[email protected] has shared Richard III helps boost tourism

Oh, someday I hope to spend a couple of months or more in England. I might skip London all together, and start in Cornwall and work over to the east coast, and them crisscross from west to east while traveling north. I would also to visit Scotland and Ireland, hit the channel islands and end in Normandy! I want to see those majestic churches, and the tiny ones too. Both of our families are primarily English, Scots and Irish. I also have some French and Spaniards in the line, but that would be another trip. The earliest record I can find is a York family baptized in Olney.

From: [mailto:]
Sent: Monday, June 23, 2014 8:57 AM
To:
Subject: Re: jltournier60@... has shared Richard III helps boost tourism in Leicestershire | Leicester Mercury

Do we honestly think that this will do much to boost the tourist trade for Leicester? It might boost the reputation of the uni re DNA research. The tourist route is London, Warwick, Kenilworth, (sometimes Coventry) Stratford on Avon, the Cotswolds, Oxford, Blenheim, Bicester Village Outlet (of course!) and back to Windsor. The brave go north to York and Scotland. There are some beautiful cathedral cities in the east - Norwich, Ely, Lincoln, Peterborough (Catherine of Aragon) but their trade is sparse. In the SW Worcester, Tewkesbury and Gloucester all have great churches (and buried kings) but they are hardly buzzing, just gently ticking over. And they are far, far more scenic than Leicester - sorry Leicester!

So Richard may bring a few tourists, rather than none, but it's a very niche market. So queues after the first two or three months, methinks not (says she who lives 10 miles from Leicester and only goes there for the cash and carry) H

Hi, Pamela & Hilary –

I’ve been an Anglophile for as long as I can remember. Don’t know why, as my roots are on the Continent, so far as I know. But now I’m thinking there may be some Midland English back there several centuries ago that fled to the Continent around the time Bloody Mary ascended the throne. (That would be my Truby ancestors.)

I’ve spent about a month in London on several trips and loved it, but I also got to spend a Summer in Aberystwyth at the Library College and we took a 10 day study tour around Wales and the UK - Chester and Manchester (stopped by Chatsworth), Birmingham (Coventry, Kenilworth, and Warwick), quick stop at Oxford, and then London, coming back via Salisbury (Stonehenge and the Cathedral) and Bath. On a couple other trips we went to the Eisteddfodd (sp?) at Llangollen, Richard Booth’s used bookstores at Hay on Wye (we had lunch with Mr. Booth!), Ludlow Castle, and saw *As You Like It* at Stratford. I didn’t see any part of Britain that I wouldn’t have loved to live in, except for central Manchester and Birmingham.

I disagree with Hilary in a sense – yes, I agree the recent discovery of Richard’s bones and all the brouhaha has sparked interest in him, but I think awareness of him has now become more pervasive than ever before. I think therefore that there will be a steady flow of people to see Bosworth and the Cathedral and the Richard III exhibition, even though it probably won’t be at the same level it has been for the last year. Also I understand that they potentially have a lot to offer tourists, if they can get some of the other sites developed, like the Roman remains, the Citadel and so on, as well as the Richard III sites.

I agree with you, Pamela, a couple of months there at some point would be wonderful! Some time when they are not having floods! J

Johanne

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Johanne L. Tournier

Email - jltournier60@...

or jltournier@...

"With God, all things are possible."

- Jesus of Nazareth

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From: [mailto:]
Sent: Monday, June 23, 2014 11:24 AM
To:
Subject: RE: jltournier60@... has shared Richard III helps boost tourism in Leicestershire | Leicester Mercury

Oh, someday I hope to spend a couple of months or more in England. I might skip London all together, and start in Cornwall and work over to the east coast, and them crisscross from west to east while traveling north. I would also to visit Scotland and Ireland, hit the channel islands and end in Normandy! I want to see those majestic churches, and the tiny ones too. Both of our families are primarily English, Scots and Irish. I also have some French and Spaniards in the line, but that would be another trip. The earliest record I can find is a York family baptized in Olney.

From: [mailto:]
Sent: Monday, June 23, 2014 8:57 AM
To:
Subject: Re: jltournier60@... has shared Richard III helps boost tourism in Leicestershire | Leicester Mercury

Do we honestly think that this will do much to boost the tourist trade for Leicester? It might boost the reputation of the uni re DNA research. The tourist route is London, Warwick, Kenilworth, (sometimes Coventry) Stratford on Avon, the Cotswolds, Oxford, Blenheim, Bicester Village Outlet (of course!) and back to Windsor. The brave go north to York and Scotland. There are some beautiful cathedral cities in the east - Norwich, Ely, Lincoln, Peterborough (Catherine of Aragon) but their trade is sparse. In the SW Worcester, Tewkesbury and Gloucester all have great churches (and buried kings) but they are hardly buzzing, just gently ticking over. And they are far, far more scenic than Leicester - sorry Leicester!

