(left to right): Martin Sutherland, Paul Nolan, Chenine Bhathena and Faisal Riaz
The duo took the one-hour ride in BBC Coventry & Warwickshire’s 2Tone Taxi, taking in important and quirky locations from the city’s past and present in the company of actor Paul Nolan and driver Faisal Riaz.
The journey, described by Nolan, crams in a host of fun facts and historic moments in the city’s history including its manufacturing heritage, music, theatre and sport.
Chenine, who has been getting under the skin of the city in her first month in post, said: “I so enjoyed my 60 minutes on the 2Tone Taxi tour.
“The artwork on the outside of the electric cab, created by Ian Cook using miniature cars as his painting tools, was really striking.
“Our host Paul, supported by driver Famous Faisal, was a great storyteller, and fully immersed us into the city’s history reminding us of the heroes/heroines and some special places.
“It was great to be transported through the writing of Theatre Absolute, to really feel Coventry, learn new factoids, be reminded of Cov’s richness in industry and creativity and some of its lost cultural icons such as the Locarno.
“I especially loved travelling around the ring road wearing my retro, 2Tone sunglasses. What an inspiring city!”
Martin added: “I had a great time on the taxi tour – it was especially effective with the sounds of Coventry accompanying the tales, as we whizzed through the city streets.
“The Foleshill section felt particularly exciting and evocative and I’m very much looking forward to seeing how we we’ll work with Coventry artists to unearth more stories and continue to shine a spotlight on Coventry in equally excellent ways.”
