A mysterious walk in the fog

Despite freezing fog and bone-chilling cold, the members of the Willenhall Healthy Walks Group set out for Willenhall Woods yesterday afternoon. This turned out to be a magical experience: the deep stillness of the misty woods caused us to tap into a vein of childhood reminiscence. For some of us, Narnia sprang to mind, and we half expected Mr Tumnus to come strolling along the path. Others imagined themselves creeping through the Wildwood of the Wind in the Willows, looking out for the entrance to Mr Badger's subterranean home. There was definitely a special atmosphere in the Woods that afternoon: how lucky we are to have this ancient, spiritual place right on our doorstep.

The Hagard Christmas Fete: Gateway to the festive season

The first day of December saw a jolly gathering at the Hagard Community Space for the annual Christmas Fete: a great way to start the festive season. There were craft stalls, tombola tables with some lovely gifts, delicious cakes and biscuits and a magical Santa's Grotto.



Setting up at the beginning of the event

The Wind Band performs

 Musical entertainment was provided by the Coventry Youth Wind Band, run by the Performing Arts Service. This talented group played a selection of carols and favourite Christmas tunes. Santa took the baton at one point, and made a good job of conducting the band.




Santa's got rhythm


The music students of Ernesford Grange School took their turn on the stage, and after performing some of their songs, they led the audience in a hearty rendition of 'The Fairytale of New York' and Slade's 'Merry Christmas'. This isn't the first time I have enjoyed community singing in Willenhall: maybe Gareth Malone should come along and organise us into a choir, as when we are in full voice we are very good indeed.

The ever-changing Sowe Valley: from a trickle to a torrent

After a period of torrential rain, it's always a thrill to go and look at the flooded Sowe. The transformation is amazing, from a small river not much wider in places than a brook, to a wide sheet of water alive with birds. Pictures can't really do it justice: it's as much about the sound of the water rushing and gurgling under bridges, the scream of the gulls, the plaintive pipe of the moorhen, the aquaplaning of a skein of geese as they land. There's a dank, marshy smell in the air, and the wind blowing across the temporary lake feels laden with moisture.

The golf course, Ernesford Grange

Willows with their feet wet

Taken from the Brookstray, Ernesford Grange



The 'oxbow' by the Brookstray path, completely flooded

It's interesting to be able to observe such widespread flooding from a relatively safe vantage point, though standing on the bridges makes me realise how treacherous the River Sowe can be when in full spate. So far, householders in Ernesford Grange and Willenhall have not been directly threatened by the rising of the water, but on reflection, it has to flow somewhere. The Sowe runs into the Avon, which has its confluence with the Severn at Tewkesbury: the volume of the water must be phenomenal by this time.

We are fortunate to be living in a green area, a designated flood plain which can never be built on. We can observe a landscape which is never the same two days running, and be n touch with the power of nature only a few yards away from our doorstep.

Happy Birthday, Sowe Valley Project – and here’s to another year!

Despite howling gales and torrential rain, there was a real spirit of celebration at the Hagard on November 22nd, as a large number of people gathered for the third birthday of the Sowe Valley Project.

 Present at the party were Stephen Trotter, Chief Executive of the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust and Peter Loat the Grants Officer for Natural England.

 Anna Squires, the Sowe Valley Co-ordinator of the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, announced some very good news. Thanks to Natural England and the Big Lottery, funding has been secured for another year.

 There were cheers all round, as the project has made a significant difference to the Sowe Valley. Volunteers have cleared the river bed of shopping trolleys and other accumulated debris. The invasive Himalayan Balsam has been removed from the river bank, and native species have been planted in its place. There has also been a creative spin-off, which inspired several murals around the area, as well as the beautiful tapestry now hanging on the wall of the Hagard. This was made by members of the Willenhall Craft Group and specially dedicated to two sadly missed members of the community, Meto Lakha and John Russell.

The continuation of the Sowe Valley project gives us so much to look forward to in 2013. We are lucky to have this large tract of open space right on our doorstep: the work of Anna Squires and Lucy Hawker, the Training and Education Officer, has helped to enhance our environment and make us aware of the variety of plants and wild creatures in our area. So here’s to another year of riverside strolls, bat walks, clearing and planting and generally getting out and about in the beautiful green corridor of the Sowe Valley.





The Peace Walk: Celebrating 800 years of worship in Willenhall

At 11am on a bright, chilly November morning, members of St John the Divine congregation and the Willenhall Local History Group met outside the Library, ready to set off on a Peace Walk.

Ouside the Library

 The aim of this walk, part of the two-day Peace Festival in Willenhall, was to pass by the various places of worship in our locality, and reflect on Willenhall's historic role as a place of peace, shelter and acceptance. We set out along Remembrance Road, where we encountered Paula wrestling with some self-setting tree roots in the flowerbed by the Hagard car park. (Bulbs and hardy perennials have now been planted there as part of the Peace Festival.)

