Letters
Toxteth preconceived
Sir: David Taylor (`Summer in Toxteth', 17 July) elected to highlight summer life in Toxteth. He described closing down sales, the Merseyside skyline 'dominated' (?) by the Monstrous blocks of flat's known as the Pig- geries, pornographic shops and those selling Marital aids. He emphasises only the worst side of the local police, points to the tramps at the Roman Catholic cathedral, the drunks and cannabis in Hope Street, racial tension and so on. Oh dear, what a catalogue. It occupied nearly four columns on two pages of your paper. Surely the obsessions of the press concerning Liver- pool are by now becoming a little outworn?
Mr Taylor's article was patronising and Misleading. He, like countless other reporters before him on their lightning visits, arrived with preconceptions about life in the city. He judged on his short stay (he says he lives in Norwich) everything he saw by those preconceptions. Instead of Making a serious analysis he resorted to sen- sationalism, thus increasing prejudice. Would he delight in further riots? He quotes: 'The black community is self- supporting with its own shops and meeting places.' So what? The Chinese in our city for many decades have had their own shops and meeting places. It has not been thought a hardship.
Give us a break. Send David Taylor to report on some of the countless unsavoury Places in London. He would find closing down sales, pornographic shops (not only amongst the poorer areas), marital aids, racial tension, drunks, cannabis, ugly buildings, decayed houses and so on. A change of scene but the message remains the same.
For the record, Hope Street is not in Tox- teth. Mr Taylor did not make this clear, but then in Liverpool we have become used to inaccuracies.
Anne S. Wolff
20 Fulwood Park, Aigburth, Liverpool
Previous page
