In Glasgow’s steps

Nov 13 2007 by Mr Brocklebank

LIVERPOOL often follows in the footsteps of that other historic Atlantic trading city, Glasgow. It was City of Culture (as the title was called then) in 1990 and the two cities went head-to- head for City of Architecture 1999, won by Glasgow, which has now been awarded the Commonwealth Games for 2014.

At some future date, will Alderman Lord Bradley of Firebell announce similar sporting success for Liverpool? The Big Dig is a ready-made obstacle race and we could soon be for the high-jump in 2008. Besides, a few new free stadia might be handy if our football teams need them.

LORRAINE Rogers, double top banana at Tranmere Rovers and The Merseyside Partnership, was guest speaker at Downtown Business in Liverpool’s annual dinner to declare in promotional terms, Merseyside is now semi- officially known as "Liverpool City Region".

She received jeers and boos (in the nicest possible way) on relating how she would like to see Liverpool "up there with the Arsenals of this world" – showing what a dangerous mine-field football metaphors are. Her point was to highlight the desperately low budget for promoting the area. She said one council official told her more was spent on fireworks annually than its tourism promotion.

ANY professional shoppers should carefully take note of Liverpool’s biggest retail secret, the opening of Grosvenor’s huge Liverpool One development.

Those interested would be advised not to be out of town on a date not unadjacent to May 29. Will this momentous news be announced at MIPIM, the Cannes property exposition, so beloved by our Town Hall rulers, who regard their presence as vital at this French Riviera jamboree with its proximity to St Tropez’s delights?

MR BROCKLEBANK has niggled over the pie-bald look of Liverpool thoroughfares where expensively- laid paving has been dug up and instead of being relaid is "lost" and replaced by tarmac.

Now conservation is being taken to new caring levels by Liverpool Enterprise in Ormond Street. Following digging, LE not only carefully replaced the fancy paving it disturbed, but also carefully relaid the tarmac to ensure the pie-bald pattern was exactly as before. (Er, is there no appropriate spare paving in store?)

IN THESE culturally-aware times, a group campaigning to bring the now-closed National Theatre Museum collection (formerly at Covent Garden, London), to Liverpool complains to Mr Brocklebank that its formal suggestion to Liverpool City Council to relocate the collection here (in one of our many fine, empty and rotting buildings) has been ignored for over a year. How can this be?