Those tree roots were stubborn- but they did come out in the end

We passed by the Free Church, which is set in a peaceful oasis of green set back from Remembrance Road.

The Free Church, Remembrance Road

After that, we headed upwards to St James Lane, where St Anne's Roman Catholic church is situated in beautiful, well-maintained grounds. Before the church was built in the 1970s, this area was open land with a large, perilous water-filled quarry pit. There were market gardens along the Lane, as well as prefabs (which had all mod cons and were quite popular with the residents)

Walking along St James Lane

The piece of land you see on the picture above, just before the presbytery and church, was once associated with the Shrapnel family. In the 1920s, Gordon, the great-grandson of General Henry Shrapnel, bought the plot and built a detached bungalow there. He constructed it out of concrete blocks, which he cast himself on the spot. There is no sign of the house now: the land was compulsorily purchased for £25 by the council to build prefabs, and now remains uncultivated, a haven for wildlife.

The name 'Shrapnel' has particular resonance at this time of year: General Henry Shrapnel invented the Bursting Bomb and gave his name to flying shards of metal. On a more peaceful note, he also designed a patent corkscrew: a special silver one was presented to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

On Dunsmore Avenue, passing by the side of St Anne's

     We continued our autumnal walk along Dunsmore Avenue: the name of this road recalls the Heath, across which medieval pilgrims  would trudge on their way to the Coventry Priory and Cathedral. At the time of Godiva, in the mid 11th Century, Coventry was an important place of pigrimage, to view holy relics such as the arm of St Augustine of Hippo, the head of St Osburg, and a piece of the True Cross.  

One of the History Group's most significant discoveries was the site of St James' Chapel, which was built around 1130 as a place of rest and prayer for the pilgrims who had crossed Dunsmore Heath on their way to Coventry. Ancient documents dating back to 1183 confirm that the chapel was  the property of Coventry Priory. By overlaying old maps with the street layout of Willenhall, we have located the site of the old chapel, which is on Knightlow Avenue. The plot has never been built on, but the reason for that is mundane rather than mystical: it's the junction point for several drains.





At the site of St James' Chapel

It was time to head back through the estate to St John the Divine,where we admired the new commemorative quilt. This was stitched by local residents as a tribute to their loved ones, including our late Chairman, John  Russell.






Many thanks to the Rev Katrina Scott and the church volunteers for the refreshments which we all enjoyed in the Church Hall after the walk. It was lovely to sit down together, have a cup of tea and a slice of cake and reflect on the words which Katrina had placed on the table:

May there be peace:

Peace between cultures

Peace between races

Peace between nations 

Peace between faiths

The Willenhall Peace Walk 2012: come and join us

As part of our celebrations for Peace Month, the Willenhall Local History Group and the Healthy Walks team are joining forces for a Willenhall Peace Walk.

We are meeting at Willenhall Library, Remembrance Road, at 11am on Friday 9th November.  We'll be taking a gentle stroll around the area, passing by local places of worship and places of historical significance.
The walk will end at around noon, at St John the Divine Church Hall, where we will have refreshments.

All are welcome: the walk is not strenuous and does not involve trekking along muddy paths. So come along and join us.

The Willenhall Healthy Walks Group in action

Willenhall Healthy Walks

Since March this year (in fact I joined on the first day of Spring) every Tuesday afternoon has been dedicated to a ramble through the Willenhall countryside. The aim is health and fitness, under the guidance of our Walks Leader, Rachel. We meet up at 2pm outside Willenhall Library, come rain or shine, and strike out from there in whatever direction the fancy takes us.So far I have managed 22 walks, but there are keen members of the group who have never missed a single one.




Bat boxes in the woods: they have a ladder of mesh so the bats can crawl up to their refuge


These walks have brought home to me just how lucky we are to have so much green space in which to wander freely. The River Sowe contributes so much to our area: it's beautiful, ever-changing, and because of its liability to flood, it guarantees us a large area which can never be built on.

Part of the Seven Arches Viaduct over the Sowe

On rare hot afternoons, we strolled through Willenhall Woods, where we came across a very strange carving on a tree stump, which really intrigued us.




A mysterious character


We have really got to know the secret paths and remote spots where the noise of the traffic seems very far away and you could imagine yourself in deep countryside. We've watched the seasons change, as buds became blossom and the berries ripened. Now we're into Autumn, and I for one am looking forward to wrapping up warm and seeing what our wonderful landscape has to offer as the days shorten and the year turns.

So why not come and join us? 2pm, outside Willenhall Library, next Tuesday? It's a date!

Sunshine on Heritage Day

The September sun shone down on us last Saturday (8th September) when we held our Heritage Open Saturday at St John the Divine Church. A steady stream of visitors came to look at our displays, which included a special tribute to Sir Basil Spence, the architect not only of Coventry Cathedral, but of three suburban churches: St Chad's in Wood End, St Oswald's in Tile Hill and our very own St John the Divine.

