Wonder what they do in this workshop?  In Wallsend. Says it all.

Raj's Fashion.  Raj curry house extended next door and then next door again for groceries and fashion. Indian food never fails to appeal, the saltiness less so.

We all love our favourite foods and this is demonstrated by the items in the alternative shops for those of other heritages.  We use many of the items in common with them and which are found in our supertmarts.  But for that special familiar flavour almost identical foods are imported. The same with highly preserved, salted, canned and pickled foods that are imported and marketed. It seems buyers are not tempted by the adundant fresh produce or probably combine both forms.
One small difference is that corn flour is correctly made from corn while, strangely, we mainly use corn flour made from wheat but am not entirely sure what its made from. I doubt we were into corn in a big way and doubt the British were into corn crops and that must have been an influence.  Who knows?

Simulacrum captured in stark reality.  Closed doors on the sabbath leave no cafe racers out on display.

The Middle kingdom has no need to feel left out of our strategies whilever they buy our coal mines and real estate whereas, for some reason, the USA, is handed over access in a type of 'window dressing' move.  Yet, today, the US President's gracious winning style almost twisted my arm.
Flattery?  Hey, the Prime minister, today, wore a different styled suit that really flattered her. I wish she would contact the governor general's terrific stylist.   

Complaints department here.  What have I got to lose?

The above was, sort of, a unique set of shops, possibly from the thirties or so, original shopfronts, 5 or 6 matching, woodwork and tiled or tessellated entrances.  The colour scheme was crap.  Never had a chance at this quiet end of the street.
Not anymore.  Modernisation has taken over and each shop has been wrecked and given the standard, glassy front treatment and grand new addtions at this end make the premises twice as big as before.
Superficially, these shops needed clever rejuvination in retro style. They were perfect for vintage.  A suitable paint scheme would have worked wonders and the shops could have become specially appealing.
But, in the cold hard light of day, any darn thing is tried to make an investment viable.  

New retail centre on the other side of the Styx, Tueday evening.  They will have to brave any double dip recession although this country is not bearing the brunt.

This is not Thursday night shopping.  A textile factory was here once.

Giant Barcodes. Lines of Seating at the baths. 

We have multi-tasking and now role of check-out chick is added to our list. A while ago DIY scanning at the supermarket finally reached Newcastle. An assistant is assigned to ease the process and today, the assistant was run off her feet because of multiple little failures in the system and she fumed about technical issues beyond her control.

Don't accidentally bump any sensitive spots on the console because the response is rapid and means another plea for some slight of hand to reset the works.

Scanning rage is recorded and I heard about a beginner who was charged for thumping the machine and went to court but there were no consequences.

With time the task becomes easier but still there are hitches whether it's the scales need zeroing, unnecessary signature is requested, cash transaction failure, debit card use goes ratty but a smooth run is stress free.  Woolworths reliability is better than Coles but there's not much in it and Coles provide more space to work on.

One of the latest shopping centres to open its doors is in Steel Street.  And what else is in store because the Motor Registry office has moved to a new address a short distance away.  We are well served because a network of motor registry offices are not found in some places. 

The fruit and vegetable markets were at the other end of Steet street and were a busy scene once upon a time. 

Easing the scarcity, book sellers are opening a store once again at Westfields Kotara. Unleash....Books and Education ....has two stores in Miranda and is an independent bookseller.  

Another shop, Lorna Jane will replace Colarado. 

Words and meaning.  Don't know for how long, but colourful, proper school lingo is about incursions, which decoded is associated with the host of education-as-fun stunts that business operates to sell to schools. 

Macquarie lists Incursion: 1. a hostile entrance into or invasions of a place or territory, especially one of sudden character; raid; attack.  2.  a harmful inroad.   3.  a running in: the incursion of sea-water. 

Early morning and warm clothing was unnecessary. But come to think of it, snow was predicted for Barrington tops.

 At Westfields, Kotara, a phantom surfer is high and above the shoppers. 

