Project This Weekend

When we 1st moved to PLW more than 2 decades ago, I was quite excited about being close to 'modern'/'urban' amenities like a community club and the cinema at GE. Woah, for the first time, a walk to the cinema would take only 5 minutes! How convenient! :)

In fact, we watched several movies at this cinema, the most memorable ones were those sequels with 刘晓庆 cast as Empress Cixi and that series of documentaries showcasing many many wonders of the world called 今古奇观 - including 天残地缺、天葬、两头人等等.

How very very much I miss those simple, fuss-free family movie outings we had then...............

Another wonderful thing about our new location was the wet market within a stone's throw away. I think M loves this best.

Plus, the market was actually flanked by 2 rows of different shops; there was a cake shop, 2 Chinese medical shops, 3 provision shops (for the size of the area, this was quite excessive, I thought!), a shop which offers pots and pans, a shop specialising in joss-sticks, candles, paper offerings etc for prayers and a barber/hairdresser. I cannot recall what other shops offer, but the overall feel of the place was that it was really such a 'bustle' especially on the Sunday mornings whenever I accompanied M on her marketing trips!

Over the years, there have been many many changes. The cake shop bowed out more than a decade ago - I wasn't surprised by this because they never seemed to innovate at all, and their service had remained the same - the grumpy old lady would not even thank you for patronising her shop. The provision shops were better - one joined the Econ-Minimart network while another became a member of another minimart chain called 普威联营; only the 3rd provision shop remained 'traditional'.

Unfortunately, the boss of the Econ-Minimart passed away rather young and his business ended several years ago. The 普威联营 provision shop (which we call Kim Chee Seng) run by a more elderly family has continued to remain (still there today) at its corner location. The 'traditional' provision shop (at another corner) has already moved out a couple of years ago. The shop space is now occupied by Singapore Pools.

The 'better' of the 2 Chinese medical halls stopped their business rather abruptly when I was still schooling. I always felt it was a pity because their service was really not bad. I used to buy small items from them, like Mopiko. Heard from M that there was some family dispute-driven tussle or disagreement. Sigh. The other medical hall (which I have never patronised before because their goods always seemed dustier, suggesting that no one bought these goods from them) has reduced its operation.

The pots and pans shop has stayed on. The boss and his wife still serve their customers quite cheerfully almost all the time, but they have aged tremendously - the boss' hair has gone completely white now. They had also upped their prices generally ever since they renovated their shop some years back.

The joss-sticks shop also still holds on quite well in its original location. Although the elderly uncle (who forever looks so relaxed!) has a competitor shop (which is run by a rather aggressive chap in his 30's or 40's together with his mother) just a few doors away, I think the elderly uncle's shop is preferred by many aunties, including M.

I could go on a little more about this little cluster of commercial bustle, but I think I won't for the time being. I will leave it to my next post after I embark on my Project This Weekend.



M's daily reminders that she will need to start doing her marketing elsewhere after this Sunday, somehow make me feel this pressing urgency for Project This Weekend.