Coventry Cathedral

Shotgun Shakespeare — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 20:56:37 -0800

On November 14, 1940, German bombers flew through the skies for nine hours above Coventry, England in a raid that Winston Churchill probably didn't know about but if he did, did nothing to prepare for. The bombers dropped thousands of pounds of explosives and incendiaries that resulted in hundreds of deaths and huge destruction. Coventry, perhaps best known before the war for naked horseback riding and the manufacture of pretty-but-malfunction-prone automobiles, was also home to a grand cathedral, St. Michael's Church, one of the greatest cathedrals in England. The cathedral was nearly destroyed; the fire left behind little but debris and the still-standing outer walls and spire. The next day found the townspeople sifting through the rubble inside the cathedral's bones. The reaction of these people to the destruction of what was in many ways the center of their community took an unexpected turn over the course of the war, a course somewhat different than their government and military chose, and led to the formation of an international community dedicated to reconciliation projects around the world. Sir Basil Spence won a competition to design the new cathedral in Coventry. Rather than raze and rebuild the original structure, the decision was made to build a new, modern structure next to and incorporating the walls of the old St. Michael's Church. When it was completed in 1962, Benjamin Britten's War Requiem was premiered as part of its opening ceremony.

Phish calls it quits?

methree — Tue, 25 May 2004 13:58:57 -0800

An announcement from Trey: "So Coventry will be the final Phish show...For the sake of clarity, I should say that this is not like the hiatus, which was our last attempt to revitalize ourselves. We're done. It's been an amazing and incredible journey."

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Coventry Cathedral

Phish calls it quits?