SWANSEA: World’s smallest solar cinema — built from a chicken coop caravan — heads to Monty Python statue unveiling

A solar-powered cinema built from an old caravan by a man from Swansea is heading to north Wales this weekend — as part of one of the most Python-esque public events Wales has seen in years.

The Sol Cinema, co-founded by Paul O’Connor from Swansea, has been engaged to screen exclusive films made by Terry Jones alongside behind-the-scenes footage from his Monty Python days, as part of the unveiling of a bronze statue of Jones in Colwyn Bay on Saturday April 25.

Jones — who died from dementia in January 2020 — was born in Colwyn Bay and was, as his family put it, “a proud Welshman in an accent straight out of Surrey.” The statue, created by Llandudno sculptor Nick Elphick and funded entirely by donations from comedy fans around the world, depicts Jones as the Nude Organist from Monty Python’s Flying Circus — nude apart from a flapping tie and wild hair, grinning as he strikes the classic pose.

Michael Palin said: “Terry always insisted on doing his own stunts, and I think that sitting stark naked (apart from a tie) on Colwyn Bay promenade, in all weathers, is the ultimate tribute to the lengths he was always prepared to go to for comedy. I hope his wonderfully generous bottom will become an emblem of the town he loved so much.”

The day is being billed as “A Python on the Prom” — a Python-esque afternoon of silliness, with marauding Vikings, knights and their coconut-clopping squires, a recreation of the Spam Cafe set, and a Silly Olympics for fans to compete in. Visitors are encouraged to dress as anything Terry or Python, with official Monty Python merchandise on offer for the most imaginative costumes. The statue unveiling itself takes place at 3pm. Entry is free.

The statue, shown prior to its installation, shows Python great Terry Gilliam as the nude organist.
(Image: Nick Elphick)

Steve Coogan, who worked with Jones on his film version of Wind in the Willows, said: “Naked at the organ is both cheeky and a strangely profound expression of Terry’s life-affirming anti-establishment anarchy.”

The Sol Cinema is no ordinary picture house. It was created by upcycling a 1972 caravan that had been used to house chickens on a smallholding — fitted out with tiered seating, LED lighting, a projector and surround sound, and running entirely on solar power. Its smartly-dressed usherettes are experienced street performers who add what co-founder Jo Furlong describes as “a touch of bizarreness to the entire experience.” The cinema has also made headlines over the years for its innovations — including becoming one of the first cinemas to accept cryptocurrency payments.

O’Connor said the Sol Cinema team were honoured to be involved in the event. “Monty Python influenced the construction of the Sol Cinema, with our flying cherubs, doric pillars, plush seating, surround sound and performing usherettes,” he said.

O’Connor and his team have been touring the UK and Europe with the cinema since 2010, entertaining more than 100,000 people at festivals, schools, factories, farms and even a zoo. The BBC has previously described it as the world’s smallest solar-powered cinema. Previous celebrity visitors have included the Welsh Rugby squad, Suggs and Madness, and DJ Don Letts. The cinema has also performed at Glastonbury Festival among many other landmark events.

The statue was funded through the “A Python on the Prom” campaign, which hit its target within six months thanks to donations from comedy fans worldwide. It will be gifted to Conwy County Borough Council to sit permanently on the promenade, and will be unveiled by Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam — Jones’s surviving Python colleagues.

Terry Jones’s daughter Sally said the family wanted the day to reflect her father’s eclectic interests. “We want this celebration to reflect Dad’s eclectic interests, from his wonderful children’s books to his passion for medieval history,” she said. “We want everyone who has been a part of this campaign to join us and enjoy a really fun day.”

Sol Cinema is currently taking bookings for 2026 and will be performing at Camp Bestival among other events. More details are available at thesolcinema.org.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

Swansea’s smallest cinema will perform at Glastonbury Festival
Sol Cinema heads to one of the world’s most famous music festivals.

Sol Cinema hired by Madness to premiere their new film
How Suggs and the band chose Swansea’s solar cinema for their film debut.

Swansea cinema accepts first cryptocurrency payment
Sol Cinema makes history as an early adopter of crypto payments.

Sol Cinema — all our coverage
Our full archive of reporting on Paul O’Connor’s award-winning mobile cinema.

#APythonOnTheProm #CampBestival #ColwynBay #comedy #MontyPython #MontyPythonSFlyingCircus #NickElphick #PaulOConnor #sculpture #SolCinema #SteveCoogan #TerryGilliam

The Swansea photographer chasing the last VW Beetles across Mexico

Paul O’Connor has spent years photographing protests, human‑rights abuses and environmental scandals. But it’s the humble Beetle — or Vocho, as it’s known in Mexico — that has pulled him into his first ever photography exhibition.

And now, the Gower‑based filmmaker is touring that exhibition across Mexico, documenting what may be the final chapter of one of the world’s most iconic cars.

