Lark Lane Area

Did I hear Mexico?
I've lived in Mexico for 35 years, wife's Mexican and all my kids were born here.
Tomorrow is Independence Day and after dark the local town centre will be full of thousands of happy people in big Mexican sombreros, blowing horns & hooters, waving flags, dancing, drinking tequila and eating tacos, throwing confetti filled eggs, and real eggs, and bags of flour (especially at people they don't know), and using those ****ed foam aerosols.
The following morning the town will be like a ghost town--everyone tired, and hungover.

Sounds like my kind of place > Gets the next plane out:PDT_Aliboronz_24::handclap::)

don't forget, it's the monthly farmers' market this coming Saturday- 22nd Sept in Lark Lane.

http://www.larklane.com/farmersmarket/

It's alway a good one at Lark Lane, as is the Woolton one which is every 2nd Sat. of the month.

Couple settle Amorous Cat bookshop into its third home

Oct 9 2007 by Vicky Anderson, Liverpool Daily Post

http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/li...A68AA8A6F4.jpg
Amorous Cat Bookshop, Lark Lane......

Lark Lane’s reputation as a bohemian corner of Liverpool has been firmed up with the return of an old favourite. Vicky Anderson has been to find out what it is.

WHILE chain stores offer endless floors of bestsellers, celebrity signings and three-for-twos, it is the image of the cosy second-hand book shop that really captures the affections of those looking for the perfect read.

It’s a dying trade, that much is true – the number of second-hand bookshops in the city can be counted on one hand – but one South Liverpool couple have managed to buck the trend and have re-launched their business.

The Amorous Cat on Lark Lane has re-opened after six years of existing as an on-line resource only.

Proprietors Jan and Ron Sear have moved up and down the lane over the years, but it is only now in retirement that the couple have had the time to set up shop once more.

They say the move has only been possible as they have bought the premises outright, believing it would be impossible for a small business to survive otherwise.

Mrs Sear said: “Because we are older, we are in the position where we can afford to take the risk.

“Our main aim is to sell good literature, encourage children to read, and serve the local community. This place has a lot of potential and we’re just going to see how it goes.”

The couple first opened Lark Lane Books in 1980 before Mr Sear returned to his career in engineering.

It later became The Amorous Cat, for which number 47 is its third home on the same street.

Following Mr Sear’s retirement from full-time work as a lecturer in electronics and computing at Skelmersdale College, they decided to open up once more.

Mrs Sear still works as an English Literature lecturer for the Open University.

The shop’s unusual name holds no great significance to the couple, who say they just pondered words that might have an impact in business.

Stocking more than 12,000 books over two floors, the Sears don’t regret opening again in a time of uncertainty for many other shops of this kind.

“It’s a very bizarre business to say the least,” Mr Sear said with affection.

“It is almost like recycling books.

“People will come in asking for something from their childhood, and that’s what people like buying, nostalgia. That’s something we have that the chains don’t.”

Mrs Sear added: “Part of the beauty of second-hand bookshops is finding the hidden treasures, rather than being told what to read.”

They hope The Amorous Cat will soon host reading and poetry groups as well as a possible late-night opening to appeal to more passers-by.
It is now open from 10.30am to 5.30pm from Wednesday to Saturday and on Sunday afternoons.

Looks like a cozy place to browze.. thanks..for the share....
My friend who owns a second- hand bookstore in Oregon, USA.. will love to see this one... We will visit it soon I hope... .. Lark lane was a great street to wander about.. ta

Is the French restaurant still there?
The guy from Chicago opened up Marantos over 20 years ago. He saw the potential (outsiders always do) of the area and did well.

http://www.larklane.com

George Melly was born and brought up in Lark Lane. He was the UKs leading Jazz performer for many. many years. Died recently.
http://www.georgemelly.com/

It is criminal what they did to the Masonic pub - it looks a disgrace!!! I used to go there quite a lot......and the Albert. My mates girlfriend (Lollipop Face) used to be the barmaid in the Albert.

Haile Selassie the Emperor of Ethiopia, lived in exile on Waverley road off Lark Lane during WW2. He would walk around Lark Lane with body guards behind.

Haile Selassie was viewed as the black messiah who will lead the peoples of Africa to freedom.

Waterways.
Do you mean L'Alouette? (French for 'Lark').
It's gone - changed hands, and name.
Even the enamelled blue street sign has gone.

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Originally Posted by PhilipG

Waterways.
Do you mean L'Alouette? (French for 'Lark').
It's gone - changed hands, and name.
Even the enamelled blue street sign has gone.

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Yes. It was very good and I believe owned by French people. When did it change hands? What is there now? I haven't been to Lark Lane for a while.

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Originally Posted by Waterways

Haile Selassie the Emperor of Ethiopia, lived in exile on Waverley road off Lark Lane during WW2. He would walk around Lark Lane with body guards behind.

Haile Selassie was viewed as the black messiah who will lead the peoples of Africa to freedom.

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oh, that's interesting. What decade would that be ? How long was here in here in L'pool ?

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Originally Posted by lindylou

oh, that's interesting. What decade would that be ? How long was here in here in L'pool ?

