Mandy Vere knows Bold Street better than most people.
For decades she has been a key part of one of the street's most recognisable and unique businesses, the radical bookshop News from Nowhere which she first joined back in 1976.
Today the 67-year-old is sat behind the till serving books, t-shirts and gifts to a steady flow of afternoon customers. She grabs a bite of sandwich between transactions.
Mandy said: "There are a few shops like ourselves on Bold Street that are all quite unique and offering something very different and totally unique.
"I think that's why shops like this are very well loved. We have people who come to Liverpool especially to visit us, which is really nice.."
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The shop, which is run by women's workers co-operative and is overflowing with radical, left-wing and anti-establishment works, was founded in 1974 by Bob Dent, who had been a rebel student at London School of Economics. His partner Maggie was from a Liverpool family and together they came to the city to set up the shop - naming it after William Morris' book on utopian socialism.
Originally based elsewhere in the city centre, the shop came under regular attacks from fascists in the 1970s and 80s before Bob left and in 1989 News from Nowhere found its way to Bold Street.
Mandy, who is no longer a full-time member of the team but helps out as a volunteer, added: "We've actually been in four locations in Liverpool, we were chucked out of the other place in Bold Street before settling here."
The co-operative was able to buy the shop they now reside in after a huge fundraising effort with the local community and like-minded celebrities such as Victoria Wood and Alexei Sayle.
There is no doubt that individual, independent and specialist shops like News from Nowhere are a huge part of what makes Bold Street special.
With the 'bombed-out' church of St Luke at its top end and the bustling city centre shopping district at the bottom, Bold Street was originally laid out as a ropewalk. This was a long, thin area of land used in the process of manufacturing rope (the road was the same length as the standard needed for sailing ships.)
The street has a long-running history as an alternative and free-thinking part of Liverpool's landscape and counted well known socialist and feminist Jeannie Mole a resident of the street in the 19th Century.
By the late 1980s and early 90s Bold Street had cemented itself as the centre of the city's creative and music scene where the alternative crowd would be seen hanging out over coffee at Cafes Berlin or Tabac in the daytime and partying the night away at the uber cool Macmillan's or Mardi Gras clubs.
In recent years the street has established itself as a true Liverpool destination, with a constant flow of new restaurants and bars opening up alongside the dearly-loved retailers that have always seen this place as their spiritual home.
But for some, fears are creeping in that the balance may have shifted too heavily in favour of flashy new hospitality venues and away from what always made Bold Street so unique.
When family-run art gallery and craft store Rennies closed its doors last summer after nearly 60 years in business, it felt like a concerning moment for the independent shops that remain here and for the direction of travel in Bold Street.
Mandy, who is working today alongside Maria Ng, a co-operative member at News From Nowhere since 1996, said: "It's an absolute tragedy that Rennies went. The balance has definitely tipped way too far towards food and drink I think.
"We would like to see more support from the council to shift the balance back a bit. We love the cafe culture but it would be nice if some money could be spent to make the street look a bit nicer. It's not had much spent on it. Bold Street definitely needs more support for retail."
Maria agreed and added: "There are fewer shops now and more bars and restaurants. It is still a really lovely and unique street to be on but it would be nice to have more of a mix with independent shops.
"It's not an antisocial issue, it's nice that people come here and there are lots of places for them to go but we do see less of the independent businesses here now."
When the covid pandemic struck and Bold Street's throng of small-sized hospitality venues found themselves constrained by social distancing laws, the city council moved quickly to create outdoor seating areas so that they could continue to trade and stay afloat. Today the street remains fully pedestrianised, although businesses have road access at agreed times.
The Liverpool Without Walls project, as it was known, was regarded by many as a resounding success, but for some of the shops that have been a mainstay in the area, it didn't offer them a whole lot.
One such shop is Shared Earth, a fair trade, eco and ethical gift shop that is another cornerstone of Bold Street's alternative and independent retail scene.
Inside, staff members Helen Cushing, Toni Motion and Cathy Allen are discussing the changes they have witnessed outside their front door over recent years.
Helen Cushing, who has worked at the shop for eight years, said: "The balance really has tipped.
"During covid, they put all the outdoor seating here but they didn't ask any of the independent shops about the plans. It has made it much harder for us to get deliveries."
"It felt like they wanted to make Bold Street into a restaurant quarter and there wasn't much of a thought for small retailers like us."
This deliveries issue was described as a 'final nail in the coffin' for Rennies owner Duncan Rennie when he made the tough decision to close for good last year. Staff at Shared Earth say they are still hearing regularly from customers shocked and saddened at the demise of the much-loved arts store.
Toni said the struggles with deliveries and rising rents could now put Shared Earth's future at risk.
Toni said: "It feels like landlords are putting rents up to basically force independent shops out so they can get more bars and restaurants in. Rennies will probably become a bar, which would be really sad. We still have people coming in all the time asking about Rennies."
Cathy Allen has worked at Shared Earth for the entire 16 years it has been open here. She said: "We were here before all these restaurants came.
"There were way more independent shops than restaurants when I first started working here."
At vintage fashion retailer Pop Boutique there is a similar sentiment. Supervisor Siobhan Tohill said the street is becoming more like a 'food court.'
She added: "I think a mix is healthy, but I just don't think the choice is really expanding in terms of the food offer, the market is just being saturated with many of the same types of places. There are a lot of steak houses for example.
"You tend to see empty units being taken up by food and drink places. I think Bold Street is known for its independent and more quirky retailers."
The retailers we spoke to were all clear that they are not against food and drink businesses in the area and appreciate what they bring to the table, but they just believe things have changed a little too much. Long-standing venues like Leaf, Bold Street Coffee and Cafe Tabac were all name-checked as an important part of the Bold Street milieu.
Steve Munby has represented the Bold Street area as part of his Riverside ward for many years, although at next month's elections, he will be standing in the nearby Dingle ward.
Speaking about the independent retailers of Bold Street, he said: "I understand their fears."
He added: "But people have often worried about Bold Street losing a part of itself. They thought that would happen with Liverpool One but it never did.
"I think the food and drink offer brings a lot of people to the area, who could potentially be customers for those shops. In fact, I think those shops would have struggled a lot more if we hadn't done what we did in terms of helping the bars and restaurants during covid.
"There has been a general decline in retail in city centres and a rise in food and drink. I would like to see the mix on Bold Street retained. It's mainly a daytime eating and drinking offer and I want that to stay, this isn't Concert Square or Mathew Street we are talking about."
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