Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 28 April 2019

ps. Piccadilly Gardens Manchester is far away from both the Christie Hospital and the Trafford Centre where OG and family are, so they should not have been affected.

Lindybird: I just Googled the Trafford Centre - amazing Rococco/Baroque (thank you Wikipedia!) architecture for a shopping center. That would be an attraction in itself. I was reading that the designers went against the "keep it clean, simple," advice and used real gold leaf on some surfaces, plus there was a lot of study on how it would affect businesses in local communities. I wonder how that worked out in reality. Here, shopping malls sounded the death knell for downtown Mom and Pop stores. Now, all retail other than big box stores are in trouble courtesy of Amazon, etc.

The Trafford Centre has been a big attraction ever since it opened: it includes a cinema and bowling alley, too. I used to take my mother to see the extravagant Christmas decorations, years ago. Quite astounding. Of course, as it's all under cover they're able to have things hanging up which would be impossible to have outside.

Sadly, it has affected some nearby towns as customers spend their money there instead of shopping locally. The latest victim is the big Debenhams in Altrincham, due to close soon, it's just been announced. With lots of us opting for online shopping, too, some town centres are dying.

My Friend G who I've just lost, hated going to these big shopping malls, she found them just too tiring.