On our shopping trip on Monday we went from the second hand building materials yard to a
The contrast struck me so strongly, I had to take photos.
Doesn't this staircase look like something out of a 5 star hotel? It is just going up from the food court to a couple of more upmarket restaurants and the CARPARK!
What is the purpose of all this flash architecture?
Oh, that's right ... to remove us from the reality of our everyday lives
and encourage us to flash the plastic.
Commodity fetishism gone mad.
I am so changed now, that it I find it all so boring.
I hated the way some of these big chains came in and squashed the little bookshops and how they specialised in the ordinary and the mundane.
I have mixed feelings though
because the loss of any book shop is sad...
even if it is Borders, and people have lost their jobs.
Our last stop on the way home was at the university library
so the Cook could pick up some 'real' books.
Thank goodness for libraries!
Of course, we also squeezed in a trip to Bulleen Art and Garden for a little vegetable worship.
I agree about shopping centres, I try and avoid them as much as possible. On your travels through the treasure trove of the second hand house yard, did you happen to notice if there were any wooden boards that might be good for garden borders? I have been looking around a haven't found anything quite right yet for my kitchen 'in the front' garden.
ReplyDeleteLove the photo of the hills.
A trip to my Westfield is torture...
ReplyDeleteI don't go to town very much..hubby goes fortnightly to monthly for supplies... I might go in every 3months or so...when I do go its all so over stimulating..so many people,lights,signs..it gives me a bit of a headache.
ReplyDeletewe got 2nd handshopping in at st arnaud or donald which I love..2nd handshopping it has more soul ,more life, something about the prelovedness of an item. I do almost everything online
Yes, Hazel, you're right. FAR too much money is spent on things we don't really need (or even notice, sometimes).
ReplyDeleteWhat's your opinion of spending millions on pieces of public sculpture?
I had something witty and inteligent to say but all I can think about is the Holy Cabbage
ReplyDeleteI think art is in a different category to consumerism which just supports big business. It is hard to put a price on art. Sometimes it looks simple but you are not paying for just the art piece, or the time it took to make it or the cost of the materials...you are paying the artist for their idea, vision, ability to impart that in some way. 'Millions of dollars' for sculpture always stirs the masses but some sculptures are so wonderful, they are priceless. Not a very satisfactory answer, Mark. I suppose the beauty and value of an art piece in in the eye of the beholder and if the beholder reckons it's rubbish, then it probably doesn't seem to warrant the hefty pricetag. However it may seem cheap to someone else.
ReplyDeleteCookie, I saw some nice bridge timbers there, but I am sure they are too good and probably too expensive for garden edges. Are railway sleepers too thick? There were lots of planks and weather boards. I will be going back soon to actually buy some things rather than just drooling. I will have a closer look for you.
ReplyDeleteHi Hazel, wonderful post. I avoid those shopping malls because I find them scary and I think I will get lost. I have developed a shopping method when I really must go shopping. It's called the Swoop Method - you see what you want, grab it, pay for it and then rush back to the garden as quickly as possible. cheers, catmint
ReplyDeleteGoodness me, now that's a shopping centre! I don't think they look like that up here. I don't go to shopping centres, not for any ethical reasons, but because I find them too overwhelming. I am not comfortable with too much choice. Having said that, I live almost across the road from a small shopping centre and when I first had children and was very lonely I spent a lot of time there.
ReplyDeleteI blooming LOVE those pastel basins... can I have one in my shed??
I love going to the library - all those books - heaven.
ReplyDeleteI've changed so much, I too can't stand the insanity of glossy shopping centres anymore. 3 years ago, I enjoyed them.
ReplyDeleteThe Church of the Holy Cabbage! Tony and I want to join. :)
ReplyDeleteRe shopping centres: hate 'em, hate hate hate 'em. I get overwhelmed by the glare of the fluorescent lights, the people and the STUFF.
II'm getting to the point where our local Woolworths overwhelms me.
Love the sign. Lettuce pray!
ReplyDeleteGav x
Blurgh! I detest shopping centres with a passion! I cannot understand why any intelligent person would want to spend their free time wandering around such an artificial environment buying plastic rubbish. It really does have me stumped!
ReplyDeleteLettuce pray for more libraries and second hand yards!
Too many people in shopping malls... it feels suffocating at times, no fresh air!
ReplyDeleteAm just so loving the vegie place of worship ;-)
Impressive architecture I may add. Shopping Malls are a different universe altogether, I'm not surprised with your indifference.
ReplyDeleteShame about Borders, it's received the same fate here :(
That would be great Hazel! The bridge ones sound interesting but probably too expensive, railway sleepers, ...maybe too big as they would do my back in completely. I have been thinking about Aust. hard wood planks and was hoping to get 3m lengths. Looking forward to hearing about your next shopping spree :)
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