or a chicken. Dad worked as a green-grocer for many years and after he left the trade loved going to the markets.

Hi Philip! I rather suspect it's about what you fertilise 'em with! (I.e. whether or not the fertiliser is from a free range source!) 'Free range' is a much-abused term, methinks...

Hi What a lovely sentiment, Barbinoz. Thank you. Do you have a web or history association from where you live now? I met my wife at a church choir that she joined with friends from working at the Brico in the early sixties. Your one time neck of the woods.

I'm vey surprised that there has been no mention, either in this thread or the one on attracting visitors to Coventry, of the Belgrade Theatre. When it opened, the Belgrade had the distinction of being the first regional theatre to be built since the Second World War. Despite having had mixed fortunes over the years, it has produced some of this country's most distinguished actors and directors, and has premiered the work of a number of major playwrights. Other cities such as Glasgow with the Citizens, or Leicester with the Haymarket and more recently Curve seem to take a good deal more pride in their theatres than Coventry (and perhaps sell them rather harder). While I'm well aware that theatre is very much a minority interest in the UK, there is nevertheless a significant audience out there. Pitlochry, for example, is in most respects a fairly ordinary small town in Scotland but its Festival Theatre plays throughout the season to packed houses, many of whom spend an entire week in the town so as to see all of the plays, and thus provide a significant boost to the local economy.

Hello. The Belgrade struggles to survive, Greenman sadly. Subsidies help keep it open. In the early days of my retirement I sometimes accompanied a lunch time sing-along there mostly for the senior aged people. The downstairs cafe remains open but last Autumn the upstair restaurant closed except for specific bookings or performance dates. I have to hold my hands up as the last performance that I went to was before I retired, yet my mum went for most Thursday matinees both there & the Hippodrome when she was living & working in Coventry.

You're not alone, Philip, and it is virtually impossible to justify arts subsidies in the current economic climate. Up here in the frozen north, we live equidistant from two professional theatres: The Dukes at Lancaster, which has struggled for some years because of lack of funding; and the Theatre by the Lake in Keswick, which is flourishing and seems able to draw on the local population as well as the large number of tourists that the area attracts. For my wife and myself, a visit to either of them calls for a considerable commitment, since it involves an 80 mile round trip - so I do rather envy you good folks down there with so many excellent theatres within easy reach.

Hi That is in itself a good reason for being or living here, your comments --; Greenman said "so I do rather envy you good folks down there with so many excellent theatres within easy reach" Thank you for your comments.

The Belgrade continues to put on some excellent shows and by far the most popular are musicals. I think we are very lucky to be able to see so many shows either direct from the West End or before they go there. I think they struggle to get full attendance for lesser known shows. My favourite show in recent years is the brilliant 'One Night in November' about the Blitz. We saw it first in the smaller B2 and then when they moved it to the Main Stage which I think was the following year. It was a very moving performance and very scary. It made you feel very emotional and very much part of that dreadful night.

The problem for all theatres is costs; if a theatre is near or in a city centre, it must have enormous rates for a start; then there's upkeep, all the backstage staff, advertising, scenery and costume design; on top of all that casts, especially if they are well-known names, have to be paid significant money. And it all translates into high ticket prices, which the public are reluctant to pay, especially now. As well as ticket prices, the public have to get there, possibly by car, another cost; public transport may not be available that is compatible with performance times, especially finish times. It's easy to see why audiences are shrinking in many theatres; as they shrink and income goes down, many theatres increase ticket prices, and that compounds the problem. Cinemas have much the same problem, too, don't they? With the scope of TV and on-line entertainment providing instant availability of a wide range of programmes, it's hard to see an alternative for theatres or cinema that doesn't involve subsidies. Personally, I think theatres should be subsidised, and in particular in the form of low cost access for school children. I was able to go to the Coventry Theatre to see Coppelia when I was at school, and there is nothing like seeing something like that 'in the flesh'. A start in theatre has produced many of our best actors and performers. I have to say that I liked the Coventry Theatre, and much preferred it to the Belgrade; it certainly attracted many very well-known acts in the past (for which there is already a thread), and they definitely pulled the audiences in, too.

Hi The convenience of the 'Wooden Box' in the corner of our living rooms has a lot to do with our social habbits. On over seven hundred returned forms that were being analysed, where personal interests were asked for, just over three quarters stated that watching 'tele' was number one interest. ps. That gives my age away, 'Wooden Box'. At home, even our tele, eleven years old and with a 'tube' is all plastic with odd shaped bits inside that would need my son or Rob to explain what they are!

Hi Philip! Just to show my age too - when I started my career, one of the first things I had to learn about was the proliferation of funny hot glass things with metal bits inside! Just try asking a new electronics graduate what a pentode or a suppressor grid is and watch the look on his/her face!!!!

Hi again Philip. You know, wherever any of us live, there are plus points and minus points. Nowhere in this world is perfect! However, I think that the thing that should concern us all is CHANGE - especially the nature and pace of change that we all experience. Some of it is good, some bad; but whatever we have today, it may not be here in a few months time, or we might have something that we never dreamed of having. Much depends on our priorities and aspirations, doesn't it? Maybe we should just be grateful for what we have today, and just live for the moment, eh?