113-455: Raining Stones is a 1993 film directed by Ken Loach and starring Bruce Jones , Julie Brown , Ricky Tomlinson , Tom Hickey and Gemma Phoenix . It tells the story of a man who cannot afford to buy his daughter a First Communion dress, and makes disastrous choices in trying to raise the money. The film won the Jury Prize at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival . England is in the midst of
226-470: A flood relief channel . Nuneaton forms the largest part of the Nuneaton built-up area which also includes the large villages of Hartshill and Bulkington . It had a population of 132,236 at the 2001 Census . In the 2011 Census it had a considerably lower population of 92,698 because Hinckley ceased to be defined as part of the urban area. In the 2021 Census the urban area was recorded as having
339-582: A turnpike road to Coventry in the 1750s, which partially resolved this problem. Early on Newdigate recognised the potential of canals as a means for transporting bulk cargoes. He developed a system of private canals on his land on the Arbury Estate from 1764 to transport coal, and helped promote the Coventry Canal , which opened from Coventry to Nuneaton in 1769, before being finally completed to Staffordshire in 1790. He also helped promote
452-486: A waterwheel to drive drainage pumps was recorded as early as 1683. The first recorded use of an atmospheric engine ; a primitive form of steam engine , to pump water from coal pits was recorded at Griff Colliery in 1714; this was the first recorded use of a steam engine in Warwickshire. Another major problem facing the industry was poor transport. Sir Roger Newdigate , who owned several local coal mines, developed
565-399: A Kiss , 2004) explored an inter-racial love affair, Sweet Sixteen (2002) concerns a teenager's relationship with his mother and My Name Is Joe (1998) an alcoholic's struggle to stay sober. His most commercial later film is Looking for Eric (2009), featuring a depressed postman's conversations with the ex- Manchester United footballer Eric Cantona appearing as himself. The film won
678-467: A brand new outfit for his daughter Coleen's First Communion, even though doing so is prohibitively costly. Eventually, Bob secretly gets a loan so he can afford Coleen's outfit and party. He's unable to pay it back, so the lender sells the debt to a vicious local loan shark, who forces his way into the house while Bob is out, steals Anne's jewelry, and makes numerous threats that he will injure Coleen if he's not paid soon. When Bob gets home, he's outraged at
791-687: A car accident on the M1 motorway . Their son Jim (born 1969) became a filmmaker, while their daughter Emma is married to actor Elliot Levey . Loach is a patron of the British Humanist Association and a secularist , saying, "In particular, the indoctrination of children in separate faith schools is pernicious and divisive. I strongly support the British Humanist Association." Nuneaton Nuneaton ( / n ə ˈ n iː t ən / nə- NEE -tən )
904-653: A converted former Methodist Chapel in Stockingford. In addition to these, there is an active Bahá'i Faith group in Nuneaton. Several Eastern European Jewish families settled in the area after the First World War, due to the economic vitality of the town at the time. Economic migrants seeking technical and agricultural opportunities in North Warwickshire relocated to Nuneaton in the 1920s and 1930s, worshipping and paying for membership seats in
1017-551: A depression with crushing unemployment. Bob and his best friend Tommy engage in all manner of schemes to make money, including stealing sheep to sell to local butchers, tearing up turf from government buildings to re-sell, and cleaning out bathroom pipes. Bob's wife Anne tries to help, but doesn't have marketable skills (having been sacked from a seamstress factory for not knowing how to sew). Despite their best efforts, they are unable to make any job stick or get ahead of their debt. Despite their tenuous financial condition, Bob plans to buy
1130-518: A director for BBC Television . His 10 contributions to the BBC's Wednesday Play anthology series include the docudramas Up the Junction (1965), Cathy Come Home (1966) and In Two Minds (1967). They portray working-class people in conflict with the authorities above them. Three of his early plays are believed to be lost . His 1965 play Three Clear Sundays dealt with capital punishment, and
1243-596: A film about stars, or riches or absurd adventures". Throughout his career, some of Loach's films have been shelved for political reasons. In a 2011 interview with The Guardian newspaper he said: It makes you angry, not on your own behalf, but on behalf of the people whose voices weren't allowed to be heard. When you had trade unions, ordinary people, rank and file, never been on television, never been interviewed, and they're not allowed to be heard, that's scandalous. Loach argues that working people's struggles are inherently dramatic: They live life very vividly, and
SECTION 10
#17327879369601356-940: A fine socialist who has done so much to further the cause of socialism is a disgrace". His expulsion was also opposed by the Socialist Campaign Group but supported by the Jewish Labour Movement . At the Labour Party Conference in September 2017, Loach said he had been going to Labour Party, trade union and left-wing meetings for over 50 years and had never heard antisemitic or racist remarks, although such views certainly existed in society. When asked about allegations of antisemitic abuse made by Labour MP Ruth Smeeth , he suggested that they were raised to destabilise Corbyn's leadership, due to his support for Palestinian rights. He
1469-455: A line to Coventry via Bedworth . A new railway station at Bermuda Park was opened south of the town centre in 2016 on the line towards Coventry, as part of the NUCKLE (Nuneaton, Coventry, Kenilworth and Leamington ) rail upgrade scheme. Historically, Nuneaton was also served by Chilvers Coton station , Abbey Street station and Stockingford station . Chilvers Coton station was located on
1582-433: A long period." In July 2019, the BBC's Panorama aired an episode entitled "Is Labour Anti-Semitic?" . Loach commented, saying "it raised the horror of racism against Jews in the most atrocious propagandistic way, with crude journalism … and it bought the propaganda from people who were intent on destroying Corbyn". In 2016, Loach, a social campaigner for most of his career, said the criteria for claiming benefits in
1695-588: A lot in common, including contempt for the irritating British penchant for claiming cultural superiority. Melbourne is a very different place to Londonistan". An article in The Scotsman by Alex Massie noted that Loach had not called for the same boycott of the Cannes Film Festival , where his film was in competition with some Israeli films. Loach, Laverty and O'Brien subsequently wrote: We feel duty bound to take advice from those living at
1808-523: A lot to lose, it will come from people who will have everything to gain. A thematic consistency throughout his films, whether they examine broad political situations or smaller intimate dramas, is his focus on personal relationships. The sweeping political dramas ( Land and Freedom , Bread and Roses , The Wind that Shakes the Barley ) examine wider political forces in the context of relationships between family members ( Bread and Roses , The Wind that Shakes
1921-490: A new Nuneaton Parkway station between Nuneaton and Hinckley , which could open by 2034. The principal operator around Nuneaton is Stagecoach in Warwickshire and the depot is located next to the fire station on Newtown Road, just west from the bus station. Arriva Midlands also operate a number of routes around Nuneaton with buses running to Tamworth , Hinckley , Barwell , Leicester . MIRA , and Coventry . Arriva Midlands also operate service 78 to Walsgrave Hospital ,
2034-912: A part of it and outside the ring road, lies the medieval church of St. Nicolas – a grade I listed building. Chilvers Coton contains All Saints' Church, where Mary Ann Evans ( George Eliot ) worshipped and Justin Welby , now Archbishop of Canterbury , served as a curate . This was badly damaged by bombing during the Second World War , and rebuilt largely by German prisoners of war . There are also Anglican churches in Weddington (St James's), Attleborough (Holy Trinity), Stockingford ( St Paul's ), Galley Common (St Peter's), Abbey Green (St Mary's), and more recently built (1954), in Camp Hill St Mary's and St John's . There are two parishes in
2147-437: A period of rapid growth from the 1880s onwards with the rapid development of an array of industries. These included brick and tile making, brewing , the production of hats and leather goods. and engineering . At the time of the first national census in 1801 Nuneaton was one of the largest towns in Warwickshire, with a population of 5,135. By 1901 this had grown to 24,996. Nuneaton was an ancient parish , which covered
2260-448: A population of 99,372, and comprising Nuneaton, Bulkington and Hartshill. On 19 July 2022, it recorded its highest ever temperature of 38 °C during the 2022 United Kingdom heat wave . Towns close to Nuneaton include Bedworth , Atherstone and Hinckley , with Tamworth , Rugby , Coleshill and Lutterworth a little further afield. Within the borough boundaries: Adjacent or adjoining places, some of which fall outside
2373-717: A prize at an Italian film festival. Three weeks after the end of the strike, the film End of the Battle ;... Not the End of the War? was broadcast by Channel 4 in its Diverse Strands series. This film argued that the Conservative Party had planned the destruction of the National Union of Mineworkers ' political power from the late 1970s. In 1989, Loach directed a short documentary Time to go that called for
SECTION 20
#17327879369602486-545: A spokesman for the EIFF said that although it had returned £300 to the Israeli Embassy, the festival itself would fund Shalom-Ezer's travel from its own budget. Her film Surrogate (2008) is a comedy set in a sex-therapy clinic which is unconcerned with war or politics. In an open letter to Shalom-Ezer, Loach wrote: "From the beginning, Israel and its supporters have attacked their critics as anti-semites or racists. It
2599-461: A young schizophrenic woman's experiences of the mental health system. Tony Garnett began to work as his producer in this period, a professional connection which would last until the end of the 1970s. During this period, Loach also directed the absurdist comedy The End of Arthur's Marriage , about which he later said that he was "the wrong man for the job". Coinciding with his work for The Wednesday Play , Loach began to direct feature films for
2712-575: Is 9 miles (14 km) north of Coventry , 18 miles (29 km) east of Birmingham and 16 miles (26 km) south-west of Leicester . The town centre lies 2 miles (3 km) south-west of the Leicestershire border (which is defined by the A5 road the former Roman Watling Street ), 9 miles (14 km) south-east of Staffordshire , and 12 miles (19 km) south-south-east from Derbyshire ’s southernmost point. Nuneaton lies very close to
2825-480: Is a market town in Warwickshire , England, close to the county border with Leicestershire to the north-east. Nuneaton's population at the 2021 census was 88,813, making it the largest town in Warwickshire . Nuneaton's urban area, which also includes the large villages of Bulkington and Hartshill , had a population of 99,372 at the 2021 census. Nuneaton gained its name from a medieval nunnery which
2938-941: Is a mosque on Frank Street, Chilvers Coton, and two gurdwaras (Sikh temples): the Nuneaton Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Park Avenue, Attleborough, and the Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur Gurdwara in Marlborough Road, Chilvers Coton. There are also two Hindu temples in Nuneaton: the Shree Hindu Gujrati Samaj on Upper Abbey Street, and a second Hindu temple, the Watford Kantha Swami Hindu Temple, which opened in 2021, using
3051-759: Is a tactic to undermine rational debate. To be crystal clear: as a film maker you will receive a warm welcome in Edinburgh. You are not censored or rejected. The opposition was to the Festival's taking money from the Israeli state". To his critics, he added later: "The boycott, as anyone who takes the trouble to investigate knows, is aimed at the Israeli state". Loach said he had a "respectful and reasoned" conversation with event organisers, saying they should not be accepting funds from Israel. In June 2009, Loach, Laverty and O'Brien withdrew their film Looking For Eric from