So Richard may bring a few tourists, rather than none, but it's a very niche market. So queues after the first two or three months, methinks not (says she who lives 10 miles from Leicester and only goes there for the cash and carry) H

Agreed, maybe we can meet in NYC and go together!

From: [mailto:]
Sent: Monday, June 23, 2014 10:08 AM
To:
Subject: RE: jltournier60@... has shared Richard III helps boost tourism in Leicestershire | Leicester Mercury

Hi, Pamela & Hilary –

I’ve been an Anglophile for as long as I can remember. Don’t know why, as my roots are on the Continent, so far as I know. But now I’m thinking there may be some Midland English back there several centuries ago that fled to the Continent around the time Bloody Mary ascended the throne. (That would be my Truby ancestors.)

I’ve spent about a month in London on several trips and loved it, but I also got to spend a Summer in Aberystwyth at the Library College and we took a 10 day study tour around Wales and the UK - Chester and Manchester (stopped by Chatsworth), Birmingham (Coventry, Kenilworth, and Warwick), quick stop at Oxford, and then London, coming back via Salisbury (Stonehenge and the Cathedral) and Bath. On a couple other trips we went to the Eisteddfodd (sp?) at Llangollen, Richard Booth’s used bookstores at Hay on Wye (we had lunch with Mr. Booth!), Ludlow Castle, and saw *As You Like It* at Stratford. I didn’t see any part of Britain that I wouldn’t have loved to live in, except for central Manchester and Birmingham.

I disagree with Hilary in a sense – yes, I agree the recent discovery of Richard’s bones and all the brouhaha has sparked interest in him, but I think awareness of him has now become more pervasive than ever before. I think therefore that there will be a steady flow of people to see Bosworth and the Cathedral and the Richard III exhibition, even though it probably won’t be at the same level it has been for the last year. Also I understand that they potentially have a lot to offer tourists, if they can get some of the other sites developed, like the Roman remains, the Citadel and so on, as well as the Richard III sites.

I agree with you, Pamela, a couple of months there at some point would be wonderful! Some time when they are not having floods! J

Johanne

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Johanne L. Tournier

Email - jltournier60@...

or jltournier@...

"With God, all things are possible."

- Jesus of Nazareth

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From: [mailto:]
Sent: Monday, June 23, 2014 11:24 AM
To:
Subject: RE: jltournier60@... has shared Richard III helps boost tourism in Leicestershire | Leicester Mercury

Oh, someday I hope to spend a couple of months or more in England. I might skip London all together, and start in Cornwall and work over to the east coast, and them crisscross from west to east while traveling north. I would also to visit Scotland and Ireland, hit the channel islands and end in Normandy! I want to see those majestic churches, and the tiny ones too. Both of our families are primarily English, Scots and Irish. I also have some French and Spaniards in the line, but that would be another trip. The earliest record I can find is a York family baptized in Olney.

From: [mailto:]
Sent: Monday, June 23, 2014 8:57 AM
To:
Subject: Re: jltournier60@... has shared Richard III helps boost tourism in Leicestershire | Leicester Mercury

Do we honestly think that this will do much to boost the tourist trade for Leicester? It might boost the reputation of the uni re DNA research. The tourist route is London, Warwick, Kenilworth, (sometimes Coventry) Stratford on Avon, the Cotswolds, Oxford, Blenheim, Bicester Village Outlet (of course!) and back to Windsor. The brave go north to York and Scotland. There are some beautiful cathedral cities in the east - Norwich, Ely, Lincoln, Peterborough (Catherine of Aragon) but their trade is sparse. In the SW Worcester, Tewkesbury and Gloucester all have great churches (and buried kings) but they are hardly buzzing, just gently ticking over. And they are far, far more scenic than Leicester - sorry Leicester!

So Richard may bring a few tourists, rather than none, but it's a very niche market. So queues after the first two or three months, methinks not (says she who lives 10 miles from Leicester and only goes there for the cash and carry) H

Do we honestly think that this will do much to boost the tourist trade for Leicester? It might boost the reputation of the uni re DNA research. The tourist route is London, Warwick, Kenilworth, (sometimes Coventry) Stratford on Avon, the Cotswolds, Oxford, Blenheim, Bicester Village Outlet (of course!) and back to Windsor. The brave go north to York and Scotland. There are some beautiful cathedral cities in the east - Norwich, Ely, Lincoln, Peterborough (Catherine of Aragon) but their trade is sparse. In the SW Worcester, Tewkesbury and Gloucester all have great churches (and buried kings) but they are hardly buzzing, just gently ticking over. And they are far, far more scenic than Leicester - sorry Leicester! So Richard may bring a few tourists, rather than none, but it's a very niche market. So queues after the first two or three months, methinks not (says she who lives 10 miles from Leicester and only goes there for the cash and carry) H

Jess I think asked why I don't visit Leicester. I can't find her post now but I'll reply and apologise for it being out of order.

It's easy to compare Leicester with Coventry, which is roughly the same distance away, and which has been on the tourist trail for the last 50 years - and which I also rarely visit. Every night coaches full of Chinese and Japanese tourists stay at a lovely country hotel just outside the city, which was the home of Princess Elizabeth during the Gunpowder Plot. They rush to the cathedrals next day, probably visit the adjacent parish church and Guild Hall (which Richard visited) and dive straight back on the coach to spend their money in the boutiques of regency Royal Leamington Spa and the bijou restaurants of Warwick and Kenilworth.

Why? Because Coventry, like Leicester, though once prosperous, started to go through bad times in the early 1990s.And the decline was slow so it failed to attract the regeneration investment given to areas which had lost more famous industries such as coalmining. steelworks, shipbuilding. Neither city had been big enough in Victorian times to attract the impressive buildings and galleries of the philanthropists like Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Glasgow, Liverpool which helped to see these cities through the recent recession and spring back again as cities of culture. So both, despite having two universities each, have city centres bedecked with boarded-up shops, pawnbrokers, Pound shops and wobbly pavements. They're by no means the worst examples; go north to Derby and the Potteries - but human nature being as it is, it means that residents, students and tourists take their money to more optimistic places. In Leicester it's to the US-style retail parks on the outskirts, which I do visit. Yes I'm as bad as the rest.

So I fear it will take more than Richard to regenerate Leicester - however brave they sound. And it doesn't belong to a tourist cluster like Coventry, so apart from the battefield, I'm not quite sure where visitors would move on to. I hope I'm wrong but ...... it's all to do with the much wider social issue of the future of the High Street.

Sorry it's so long! H.

Jess I think asked why I don't visit Leicester. I can't find her post now but I'll reply and apologise for it being out of order.

It's easy to compare Leicester with Coventry, which is roughly the same distance away, and which has been on the tourist trail for the last 50 years - and which I also rarely visit. Every night coaches full of Chinese and Japanese tourists stay at a lovely country hotel just outside the city, which was the home of Princess Elizabeth during the Gunpowder Plot. They rush to the cathedrals next day, probably visit the adjacent parish church and Guild Hall (which Richard visited) and dive straight back on the coach to spend their money in the boutiques of regency Royal Leamington Spa and the bijou restaurants of Warwick and Kenilworth.

Why? Because Coventry, like Leicester, though once prosperous, started to go through bad times in the early 1990s.And the decline was slow so it failed to attract the regeneration investment given to areas which had lost more famous industries such as coalmining. steelworks, shipbuilding. Neither city had been big enough in Victorian times to attract the impressive buildings and galleries of the philanthropists like Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Glasgow, Liverpool which helped to see these cities through the recent recession and spring back again as cities of culture. So both, despite having two universities each, have city centres bedecked with boarded-up shops, pawnbrokers, Pound shops and wobbly pavements. They're by no means the worst examples; go north to Derby and the Potteries - but human nature being as it is, it means that residents, students and tourists take their money to more optimistic places. In Leicester it's to the US-style retail parks on the outskirts, which I do visit. Yes I'm as bad as the rest.

So I fear it will take more than Richard to regenerate Leicester - however brave they sound. And it doesn't belong to a tourist cluster like Coventry, so apart from the battefield, I'm not quite sure where visitors would move on to. I hope I'm wrong but ...... it's all to do with the much wider social issue of the future of the High Street.

Sorry it's so long! H.

Jess I think asked why I don't visit Leicester. I can't find her post now but I'll reply and apologise for it being out of order.

It's easy to compare Leicester with Coventry, which is roughly the same distance away, and which has been on the tourist trail for the last 50 years - and which I also rarely visit. Every night coaches full of Chinese and Japanese tourists stay at a lovely country hotel just outside the city, which was the home of Princess Elizabeth during the Gunpowder Plot. They rush to the cathedrals next day, probably visit the adjacent parish church and Guild Hall (which Richard visited) and dive straight back on the coach to spend their money in the boutiques of regency Royal Leamington Spa and the bijou restaurants of Warwick and Kenilworth.

Why? Because Coventry, like Leicester, though once prosperous, started to go through bad times in the early 1990s.And the decline was slow so it failed to attract the regeneration investment given to areas which had lost more famous industries such as coalmining. steelworks, shipbuilding. Neither city had been big enough in Victorian times to attract the impressive buildings and galleries of the philanthropists like Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Glasgow, Liverpool which helped to see these cities through the recent recession and spring back again as cities of culture. So both, despite having two universities each, have city centres bedecked with boarded-up shops, pawnbrokers, Pound shops and wobbly pavements. They're by no means the worst examples; go north to Derby and the Potteries -  but human nature being as it is, it means that residents, students and tourists take their money to more optimistic places. In Leicester it's to the US-style retail parks on the outskirts, which I do visit. Yes I'm as bad as the rest.

So I fear it will take more than Richard to regenerate Leicester - however brave they sound. And it doesn't belong to a tourist cluster like Coventry, so apart from the battefield, I'm not quite sure where visitors would move on to. I hope I'm wrong but   ......   it's all to do with the much wider social issue of the future of the High Street.

Sorry it's so long! H.

Sadly a lot of visitors in any country and in a major city, start there. For most first timers in the UK, they all probably do London, maybe get to Windsor, Oxford, Greenwich, hit the Tate and the large museums, and are ready to move on. That happened in New Orleans, where I was raised, The French Quarter is it, and In San Antonio, The Alamo and the center of the City. So sad for them and for the places they visit, because they have no clue about what the country is really about.

From: [mailto:]
Sent: Thursday, June 26, 2014 8:42 AM
To:
Subject: Re: jltournier60@... has shared Richard III helps boost tourism in Leicestershire | Leicester Mercury

We shall see :) :)

Like literature on the same subject, it's a niche market and unfortunately those in that niche market are not the big spenders. When they build a Harvey Nichols in Leicester we shall know it's arrived!

Incidentally they did in Birmingham and despite canals better than Venice, Pre-Raphaelite galleries, the Jewelllery Quarter, Ronnie Scot's Jazz Club, the ICC, a state of the art new library and Michelin cuisine, they still struggle to attract visitors. Because, going back to my very first point - it's not on the tourist trail. And I love Brum and all its diversity. We shall see. H

On Thursday, 26 June 2014, 13:54, "Janjovian janjovian@... []" <> wrote:

I quite understand where you are coming from Hilary, but I am much more optimistic than you that Richard, his tomb, and the visitor centre will regenerate Leicester.
This is the most significant archeological find for probably hundreds of years, and the interest in it is worldwide. I know there are many people out there who have never heard of Richard III, or who know the name of the prime minister, for that matter, but it isn't them you want to attract anyway.
I would take a bet the pound shops and bookmakers will be replaced by elegant tea shops and arty gift shops in quite short order, because there will be money to be made catering for the more thoughtful visitors who will be attracted.
I haven't been to Leicester, but I don't think of it as a post industrial town with a large Asian population any more. To me, and I suspect millions of others, it is the place they found Richard III.
Our High Street here is not too bad, but not too good either. It is certainly much better than it was a few years ago when seaside resorts became really faded.
A lot of money has been spent and we do have significant tourist attractions.
Leicester has the opportunity to attract a more wealthy sector with these finds and can offer packages including the grave, the tomb and visitor centre, the battlefield site and its archeology, the Battlefield Line steam railway, and a trip on a canal boat or walking tour.
They have a lot going for them if this is handled in the right way.

Jess

From: mailto:
Sent: 26/06/2014 10:40
To:
Subject: Re: jltournier60@... has shared Richard III helps boost tourism in Leicestershire | Leicester Mercury

Jess I think asked why I don't visit Leicester. I can't find her post now but I'll reply and apologise for it being out of order.

It's easy to compare Leicester with Coventry, which is roughly the same distance away, and which has been on the tourist trail for the last 50 years - and which I also rarely visit. Every night coaches full of Chinese and Japanese tourists stay at a lovely country hotel just outside the city, which was the home of Princess Elizabeth during the Gunpowder Plot. They rush to the cathedrals next day, probably visit the adjacent parish church and Guild Hall (which Richard visited) and dive straight back on the coach to spend their money in the boutiques of regency Royal Leamington Spa and the bijou restaurants of Warwick and Kenilworth.