A silver VW Beetle parked in a Mexican town square — one of the surviving Vochos documented by Swansea photographer Paul O’Connor.
Photo: Paul O’Connor

‘I grabbed my camera — they were everywhere’

Paul first noticed the Vochos during his annual visits to San Cristóbal de las Casas, a highland city where the Beetle never really went out of fashion.

“It’s nearly 60 years since the first VW Beetle rolled off the production line in Mexico,” he said. “The vintage car has been an integral part of Mexican life for generations. But on the streets of Wales the classic car is now a rarity.”

What struck him wasn’t nostalgia — it was survival.

Classic VW Beetles on a steep, colourful street in San Cristóbal de las Casas — scenes that inspired Paul O’Connor’s exhibition.
Photo: Paul O’Connor

“The streamlined, symmetrical look of the car has made it timeless and instantly recognisable, even in silhouette,” he said. “I was intrigued that so many versions are still on the roads of San Cristóbal, so I grabbed my camera.”

Some are family cars held together with love and luck. Others are customised, lowered, painted, stickered and worshipped by younger drivers. All of them are at least 20 years old. The last Mexican‑built Beetle rolled off the line in 2003.

“How long before we see the vehicle completely disappear from the roads?” Paul asks. His exhibition is, in part, an attempt to answer that question before the answer arrives on its own.

A red VW Beetle parked behind a political mural in Mexico — part of Paul O’Connor’s series capturing the Vocho in everyday life.
Photo: Paul O’Connor

A Welsh photographer in the middle of a Mexican car cult

The exhibition — EL ÚLTIMO DE LOS VOCHOS (Last of the Beetles) — has already shown at the Nauyaca Gallery, complete with live piano, snacks and a packed opening night. It now moves to El Paliacate Espacio Cultura, with a launch event on 14 February, followed by a Vocho club gathering at Las Grutas de Rancho Nuevo on 21 February.

Paul will be exhibiting his work at both events, surrounded by the very cars he’s been chasing with his camera.

One shoot even went wrong enough to earn its own write‑up — a reminder that photographing moving Beetles on busy Mexican streets is not without its hazards.

Visitors at a gallery event viewing Paul O’Connor’s Last of the Vochos photographs, celebrating Mexico’s enduring love for the VW Beetle.
Photo: Paul O’Connor

From Dublin to Penclawdd to the mountains of Chiapas

Paul was born in Dublin and began his career as a sports photographer before moving into documentary filmmaking in London, producing award‑winning investigations into environmental and human‑rights abuses.

But it’s the Vochos that have given him his first standalone photography exhibition — a project that blends nostalgia, social history and the quiet dignity of everyday objects that outlive the world that built them.

His images show a city where the Beetle is still king: bright colours, rounded silhouettes, and a sense that time moves differently when you’re behind the wheel of a car that refuses to die.

A customised yellow VW Beetle outside Cinema Kinoki during a cultural event in San Cristóbal — one of the standout images from Paul O’Connor’s project.
Photo: Paul O’ConnorA row of classic VW Beetles photographed in black and white — part of Paul O’Connor’s effort to document the Vocho before it disappears from Mexican roads.
Photo: Paul O’ConnorCrowds gather around Paul O’Connor’s Vocho photographs at a gallery event in Mexico, celebrating the country’s last surviving Beetles.
Photo: Paul O’Connor

‘A place with only one type of vehicle’

“My exhibition shows the city as a place with only one type of vehicle — the colourful curves of the Vocho,” Paul said. “It’s adored by all generations.”

And while the Beetle has all but vanished from Welsh roads, Paul’s work captures a world where it remains part of the landscape — a rolling piece of history still doing the school run, still carrying groceries, still rattling through the mountains.

A convoy of VW Beetles driving through a decorated street in Mexico — one of the vibrant scenes featured in Paul O’Connor’s exhibition.
Photo: Paul O’Connor

A Welsh eye on a Mexican icon

For Paul, the project is part love letter, part time capsule.

“The last Vocho was produced in Mexico more than 20 years ago,” he said. “So just how long before we see the vehicle disappear from the roads?”

His exhibition doesn’t answer the question. It simply records what’s left — before what’s left is gone.

A white VW Beetle with a ‘Spirit Adventure’ banner parked outside a colourful building — one of the everyday Vocho scenes captured by Paul O’Connor.
Photo: Paul O’Connor

Full details of the exhibition are available at: https://www.undercurrents.org/vocho.html

#ELÚLTIMODELOSVOCHOS #ElPaliacateEspacioCultura #LasGrutasDeRanchoNuevo #LastOfTheBeetles #Mexico #motoring #PaulOConnor #Penclawdd #Photographer #photography #PhotographyExhibition #SanCristóbalDeLasCasas #Vocho #Volkswagen #VolkswagenBeetle #VWBeetle