20ft-tall Godiva to visit villages
A GIANT Lady Godiva puppet will make her way through through Woburn on Thursday as part of the cultural celebrations for the Olympic Games.
The huge ‘cyclopedia’ is making its way from Coventry, where Godiva’s journey began on Saturday when she ‘woke up’ after 1,000 years.
Powered by 50 cyclists, she yesterday arrived in Rugby, and will visit Northampton and Milton Keynes before travelling through Woburn Sands, Woburn, and Milton Bryan en route to Luton.
There will be celebrations in Milton Keynes on Wednesday, with a cultural festival taking place in Campbell Park from 4.30pm and Proms in the Park from 8pm, followed by a light show.
Godiva will stay overnight in Midsummer Place shopping centre, which will be open throughout the night for members of the public to visit her before she departs at 9am on Thursday morning.
Travelling at a speed of between three and five miles per hour, Godiva is expected to arrive in Woburn late morning.
Central Bedfordshire Council are warning motorists to expect delays while she makes her way through the area.
A council spokesman said: “To avoid delays, motorists are advised to find alternative routes or travel outside of the times that Godiva Awakes will be on the advertised route.
“The organisers are not providing any facilities for people in Central Bedfordshire to watch Godiva Awakes.
“Any spectators should make sure that they can watch safely and away from the open highway as no road closures will be in place and vehicles will obviously want to get around the ‘cyclopedia’.”
Described as a “world class piece of public art”, the Godiva Awakes procession has been two years in the making and is the work of hundreds of mechanics, artists, puppeteers and engineers.
According to legend, Lady Godiva was an 11th century noblewoman who rode naked through the streets of Coventry in protest at the oppressive taxes her husband was imposing on his tenants.
Godiva Awakes re-imagines her as a ‘contemporary symbol of courage, fairness, social justice, self sacrifice and sustainability’.
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Weather for Leighton Buzzard
Wednesday 22 May 2013
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 4 C to 14 C
Wind Speed: 22 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 4 C to 10 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: North west
