Cov vs Leam?

Writing about Leamington vs. Coventry. It's still about class. from Schreibfaul in Warwick

Hold the phone! A Coventry-born, Earlsdon dwelling (2nd Year), currently Leamington-based Warwick Student reporting for duty!

Let me tot up the scores.

There are two reasons I go to the Parade: Fopp and Ben's Cookies. The pub behind my house (Hector's) is awesome. I like Wilde's and Cafe Rouge for dinner, sometimes.

I hardly go out in Leam at all – it simply does not interest me to do so. The road I live on isn't big enough for two cars to pass due to heavy resident parking. My road was also featured on the front page of the Courier for weeks as a scene of contention between Leam residents and Students (not us specifically, and our neighbours are fine apart from the CONSTANT DIY! EXACTLY HOW MANY HOLES DO YOU NEED IN YOUR WALL OR ARE YOU PLANNING ON BREAKING THROUGH TO WATCH FREEVIEW AT OURS- oh, excuse me). There are no cashpoints close enough that I can get cash and go to Hector's without freezing for 30 minutes. The Apollo is a shitty cinema where I am never disappointed in my expectation of a projection or sound fault and everything is deadly expensive.

In Coventry I was three minutes' walk from the Odeon and an all-you-can-eat Chinese place which far outstripped the Oriental Star (for the record, I now go to Showcase Cinemas for all my cinema needs; it's cheaper than Apollo and Odeon and usually has a better selection of both movies and confections, inclusing Apple Tango). The shopping is ace. I was equally close to a pub which was not as cool as Hector's, but – if memory serves – cheaper. I spent roughly half as much money on petrol and half the time in the car, even during rush hour. I could walk to Memorial Park. I was also closer to my considerable extended family in Cov. My bedroom was easily twice the size of my current one, had its own staircase and for less rent to boot.

However, I was a little isolated from other people on my course (other than Pete and Big Tom, I don't see any of them coming round to borrow a cup of sugar now)... and… er. Nope, that's it. I just lived in a different city to most people I knew. I suppose it was a drawback when we were going out in Leam (to events like Blackout and Film socials), but other than occasionally going to the pub or La Supercool Discotheque, I don't go out much around here.

So, I'm glad I've experienced both places. Where would I rather live? Ha – "Winchester"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winchester. Yes, it was number five in the first Crap Towns book (it dropped to 21), but it's like Leam with less chavs, and it's close to Southampton which is like Cov but with better shops. Winchester has a lot to recommend itself. It's beautiful, I live within ten minutes walk of the city centre and my job, it's green, it has a Cathedral (featuring Jane Austen's bones), a two-screen cinema converted from an old church which is acheingly plush… God, wish I was there.

It's like they say: no place like home.

: 07 Mar 2006 16:56 |  Tags: Coventry Leamington |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem