History of Peugeot in Coventry

Car manufacturing has been a part of Coventry since the 1940’s. The most famous car brand to be manufactured in Coventry is Peugeot. Peugeot is a French car brand which is part of PSA Peugeot Citroen, the second largest carmaker in Europe.

Peugeot cars were built in the Ryton factory in Coventry; however the factory was not originally used by Peugeot. It was originally built to make aero engines to support the war effort. Then it was converted into a car factory in 1946 by Rootes group. A few financial problems and sales later the Ryton factory came into Peugeot hands in 1978. Manufacturing Peugeots in Ryton was significant, as it signaled the very first time Peugeots would be built in Britain. After building Talbot cars since the takeover, the factory finally built the first Peugeot in 1985.

Continuing you Professional Development

Do you have what it takes to further your career? The health and life sciences faculty at Coventry University are running Continuing Professional Development courses that aim to increase your employability within the health profession.
Why do a CPD course? Natalie Mills, head of Health CPD explained that:

“CPD has always been a part of becoming a nurse, physiotherapist or occupational therapist, once you have your registration you have to keep updating your skills.”

Medics get an Ambulance

Would you know what to do in an emergency? Students doing Paramedic science are hoping to achieve this goal by completing two years of training here at Coventry University. To help them in their studies the school of health and life sciences have bought an ambulance.

Snow Business

Are you up to date with your technology? Channel 4 News present Jon Snow recently visited Coventry Cathedral to give a talk about ‘Who would be a Journalist in the 2nd decade of the 21st century?’

When Jon was 9 he was brought to Coventry by his father, who was a cleric at the time, to witness the devastation of the war and how it had affected Coventry. Snow described what he saw was “Just an open space where the Cathedral had been”. This visit was a stepping stone to Snow’s fixation of war.

Where did PTG's name originate from?

THE WORLD sports conference takes its name from a poem called ‘Vitai Lampada’, or ‘The torch of life’. The poem was written in the 19th century by an Englishman called Sir Henry Newbolt. Vitai Lampada is about a future soldier who learns stoicism in cricket matches in the famous close at Clifton College, writes Victoria Howe.

Stoicism is where someone is indifferent to pleasure or pain, a philosophy founded in the 3rd century by a Greek philosopher called Zeno the Citium.

Bookmaker leading the fight against match fixing

PLAYERS AND officials are the only people who can fix a match according to Betfair’s Managing Director, Mark Davies. He also argued that legal betting companies were making every effort to help police, identify and act upon irregular betting patterns, writes Victoria Howe.

It was clear from Davies’ talk that Betfair has taken a number of steps to stop illegal bets and match fixing, with a strict policy that users have to follow when they sign up. Providing identification and credit card details allows it to track every single bet transaction made at its chain of bookmakers around the world.

Profile:Richard Pound-an anti-drug campaigner

RICHARD POUND is a former gold medallist Olympic swimmer, who trained as both an accountant and lawyer at McGill University before graduating in 1968. Pound is the former Vice-president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the former President of the World Anti-doping agency (WADA). Pound has been relentless in his fight to rid the world of sport of illicit performance-enhancing drugs, writes Victoria Howe.

Profile:Florien Petrica- The Significance of financial values

FLORIEN PETRICA is the current editor-in-chief of The Money Channel. He comes from a background of sports reporting and commentating, having completed a post graduate in journalism at the University of Bucharest and a masters in management in sport at the University of Iasi. He graduated in 2002, before going on to become editor-in-chief at both Telesport and National TV. Florien said: “My vision is that the financial values could be converted in journalist values, and this approach could be very useful for the values of sport”, writes Victoria Howe.

Profile:Declan Hill- Sports Journalism on a budget

DECLAN HILL is a former investigative journalist who has a PhD from Oxford University. Declan is speaking on ‘How to do investigative journalism in sports when you don’t have any money’ as part of a group of talks on investigative journalism in sport, in the Humber lecture theatre at 11.15am writes Victoria Howe.

Hill specialises in organised crime and corruption in sport. He is the author of “The Fix” a ground-breaking piece of investigative journalism exposing some of the secrets and realities of match-fixing in professional sport.

Hill has previously worked for CBC Radio, CBC television, BBC radio world service and BBC radio 4, along with various other media sources. His documentaries on honour killings in Turkey and the murder of journalists in the Philippines have earned him various awards.

Declan Hill-The Man against corrupion

THIS YEAR’S Play the Game award 2009 was won by investigative journalist and author of the book “The Fix” Declan Hill. CU Today spoke to Declan in an exclusive interview to find out what made him tick and why he chose a life in corruption, writes Victoria Howe.


For his PhD, Hill studied match fixing and the illegal gambling trade that is corrupting today’s football-mad world – an unusual topic for an academic study.

“I had worked as a young journalist on a documentary with my colleagues at CBC broadcasting cooperation on the influence and impact of the Russian Mafia on the national hockey league, and the really got me intrigued about the idea of organised crime in sport,” he said.

With a background in hard-hitting news and a wealth of opportunities thanks to Oxford University to raise awareness of the issue, “The Fix” was born. Hill went directly to a former mob-boss to scratch the surface of corruption in sport.

“The first person I had spoken to was Michael Franzese. I was working on a Russian Mafia piece and the questions that I asked him, kind of opened my mind to the ideas of fixing,” said Hill.

During research in Asia he came across many dangerous people. He said: “I don’t remember anyone in Asia, with the exception of the fixers, not telling me that what I was doing was dangerous”. Many of the people that Hill spoke to were not prepared to talk, though football players were willing to speak out on the corruption in the game.

“Many of the players were desperate to speak, they really want to talk about it, they don’t like corruption in the game”

Hill wants to set up a world anti-corruption agency. By using Play the Game as a platform for networking and WADA as a guideline he wants to tackle the damaging issues in sport. Hill wants to set up an independent agency that he hopes sport organisations will take note of and start to tackle corruption in the world of sport.

Around the Globe

Are you looking to explore other cultures? Then look no further than Globe Cafe. Every Friday from 7pm till 10pm at the Spirituality and Faith centre (behind the Allen Berry Building) the Christian Union run an evening of games, discussions and general socialising for international and fellow home students.


Joanna Richards, a volunteer at globe cafe explained a typical evening:

“We have a discussion, for example ‘Should Barak Obama have received the Nobel Peace Prize?’ This will go on for a while, then we play games, chat and socialise, which is washed down by tea and coffee afterwards”

The Globe Cafe has been running for four years now, and has proved to be a great success. Every term there is also a major event planned, for example there is a Christmas party coming in December.

Andrew Friesen, a Canadian student said:

“I like going to the Globe because I get to meet new people and make great friends, it also gives me the opportunity to possibly go travelling and improve my language skills.”

So if you’re looking to make new friends, improve your Spanish or generally have fun then Globe Cafe is definitely for you.

Jonah- A whale of a musical

Ever wondered what the story of Jonah and the whale would like on stage? Then look no further than “Jonah- A whale of a musical”. Third year music students Helen Rossall and James west have teamed up to create the Jonah musical for their final year project. They will perform it to primary school children in ‘final project fortnight’ at the end of April next year.


James West, the composer said:

“I want to empower and inspire children to develop their creative abilities and to have fun”.

The idea to turn the story of Jonah and whale into a musical came very quickly to both students as it was a story close to their hearts and they knew they wanted to spread the message of Jonah to as many people as possible.

The cast will be mainly members of James and Helen’s course, with both creators staring in it themselves. James will be Jonah.

Helen, who has a background in community art and leadership, said “James is composing most of the music for the musical and I am organising it, I am also putting together a team of school children to create a giant paper whale as a prop for the show”.

When asked why they chose such a hard project to do, James said:

“It was important to us that we challenge ourselves and put our skills to the test”.

With catchy songs, singing children and a giant paper whale, I’m sure this will be a whale of a musical!

Total Non-stop Wrestling slams into Coventry

The American wrestling giant TNA came to Coventry amid a storm of expectation, and didn’t disappoint. There were thousands of fans queuing up for hours outside the Skydome arena, waiting to catch a glimpse of their sporting heroes. Some lucky fans got to meet to the stars earlier at the reception at Mortimers bar where they got their merchandise signed by their favourite wrestlers.


With the arena almost full the organisers started to get the adrenaline pumping by starting a countdown and playing classic dance tracks such as ‘Sandstorm’.

The entire night was hosted by TNA’s TV presenter......... Who introduced matches such as Kurt Angle and ....... verses .... and......, an 8 man gauntlet match staring the UK’s own wrestling team ‘The British Invasion’ and a Heavyweight title match between AJ Styles and Samoa Joe.

The main event was the title match between Styles and Samoa Joe. It was an exciting, edge of your seat match which had the audience ‘ooo-ing’ and ‘ahhhh-ing’ all the way through. This is exactly what you expect from the companies top two stars. The match was eventually won by AJ Styles who hit Joe with his trademark finishing move............ to retain the heavy weight title.

Laura Anderson, an avid wrestling fan, said:

“It was amazing, I can’t believe I actually got to see Kurt Angle in the flesh, he’s a legend.”

The organisers had an extra little treat in store for the wrestling fans, TNA co-founder Dixie Carter made an appearance saying:

“Coventry was one of the first places TNA came to when we first starting touring. You will always have a special place in our hearts......thank you very much guys.”

TNA are in Coventry

Total Nonstop Wrestling are back in Coventry. Next January TNA wrestling return to the sky dome to entertain masses of wrestling fans, in what will surely be one of the biggest events in Coventry next year. What makes this event even more exciting is that TNA have just signed wrestling legend Hulk Hogan, who will definitely real in the crowds on January the 28th.

On the night there will an explosive 8 man gauntlet match featuring stars such as Team 3D, Beer Money Inc and The World Elite. The World Elite is made up of The British Invasion, Eric Young, Sheik Abdul Bashir and Kiyoshi. You may recognise fellow Brit Brutus Magnus from the British Invasion, as he played Oblivion in the UK series of Gladiators. Real name Nick Aldis, he signed with TNA in November 2008 and soon became a prominent character on’ Impact!’ when he debuted in February the next year.


TNAWRESTLING.COM said:

“The new wrestling alternative, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's iMPACT! delivers a distinct brand of high-risk, live-action athletic entertainment.Superstars confirmed thus far to compete on the tour: Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle and members of the Main Event Mafia, “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles, Team 3D, Suicide, The British Invasion, Awesome Kong, Beer Money, Inc., and more to be announced!”

With all wrestlers gearing up for the TNA Against All Odds pay per view in February, there guarantees to be plenty of controversial, unpredictable,’ total nonstop action’.