 Another multinational, Cotton On, is brave enough to open a store right where Borders closed up after going into liquidation. The age old book company, Angus and Robinson, seem to be taken over by Borders and that was the end of that. A & R published many of the Australian classics. 

Cotton On stores are already in the shopping centres around here somewhere, shopping is not a favourite pastime of mine. As it is, several well known retail clothing chains are going out of business. Then, David Jones department store closed their store in Newcastle city and have a bet each way saying they may reopen it in the future and use the window displays to attract customers out to their store in Westfields, Kotara.  

Interior of Wollombi General Store.  A working museum. 

 1920 Wollombi General Store and agent for Savings Bank.
Below: in 1913. 

June 2011,  agent for Australia Post.

For sale. Broke Village Store.
It's full on - Fuel, Beer on tap, Bottle shop, Post Office, The Willows Cafe Restaurant, Take Aways, Fruit and vegies, Clothing for the motorcyclist, newspapers.
Cigaretts are on sale which, by law, are not on display, are held in a closed cupboard, (shown in the photo) and the packets have health warnings and, I believe, pictures of deadly disease as a consequence of smoking, and soon, brand names will be banned from the packaging.  A company stated they would sue the government about the removal of the brand names and billions of dollars would be involved. Rejoice all lawyers - more business is heading in your direction. They can usually drum up litigation.
Several legal cases have been in the news recently and the cry is that the tax payer (via the government) is footing the bill.  Well, hugh legal costs are a result of the legal profession which always remains blameless. 

Charlestown Square Shopping centre, in fine style from the GPT property group, has been revamped and doubled in size with major and minor retailers and Reading cinemas installed.

In the past months the countryside has meet with several vast natual disasters akin to those experienced by far less affluent countries. These events might lead to a better understanding of struggle. Instead, just the opposite, a few want to cut back on our overseas aid budget. But a special tax is devised to assist victims.

Here is a unique shop front. Left standing in Lambton by sheer luck, I suppose. What a shame when it could be modernised and given the tile treatment just like Marianne Fashions nearby.

         No distance out of town and postal services are found in a multipurpose store.
From experience, books (say, a techncial edition not readily available in this country) or spares, arrive within a week from overseas after purchase on-line for lower cost than local.
The wonders of email are heralded with good reason. But look at all the email communications that are on-auto and state 'do not reply' and the contact page that is a one way thing.  E-mail is not necessarily the method of choice between business and outsiders.
There is no expectation that a professional would engage in email correspondence but even email to a specific department about upcoming arrangments, for example, and other pertinent instances, free of raves, are lucky to elicit a reply.

 

Archaeology on High. Last remaining sign of Galtons store, High Street, Maitland, which had distinctive brass work around the extensive display windows. Super Dollar and a phoney makeover have taken its place along with a trying-to-look-establishment-in-granite savings bank - all par for the course.

High Street, Maitland has seen a least one disasterous flood and this shop, believed to be original rather than reproduction, has survived those days.
Certain shop fronts and shop fittings stand the test of time and have significance. They are often altered and modernised and lose all significance. 
Folks in Maitland want the original shopping mall to be successful and patronised and a measure of old character and charm might possibly help the cause although, really, what can be done, so they may as well be left with some points of significance and preserve some aspects.     

Out in the provinces, was seen Tamworth Co-operative Ltd as a fading sign from last century, where lots of people shopped for their food, produce and goodness knows what, and they held shares in the business.
When the retail 'giants' open up in the suburbs of country towns then the city centre changes. Is that what they really wanted to happen?  
South of Tamworth and in the ranges evidence of recent rain was easy to see.  The grass was very green.

My gross weight: 82.25kg (-1.75kg)

Follow the buoys (note the tilt) to Newcastle Shopping mall or ex-mall - it has reopened to cars and is making a come-back. This street is a public space that is not controlled by a private company as in shopping centre and the shops are their own entities - at this stage anyway.
(Back again in-between making pancakes for breakfast.) Neither do the shops look like an old western movie set - as in tilt-built commercial developments- and whose customers are usually dependent on car transport alone. (Just been handed a pancakes to eat - someone else stepped in to cook them)