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

Did you think Diana Ferrari only made shoes? I did. So colour me surprised when the new boutique…read moreopened up at Westfield Hornsby and it's stocked full of frocks! They're pretty little numbers, especially seeing as we're in spring racing season. Some of the patterns are a little OTT and turquoise for my taste, but if you rifle through the racks, you can find quite the array of fashionable cuteness. Best yet, the dresses and suits seem to be designed for actual women - you know, women with hips and boobs. That's always appreciated. My first, shocked, visit, I ended up buying a sweet little top that is very well made and has worn extremely well. So while I don't think it'll be a regular shopping spot for me (especially considering I avoid clothes shopping!), I know enough now to a) not be shocked by the sight of dresses rather than shoes and b) go in and have a browse for a well fitting frock.

I've already admitted to not having the daintiest feet…read more(http://www.yelp.com.au/biz/peter-sheppard-footwear-sydney), but couple that with a bung netball knee and from time-to-time I come perilously close to needing grandma shoes. Then I discovered Ecco. Don't get me wrong, these shoes are definitely on the 'sturdier' side of strappy, but these Danes know their design, and their comfort. So while you'll pay a premium, you'll also find a good shoe or boot that you can wear to death without killing your feet (or your bad knee).

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.

From the outside this store looks like a pretty cool place. An alternative fashion store dedicated…read moreto subculture lifestyles with a splash of novelty gifts and games to keep things interesting. Unfortunately this is where the charm of the store ends. It is my opinion is that this place is an obnoxious cash grab, with utterly disgusting price markups as a standard band shirts costs around $59. Every shirt I looked at was $59. A total rip off. I have been able to find the exact same shirts with the exact same tags at Paddy's Market at around $25. The shop keeper looks like an punk Doc Brown from the Back to the Future movies. He was the rudest and most abhorrent stop keeper I've come across in Australia. Let me explain to you why with a story about an incident that happened between me and the Doc. I was perusing through the different band shirts on the back wall when I came across a design I'd never seen before. I've never heard of the band and I was interested in the shirt. After racking my brains I gave up and took a photo of the shirt to send to my music mates to see if they knew who the band was. This was when the spit it the fan. The Doc made a beeline straight for us. "Did you take a photo?" He demanded. "Yeah. So what?" I responded. "Why?!" he asked standing his ground. "Well I have no idea who this band is and I was going to ask my mates." I explained. He wasn't having any of it - "MAYBE you should ask me before you start taking photos!" I took a moment to quickly reflect. You know what, this is his store. He just doesn't want people photographing things because... reasons. "Okay, can you tell me who this band is?" I asked. I will never forget his response "I have no idea who they are." ... Kind of set himself up for failure didn't he. There was silence for around four to five seconds as I was completely dumbfounded. He walked away without offering any further assistance. Another customer near me remarked on just how rude he was. For the rest of the time he refused to help me at all, choosing to ignore any requests while he chatting on his mobile phone. In the end I got his attention by photographing him on his phone. Maybe if the Doc spent more time getting to know his stock and less time telling off customers he might make a sale. My father who was also in the store (but had wandered off on his own) received an equally pathetic answer from him when asked about a product. My father picked up a card game, interested in what it was all about and how to play it. When asking the Doc about it his response was "It's a card game" before walking off. My advice, find a seller who knows WHAT they're selling and that cares about the customers. Store score (out of five): Atmosphere: 2 Store layout: 3 Customer service: 0 Price range: 0 Range of goods: 4

I shopped here a few years ago. While I do like the selection of items they have, what I do not…read morelike is being approached and being persuaded into buying them (I personally dislike this kind of practice from cashiers). The prices here are ridiculously high, for example, a simple keyring can set you back for about $18. You can probably find the same things online for cheaper or from a different local store.

Beautiful European and Italian made women's shirts and blouses. Free Shipping within Australia.read more