Chadstone Shopping Centre was on a small scale when it opened and was occasionally visited, as was the city by train. Chadstone is now the largest shopping centre (mall) in the Southern Hemisphere and the most profitable of its kind in the world. Yet, we find it a horrible place to visit and will no longer do so.
So that is a bit of my background and while there are things I forget, most of Oakleigh is kind of familiar to me. It is still strongly under Greek influence, even though the Greek immigrants would have mostly arrived in the 1960s.
As we drove along Atkinson Street, we noticed a busy Sunday Market. Alas it was soon to close, so we will save that for another day. Oakleigh has its own small shopping mall, and associated car parking underneath. A pay system was about to be introduced, I think because the parking time limit is ignored and commuters park there all day and catch a train to the city from the adjacent station.
We were surprised when we stepped out of the shopping centre mall into the Eaton Street Mall. There were so many people and a wonderful atmosphere. About a quarter of the tables and seating were given over to people just having coffee, wine and smoking and the rest was for dining. R and I shared a large Greek platter and had excellent coffee. We were most impressed.
As you can see by the signage, there is still a very Greek flavour to the area. Oddly there was a place called Prahran Travel, a travel agency and just as odd, Prahran Seafoods. No where near Prahran, but there you go. The fish shop was where every Friday my grandmother would buy fish to cook for dinner. The shop used to have rivers of water running down its front window.
Andrew nice to see autumn in your place
ReplyDeleteThanks Gosia. Yes, very much autumn now.
DeleteMalls give me the horrors.
ReplyDeleteThat looks like a pleasant area. Love the trees. Sigh at yet another market closing.
EC, Chadstone from one end to the other might be nearly a 1km walk and trying to find a specific shop......nah.
DeleteTechnically I think Oakleigh comes under the Parish of Prahran...otherwise I can't explain them, either!
ReplyDeleteBest meat is Paragon on Portman, a few doors up.
Jayne, that is interesting. I have some vague memory of that. I wonder if Paragon was an old butcher shop, or do you mean its a cafe.
DeleteParagon was a butcher shop and chicken shop (used to have the "open 8 days a week sign up the top storey). It's a ripper butcher shop now - 2 kgs lamb chops $20 during the week, $18 on Satdee morning. Best ever.
DeleteApart from the butcher shop in the Oakleigh Market (Portman st, opened Wed-Sat) with 5 lamb shanks for $10.
Jayne, is that one shank for you, one for the hubby, and three for FB.
DeleteEating or coffeeing outside is so pleasant. As long as it isn't raining, the fresh air and crowd-watching makes your Greek platter experience fun.
ReplyDeleteHels, it is one of life's simple pleasures and we do it often.
DeleteI hope your mother is thriving, Andrew...and that her visit to hospital has come to an end, or nearing its end. I wish her well.
ReplyDeleteFish and chips...there's nothing quite like a good feed of fish and chips! :)
Lee, I wonder if hospital staff are sick of Mother yet. R is visiting her now.
DeleteI too like fish and chips and one of my biggest disappoints was the two times we had fish and chips in England.
Fish and Chips are best done by the Greeks, you probably wouldn't find many of them in England.
DeletePerhaps so River, but England is supposed to famous for its fish and chips. Most disappointing. The seagulls after chips held true.
Deletelooks like friendly place.
ReplyDeleteCoffe is on
Dora, it was a really good atmosphere.
DeleteCrikey Andrew .... I like those outdoor eating joints too. They are the only eating joints I’m allowed to frequent. Mum has to take a soft bed for me though cause I won’t sit on hard pavement.
ReplyDeleteCharlie, you are a sook. No dogs were were seen by me, so perhaps you would not be welcome.
DeleteNOT WELCOME??????? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmph ... Who'd wanna go there anyway????
DeleteMemories of a small shopping centre to a very large one, they can get too large and need 3 days to visit some of them..
ReplyDeleteRemember a lot of Greeks made the best fish and chips.
Margaret, the Greeks were good with fish and chips, and hamburgers. I'm afraid the Asians who have taken over many of their shops just don't quite have the same instinct.
DeleteIt has become a very nice place !
ReplyDeleteGattina, and my grandmother was outraged in the 1970s about so much being spent making the street into a nice area. Mind, it has been redone a couple of times since then.
DeleteSo pleased to read that your mum is thriving Andrew, I'm sure all the nurses looove her 😊 Nice to visit old haunts after such a long time and excellent to find things have improved instead of vice versa!
ReplyDeleteGrace, yes, it doesn't always have a happy ending like Oakleigh has. Mother has R tearing his hair out!
DeleteOh no! He really is good with her though.
DeleteA very nice Sunday and I'm glad to hear Mother is thriving. Now I have to et out my map and find Oakleigh.
ReplyDeleteHaha River. While I no longer think in miles, it is about 12 miles southeast of the city. Mother wasn't so good today. She moaned and whinged to R. I am not going into a nursing home, said she. Who said that, R asked? Nobody has, she replied. I expect the hospital did. It looks like she will go to ABI Brother's place once out of hospital, whether he wants her there or not. I told her she could not come here again to stay. It is too stressful and disruptive for us. She is not a good house guest. She took over my ensuite and spread her pills, potions and makeup over every space. She barged into my bedroom without knocking at 10pm. I told R to stop be so kind to her, or she will be back. Sorry, I am ranting on.
DeleteInteresting that there still Greek shop signs. The outdoor eating area looks nice and inviting.
ReplyDeleteI avoid the bigger shopping centres and prefer the smaller ones where I can shop quickly and not have to go through dozens of shops to get to the supermarket. I have less and less patience for shopping centres!
Sami, that's another thing. It takes so long to get around huge shopping centres, never mind finding a parking space.
DeleteSounds like a lovely outing.
ReplyDeleteGlad your mom is doing well.
Thanks Sandra.
DeleteIt was at a Greek restaurant in Oakleigh where I carelessly swallowed the fish bone that resulted in a visit to the hospital ER to have it extracted after it pierced my gut. I've gone back to Oakleigh for food only once since then.
ReplyDeleteAd Rad, that's nasty. Fish bones were once a hazard of eating fish, but we are so used to not encountering them now.
Delete