3164-521: Is named after her, and there is also a statue of her in the town centre. Nuneaton was originally an Anglo-Saxon settlement known as 'Etone' or 'Eaton', which translates literally as 'settlement by water', referring to the River Anker . 'Etone' was listed in the Domesday Book as a small farming settlement with a population of around 150. In the early 12th century, the settlement came under
3277-504: Is near the M6 , the M42 and M69 motorways and the main A5 trunk road ( Watling Street ), which also acts as a border with Leicestershire and the neighbouring town of Hinckley. The A444 provides a high-speed dual-carriageway route into the town from the south and also acts as the often busy town centre ring road . The A47 links the town with neighbouring Hinckley and onwards to Leicester, and
3390-496: Is to some extent a commuter town for nearby Coventry and Birmingham. However a relatively large number of businesses involved in the automotive, aerospace and engineering supply chains industries are active in the area. MIRA Limited , formerly the Motor Industry Research Association, is based on a disused wartime airfield on the A5 , to the north of the town. One of the biggest developments in
3503-525: The 2014 local elections . Loach gave a press conference during the launch of Left Unity's manifesto for the 2015 general election . In a letter sent to The Guardian in 2009, Loach advocated support for the Palestine Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) along with his regular colleagues Paul Laverty (writer) and Rebecca O'Brien (producer). In 2007, Loach
Raining Stones - Misplaced Pages Continue
3616-662: The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) returned a £300 grant from the Israeli Embassy to fund Israeli filmmaker Tali Shalom Ezer 's travel to Edinburgh after speaking with Loach. He was supporting a boycott of the festival called for by the PACBI campaign. In response, former Channel 4 chief executive Jeremy Isaacs described Loach's intervention as an act of censorship, saying: "They must not allow someone who has no real position, no rock to stand on, to interfere with their programming". Later,
3729-463: The Labour Party by 2017, and was a member until his expulsion in the summer of 2021. In August 2015, he endorsed Jeremy Corbyn's Labour leadership campaign . In September 2016, Loach's one-hour documentary In Conversation with Jeremy Corbyn was released during the second leadership election . In May 2017, Loach directed an election broadcast featuring a profile of Jeremy Corbyn for
3842-535: The Magritte Award for Best Co-Production . Although successful in Manchester, the film was a flop in many other cities, especially cities with rival football teams to Manchester United. The Angels' Share (2012) is centered on a young Scottish troublemaker who is given a final opportunity to stay out of jail. Newcomer Paul Brannigan , then 24, from Glasgow, played the lead role. The film competed for
3955-717: The Melbourne International Film Festival , where the Israeli Embassy is a sponsor, after the festival declined to withdraw that sponsorship. The festival's chief executive, Richard Moore, compared Loach's tactics to blackmail, stating that "we will not participate in a boycott against the State of Israel, just as we would not contemplate boycotting films from China or other nations involved in difficult long-standing historical disputes". Australian politician Michael Danby also criticised Loach's tactics, stating that "Israelis and Australians have always had
4068-572: The Oxford Canal . Ironically, the new canal system led to a decline in the Warwickshire coal industry after 1800, as it was exploited by Staffordshire coal producers to capture the local market. The local coal industry was not exploited to its maximum potential until the development of the railway network in the 19th century. The first railway to reach Nuneaton was the Trent Valley Railway which opened in 1847, linking Nuneaton to
4181-669: The Palme d'Or at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival for his film The Wind That Shakes the Barley , a political-historical drama about the Irish War of Independence and the subsequent Irish Civil War during the 1920s. Like Hidden Agenda before it, The Wind That Shakes the Barley was criticised by Ruth Dudley Edwards for allegedly being too sympathetic to the Irish Republican Army and Provisional Irish Republican Army , though it would transpire that Edwards had not seen
4294-620: The Wars of the Roses , was fought around 5 miles (8 km) to the north-west of Nuneaton, across the border in nearby Leicestershire . King Edward VI School was established in 1552 by a royal charter by King Edward VI . The school was originally a fee-paying school, although the county council provided some scholarships, and became non-fee-paying as a result of the Education Act of 1944 . The voluntary aided school had around 400 boys in
4407-528: The geographic centre of England , which since 2002 has been recognised as being at Lindley Hall Farm , about 3 miles (5 km) north of Nuneaton, across the county border in Leicestershire. The River Anker runs through the town. Nuneaton town centre was historically prone to regular flooding from the Anker, with especially bad floods in 1932 and 1968. This was relieved in 1976 by the construction of
4520-1049: The 1960s and 1970s, he was associated with (or a member of) the Socialist Labour League (later the Workers Revolutionary Party ), the International Socialists (later the Socialist Workers Party or SWP) and the International Marxist Group . He was involved in Respect – The Unity Coalition from its beginnings in January 2004, and stood for election to the European Parliament on the Respect list in 2004. Loach
4633-399: The 1960s. In 1974 the grammar school closed and was re-established as a sixth form college . In 1543, Nuneaton was recorded as containing 169 houses, with a population of around 800. By 1670 this had grown to 415 households, with a population of 1,867, and by 1740 the population had risen further to 2,480. In the mid-17th century, a silk ribbon weaving industry became established in
Raining Stones - Misplaced Pages Continue
4746-638: The A4254 – Eastern Relief Road – provides direct access from the east of Nuneaton to the south, avoiding the town centre. The town has two railway stations. The main Nuneaton railway station , located near the town centre, is an important railway junction and is served by the West Coast Main Line running from London to the North West, the cross-country Birmingham to Peterborough Line and by
4859-572: The BBC directed by Loach from scripts by dramatist Jim Allen . The first episode of the series caused considerable controversy in the British media owing to its critical depiction of the military in World War I , and particularly over a scene where conscientious objectors were tied up to stakes outside trenches in view of enemy fire after refusing to obey orders. An ex-serviceman subsequently contacted The Times newspaper with an illustration from
4972-718: The Barley , Carla's Song ), comrades in struggle ( Land and Freedom ) or close friends ( Route Irish ). In a 2011 interview for the Financial Times , Loach explains how "The politics are embedded into the characters and the narrative, which is a more sophisticated way of doing it". Many of Loach's films include a large amount of traditional dialect , such as the Yorkshire dialect in Kes and in The Price of Coal , Cockney in Up
5085-683: The British Army to be withdrawn from Northern Ireland, which was broadcast in the BBC's Split Screen series. From the late 1980s, Loach directed theatrical feature films more regularly, a series of films such as Hidden Agenda (1990), dealing with the political troubles in Northern Ireland, Land and Freedom (1995), examining the Republican resistance in the Spanish Civil War , and Carla's Song (1996), which
5198-518: The Conservatives once more gained a majority; winning ten seats from Labour and one from an independent. However, the pendulum swung back again in the May 2024 elections, when Labour again won back control of the council, winning 15 seats. Nuneaton's traditional industries like textiles, mining and manufacturing have declined significantly in the post-war years. Due to its transport links, Nuneaton
5311-462: The Coventry line, a short distance north of the new Bermuda Park station, and was closed in 1965. Abbey Street station and Stockingford station were on the line towards Birmingham and were both closed in 1968. In January 2017, there were proposals to open a new station at Stockingford, at a different location from the former one, which could open by 2023. Warwickshire County Council have also proposed
5424-666: The Holocaust was real. Loach was an official sponsor of the group Labour Against the Witchhunt , launched in 2017 to campaign against what it sees to be politically motivated allegations of antisemitism in the Labour Party. In April 2018, Loach was reported to have said, at a screening of I, Daniel Blake organised by Kingswood Labour Party, that those Labour MPs who had attended a rally in Parliament Square
5537-410: The Junction and Poor Cow , Scouse in The Big Flame , Lancashire dialect in Raining Stones , Glaswegian in My Name Is Joe and the dialect of Greenock in Sweet Sixteen . Many of these films have been subtitled when shown in other English-speaking countries. When asked about this in an interview with Cineaste, Loach replied: If you ask people to speak differently, you lose more than
5650-476: The Junction , while The Big Flame (1969) for the BBC was an early instance of the word shit , and the certificate to Kes caused some debate owing to the profanity, but these films have relatively few swear words compared to his later work. In particular, the film Sweet Sixteen was awarded an 18 certificate on the basis of the very large amount of swearing, despite the lack of serious violence or sexual content, which led Loach to encourage under-18s to break
5763-405: The Labour Party in the 2019 general election . In December 2019, along with 42 other leading cultural figures, he signed a letter endorsing the Labour Party under Corbyn's leadership in the 2019 general election. The letter stated that "Labour's election manifesto under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership offers a transformative plan that prioritises the needs of people and the planet over private profit and
SECTION 50
#17327879369605876-409: The Labour Party's general election campaign. In all, he has made three broadcasts for the party. In interviews in September and October 2019, Loach said MPs around Corbyn had not acted as a team, and that most would prefer a rightwing leader. He said the Labour leadership had "compromised too much with the Labour right". He accused the right of the party, including Tom Watson , of aiming to destroy
5989-413: The Monasteries , and subsequently fell into ruin. However part of the Abbey church was rebuilt in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Nuneaton obtained a market charter in around 1160 from Henry II which was reconfirmed in 1226, causing Nuneaton to develop into a market town and become the economic focal point of the local villages. In 1485, the Battle of Bosworth , the last significant battle of
6102-423: The Nuneaton and Bedworth borough was less prosperous than the rest of Warwickshire, reflecting the long established north–south divide in the county. The average annual workplace wage in Nuneaton and Bedworth was £21,981, the lowest in the county and below the Warwickshire average of £28,513 (and UK £28,296) although the productivity gap had narrowed with the rest of Warwickshire since 2009. Nuneaton's name reflects
6215-489: The Palme d'Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival where Loach won the Jury Prize . Jimmy's Hall (2014) was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or in the main competition section at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival . Loach announced his retirement from film-making in 2014 but soon after restarted his career following the election of a Conservative government in the UK general election of 2015 . Loach won his second Palme d'Or for I, Daniel Blake (2016). In February 2017,
6328-410: The Spon End Synagogue in Coventry and the Orthodox Synagogue in Leicester. Prior to World War Two, hundreds of children gained passage to the UK via the Kindertransport , with a number of children being fostered in Nuneaton and subsequently settling in the immediate area, North Warwickshire and Market Bosworth. Provincial Jewish life in Nuneaton and Bedworth has waned since the 1970s, with the majority of
6441-404: The UK were "a Kafka-esque , Catch-22 situation designed to frustrate and humiliate the claimant to such an extent that they drop out of the system and stop pursuing their right to ask for support if necessary". Loach married Lesley Ashton in 1962. They reside in Bath, Somerset , and have two sons and two daughters together. They had another son, who died at the age of five on 2 May 1971 in
6554-540: The United Kingdom on 11 screens and grossed £37,211 for the weekend, finishing in 13th place at the UK box office. It went on to gross £256,636 in the UK. Ken Loach Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is an English filmmaker. His socially critical directing style and socialist views are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty ( Poor Cow , 1967), homelessness ( Cathy Come Home , 1966), and labour rights ( Riff-Raff , 1991, and The Navigators , 2001). Loach's film Kes (1969)
6667-417: The architect and town planner Frederick Gibberd was appointed to create a masterplan to redevelop the bomb damaged town centre. The redevelopment, which continued until the 1960s included the features typical of town planning from that era, including a new ringroad, indoor shopping centre , administrative centre and library. Nuneaton continued to expand in the latter 20th century. In the early postwar years
6780-460: The beginning of the Gaza War of 2008–2009 , he said: "If there has been a rise I am not surprised. In fact, it is perfectly understandable because Israel feeds feelings of anti-Semitism". He added that "no-one can condone violence". Speaking at the launch of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine on 4 March 2009, he said that "nothing has been a greater instigator of antisemitism than the self-proclaimed Jewish state itself". In May 2009, organisers of
6893-419: The borough boundaries: Nuneaton is part of the constituency of the same name in the House of Commons . The constituency is currently represented by the Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP), Jodie Gosling who was first elected in the 2024 general election . From 1935 to 1983 , Nuneaton was a safe Labour seat, but it has become more marginal. Between 1983 and 1992 , the Conservative Party held
SECTION 60
#17327879369607006-517: The cinema, with Poor Cow (1967) and Kes (1969). The latter recounts the story of a troubled boy and his kestrel , and is based on the novel A Kestrel for a Knave by Barry Hines . The film was well received, although the use of Yorkshire dialect throughout the film restricted its distribution, with some American executives at United Artists saying that they would have found a film in Hungarian easier to understand. The British Film Institute named it No 7 in its list of best British films of
7119-456: The community leaving for larger Jewish centres of Britain, with remaining members being elderly and non-observant. At the 2021 census , there were 88,813 residents in Nuneaton. In terms of ethnicity in 2021: In terms of religion, 50.7% of Nuneaton residents identified as Christian , 40.2% said they had no religion , 4.1% were Muslim , 1.8% were Hindu , 1.6% were Sikh , 0.7% were Buddhists , and 0.8% were from another religion. The town
7232-401: The content of one of Loach's films in support of her argument, the then-recently released Jimmy's Hall . Loach first joined the Labour Party from the early 1960s. In the 1980s, he was in the Labour Party because of the presence of "a radical element that was critical of the leadership", but Loach had left the Labour Party by the early to mid-1990s, after being a member for 30 years. During
7345-411: The control of the Beaumont family , and in around 1155 Robert de Beaumont granted his manor of Etone to the French Abbey of Fontevraud , who established a Benedictine nunnery here, which became known as Nuneaton Priory . This led to Etone becoming known as Nuneaton. A document from 1272 referred to the town as Nunne Eton . The nunnery was closed in 1539 during King Henry VIII's Dissolution of
7458-406: The effect that Christianity has had upon the town's history. Although the Benedictine nunnery which gave the town its name was destroyed at the time of the Reformation , the remaining fragments were incorporated into the Anglican church building now known as the Abbey Church of St Mary the Virgin in Manor Court Road. This is a Victorian construction. Near the town centre, but unusually not
7571-532: The film was awarded a BAFTA as "Outstanding British Film". His 2019 drama Sorry We Missed You garnered good reviews. In May 2010, Loach referred in an interview to the three films that have influenced him most: Vittorio De Sica 's Bicycle Thieves (1948), Miloš Forman 's Loves of a Blonde (1965) and Gillo Pontecorvo 's The Battle of Algiers (1966). De Sica's film had a particularly profound effect. He noted: "It made me realise that cinema could be about ordinary people and their dilemmas. It wasn't
7684-476: The film. This film was followed by It's a Free World... (2007), a story of one woman's attempt to establish an illegal placement service for migrant workers in London. Throughout the 2000s, Loach interspersed wider political dramas such as Bread and Roses (2000), which focused on the Los Angeles janitors strike , and Route Irish (2010), set during the Iraq occupation , with smaller examinations of personal relationships. Ae Fond Kiss... (a.k.a. Just
7797-420: The first time on 1 September 2011, at the BFI Southbank. During the 1980s Loach concentrated on television documentaries rather than fiction, and many of these films are now difficult to access as the television companies have not released them on video or DVD. At the end of the 1980s, he directed some television advertisements for Tennent's Lager to earn money. Days of Hope (1975) is a four-part drama for
7910-403: The growing national railway network at Rugby and Stafford . This was followed by a branch line to Coventry in 1850. In 1864 a line was opened from Birmingham to Leicester via Nuneaton, and this proved to be the most important for the local economy, as it linked Nuneaton with the rapidly growing town (later city) of Birmingham . Due largely to this, the local coal industry expanded rapidly in
8023-464: The hamlets of Attleborough and Stockingford as well as the town itself. The parish was made a local board district in 1850, which was Nuneaton's first modern form of local government; previously it had been governed by its vestry and manorial court . The local board's main responsibilities were to provide the town with infrastructure such as paved roads, clean drinking water, street lighting and sewerage. The neighbouring parish of Chilvers Coton
8136-576: The latter half of the 19th century, with production from the Warwickshire coalfield expanding nearly tenfold between 1860 and 1913 from around 545,000 tons to over five million tons. The industry peaked in the early 20th century; in 1911 one third of the male workforce in Nuneaton were employed as miners. The industry, however, declined rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, with the last coal mine in Nuneaton closing in 1968, although Newdigate colliery at Bedworth lasted until 1982. The last Warwickshire coal mine at nearby Daw Mill closed in 2013. Nuneaton underwent
8249-438: The law to see the film. In a 2014 article, feminist writer Julie Bindel criticised Loach's recent films for a lack of female characters who were not simply love interests for the male characters, although she praised his early films Cathy Come Home and Kes . She also wrote, "Loach appears not to know gay people exist". In the article, Bindel stated that she "hadn’t seen a Ken Loach film in years", and only made reference to
8362-637: The leadership of other trade unions to similar scrutiny from their members, but this has never been broadcast. Frank Chapple , leader of the Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union , walked out of the interview and made a complaint to the Independent Broadcasting Authority . A separate complaint was made by Terry Duffy of the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union . The series
8475-496: The literary and cultural fields" in signing a letter that stated, in part, "celebrating 'Israel at 60' is tantamount to dancing on Palestinian graves to the haunting tune of lingering dispossession and multi-faceted injustice". The letter was published in the International Herald Tribune on 8 May 2008. Responding to a report, which Loach described as "a red herring ", on the growth of antisemitism since
8588-545: The loan shark's rotten soul, and burns the account book. The next day, Bob attends Communion as Coleen is adorable in her new outfit. Despite it being a wonderful day, Bob is shown being withdrawn and nervous, still feeling guilty about what he's done. The film has been given universal critical acclaim and holds a rating of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes . It won the prestigious Grand Prix of the Belgian Syndicate of Cinema Critics . The film opened on 8 October 1993 in
8701-415: The local area which included Nuneaton, Bedworth , Coventry and much of North Warwickshire . This industry was enhanced by the arrival of French Huguenot immigrants in the latter part of the century, who brought with them new techniques. This industry operated as a cottage industry , with the weavers working from top-shops ; a type of building which was specific to the local area, and had living space in
8814-484: The need arose for low-cost housing, and in response to this around 2,500 council houses were built during the 1950s, the largest such development was at Camp Hill , where 1,400 new houses were built by 1956, while around 1,100 new council houses were built at new estates at Hill Top, Caldwell and Marston Lane by 1958. Following this, Nuneaton's expansion was largely driven by private developments at Weddington , St Nicolas Park , Whitestone and Stockingford . Nuneaton
8927-617: The neighbouring parish of Weddington . In 1974, the Municipal Borough of Nuneaton was merged with Bedworth Urban District to create a non-metropolitan district with borough status which was initially called Nuneaton, but changed its name to Nuneaton and Bedworth in 1980. Nuneaton suffered severe bomb damage during The Blitz in the Second World War between 1940 and 1942. The heaviest bombing raid on Nuneaton took place on 17 May 1941, when 130 people were killed, 380 houses were destroyed, and over 10,000 damaged. In 1947
9040-414: The notebook containing all delinquent accounts from the loan shark's pocket, and flees into the night. Bob runs to the local church, where he tells the priest what happened and vows to turn himself in to the police. The kindhearted Priest tells Bob not to turn himself in, noting that Bob didn't kill the loan shark himself and, indeed, many neighbourhood folks will now be relieved. He commands Bob to pray for
9153-435: The party, but that he "support(ed) many of the people who have been expelled, because they are good friends and comrades". He also argued that his expulsion was an ex post facto action as the evidence the party cited in their letter informing him of their decision dated from before the organisations he was accused of being a member of had been banned by the party. Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell said, "To expel such
9266-471: The period of Conservative control was relatively short lived. The Labour Party won two seats from the Conservative Party in the 2010 local elections , giving no party overall control of the council (but leaving the Labour Party as the largest grouping). In 2012 Labour gained a further 8 seats to regain overall control which they lost again to no overall control in 2018. In the May 2021 elections,
9379-464: The previous month opposing alleged antisemitism in the Labour Party should be deselected or, as he reputedly expressed it, "kicked out" because of their lack of support for the current manifesto. Asked for clarification, Loach said the quoted remarks "do not reflect my position" and that "reselecting an MP should not be based on individual incidents but reflect the MP's principles, actions and behaviour over
9492-405: The publication of articles by Jonathan Freedland and Howard Jacobson which were critical of him, he said it was not acceptable to question or challenge the reality of the Holocaust, which was as real a historical event as the Second World War itself. The Jerusalem Post maintained Loach had not been quoted out of context, and that his words had been in response to the question about whether
9605-444: The seat, until losing it back to Labour. For the next 18 years, the Labour Party (in the form of Bill Olner ) was the local representative at Parliament, until his retirement. The Conservatives won it back at the 2010 general election , with Marcus Jones holding the seat until 2024. There are two-tiers of local government covering Nuneaton; Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council as the lower tier and Warwickshire County Council as
9718-421: The sharp end inside the occupied territories. We would also encourage other filmmakers and actors invited to festivals to check for Israeli state backing before attending, and if so, to respect the boycott. Israeli filmmakers are not the target. State involvement is. In the grand scale of things it is a tiny contribution to a growing movement, but the example of South Africa should give us heart. Loach had rejoined
9831-611: The socialist programme put forward by Corbyn. He suggested that sitting Labour MP's and councillors should reapply for their jobs before each election so that they could be judged on their record. He also said that Labour people should make a case for socialism including "[en]hancing trade union rights, planning the economy , investing in the regions, kicking out the privatised elements of the NHS ". He considered issues such as health, schools, poverty, inequality and climate change as more important than Brexit . In November 2019, Loach endorsed
9944-413: The stakes are very high if you don't have a lot of money to cushion your life. Also, because they're the front line of what we came to call the class war. Either through being workers without work, or through being exploited where they were working. And I guess for a political reason, because we felt, and I still think, that if there is to be change, it will come from below. It won't come from people who have
10057-547: The time he was buying the Daily Mirror newspaper and needed the co-operation of union leaders, especially Chapple. Which Side Are You On? (1985), about the songs and poems of the UK miners' strike , was originally due to be broadcast on The South Bank Show , but was rejected on the grounds that it was too politically unbalanced for an arts show. The documentary was eventually transmitted on Channel 4, but only after it won
10170-480: The time of a similar scene. Loach's documentary A Question of Leadership (1981) interviewed members of the Iron and Steel Trades Confederation (the main trade union for Britain's steel industry) about their 14-week strike in 1980, and recorded much criticism of the union's leadership for conceding over the issues in the strike. Subsequently, Loach made a four-part series named Questions of Leadership which subjected
10283-563: The town serving the Catholic community in Nuneaton. Our Lady of the Angels on Coton Road, was opened in 1838 (originally as St Mary's). The building, designed by Joseph Hansom , was extensively remodeled in 1936. The Parish of St Anne's, Chapel End, Nuneaton was created in 1949 out of the Parish of Our Lady of the Angels (which originally covered the whole town). The original church building
10396-477: The town's history, the multimillion-pound Ropewalk Shopping Centre , opened in September 2005 in the hope that it will give the town extra income from the shopping, attract more visitors and retailers, and attract shoppers as an alternative to larger retail centres such as Birmingham, Coventry, Leicester and Solihull. An older shopping centre, the Abbeygate Shopping Centre in the town centre
10509-420: The trauma the loan shark inflicted on his family. He confronts the loan shark in a parking garage outside of a bar. The pair get into a fight and the loan shark beats Bob up and threatens to do even worse. However, as the loan shark begins driving off, Bob smashes his windscreen with a wrench. This causes the drunken loan shark to lose control of the vehicle and smash into a column, killing the loan shark. Bob grabs
10622-473: The twentieth century, published in 1999. During the 1970s and 1980s, Loach's films were less successful, often suffering from poor distribution, lack of interest and political censorship. His documentary The Save the Children Fund Film (1971) was commissioned by the charity , who subsequently disliked it so much they attempted to have the negative destroyed. It was only screened publicly for
10735-472: The two lower floors, and a workshop with very large windows on the top floor. This industry flourished for nearly two centuries, albeit with periodic booms and slumps. However, by the early 19th century the industry was struggling to compete against the factory produced textiles from northern manufacturers, and the local weavers strongly resisted adopting factory production methods as they valued their independence. Nevertheless, in 1851 46% of Nuneaton's workforce
10848-471: The upper tier. Nuneaton is an unparished area and so there is no tier of administration below the Borough council. Nuneaton and Bedworth council was once solidly controlled by the Labour Party, but has in more recent years become more volatile: It was Labour controlled from its creation in 1974, until the 2008 local elections , when the Conservatives gained control, ending 34 years of Labour rule. However,
10961-432: The vested interests of a few." In August 2021, Loach was expelled from the Labour Party because of his membership with the organisation Labour Against the Witchhunt , with the party saying he was removed for failing to "disown" Labour members who had been expelled. In an interview with Jacobin the same month, Loach stated that he was not a member of any of the organisations which had recently been proscribed by
11074-479: The voice. Everything about them changes. If I asked you not to speak with an American accent, your whole personality would change. That's how you are. My hunch is that it's better to use subtitles than not, even if that limits the films to an art-house circuit. Loach was amongst the first British directors to use swearing in his films. Mary Whitehouse complained about swearing in Cathy Come Home and Up
11187-401: Was also asked about a conference fringe event at which Miko Peled suggested people should be allowed to question whether the Holocaust had happened. Loach responded: "I think history is for all of us to discuss. The founding of the state of Israel, for example, based on ethnic cleansing, is there for us all to discuss, so don't try and subvert that by false stories of antisemitism". Following
