Christian CND weekend

On Saturday 30th. October the Christian CND celebrated their 50th. Anniversary with a Pilgrimage to Peace in Coventry Cathedral. I gave a talk on my Evilution Project alongside the panels followed by a collage workshop entitled 'Peace by Piece'. I'm pleased to say all the participents, none of whom had any previous experience, took home a finished and mounted piece of work. (see photo)

I understand the panels will remain in the Cathedral for a while longer so they will be there this coming weekend which the seventieth anniversary of the destruction of St Michaels Cathedral and the City Centre during the Blitz.

Ground Zero 2011

September 11 2011 will be the tenth anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Centre. This week I have received an invitation from Father Kevin Madigan to exhibit the panels 'Where Their Footsteps Left No Trace' in St Peters Church, Manhattan, New York City,( above) as part of the commemoration of that dreadful event. The panels, one of which is dedicated to the innocent victims of the attack, are currently in Coventry Cathedral. Once again it seems that the panels are on a journey of their own (although much needs to be done in terms of organising and fund raising). More information will be in future Blogs.

Hiroshima group at Coventry

I recently made another trip to Coventry Cathedral to meet a group of Japanese visitors. The group with their English hosts, were from Hiroshima and included a number of survivors of the 1945 atomic bombing of that city. During their tour of the old Cathedral ruins and the new Cathedral they gathered round my installation where I gave them a short introduction to my Evilution Project. A number seemed quite moved by one of the panels, which is dedicated to the Hiroshima victims.

Dresden Choir at Coventry

On Easter Monday I attended a concert by the choir of the Frauenkirche Dresden. Considered to be one of the best choirs in Europe, they performed a selection of early and contemporary works. At the end of the concert they processed to the Baptistry where around 300 people gathered to hear them perform a further and moving work alongside my installation 'Where Their Footsteps Left No Trace'.

Susan Rescorla in St Ives and Coventry March 2010

Susan, widow of Cornish born Security Officer Rick Rescorla who saved 2700 lives on 9/11 before losing his own, stayed with me in St Ives. We visited the Barbara Hepworth Sculpture Garden she had visited with Rick. We later went to Coventry to view the Installation in the Cathedral spending some time with the 9/11 panel

Reception at Coventry Cathedral 27th February 2010

It was good to meet up with friends with the panels now adjacent to the stained glass windows of the Baptistry. Canon David Porter. the Cathedral's Director of Reconciliation, introduced the Installation and spoke of its significance during this year which commemorates the destruction of Coventry's historic city centre seventy years ago.

Coventry Cathedral

I spent Monday morning this week hanging the panels in Coventry Cathedral on a specially made 12ft supporting screen just inside the main entrance. Each panel is lit by a spotlight and I'm very pleased with the result. You can also see the ruins of the old Cathedral through the glass screen which is quite poignent given that my centre panel commemorates the Coventry blitz of seventy years ago. Maybe as a result of their presence I will get to meet some survivors of that terrible night in November 1940. The panels will remain on show until the 3rd of April ie. for the six weeks of Lent.

Many of you will have received a Newsletter and invitation to the informal reception there at 1pm. on Saturday 27th. I will be giving a short introduction to the panels and look forward to meeting up with a few friends from the Midlands.

If you need an invitation card ( otherwise there is a Cathedral entrance fee) e-mail me at roy.beryl@virgin.net and I will send you one.

Last Post at the Menin Gate

I recently made a second visit to Ypres in Belgium to attend the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate. The bugles sound at 6pm every day of every year in memory of the many thousands of British and Commonwealth soldiers who gave their lives there in World War One. The sixty thousand names inscribed on the walls are the ones they never found A very moving experience. I also visited Tyne Cot Cemetery and some preserved trenches. The short film I made is now on the website and youtube.

Coventry

The installation of the panels in Coventry Cathedral will be part of the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the blitzing of the city in November 1940 which destroyed St Michaels Cathedral and most of the medieval city centre.

In the 1950's Coventry was twinned with Dresden as an act of reconciliation. One of the panels to be exhibited is dedicated to Dresden