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Decade? Linylou! WW2 was the 1940s!!! My Ma knew that as the Germans bombed the chippy at the bottom of the street. It caused such distress. They had to walk 200 yards to the next.

The Italians invaded Ethiopia in 1936 so he was probably in the UK after that until liberation by the British around 1941. Ethiopia is a Christian country - not that it makes any difference of course.

oops ! sorry - I didn't read your post properly :o

I see you did mentioned WW2.

- tut ! I made a lot of mistakes on the forum today 'cos I was rushing thru' the posts and not concentrating :rolleyes:

I have read a bit about Haile Selassie and how he is revered by Rastafarians. I knew he was in exile at one point and had to leave Ethiopia - but I'd forgotten how long he was in exile for.
I read up a lot about Rastafarianism when I was heavily into the reggae scene :PDT_Piratz_26: it was a long time ago though and my memory is terrible.

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Originally Posted by Waterways

Yes. It was very good and I believe owned by French people. When did it change hands? What is there now? I haven't been to Lark Lane for a while.

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The owner has two sons one of whom ran the restaurant. When the owner died the other son kicked his brother out and set up/sold to a new restaurant

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Originally Posted by naked lilac

Looks like a cozy place to browze.. thanks..for the share....
My friend who owns a second- hand bookstore in Oregon, USA.. will love to see this one... We will visit it soon I hope... .. Lark lane was a great street to wander about.. ta

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I am certain that you will have meet-ups with people from this site. You and your friend will be made welcome when you come here again. You are right about Lark Lane, it's a great area with nice pubs and restaurants.
About once a month, they close it to have a 'farmer's market' ~ Wow ! All kinds of interesting foods are sold there. (even for vegetarians. lol)

Do you remember the library at the bottom of Lark Lane ?

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Originally Posted by Steven

I am certain that you will have meet-ups with people from this site. You and your friend will be made welcome when you come here again. You are right about Lark Lane, it's a great area with nice pubs and restaurants.
About once a month, they close it to have a 'farmer's market' ~ Wow ! All kinds of interesting foods are sold there. (even for vegetarians. lol)

Do you remember the library at the bottom of Lark Lane ?

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There was a library where Lark Lane meets Aigburth Rd, on Aigburth Rd.

Was?
The library's been there since 1911.
It was closed for months while it was being refurbished.

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Originally Posted by naked lilac

Looks like a cozy place to browze.. thanks..for the share....
My friend who owns a second- hand bookstore in Oregon, USA.. will love to see this one... We will visit it soon I hope... .. Lark lane was a great street to wander about.. ta

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Ross-on-Wye is the place for second hand books. The whole town is a second hand book shop with book fairs, etc.

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Originally Posted by PhilipG

Was?
The library's been there since 1911.
It was closed for months while it was being refurbished.

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It was nice inside, and a Tudor style building. I spent many, many hours in that place.

http://www.disabledgo.info/Images/Bu...arge/29086.jpg

Maria C and myself went there for the 'Fag Ends' meetings (the Roy Castle set up).
It is a lovely library and if you phone in advance, you can get more than 1 hour's free PC use.

Lark Lane - One Of The Best Parts Of Liverpool. It's A Well-Kept Secret.

I Know Liverpool Quite Well, But I'd Never Been To Lark Lane Until Last Week.

Red Fort Indian Restaurant - To Die For, Absolutely Beautiful.

It's no secret ? I just jump on an 82 bus and I am there in minutes. At the top of Lark lane is Linnet lane and then the park.

Now there are some great pubs and restaurants in this area.

We went down there last Sat. night for the first time in 5-7 years. It was as lively as ever, though we did not get into The Masonic(I'm not going to call it by it's new name ever!). The new(?) Turkish BBQ place looked good. Our biggest shock was crossing Aigburth Road to go to The Belgrave, I knew they had done it up and cleaned the outside but what a change from an honest working men/womens pub into a brown and mushroom coloured, fizzy larger drinking emporium :shock:

I like Lark Lane. It's a shame the road isn't wider!

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Originally Posted by AngelCake

I like Lark Lane. It's a shame the road isn't wider!

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Widening the road would ruin its character.

I was going to take pics In Lark Lane today but got put off by the amount of road work being done there.

So many roads In the city are getting work done to them but are leaving the roads that need them?:eek:

Pics here

greeting from www.larklane.com

great work Kev.

regards Andrew

Hi Andrew. Thanks for the comments and use of images :PDT11

All the very best to you and the Lark Lane area. Your site is looking fab :hug:

Kev

When we got married - 1978 - we lived on Rutland Avenue, off Ullet Road. It was a short walk across the park to Lark Lane. It was only starting to develop then and I remember Keith's Food & Wine opening. Lots of bottles sunk and meals consumed there. Is it still going?

Sorry - just looked at the earlier link and see that Keith's is indeed still there. We used to look through the window when it was being prepared for opening - seeing Keith and his mates busy with paint brushes. The main memory of the opening night was the smell of paint!

Prior to him opening, I used to go in the Albert a lot with my mates.

