UK City of Culture 2021

I am dismayed that an entrance fee of £14 has been introduced for the Transport Museum. I understand that upon application for a pass, entrance will still be free for Coventry residents but surely 18 months away from being City of Culture, charging visitors to gain entry to one of the most interesting venues of the city will be counter effective in attracting people.

In January I made a suggestion to the City of Culture team which I expect has been filed in a deep hole somewhere. It entailed souvenir local banknotes which as my email [attached below] has been used extensively throughout the UK over recent years with varying success. However, even when the local authorities cancelled the system, thousands of pounds worth of banknotes still exist that were "paid for" and will now never be reclaimed so no monies can be lost by the issuing authority. "Coventry has been awarded City of Culture 2021. To coincide with this why not consider issuing local banknotes for spending in local shops & outlets within the city as other UK towns and cities have done in recent years. My suggestion Many of these banknotes I am sure would be purchased and saved by collectors (like myself) and never enter circulation and therefore generate income for the city. Local banknotes have been introduced by Bristol, Exeter, Stroud, Brixton, Totnes, Lewes, Bath, Brighton, The Lake District, Kingston, Calderdale, Walthamstow and Hawick in Scotland, usually in denominations of £1, £5, £10 and £20. Bath used its own currency unit called the Bath Oliver, Calderdale the Favour, with both units having an exchange rate equivalent to £1. Banknotes were also issued with unusual & quirky face values (£4.50 and £15 by Exeter and £21 by Lewes and Totnes) Some towns have now discontinued the notes (Exeter & Stroud for example) but I believe could be a novel and successful money making scheme and would generate local interest. Bristol, Lewes & Totnes for example are on their 3rd series of notes and the Lake District their 2nd. These banknotes sell very well from the local issuing office online and also on afterwards on Ebay. UK Local banknotes have featured local personalities (i.e. Lake District featured Beatrix Potter & Alfred Wainwright, Bristol featured Banksy and Concorde and Brixton featured David Bowie) There is plenty of scope for Coventry including the cycle, motorcycle, motor and aviation industries, Godiva & Leofric, Frank Whittle, Philip Larkin, Ellen Terry, Mo Mowlam and The Specials. Perhaps The Three Spires of Coventry featuring on a £3 note would be appropriate."

Unbelievable

From what I read the £14 charge entitles the customer to visit the museum again without charge for the rest of the year. That sounds good, but many visitors will be tourists visiting the city only once, and other non-Coventry residents like myself will only pop in once a year, or even less, just to see some specific part of the museum or to catch up with old acquaintances like the cream coloured Standard Vanguard which has been a museum exhibit since the Herbert Museum days. I first visited the old cars with my father when I was a child. Since then I have happily visited the museum with my wife, with friends, with my children, and recently with my grandchildren. Sorry, I ain't paying £14 so my visits will now cease. I think a lot of other people will be the same. What will the council do when visitor numbers tumble and so there are less people to spend money in the cafe and the shop?

I've had an idea for the City of Culture. It's about creating a show garden for either an RHS show or Gardeners World Live in 2021. It's something a bit different from the usual and it'd give the chance to show Coventry as more than the 'concrete jungle' people perceive it as. Afterwards it could be transported to be a main feature in the city, say in the Memorial Park or Greyfriars Green. It could also be a new way to show people the richness and variety of the city, incorporating elements reflecting the history and culture of the city. I've done a quick model: There's load of stuff in there, some of which is quite obvious and others not because it's particular plants. Anyway, in there I've got: Lady Godiva and Peeping Tom Cofa's Tree Three Spires City wall and gates City crest and colours Sherbourne River (partially covered) and Babba Luca Weaving, watchmaking, cycle and motor industry and the decline of manufacturing 'Coventry' blue The Blitz The Precinct cruciform Ring Road Two tone Green Belt The expansion of the universities and student accommodation

What a great idea AD, though maybe do it for 2020 if they can, to advertise the year in advance. Or even hold a bit of a garden show in the city 2021 with entries design to reflect the city? At the garden shows the RHS charges the garden providers a fortune to be allowed to build - Coventry could just ask them to pay for the just garden installation and removal.

Tourist attractions and historic sites set for big changes after £8.5m funding boost - Telegraph report

Recently I've been watching a documentary by Suzannah Lipscombe, Dan Jones and Rob Bell about 2000 years of history of London and thought something similar would be good for us as part of the City of Culture. I know I'm probably preaching to the converted here but what does everyone think? Between the three of them they've got a broad knowledge base and there are different aspects that would appeal to all three I think. Anyone have any other tv historians they think would do a decent job - Lucy Worsley? Dan Snow? Starkey? Kate Williams? I might draft an e-mail or two to their representatives/agents, production company etc. to put feelers out and sell the idea so they know there will be interesting stuff to talk about and can go beyond the usual Godiva and the Blitz. I will of course be directing them to Rob's wonderful site as well! I'll get hold of the city of culture committee as well to sound them out and see if I can get them to approach them officially.

I have to say that the tapestry day with the series of experts was mostly very interesting. Just about everyone referenced David McGrory I rather hope that the committee would start to approach online groups focused on Coventry, for ideas and support.

Don't hold your breath Helen

Talking about the Coventry Cross made me think of the reason it was moved - essentially to make a larger dining area for a restaurant that won't need it in the near future. What state will the City of Culture be next year? If things are back to normal it might be a great boost but if we're still social distancing, culture might be the last thing on people's to do list. Also, how are plans progressing during lock down? Should they postpone it? Can anyone still afford it?

Does everyone know that they've postponed this until May next year ?

Yes - May 2021 to May 2022 (so we get an extra month). Also new promotional video

Thanks Peter Wow, I'm impressed. They've abandoned their previous confused concepts for an entirely new set of confused concepts. They've blown more money on a new livery and logo and it's totally no better than the first. What idiot thought shortening Coventry to Cov was a good idea right now? The logo is strangely old fashioned. Like something out of an era before computer graphics. "This is the city where movement began" err, no it's not. If you asked citizens or historians in the area to come up with something Coventry is known for, being 'where movement began' would not feature once. Well, unless you count those who said they couldn't wait to move somewhere else. This is not a good omen for next year.