Christians thrown to the lions

Liverpool Council have demolished Christians, the biggest fruit and vegetable stall in the city. So much for healthy eating.

By Jeremy Hawthorn

The Christians fruit and veg stall had been there for twenty years. I remember it first as some hardy souls serving out of boxes in an open-air gap between buildings on Bold Street. Trade was good enough for them to afford a makeshift roof before long. They spent a few months on Renshaw Street when one of their neighbouring shops was demolished to provide a walk-through to the grey elephant that is FACT. But they were back soon, trading from a metal container and selling the cheapest goods around. It remained a traditional market-type stall, with zero packaging and goods laid out in bulk.

Late last year the Council pounced. They announced that the leaseholder (not the stallholders) was a drug dealer! They'd been cheerfully taking his money for years, but of course that had to stop. So...why not give a new lease to the fruitsellers? Ah well, it was also vital to improve access to FACT, to make the walkthrough 50 rather than 35 feet wide.

So on 1 March the bulldozer moved in and the stall is no more. I bet the supermarket bosses are pleased.

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Sorry Comments Closed

Comment left by Dee Coombes on 12th March, 2010 at 0:05
On the other hand, I'd stopped going there ages ago because I got fed up with the aggressive racism towards customers from at least one of the men who worked there (and the very nasty response when I said something about it).

Comment left by MIKE HOGAN on 12th March, 2010 at 9:03
FAIR POINT DEE AMD USEFUL- IF IT COULD LEGITMISE THE DEMOLITION OF NEWS INTERNATIONAL AND ANY NUMBER OF OTHER BUILDINGS WHERE INDIVIDUAl RACISTS WORK,OR WHERE IT IS MORE INSTITUTIONAL MEANTIME I MISS A LOCAL SOURCE OF PLENTIFUL MIXED PEPPERS AND BANANAS & AVOCADOES AT A POUND A BAG! MUCH OF THIS WILL PROBABALY GO STRAIGHT FROM WHOLESALERS TO A LANDFILL.... THE BUTTERFLY AND THE HURRICANE COMES TO MIND!

Comment left by Robert Gallagher on 13th March, 2010 at 9:09
There was a poem dedicated to the demise of the stall attached to the gates with the bunch of flowers on the left. Anyone have a copy of that poem? We had mixed feelings about the 'manner' of the stall, but enjoyed it being there, and the graffiti re Tesco's. Aha but 'Coffee Union' and 'Qaffs' gone too from upper Bold St.

Comment left by Amanda DeAngeles on 24th March, 2010 at 21:55
HORRENDOUS