Why? Because Coventry, like Leicester, though once prosperous, started to go through bad times in the early 1990s.And the decline was slow so it failed to attract the regeneration investment given to areas which had lost more famous industries such as coalmining. steelworks, shipbuilding. Neither city had been big enough in Victorian times to attract the impressive buildings and galleries of the philanthropists like Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Glasgow, Liverpool which helped to see these cities through the recent recession and spring back again as cities of culture. So both, despite having two universities each, have city centres bedecked with boarded-up shops, pawnbrokers, Pound shops and wobbly pavements. They're by no means the worst examples; go north to Derby and the Potteries - but human nature being as it is, it means that residents, students and tourists take their money to more optimistic places. In Leicester it's to the US-style retail parks on the outskirts, which I do visit. Yes I'm as bad as the rest.

So I fear it will take more than Richard to regenerate Leicester - however brave they sound. And it doesn't belong to a tourist cluster like Coventry, so apart from the battefield, I'm not quite sure where visitors would move on to. I hope I'm wrong but ...... it's all to do with the much wider social issue of the future of the High Street.

Sorry it's so long! H.

We shall see :) :) Like literature on the same subject, it's a niche market and unfortunately those in that niche market are not the big spenders. When they build a Harvey Nichols in Leicester we shall know it's arrived! Incidentally they did in Birmingham and despite canals better than Venice, Pre-Raphaelite galleries, the Jewelllery Quarter, Ronnie Scot's Jazz Club, the ICC, a state of the art new library and Michelin cuisine, they still struggle to attract visitors. Because, going back to my very first point - it's not on the tourist trail. And I love Brum and all its diversity. We shall see. H

On Thursday, 26 June 2014, 13:54, "Janjovian janjovian@... []" <> wrote:


I quite understand where you are coming from Hilary, but I am much more optimistic than you that Richard, his tomb, and the visitor centre will regenerate Leicester.
This is the most significant archeological find for probably hundreds of years, and the interest in it is worldwide. I know there are many people out there who have never heard of Richard III, or who know the name of the prime minister, for that matter, but it isn't them you want to attract anyway.
I would take a bet the pound shops and bookmakers will be replaced by elegant tea shops and arty gift shops in quite short order, because there will be money to be made catering for the more thoughtful visitors who will be attracted.
I haven't been to Leicester, but I don't think of it as a post industrial town with a large Asian population any more. To me, and I suspect millions of others, it is the place they found Richard III.
Our High Street here is not too bad, but not too good either. It is certainly much better than it was a few years ago when seaside resorts became really faded.
A lot of money has been spent and we do have significant tourist attractions.
Leicester has the opportunity to attract a more wealthy sector with these finds and can offer packages including the grave, the tomb and visitor centre, the battlefield site and its archeology, the Battlefield Line steam railway, and a trip on a canal boat or walking tour.
They have a lot going for them if this is handled in the right way.

Jess From: mailto:
Sent: 26/06/2014 10:40
To:
Subject: Re: jltournier60@... has shared Richard III helps boost tourism in Leicestershire | Leicester Mercury

Jess I think asked why I don't visit Leicester. I can't find her post now but I'll reply and apologise for it being out of order. It's easy to compare Leicester with Coventry, which is roughly the same distance away, and which has been on the tourist trail for the last 50 years - and which I also rarely visit. Every night coaches full of Chinese and Japanese tourists stay at a lovely country hotel just outside the city, which was the home of Princess Elizabeth during the Gunpowder Plot. They rush to the cathedrals next day, probably visit the adjacent parish church and Guild Hall (which Richard visited) and dive straight back on the coach to spend their money in the boutiques of regency Royal Leamington Spa and the bijou restaurants of Warwick and Kenilworth. Why? Because Coventry, like Leicester, though once prosperous, started to go through bad times in the early 1990s.And the decline was slow so it failed to attract the regeneration investment given to areas which had lost more famous industries such as coalmining. steelworks, shipbuilding. Neither city had been big enough in Victorian times to attract the impressive buildings and galleries of the philanthropists like Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Glasgow, Liverpool which helped to see these cities through the recent recession and spring back again as cities of culture. So both, despite having two universities each, have city centres bedecked with boarded-up shops, pawnbrokers, Pound shops and wobbly pavements. They're by no means the worst examples; go north to Derby and the Potteries - but human nature being as it is, it means that residents, students and tourists take their money to more optimistic places. In Leicester it's to the US-style retail parks on the outskirts, which I do visit. Yes I'm as bad as the rest. So I fear it will take more than Richard to regenerate Leicester - however brave they sound. And it doesn't belong to a tourist cluster like Coventry, so apart from the battefield, I'm not quite sure where visitors would move on to. I hope I'm wrong but ...... it's all to do with the much wider social issue of the future of the High Street. Sorry it's so long! H.