Many thanks go to Katrina Scott, the Vicar of St John the Divine who hosted the event so warmly, also the churchwardens and helpers. This is the second time the Willenhall Local History Group has joined forces with St John the Divine for this occasion, which provides an excellent opportunity to showcase church and community history.

I'd also like to use this space to acknowledge the contribution of the young artists who came to the two heritage art workshops during the summer holidays. Some of their art was featured on Saturday; unfortunately we didn't have room for the big scroll the children are working on as an ongoing project, so here are some details from Willenhall's very own rival to the Bayeux Tapestry.

Heritage Saturday at St John the Divine Church, Willenhall

Here's a reminder about our event at St John the Divine Church, Willenhall, on Saturday 8th September from 12 noon till 4pm.

We are celebrating 55 years of church and community life in Willenhall, as part of Heritage Open weekend.

 Come along and join us to chat about local history and look at our displays, have a tour of the church or maybe just enjoy some of our delicious home-made cakes.

The Willenhall Local History Group and St John the Divine Church have joined forces to organise this event

The Coventry Godcake

The recent Olympics certainly made their mark in Coventry. Support for the Torch Relay was amazing all along the route, Godiva awoke in spectacular style and  Broadgate Square was the perfect venue for the Global Market.

This summer also saw the revival of a local speciality, the Coventry Godcake. I tried one the other day for the very first time: it's a triangle of puff pastry, crisp and light on the outside and filled with spicy currants and raisins.

 Coventry Godcakes date back to the Middle Ages; Godparents traditionally gave them to their Godchildren on New Year's Day, with a blessing for the year ahead. The three corners, and the three cuts in the top of the cake, are said to represent the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

I hope these delicious cakes are here to stay, a taste of tradition and another trademark for our city.

An eccelsiastical week

In preparation for our Heritage Open Day event at St John the Divine Church, Willenhall, I've been roving round on the bus, photographing specific churches.

 Sir Basil Spence, most renowned as the architect of Coventry Cathedral, was also responsible for the design of three suburban churches, built on the 1950s estates of Willenhall, Wood End and Tile Hill. All three churches are celebrating their 55th anniversary this year; they have stood the test of time and their campanile towers are still an important feature of the local landscape.





St John the Divine, Willenhall

 The project to build these churches began in 1954, using money allocated by the War Damage Commission. There were only enough funds for one brick-built church; however, three churches could be built very economically using 'no fines' concrete. This method involved pouring concrete containing no fine aggregates such as sand, into suppporting 'shutters'. The concrete set very quickly and the supports could then be taken away to reveal rough-cast slabs. It was an economical method which allowed each new estate to have its own church, rugged and characterful.

St Chad's, Wood End

There is a real honesty about these churches: they are fit for purpose, and although the bell towers have neede attention over the years, the actual fabric of the buildings is quite low maintenance. Having spacious church halls attached means that community activities can take place, and the central location makes the church a focal point of each estate.

St Oswald's, Tile Hill

We will be celebrating 55 years of Sir Basil Spence's architecture at St John the Divine on Saturday 8th September from 12 noon till 4pm. Come along and see our history displays, join in our children's craft session and enjoy some of our delicious home-made cakes.

Conflagration

Coming home from Earlsdon on Wednesday evening, I was amazed to see a huge plume of smoke billowing up over south-east Coventry. This was what it looked like from Anarchy Bridge, by the station.

Photo courtesy of Clare Weir

I got on the No 16 bus in Pool Meadow, heading for Ernesford Grange. In the Aldermoor, people were coming out of their houses to see what was happening, and there was a real sense of alarm among the bus passengers. As we turned onto Allard Way the smoke rose sky- high in a thick swirling column. I could see that the fire must be beyond the railway line in the direction of Baginton.

When I got home, I could smell acrid burning on our street, and a haze hung in the air which gave the evening a premature autumnal feel. I rushed to tune into Radio Coventry and Warwickshire and discovered that the blaze was at a woodworking firm on Siskin Drive.

White smoke was still rising into the sky the next day, and firefighters were struggling to control the flames which were devouring the underside of the collapsed factory.

As I write this, it's Friday evening and the air still carries the taint of burning. There is something really shocking about a blaze of that magnitude, and we can be very thankful that no lives were lost.

Willenhall mural artists hit the road

Today, the volunteer mural artists from Willenhall met up with other groups who had also worked with Kate Turner on similar projects around Coventry. At around 10 am a coach rolled up at the Hagard, bringing the people from Mossdale and Bell Green, plus community artist Kate Turner and baby Harry.




