Stoke-on-Trent
Jones the planner
by
4y ago
The place has form Although Stoke-on-Trent is right in the centre of England it is one of its least known cities. Frequently termed The Potteries for obvious reasons, Arnold Bennett's epithet for it was the Five Towns, as in The Grim Smile of the Five Towns. But actually there are six towns: Burslem, Fenton, Hanley, Longton, Stoke-on-Trent and Tunstall. They joined together as a Borough in 1910 and became the City of Stoke-on-Trent in 1925. Stoke has always struggled to be considered a real city. J.B. Priestley wrote in English Journey: ‘There is no city. There are six little towns… you wil ..read more
Visit website
Milton Keynes @50
Jones the planner
by
4y ago
Off my trolley in Milton Keynes (Boyd & Evans) Milton Keynes is definitely weird. There are the concrete cows. Then there is the weirdness of driving through a city with a population of over 250,000 and seeing nothing but trees and roundabouts. And when you do eventually find the centre, ‘CMK’, there are the C20th ley lines and a sort of 60s Californian wackiness about the place. This contrasts with the purest modernist rectitude and the quality of detail in the early buildings of the Development Corporation. Unfortunately MK’s later years exemplify the architecture of neo-liberal self ..read more
Visit website
Coventry Revisted: City of Modernist Culture
Jones the planner
by
5y ago
I recently heard a performance of Britten’s emotionally shattering War Requiem which was first performed at the consecration of Coventry Cathedral in 1962. Both the Cathedral and the Requiem are hugely significant for the history and psyche of post war Britain and Europe. They are profound reflections on the horrors of war and the destruction of cities, of which Coventry is one of the most infamous examples. But they are also deep symbols of understanding, reconciliation and renewal. It is especially poignant to listen to the War Requiem today when Britain seems to have willfully misread the ..read more
Visit website

Follow Jones the planner on FeedSpot

Continue with Google
Continue with Apple
OR