Coventry Poetry

Hi Everyone I think I lost this thread when it became "non-Coventry", but I'm pleased to have re-discovered it. There is very little "Coventry" in the things I write, but if I stretch reality a little bit I could find a few that highlight the differences between growing up in Coventry and living now in Australia. See what you think about this one, which involves a bit of collaboration with my daughter-in-law, Renee:

Love it. Very clever both of you. All so true!!! Give me the cake of soap though. Hope your trip to Coventry was great. Gilly

Thanks Gilly! There was so much water in, around, and above Coventry that a shower was pretty much compulsory, whether you were indoors or outside! Stayed with my sister, and she provided both gel and cake for the indoor variety. To be honest, I did find the gel quite useful. I like to go for a run each morning through the woodlands around Solihull when I stay there, and the gel comes in handy for getting the mud out of my socks afterwards. It looks a bit weird, stomping up and down on gel-filled socks while in the shower, but it is quite effective!

Whilst looking through some old Riley Register magazines I came across this missive by Michael Baker who was a member at that time. It is dated 1996 and this is reflected in the verse. It echoes my sentiments. It used to be a lovely place, medieval at its core, A cathedral and narrow streets, oak timbered buildings of yore, Set in lovely countryside, mostly royal ground, It had an old town hall and there were castles near around. My family all came from this town, skilled people to their call, Cycle frame makers, instrument makers, gearcutters, one and all, The city had an atmosphere, you could feel it at a touch, You couldnt believe that such a grimy place could produce so very much. There used to be a saying here, "that if it could be made by man", Then it was surely made in this town from an aeroplane to a pan, You really should have been there in those halcyon days, To see thousands pour from factories all going different ways. You could go to places vibrant with their slaves, Now there's only Big Macs, video stores and of course the supersaves, The Alvis and the chain have gone, the Ivy cottage long since pulled down, Between Adolf and the politicians they've buggered up my town. There used to be Cov Tech, a learning seat of excellence, Now we've universities dispensing social work at yours and my expense, No more the mechanics' institute, the craft guilds all dead and gone, And the college just trains for NVQs, dished out to anyone. It might impress the visitors, those daring buildings there, But the folks who worked in Coventry didn't get their rightful share, Thugs and yobs in the precinct, new age travellers in the park, And no-one wants to walk anywhere, especially in the dark. So when you come to Coventry, our heritage to see, Think about the old days, spare a thought for what used to be, I'm glad I'm old enough, just, to remember Coventry with its crown, But I've got to tell you lovely folk, they've buggered up my town !

I have just one word to say - BRILLIANT. Thanks for posting.

Sadly this poem is so true of my birthplace now. An excellent poem though.

Hi all Where ever we are, it's how we as a community make it. I cannot turn a blind eye to aspects that disgust me & pretend that they are not there, whether antisocial behaviour or architectural vandalism from our civil authorities. I went to the Belgrade on Saturday evening to watch "Brassed-Off". I went on bus & came home on bus. Whether I would have survived in other areas of our city might be another issue. If I had been a young lady in all of my finery, it may have been another issue. I just don't know. From the times in the fifties where most of us would return home from the Loco, or wherever, using public transport, we have changed that, by always travelling in our sealed bubbles (our motor-cars) which made the vulnerable folk even more vulnerable to be out after dark. A few years ago, I was on hols with a friend in the English Riviera (Torquay), when, whilst out for an early morning walk we walked passed a smashed to smithereens bus shelter & shop window, blood all-over everywhere site. We later learnt that three youths & a girl had been detained. My friend who lives in Radford, suddenly said "Have we walked back home"? The fact is that we imagine that Coventry is on its own with bad issues. I saw a stat recently showing that the rural locality of Lincoln had twice the crime rate of Coventry. Mind you, please come & see me if I do end up in Walsgrave. I love you all very much.

Only people who don't get out much would think that Coventry is on its own. All places have their day, and there was a period where Royal Leamington Spa had the distinction of having more crime per capita than almost anywhere in the country, certainly the Midlands.

Whether you make the walk back home from wherever in one piece depends much upon which areas you have to walk through. Downtown cores have deteriorated everywhere, their derelict buildings, alleys and dark corners becoming hangouts for drug pushers, users, and rowdies. It has been a sign of the times since the '70's.

I forget who it was who remarked about locking car doors while driving in the USA, but I had been doing that long before I arrived in North America, regardless of where I was in the UK.

That's a pretty awful poem. Coventry University has a world class Engineering department (and my studying there means I've stayed in the city and work here). Warwick University brings a lot of business into the city and is attracting hi-tech automotive. Both Universities has business parks that bring in new businesses and many of them expand and stay in the city. I regularly walk in and out of the city centre at the nights, and have done so for twenty years. It's not the nicest of environments (I prefer to be near traffic) but it's not a 'no go' area. Where are these new age travellers everywhere? Once in a blue moon a group camp up somewhere on common land? So what? Everyone needs somewhere to live. Treat them with respect and they might return that respect. They're just people who live a different lifestyle. A lot of companies have gone - this happens everywhere. Poorly management private firms becoming poorly managed public firms and some of them end up closing, whilst others go on to great success. The key is to create a city that can adapt to change and is on the cutting edge of industry - not reliant on half a dozen assembly plants. The only thing that really lets this city down is the centre. You can't have a thriving city without a heart.

I must admit that my sentiments are with flapdoodle on this. The Ode harks back to a time that never really existed anywhere and modern Coventry is really not much different to anywhere else. We forget the bad things and only remember the days of endless sunshine, after all nostalgia isn't what it used to be. Maybe my feelings are different having moved here over forty years ago and decided to stay. I don't drive but cycle and walk everywhere and modern Coventry may have its problems but has a lot to offer, my kids love the place. The only times I ever felt physically threatened was back in the mid-seventies when everywhere was a lot rougher. I also try to live in the present most of the time, although I do have a love of history, because in a very short space of time the present becomes the past and is gone forever

I was thinking recently about the old sayings.............. This is mostly autobiographical. I hope you like it.

A pleasure to read JW, you have it all in One, very cleverly composed.

Thank you Dreamtime - that one has been on my "to-do" list for quite a while, and suddenly it started to work out. I think that "centre" in the third verse should be replaced by the word "place" to make it work just a bit better.