I live in a suburb which has its own
“village”. The central part of Mosman is
referred to as Mosman Village. There are many things about Mosman one may like
or dislike. It is not a suburb for everyone. For some it may seem posh in a snobbish way and for others
exclusive, charming and elegant. For me it is all of that and I like it. What
one likes about village atmosphere is that it is small, familiar, centres
around its “institutions” and has its markets. Mosman fulfills such
requirements. Every first Saturday of each month Mosman Arts & Crafts
Markets http://www.mosman.nsw.gov.au/mosman/culture/market
are held. This is fun and reminds me of the times when as a little girl
I walked enchanted with my grandmother holding my hand through the rural food market. This was magic
and I hope that Mosman kids have similar feelings to mine and that memories
will stay with them for a long time.
I had two
favourite places in Mosman Village to pay a visit to passing them at my
errands. One of them already closed its doors and moved away from Mosman. The
second one will stop its business the Thursday before Easter. I feel sad about
it. Passing the old dojo of John Dolic at Spit Junction where John held his Tai Chi, Qigong, Kung Fu and many other Chinese practice classes where now Reece
Plumbing rains I feel things are no more the same. When I came to live in
Mosman, 10 years ago, John and his dojo were already a well established land
mark of Mosman. John operates now from Carlton and one can meet him in cyber
space to practice Qigong. For me it is not the same. I miss my visits at the
dojo for friendly chats and healthy, spiritual practices.
My second
favourite place has been Bridgepoint Books that used to say: we buy
books, we sell books, we read books, and we talk to
people about books.
Very well
managed place with books taken care of well, at times covered in plastic for
protection . Some of the books were displayed on tables in front of the shop on
the first floor of the Bridge Point Shopping
Center.
Going for shopping I had a choice to take a shorter route or pass the
book shop. Most of the times I chose the longer way to see what titles were
displayed this time. It was fun and I will miss my detours. The owner of the
shop said: something new will come up. I am sure it will, but the Mosman
shoppers, including myself, will miss the shop and its owner.
I know that
things change with time and that new things come into our lives but a little sadness of
good things that have passed will linger.
All the
best, guys from Bridgepoing Books and Chinese Martial Arts dojo, I miss your
presence in my village.