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There's a shopping centre close to my house. For the last few years it's been the place to go when you didn't need anything too exciting. There's a couple of supermarkets that sell the basic stuff, a liquor store, a hairdresser and a store selling vaccuum cleaner bags (cos out here in the 'burbs we do a whole lot of vaccuuming). And apparently a couple of dozen other stores less exciting than even the vaccuum bag place.

But we're a growing suburb and, all winter, builders have been expanding the shopping centre into a whole new retail experience...

The thing is that I only ever go there after dark on Thursday evenings, and I wasn't about to go exploring the building site at that time. From inside you got no clue that anything was going on, but then a week or so ago a sign went up annoucning the opening of the new shopping centre in three days' time! Where?!

So this week I nipped in to get the weekly trolley load of sensible healthy options (and my secret stash of chocolate and chips) and was rewarded with a movie scene moment. I walked in through the old shopping centre, in through the (demolished) door of what used to be the liquor store and there in front of me, where there had previously been a wall stacked with cheap wine, was a bright and shiny new shopping centre. It was like wandering into Toon Town, but with more chrome and fewer dancing animals. Happy people were gazing around in awe, stunned that they no longer have to drive 15km to find a decent coffee shop. Excited children skidded around on the shiny new floors, knocking over the "Meet Bob the Builder this Saturday" signs. Shoppers rushed to the new greengrocer, half expecting that a brand new shop must mean never-before-seen fruits and vegetables.

It was high excitement.

Then I tried to do my shopping in the new supermarket. It took me three times as long because all the things were arranged differently. Who puts ice cream in aisle 17?! Everyone knows that ice cream goes in aisle 22...