Coventry

 

You can’t go to Coventry without visiting the ruined Cathedral in the middle of the City .The ruins of St Michael’s are the consequence of violence in our own time. On the night of 14 November 1940, the city of Coventry was devastated by bombs dropped by the Luftwaffe. The Cathedral burned with the city, having been hit by several incendiary devices.

Shortly after the destruction, the cathedral stonemason, Jock Forbes, noticed that two of the charred medieval roof timbers had fallen in the shape of a cross. He set them up in the ruins where they were later placed on an altar of rubble with the moving words ‘Father Forgive’ inscribed on the Sanctuary wall. Another cross was fashioned from three medieval nails by local priest, the Revd Arthur Wales. The Cross of Nails has become the symbol of Coventry’s ministry of reconciliation.

Here you can see the new Cathedral on the right of the picture .Her Majesty the Queen laid the foundation stone on 23 March 1956 and the building was consecrated on 25 May 1962, in her presence. The ruins remain hallowed ground and together the two create one living Cathedral. I’m not sure that I see how it creates one living Cathedral . We were going to go in the new one ,but at £6 each to go in we didn’t bother .

Not far away is The Herbert which is an Art gallery/Museum and History centre . You may ask what drew me here ? . Well the words in the green circle in the picture above which read admission free enticed me in.The museum is named after Sir Alfred Herbert, a Coventry industrialist and philanthropist whose gifts enabled the original building to be opened in 1960. Building began in 1939, with an interruption by the Second World War, and the Herbert opened in 1960. In 2008, it reopened after a £14 million refurbishment.

The good looking one at the far end looks familiar .

Carolyn enjoyed this exhibition of shells from all around the world . She now wants to go all around the World and see them in their natural habitat.

There was also a Lady Godiva exhibition . I was hoping to see the real thing but no such luck , mind you I was probably lucky when you see what happened to poor Tom .For those who don’t know the story Lady Godiva according to a legend dating at least to the 13th century,she rode naked – covered only in her long hair  through the streets of Coventry to gain a remission of the oppressive taxation that her husband imposed on his tenants. The name "Peeping Tom" for a voyeur originates from later versions of this legend in which a man named Tom watched her ride and was struck blind or dead.

It was then down to Wetherspoons to meet up with friends Rich and Sharon who had bussed it in from their cosy marina mooring near Rugby. As always it was an absolute pleasure to see them again . The only downside is that this is probably the last time we will see them for a while as we all cruise off in different directions on our Summer cruises.

                                                                                                       Happy Days