Heavens to Murgatroyd, where does one start?

Firstly, I note that a question asked was "What is a nitch market?". Maybe I can help. In Australia, there has been a plague of nitches for some years. They are suspected to have been carried in a shipment of all-blacks (not a racist term) from a country (unnamed) to our immediate east. They are a small, uncomely mammal, but with a beautiful, soft fur for which the market has grown ("nitch market"). Rich-Joy's partner, Poor Misery (rofl ... I know him!) is, in fact, a nitch-sexer. (I would hasten to point out that this is a passive occupation, rather than an active pursuit.) He has also done the almost impossible, by keeping a nitch alive in captivity. It is a particularly fecund male, named "Four Ball Paul".

But I digress. The hard reality of Maleny goes thusly.

It was once a very small town, seen (by the "great majority") as having a few unwashed folkies carrying various unsavoury diseases, and indulging in various commie activities like not doing paid work, sharing with each other, and free love (must write about that one day ... I could never find the free variety ... and me being such a good-looking bloke, too ...). So far, so good. No-one is going to create a problem, except for the few people who believe in communes because it gives them their own power base.

Years pass, and city living becomes more stressful, while those pinko folkie radicals of yesteryear become the establishment of today. And they now want to actually live the life to which they once paid lip service. And where do they (read "we") go? To join the ranks of those verminous drop-outs in the sylvan surrounds of places like Maleny. It is happening all over Australia, and probably USA, UK, etc etc.

And what happens then? The fields gradually become housing, then speed up to become housing estates. While this is happening, the corner general store, local bakery, book swap, co-op club (whoops!), all either become larger, or close down. Why? Because the Big Boys are coming (see Cyril Tawney's "The Oggy Man"). They come because they believe they will make a quid, because they know that the town has developed to the stage where it is ready to lose its character, and become "just another town". Only the local people can stop this by doing things that have already been suggested - but will it happen? Once a place passes a certain size, it needs a very single-minded community to prevent unwanted development, because the truth is that a certain proportion of the community will welcome the development. And the Big Boys only need a proportion to start with - others will follow later.

I hope you and you neighbours win, Rich-Joy. Maleny is a great place to visit. Unfortunately, it seems it is also a great place to live, and perhaps too many "uncommitteds" have moved in. Get them along to the folk club, and we'll work on their conversion.

And keep the nitches out of the lettuces!

Love,

Shimbo