Celebrating opportunity – Chat Central connects people to each other and to Coventry
Coventry can be a city of opportunities – for some – but it’s not always easy for all access these. Voluntary Action’s project ‘Chat Central’ aims to support people to explore and connect with the city, to seek out those opportunities and make friends along the way.
Two of the sessions that Chat Central has run recently focused on exploring the history and architecture of our city thanks to sessions run by local historian Scott Duffin and photographer Neil Catley.
Scott Duffin (pictured top left of LH montage) spoke about the creation of his book ‘Elephants of Coventry’ and his passion for Coventry. He shared his story of embarking on an elephant hunt to produce a record of the hundreds of city-wide elephants, including those found on buildings, bottles and bollards. He proudly passed objects from his ‘Coventry Collection’ , including coins, cups and medals dating back hundreds of years, his knowledge of the city’s history was evident and got us all drawn in.
One participant said, “I loved the Elephants of Coventry talk. Not only because I learnt so much about the significance that the Elephant has … but also because Scott’s passion for Coventry’s history was so infectious that it’s given me a whole new way of looking and thinking as I walk around the city. Thank you Scott, and thank you Chat Central.’’
Chat Central also welcomed Neil Catley (pictured bottom row, holding camera) to share his story of how taking up photography helped him when he was anxious and unable to leave the house. Neil has attracted the attention of many with his beautiful images of Coventry. He has set up ‘Confidence Through Photography,’ a group which aims to help those with mental health issues to meet up with others, develop their creative skills and build confidence. Following a talk, which show cased his work, Neil led the Chat Central group on a walk around the city, offering tips and advice as we photographed historic buildings and landmarks.
Chat Central is always keen to celebrate and get involved with what is going on in Coventry and were proud to have some of its members volunteer at the recent Godiva festival. Through events such as our walk and talk of the city’s Peace Trail, attending shows at St. Mary’s Guildhall and our weekly litter pick we help people to get involved. If you would like to join Chat Central or you know someone who could benefit from this, read our project page here. to find out about activities coming up and ways to get in touch.
