Yep, another one of those ridiculously massive Sydney shopping centres, that also happens to be…read morequite close to the railway station. It is quite well set up though and a pleasure to explore. This is particularly the case with the walkway from the station, which provides easy access to the facility. It is also rather easy to navigate, which is also quite beneficial. Sure, I'm not really a big fan of shopping centres, but this one was rather nice.

All the old favourites are here: ranging from supermarkets, department stores, to fashion shops,…read morebeauty salons and eateries. The place is quite extensive and has two very large buildings that are over two blocks. The pace wasn't too bad today and although I did get lost and became disorientated when I left from a different exit I still managed to buy a bargain. I love the after Christmas sales and yes they still exist on the 9th January! Watch where you park. There are several entry points for the complex and parking ranges for free parking from thirty minutes, to two hours to three hours. I always head straight to the top and make my way down (a good principle in life...although you have to be careful on whom you tread on the ladder on the way up as you might come across them on the way down! ha) Yes this is a great shopping centre.

Pete the pom is a Hornsby institution. He's been in the same location (a tiny shop, right at the…read moreback of an arcade off the Florence St Mall for 28 years. Prior to that he was in another location in Hornsby. All up he has been repairing the shoes of Hornsby for the past 35 years. Apparently he arrived from the UK and went to look at a shop in Chatswood but fell asleep on the train, ended up in Hornsby and never left. At least that's the story he tells. He tells a lot of stories. Part of the Pete The Pom experience is the patter. A constant stream of stories and general chatter in fluent cockney (35 years here has done nothing to dull the cockney accent). Gents are called Squire. Ladies are referred to as Darlin or Luv. The other part of the experience is the tiny little shop, packed to the roof with kicknacks and memorabilia. And yes, he does have a story about each and every piece. Even the shoe repair machinery has a story - it came over from England with him and dates back to his Father and Grandfather's time (he's from a long line of cobblers). A visit to Pete the Pom is an experience. Oh yeah... and he also repairs shoes. Really, really well. If it can be fixed, he will fix it. If it can't be fixed, he will probably manage to fix it anyway. And cheaply too. Usually the dodgy shoe repair kiosks in Westfield will charge more for a worse job.

Pete is a scream! Love his work ethic, customer service and efficiency. His offsider is great too!read more