Where I live we're not that far from some major shopping centres... such as Lakeside and Bluewater... but before they were built there was other smaller ones in the area. My earliest memories of a shopping centre are Hempstead Vally... to me this was a magical place... they had so many shopping trolleys they used a tractor to pull them around. But the best thing was the interior... everywhere was fountains and waterfalls... big globes made from water... jets of water making pretty patterns in the air... it was amazing in the eyes of me as a child... outside the shops every now and then they had big ponds with koi carp (Massive goldfish to me) that you could sit around. It was the best shopping center ever to me... not like town centres where I got bored traipsing from one shop to the next.
Sadly not all things stay the same, and when I revisited Hempstead Vally (I was in the area and had time to kill) I was horrified to find out that none of the fountains existed anymore and instead a hairdressers and a coffee bar replaced them :-( I was gutted... the ponds have all been filled in bar one I have no idea why they left one... but I'm glad something remains.
I'm sad to see something that probably brought the designer much joy to create and brought a smile to so many frustrated parents to be removed for plain old commercial gain.
I still have my memories tho... shame their isn't any pictures of it in it's glory days.
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