11300-775: Was born in Nuneaton on 17 June 1936, the son of Vivien (née Hamlin) and John Loach. He attended King Edward VI Grammar School and joined the Royal Air Force at the age of 19. He later read law at St Peter's College, Oxford , graduating with a third-class degree . As a member of the Experimental Theatre Club , he directed a 1959 open-air production of Bartholomew Fair for the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre , in which he also starred as Dan Jordan Knockem. Loach first worked as an actor in regional theatre companies and then as
11413-466: Was broadcast at a time when the debate was at a height in the United Kingdom. Up the Junction , adapted by Nell Dunn from her book with the assistance of Loach, deals with an illegal abortion while the leading characters in Cathy Come Home , by Jeremy Sandford , are affected by homelessness, unemployment, and the workings of Social Services. In Two Minds , written by David Mercer , concerns
11526-519: Was due to be broadcast during the Trade Union Congress conference in 1983, but Channel 4 decided against broadcasting the series following the complaints. Anthony Hayward claimed in 2004 that the media tycoon Robert Maxwell had put pressure on Central Television's board (Central was the successor to the original production company Associated Television ), of which he had become a director, to withdraw Questions of Leadership at
11639-477: Was elected to the national council of Respect the following November. When Respect split in 2007, Loach identified with Respect Renewal , the faction identified with George Galloway . Later, his connection with Respect ended. Together with John Pilger and Jemima Khan , Loach was among the six people in court who offered surety for Julian Assange when he was arrested in London on 7 December 2010. The money
11752-404: Was established in the 12th century, when it became a small market town. It later developed into an important industrial town due to ribbon weaving and coal mining. The author George Eliot was born on a farm on the Arbury Estate just outside Nuneaton in 1819 and lived in the town for much of her early life. Her novel Scenes of Clerical Life (1858) depicts Nuneaton. The George Eliot Hospital
11865-464: Was first opened in the 1960s, and was formerly known as Heron Way. The European headquarters of Holland & Barrett are based in the town, as is the UK head office of FedEx . While Bermuda Park, which is south of Nuneaton, is the location of the national distribution centres of Dairy Crest and RS Components . Nuneaton is also the location of several international online marketing companies. In 2017
11978-611: Was forfeited when Assange skipped bail to seek asylum in the Embassy of Ecuador, London . Loach supported the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition in the 2012 London Assembly election . With the support of the activist Kate Hudson and academic Gilbert Achcar , Loach launched a campaign in March 2013 for a new left-wing party which was founded as Left Unity on 30 November. Left Unity candidates gained an average of 3.2% in
12091-432: Was made a separate local board district at the same time. The two local board districts of Nuneaton and Chilvers Cotton were merged in 1893. The following year, all such districts were converted into urban districts . The Nuneaton and Chilvers Coton Urban District was elevated to become a municipal borough in 1907 under the single name of Nuneaton. The borough was enlarged several times, notably in 1931 when it absorbed
12204-566: Was one of more than 100 artists and writers who signed an open letter calling on the San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival "to honour calls for an international boycott of Israeli political and cultural institutions , by discontinuing Israeli consulate sponsorship of the LGBT film festival and not co-sponsoring events with the Israeli consulate". Loach also joined "54 international figures in
12317-501: Was recorded locally as early as 1338. However the lack of efficient transport and the primitive mining techniques kept the industry on a small scale. Mining did not start to develop on a larger scale until the 17th century, with the dawn of the Industrial Revolution , which led to greater demand for fuel and technical advancement. A major problem was the drainage of water from coal pits as they were dug deeper. The use of
12430-694: Was replaced with the existing church, which was opened in 2000. In the town, Baptist , Methodist , Wesleyan Reform Union , the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , Pentecostal , the Salvation Army , United Reformed and Christadelphian churches serve their respective congregations. A Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses is located in the Stockingford area and Christadelphians in Whitestone . In addition to Christianity, there are also followers of Islam , Sikhism and Hinduism . There
12543-560: Was set partially in Nicaragua . He directed the courtroom drama reconstructions in the docu-film McLibel , concerning McDonald's Restaurants v Morris & Steel , the longest libel trial in English history. Interspersed with political films were more intimate works such as Raining Stones (1993), a working-class drama concerning an unemployed man's efforts to buy a communion dress for his young daughter. On 28 May 2006, Loach won
12656-470: Was still employed by the ribbon trade. The industry was finally wiped out after 1860 by cheap imports, following the Cobden–Chevalier Treaty , which removed duties on imported French silks. This caused a slump in the local economy which lasted nearly two decades. Another major industry which grew in the local area was coal mining . Nuneaton was located in the Warwickshire coalfield , and mining
12769-517: Was voted the seventh greatest British film of the 20th century in a poll by the British Film Institute . Two of his films, The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006) and I, Daniel Blake (2016), received the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival , making him one of only nine filmmakers to win the award twice. He also holds the record for the most films screened in the main competition at Cannes with 15. Kenneth Charles Loach
#959040