Coventry couple to celebrate 70 years together say the city centre is 'dead' and 'not safe'

[dutchman]

Cliff and Gill Wakelin have been married since July 28, 1955



A couple from Coventry, set to celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary this month, say that the changes being made to the city have made them feel 'unsafe'. Cliff and Gill Wakelin have lived in Coventry since 1956 and don't visit the city centre 'unless they need to'.

The pair will celebrate their 70th anniversary on Monday, July 28. They got married in 1955 at the ages of 19 and 20. Now the pair, both 89 and 90, say that the changes have 'killed off Coventry'.

The pair have memories of the former Owens and Owens store, which is now Primark and Hotel Leofric, in 1953, where they got engaged. The pair described the city as 'absolutely beautiful' in the 50s.

Cliff said: "The city centre was so pretty with the island and Godiva statue in the middle of Broadgate, with cars and buses going by, but once they banned traffic from the centre, it killed off Coventry. An area needs to have a movement of life, and now it is so dead, we only go to get my hearing aids sorted or to do a bit of banking."

Gill added: "I don't remember much of Coventry before the war as I was only two and a half. When we had visitors, they used to think our city was beautiful, and we were proud to show Coventry to them, but now we don't like the city centre at all."

When asked if they felt safe in the city centre, Cliff and Gill both said 'no'. Gill said, "I'm always suspicious of people standing around with phones, and because we are old, we are more prone to be targets. They could easily be phoning someone, saying," Look out for this person, "so we are so careful when we go to the bank."

"We never used to feel like that. If you go to the city centre late in the evening, it's dead."

Cliff said: "The round market was brilliant, one of the best in the world. We used to take visitors to Coventry Cathedral, the guildhouse, but now there are a lot of beggars, a lot of idiots driving carelessly on those e-bikes. The city has taken the idea of reconciliation too far."

If asked if they would move from Coventry, they said, "If you asked us 10 to 15 years ago, we would say no, but if we weren't so old, then we would move, probably to Norfolk. But we also had Cliff's mum and sisters to look after as they were in Coventry, so we couldn't. But if we could, Norfolk is stunning."

Cliff and Gill will commemorate their 70th wedding anniversary with an open house at their home on Keresley Road, open for all.

[rebbonk]

Cliff's a good guy. I used to work with him.