Cairns Street Market

The residents of Cairns Street in Toxteth hold a street market on the last Saturday in the summer months. Today's was the last one for this year; possibly the last ever. Most of the houses are boarded up and scheduled for demolition. But the residents that hang on have turned the street into a vibrant community. The are plants and flowers everywhere. People sell tea and coffee from their front doors, others cook up curry and pancakes. There is jerk seasoning for sale, as well all manner of 2nd hand tat. Bands play on a makeshift stage and kids run around on scooters. The boarded up houses are ready made canvas for local artists. It really is a remarkable sight.

And this in the middle of an area that saw some of the worst riots in living memory 30 years ago. There's not much trouble in Toxteth these days; the community has seen to that. But like the houses they lived in, that too will soon be dismantled.