Norwich Christian bookstall raises smiles
 By Mike Wiltshire
After making more than 600 weekend 'appearances' in the heart of Norwich, a simple charity bookstall has not only become a local landmark, but has been called an "outpost of hope" for many a passer-by in the busy marketplace.
"It makes my day if someone with a long face visits our stall, but then goes away smiling," says Dr Alan Clifford, who leads the bookstall team from Norwich Reformed Church.
Come rain or shine, the bookstall on Hay Hill is open every Friday, except the first weekend of the month, when it opens on a Saturday.
"It's not a business – it is a ministry," says Dr Clifford, who especially welcomes overseas visitors and tourists in the summer months. The stall has books and Bibles in many languages, ranging from Russian to the Persian language, Farsi.
"We meet people of every faith – and none. People often share personal problems. We're always here to help and pray with them. We count it a great privilege," he adds.
 The project was born more than 12 years ago when church member Rosemary Quinton was walking through the new Castle Mall – "I thought then that some sort of outlet for Christian books in the marketplace would be a great idea."
For Dr Clifford, 2008 is a jubilee year, since he became a committed Christian 50 years ago. He was then a young engineer at the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough, Hampshire, where Concorde was developed.
His journey to faith was not easy – "I completely rebelled in my mid-teens. I had a terrible temper."
But one day, after a family row, he talked with a young Christian friend who invited him to a Bible class. "Suddenly, those things I'd heard from the Bible began to make sense – and Jesus Christ became 'personal' to me."
Dr Clifford was ordained in 1969 and can now look back on nearly 40 years of church ministry. His church meets at Eaton Park Community Centre. But they love the city marketplace outreach – "no day is ever the same."
Today's venture would please the laymen founders of the Norwich City Mission, which in 1836 set out to "spread the knowledge of the gospel."
A mission worker, the late Bernard Colby, faithfully ran a city bookstall until 20 years ago. "You could say we are still 'flying the flag,' " says Dr Clifford.
Pictured above is Dr Alan Clifford and the Hay Hill bookstall.
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