PLUNGING stock markets, banks collap-sing, but not everyone is tightening their belt, it seems.
Last week saw the official launch of the new-look Chav-asse Park incorporated into Grosvenor’s £1bn Liverpool One development.
The grassed area between Paradise Street and The Strand was named after Liverpool’s World War I Victoria Cross hero, Capt Noel Chavasse.
Liverpool One’s project director said his vision was for the park to offer an area of tranquillity for visitors to Liver-pool One “chilling out” on the third storey leisure terrace.
There was certainly lots of chilling out at the launch party where guests drank Champ-agne “like it was going out of fashion”, said one attendee.
Jaguar had three of their cars on display on the night and one punter, clearly not affected by the credit crunch, bought one on the spot.
SOMEONE else look- ing to raise his profile is Ian James, above, auct- ioneer for recently-launched Liverpool-based Whitegates Property Auctions.
He is hoping for a star-ring role in the BBC’s forth-coming Homes Under the Hammer series about auc-tions. His media represent-atives believe his 20 years’ experience and appearance stand him in good stead.
“He’s a good looking lad and I think will look great on the telly,” they say.
CHRIS SHIRLING-ROOKE, partner at Liverpool business development firm, Van Harn & Co, will clearly go to great lengths to boost his profile. Chris is involved in promoting a BT Heroes of Sport event in October, and last Thursday managed to blag a live TV interview on Sky Sports while attending a Salford City Reds rugby league match.
He had also arranged for boards advertising the event to be placed either side of the tunnel, and was alarmed to see they weren’t there. But our hero wasted no time in rectifying the situation.
He told Trading Gossip: “Racing across the pitch, I burst into one of the bars at the stadium and grabbed one of our pop-up banners.
“I then sprinted back through the crowd, jumping over the pitch-side railings to hold it up for all to see at the tunnel entrance, awaiting the players to run out past it and thus getting it on Sky.”
