Friday, March 13, 2009

A Mall Trip

with my Mum last week, reminded me of all the reasons that I tend to hang around home more than I used to!
It was wonderful to catch up with Mum & go out for coffee together. Well, that was the intention - however we ended up shopping. I enabled her by waving a new top under her nose, which she purchased - & then the clever woman enabled me by buying a nice (but oh so practical) merino top that I admired as 'an early birthday present'. Nice one Mum - my birthday is months away!

Ugly (but tidy) Facade

To think that not so many years ago I came to this Mall at least twice a week ....& enjoyed it. Now I feel I'm lucky if I manage to avoid it & only make the 5 minute trip there twice a month maximum.
What turned me off the place, I hear you ask. Pretty much the overwhelming commercialism. The sameness of this Mall to every other Mall in this country. Shiny tiled floors, super trendy décor, same type of food court, similar layout & worst of all - all the same darn shops (15 stores I can think of off the top of my head), with a few minor variations.
Unimaginative, unoriginal, uninspiring & overwhelmingly commercial. YUK!
Even the street façade is unwelcoming these days - surrounded for the most part by screened car parking.


It's single redeeming feature is that it has the name "The Palms" - & in a city where Palms aren't the flora of choice, it is quite nice to see some rather substantial specimens replanted there.

Two Old Beauties - replanted from Lindsay Street

Of course it doesnt take a lot for my imagination to go off on a tangent, & these two 80 year old Palm tree's were all that it took to inspire thoughts of a Tropical Island with long stretches of golden sands & clear blue skies (not to mention a lack of traffic & traffic lights).
Those daydreams managed to make their way into this mini set.


4 comments:

angelinabeadalina said...

Well, you did a great job translating daydreams into glass, because that mini-set makes me think of flip-flops in the sand, flowers of incredible proportions and brilliant colors, and a view of the ocean from under a line of well-placed trees. . . niiiiiiiiiice :)

Even though I bemoan the fact we live so far away from any "real" stores, all it takes to get my mall "fix" is a walk through one every six months or so. I do like the striking red columns outside The Palms, though.

Anonymous said...

Pretty set! I love how inspiration works its mysterious way on each of us.

I hear you on the commercialism overload. One thing I do not miss about living in the US is the shopping malls. I use to love shopping (25 years ago!) but now I feel blessed that on average I only find myself in a shopping mall about two times a year... that's really enough!

rosebud101 said...

I like the mall! The pillars are absolutely awesome looking. I can't figure out what they remind me of, but it's something. Hmmmmmm.

Deb said...

Mallory - you fibber! You told me exactly what they reminded you of ;o)