Five Things Missing From The Shire!

As a relative newcomer to the Shire (I’ve only had my visa for the Captain Cook Bridge for five years) I feel I can comment with an outsider’s perspective on things that the Shire seems to lack. The first was an obvious omission for me upon moving here, but the others have been things that have come to me through slow realisation and discussion with fellow locals. Here are my thoughts, and if anyone has a bit of coin handy to make any of these things happen, feel free to do the community a favour...

      1. A pub with beer garden and water views that is not Northies

    Okay, for a start Northies caters for a really young crowd, doesn’t have a very good view, and has a very squashed outside area. It just doesn’t have the vibe of somewhere like Newport Arms. Not many people take their kids to Northies and even if you are reading this now as a childless person – one day, you might have kids, and when you do you’ll still want to go out occasionally and have a beer my friend. Actually, you’ll want a beer even more. I know Caringbah Hotel and Taren Point Hotel have kid friendly areas but they feel so enclosed. I moved to the beach to have the beach lifestyle. I want cheap schooners, a kids' playground, and stylish beer garden seating overlooking water god dammit!

   2. An artisan bakery in the vein of Sonoma or Bourke St Bakery

    We have a few good bakeries I suppose but I’m talking about a quaint bakery that does sourdoughs, quiches, croissants, gourmet pies, tarts, macarons and so forth. The sort of bakery where people are lined up out the door on a Saturday morning to get the piping hot goodness. I may be wrong on this one and not know about some secret little bakery - do correct me if you know otherwise.

    3. A wine bar

      Just a wine bar. No food, not a restaurant. We want a ritzy wine bar where you can just buy a good glass of wine and sit on the footpath in the balmy summer heat, and watch the world go by.

      

    4. An arthouse cinema. 

      I believe that Cronulla Cinema used to show more independent films but stopped because of low attendance. What a shame. Now we're only offered Marvel comic flicks and Pixar animations. What? You want to see a film that has subtitles?  Get in the car and get thee to the Inner West. How dare you want to see a film marketed at someone other than teenagers....      
 

     5. A Food Growers Market. 

     It has come to my attention that the markets at Cronulla High School have been disbanded. Again, a shame. Is it because we don’t have market farms around here? Do we not have some providores that could sell their wares in a small market place in the heart of one of the shopping villages? Maybe the school grounds were too out of the way. Anyway, pretty sure there would be demand if the markets were more in sight of casual browsers.

These are my five. What do you think is missing from the Shire? What’s on your wish list?

Just click on comments below and have your say

Meanwhile, next post will be on Monday night’s premiere “The Shire”. The commercials have already made me squirm uncomfortably on the couch as I imagined what pearls of wisdom would come out of this “scripted dramality”. I can barely wait...