Kate (and Harry) telling the story of Willenhall's history


 After showing the visitors our murals and a quick morning coffee, we piled into the coach and set off for the Four Closes in Ernesford Grange. The artwork here is mounted on the wall of Gordon's shop in George Robertson Close, tracing the history of the area in a series of exquisitely coloured circular boards.




This section of the Four Closes project represents Binley's mining history

Arrival at Mossdale

We picked up a few more passengers, then it was time to cross the city to the Mossdale estate in Radford, an area which many of us had never visited before. In the past few years the community has worked very hard to improve the environment, creating a most attractive enclave with colourful flowerbeds and cut-and-come-again herbs for all to use. Here, the artwork represents Radford's rural past, although a First World War plane in the sky reminds us of the presence of the aerodrome, now engulfed in the bricks and mortar of nearby Jubilee Crescent.



Country scene with canal at Mossdale

 Our final destination was Riley Square, Bell Green. In the Community Centre, we had a chance to look at  photographs documenting the various projects as they unfolded. At 12.30 we went out into the square itself for the grand opening of the Riley Square murals: Kate gave a brief talk about the history of the Bell Green area, then Councillor Ed Ruane cut the ribbon. We were very impressed with these two large and very detailed murals,particularly the illustrated map and the section on William Riley who gave the square its name. The event concluded with a delicious lunch, and we left Bell Green having made many new friends from the other groups, with whom we will definitely keep in touch.

 

Godiva Leaves Coventry

Godiva was a benign presence amongst us during the time she was here; today we had to say farewell to her as she set off to spread her magic to other town and cities. I had been hoping to see her pass by on the London Road, but a thunderstorn threatened and I was also unsure of the timings. So I got on the 21 bus from Willenhall Precinct and was just in time to see Godiva borne by her Cyclopedia leaving St John's Street by the Police Station.

Godiva preparing to leave Coventry

Since I last saw Godiva, in University Square on Saturday morning, she had acquired a horse: I had earlier visions of her tramping all the way to London. The Cyclopedia moved at an amazing speed: once Godiva had turned onto the road, she was soon lost in the distance.



Godiva graciously inclines her head to say goodbye to Coventry



Godiva Awakes

Godiva on Friday 27th July, trying her dress on

I have been checking up on Coventry's iconic 20ft tall Godiva figure, since she took up residence in University Square last week. It was fascinating to watch the rehearsals, and see the technicians checking out the animatronic features such as her blinking eyes and tilting head.



Those feet, once shod, will trudge through seven towns, all the way to London

Unfortunately, I could not get a ticket for the 'Godiva Awakes' event on Saturday night, but I could hear the throb of the music all the way from Ernesford Grange, and I watched the spectacular fireworks from my bedroom window. Today I am hoping to get a picture of Godiva as she proceeds out of Coventry.



Aeronautical interest in the Willenhall Community Mural

On 23rd June this year, the Willenhall Community Mural was officially revealed to the public. Its prominent position on the side of the Hagard Centre has already attracted a great deal of interest.


A section of the mural showing the Whitley Bomber

 An image of particular significance to the local area is the Whitley Bomber, which was manufactured just down the road at Baginton. The Chace National Service Hostel in Willenhall provided accommodation for many of the workers, who were called up from all over the country.

There are many existing photographs of this aeroplane in books and on the net, but local aeronautical enthusiast Trevor Williams has alerted the History Group to the fact that this is maybe the first time that the Whitley Bomber has been represented in community art.

Random city wanderings

I'm a great believer in the 'Streetcation' : that's a Staycation for lean times. Normally I would spend a week in summer, getting on a bus and going where the fancy takes me, to explore parts of the city away from my normal South-East patch.
This year, because of the monsoonish weather, I have had to snatch a day here and a day there, when the sun showed its face.
Last Saturday was pleasant, so I made a pilgrimage to my favourite ancient tree at the back of Spon Street, and had a look at a few other features along the way.

Old gnarled mulberry tree, growing out of a sandstone wall

I have always loved this tree, which is so old that some of its extensive boughs are on crutches. In late summer it bears fruit which look and taste a bit like blackberries. If you try to pick them, you get into a dreadful mess with the juice, and the pavement all around it is stained purple where the berries have fallen.

Crutches

One of the favourite haunts for music lovers was The Tin Angel on Spon Street. Alas it had to close, but it will be fondly remembered for its poetry evenings and open mic sessions which gave aspiring young musicians a chance to shine. There was always a crush in there; it was amazing how many people could cram into such a small space and still breathe.

Dear old Tin Angel, sadly missed

St John's Church remains a constant and watchful presence over the area, frozen in time. With apologies to Rupert Brooke:
                   'Stands still the clock at five to three, and is there honey still for tea?'

Ancient clock, tells the right time twice in 24 hours

Indeed, honey butties might be on the menu if the bees who have made their homes in the Foyer Wildlife Garden do their job properly.

Homes for insects and solitary bees