Recently a friend and I got talking about Croydon Market and how it has changed over the years. So much so that it can hardly rightly claim to even be called a market any more, in my humble opinion.
Although it has been going for a long, long time, my memories of Croydon Market only go back to 1962, and specifically after the 62 January Bush fires, when a mate of dad's had some Sheep but no sheep dog, so I as a recently turned 11 year-old, often became his sheep dog and loved it. And as a perk, got to go to Croydon Market every Monday I had off from school for many years. Yes it was a whole different world back then. They had roughly 3 main Auctions going almost at once, as well as other more permanent stalls and such. Firstly there was the Junk auction; where all sorts of stuff, from tools to real junk was auctioned off. Then there was the poultry section; which also included pets such as dogs/pups, ferrets, guinea pigs etc. And finally the larger livestock action: such as pigs, sheep, cattle and even a few horses. A real fun place for a wide-eyed country boy to be, I can tell you.
Later, in the late 70's, when I had a home of my own and my own Chooks, I also used to go to the market and buy and sell chooks, and some Pheasants that I had hatched from eggs obtained from one of my Aunts. As well as some pigeons I had at one stage, (which I think most if not all, except the few I bred form captured stock, all came from the Alpha Laval factory over at Reservoir where I worked for a brief time before going to Safeway's Fruit and veggie departments).
However even in the late 70's, Croydon Market wasn't a patch on what it was in my earlier years as, apart from the Junk and Poultry sections; little other livestock was being sold there then and the face of the place was already changing as stalls and business started moving elsewhere.
Of course even what was there in the 70s & 80’s is long gone now and apart from a bit of Junk sold at auction on Mondays, it is just another Flea market on Sunday and Mondays and a car park the rest of the week for the small shopping centre now built on its former site, which also bears the name (But little else) of the original Croydon Market. Such is progress, I guess!
However what is true for Croydon Market, is also true for most things of our youth isn’t it? Very few things ever stay the same, do they? So how do we handle those changes? Moan and groan and complain over them? Or just get on with life and accept the changes and move on with our lives?
What about you today as you face a constantly changing world? Do you moan and groan and complain about it too? Or do you just get on with life, accept and adjust and live with these changes and live a happy and productive Life in the present ? Remember, much of a happy and successful life, is not in what is dealt out to you, but in how you respond to that which is dealt out to you!
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