From ferries to pigsties

Coventry Cambrian Society is sorry to say that the talk planned for Friday 18 September on the history of the Beachy Aust Ferry (see A Ferry Story on page 13 of September’s ECHO) has been cancelled due to illness.

A replacement talk has been scheduled and Liz Pitman  will give an illustrated talk on her book, Pigsties and Paradise: Lady Diarists and the Tour of Wales 1795 -1860, from 7.30pm at Beechwood Lawn Tennis Club.

More information about Liz’s book is here.

Coventry Cambrian Society

Community Opera Still Looking for a HAM

With just a few weeks to go before the start of an ambitious new arts festival, the organisers of a community opera are looking for someone to play ‘Ham’ for a production of Benjamin Britten’s ‘Noyes Fludde’.

The opera, which has welcomed members of the community between the ages of 8 to 80 into its ranks, will be staged as part of the ‘How Great Thou Art’ arts festival which takes place in October.

Organised by Churches Together in Earlsdon and Chapelfields (CTEC) the festival is hoping to offer something ‘creative, fun and thought-provoking’ with the highlight of the festival being the performance of the opera.

Rachel Owen, the musical director, is hoping that someone in the local community will take up the Ham challenge!
Rachel said:

“I am sure there is a boy or girl treble singer out there who would like to be involved. It is a great part and easy to learn. The best thing about it is the fact that it is a community production and we are having so much fun rehearsing for it. We just need one more singer to join us to take on the role of Ham.”

The production of Noyes Fludde is just one of many arts events taking place between 1 – 17 October 2015. All of the events have been organised by community groups to encourage people to come together and take part.

Rev. David Sutcliffe from Hearsall Baptist Church said:
“There is so much that has been packed into the two weeks including steel band workshops, icon displays, film nights, craft fair and food market, variety concert, a folk night and much more. As it is our first arts festival, everyone has pulled out the stops to make sure there is something for everyone to enjoy.

“This is an ambitious festival fortnight and one that I hope will be enjoyed by people across the city but especially those living and working in Earlsdon and Chapelfields. The churches in this area have a strong track record of collaborating on events and we see this very much as an extension of that good work.”

For a full list of the events taking place during the fortnight, visit the festival website at www.hgta.org.uk
There will be two performances of Noye’s Fludde at St. Barbara’s Church in Earlsdon and for more information about the opera, especially if you’re a singer interested in singing the part of Ham, contact Rachel Owen direct via email at rachel.wildlife@tiscali.co.uk or call on 01926 851568

Sunday Roadworks

Update from Coventry City Council on Broad Lane/A45 works taking place this Sunday:

“In order to minimise disruption as much as is practicable, we have co-ordinated four disruptive activities to take place together on Sunday 6 September. Temporary traffic signals will control the junction operation whilst five separate gangs from four different specialist companies will be undertaking various works around the junction.

The junction will operate on a longer cycle time during this period and users of the junction should expect slightly longer delays than usual. Access will not be affected.

Most of the works are being undertaken to enable more efficient traffic management at later stages in the scheme. By late afternoon, traffic will be controlled by permanent signals again”.