Fiona Bruce MP opens St Luke’s Frock Stop Bus
Fiona Bruce MP opens the new St Luke’s Hospice Frock Stop at its launch on Saturday in Alsager. This new initiative, spearheaded by Zohra Ansari-Tutty, in a change from the mobile library, is a mobile clothes store in a rather charming and eye-catching vintage Routemaster bus donated by Bentley.
The bus contains all designer clothes on the bottom deck including shoes, handbags and jewellery and other clothing on the top deck. There are plans to serve tea and coffee and have a nail bar on the top deck of the bus to make a trip to the Frock Stop a complete experience. It is also hoped that, in the summer, there can be a vintage tea room with the bus. All money made from the Frock Stop goes straight to St Luke’s and it is staffed by a team of willing volunteers.
The bus launched in Alsager on Saturday. Alsager is the farthest outreach point for St Luke’s Hospice which is on Queensway in Winsford but there is no permanent St Luke’s shop in Alsager, so the presence of the Frock Stop is an important project.
The bus, which was getting quite crowded, elicited a highly enthusiastic response from customers with one praising the ‘brilliant selection and variety’ of clothes on offer and another saying ‘It’s fab, what a great idea!’
Fiona Bruce MP said “St Luke’s is a fantastic hospice providing invaluable support for carers and the cared for right across Cheshire and it is my privilege to open the Frock Stop bus – what an exciting and absolutely original fund raising idea. Everything in the bus is beautifully presented. I hope it will prove a great success.”
The bus now needs a-frame advertising boards and as much publicity as possible in order to make it a roaring success. The bus will make regular stops around Cheshire starting on Wednesday January 18th at Alsager Market from 9.30am to 3.30pm, then next to St Mary’s Church, Nantwich on Thursday 19th January, outside Marks and Spencer in Crewe on Wednesday January 25th and outside The Rising Sun in Tarporley on Thursday 26th. The bus will then continue its route around Cheshire in this order.
The St Luke’s Charity shop in Hartford, is known locally as ‘Harrods of Hartford’, perhaps an equally suitable name will be found for the Frock Stop!