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Originally Posted by andrew macaulay

greeting from www.larklane.com

great work Kev.

regards Andrew

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Great Pics on your site. It looks like even more exciting cafes, etc. have opened since my last visit.. Ta for sharing the area and its news..

I've saved the link for later. :)

If anyone back there in Liverpool is visiting the "Lane' please pass on my regards to my old home 'Hadassah Grove'! Ta! and Cheers to All:PDT_Aliboronz_24:

Is Marranto's a bar as well now? Where you can just drop in for a drink? It was just a restaurant (mainly steak) initially. Still is steakish from their web site.

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Originally Posted by kevin

When we got married - 1978 - we lived on Rutland Avenue, off Ullet Road. It was a short walk across the park to Lark Lane. It was only starting to develop then and I remember Keith's Food & Wine opening. Lots of bottles sunk and meals consumed there. Is it still going?

Sorry - just looked at the earlier link and see that Keith's is indeed still there. We used to look through the window when it was being prepared for opening - seeing Keith and his mates busy with paint brushes. The main memory of the opening night was the smell of paint!

Prior to him opening, I used to go in the Albert a lot with my mates.

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Keiths originally only had the corner. He has bought the place next door and extended. When did that happen?

Uh-uh. Keith's was originally just the one next door. They grew into the corner one- a former butcher's- later. I, too, remember it opening and being made up as they stayed open half an hour after the Albert closed so you could nip across for a quick last one in there- even though it was wine... (hadn't then developed the boundless appetitite for the stuff I have now!)
Their food was brilliant though, right from the start (couldn't say how it is now) and was cheap enough for even students and dole-ites to eat there regularly. My regular snacks were their soup or pate and bread. Also the cheesecake was gorgeous.
Keith's was the first of its kind in the lane. There were no other wine bars / restaurants / who knows what like there are today. It was all much more work-a-day shops.
Ah, the Albert and Masonic. I tended to inhabit the former mostly. It was a toss-up, however, which of them had the most mardy barmaids- a breed only found in Liverpool pubs who seemed to consider everyone under the age of 40 a 'student' and treated them accordingly..
I was later involved in a business in Lark Lane (does anyone remember it?) called 'Curiouser and Curiouser'. It was a weird mixture of junk shop- postcards, wind-up gramophones, old bottles, crap from Paddy's Market- second-hand bookshop and leather goods emporium- that was my bit. I had a tiny workshop at the back but, weather allowing, preferred to sit and make my stuff outside the front of the shop. Used to make belts, handbags, sandals etc. It was a decent living all in all. (Strangely, after pursuing a photographic career for the last couple of decades, I've just got back into the leather and am again enjoying it greatly).

http://www.bwpics.co.uk/leather.html

Later was a member of the Liverpool Wholefood Collective (later 'Dancing Cat Wholefoods') which started out in a small room in the old Police Station before later moving to Lodge Lane.
Later again, after a long spell in London I lived for a while in a spectacularly squalid squat round the corner in Linnet Lane- a vast house with, apparently, no known owner.
Don't get back to visit the Lane very often now but always immediately feel at home there when I do.

I used to visit the Cafe Francais from 1991-1997 on a fairly regular basis, I loved it SO much. I then moved away from the area and when I moved near the Lane in '06; Fallen Angel was there.

That place was so great inside, loved the atmosphere and the food; for me it was the best Cafe ever. Can anybody tell me when it closed?

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Originally Posted by samanthacheryl

I used to visit the Cafe Francais from 1991-1997 on a fairly regular basis, I loved it SO much. I then moved away from the area and when I moved near the Lane in '06; Fallen Angel was there.

That place was so great inside, loved the atmosphere and the food; for me it was the best Cafe ever. Can anybody tell me when it closed?

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Look at posts 50 and 54 on this thread. I liked that place too.

I had a look at those posts. I have never been to L'Alouette (although I wanted to and just never got round to it!) that was on the opposite side. This was the upstairs Cafe and French deli downstairs (number 93), Is that the one you mean? I have some pics of it, have to upload them on the forum.
The cakes they sold were absolutely gorgeous...:hug:

I just saw the following in the latest minutes of the council 3 parks committee meeting.

Motion by Councillor John Coyne –

This Committee considers that Lark Lane has become saturated with licensed premises which are at such a concentration as to create a public nuisance and impact on crime and disorder.



This Committee notes that section 10 of the Liverpool City Council Licensing Policy Statement, 7 January 2005, allows for the creation of a special licensing policy for a local area which suffers from too high a density of licensed premises.



This Committee requests Licensing Officers to prepare a case for a special licensing policy to protect the area of Lark Lane.

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Amendment by Councillor Paul Clein, duly seconded



That the Motion be approved with the addition of another paragraph requesting the Licensing Officers to liaise with Merseyside Police to see if there is a basis for a Cumulative Impact Policy.



During the course of the debate the first Amendment was accepted and became the Substantive Motion.

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Second Amendment by Councillor Peter Allen, duly seconded



That the Substantive Motion be approved with the addition of Licensing Officers contacting Councillor Elaine Allen with regard to current work she has undertaken regarding this issue.



During the course of the debate the second Amendment was accepted and became the Substantive Motion and was resolved accordingly.