Month: October 2024

Categories
meet ups

A friendly meeting with long term Facebook friends…

I have just got home from a dinner at the Old Mill in Baginton where I met a long term Facebook friend from Sardinia. Massimiliano Schirru and I have been friend on Facebook for over ten years and the other day I thought I would give him a call to have a chat. It turns out that his English is far better than my Italian and we talked about his Roman Fort and upcoming visit to the UK. Obviously I invited him to Coventry.

Our guest is in the enviable position of owning his own Roman Fort which took up most of the conversation. We discussed the Lunt Roman Fort and the challenges facing the heritage industry. Max is well connected in the heritage industry and I learned a lot about German and Polish Roman Forts which operate in the same way as his own and Lunt. At eight I waved him off wishing him a happy time in Britain taking in our Roman inheritance.

Categories
church crawling

The Old Cathedral of St Michaels, Coventry

Coventry is blessed with cathedrals (Cathedra?) in that it has three of them. Of the first only a few ruins remain and of the third it stands but the third remains a ruin in memory of the Coventry Blitz of November 1940.

St Michaels was built in the between the 14th and 15th centuries in impressive red sandstone. The spire is the third highest in England and the choir sat on meisercords showing the famous Dance of Death. Nothing remains of these carvings beyond an account held by the city archives. It was an impressive Gothic church covered in carvings with wonderful stained glass windows. It was raised to Cathedral status in 1918 and served in that capacity till its destruction in the 1940s.

In 1940 it was destroyed during the Coventry Blitz by incendiary bombs. In an act of defiance against the Nazi hate Provest Richard Howard had the words “Father Forgive” inscribed behind the alter and used his Christmas address (Christmas Underfire), broadcast which was recorded in the bombed out ruins, to the world, to call for peace and reconciliation.

Housed in the ruins are the Coventry Blitz museum which I regard as one of the two second best museums in Coventry. A wonderful collection in an intimate space, well worth a visit.

The ruins of the Cathedral are a meditative and reflective space remaining holy ground and a national monument not to war or reprisal but to reconciliation and peace. If you’re visiting Coventry the Cathedral ruins are well worth a trip.

Categories
Uncategorized

The Phil Silvers Archival Museum, Coventry

One of the best museums in Coventry is the Phil Silvers Archival Museum situated in Fargo Village. Fargo is home to a number of great shows, a fantastic barber shop and one of the smallest museums in the world. Size really has very little to do with the success of a museum. I have been to some huge, famous and well funded museums that have left me cold. The Phil Silvers museum is clearly a labour of love that rewards a visit and return visits.

If you are anything like me you grew up watching Bilko on the tv or remember Silvers from his appearance in Carry on “Follow that Camel”. He was a fantastic comic actor whose Phil Silvers show ran for a record breaking forty nine years. Modern admirers include Mark Hamill, Phil Jupiters and many others.

The collection itself is donated largely by the Silvers family and contains personal and professional objects associated with Silvers. These are lovingly displayed in a professional but not cold modern style allowing the visitor to discover them personally making visiting an intimate experience. It’s this personal, intimate and authentic experience that makes the display so effective putting it on a par with the Blitz museum and maybe even the Lunt.

Opening hours are 11am to 5pm Wednesday to Sunday.

Categories
Submarines

HMS M2

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