By Annabelle Chapple
We arrived home to a crisis recently when my daughter took off her school shoes to reveal nasty blisters. I panicked at the thought of squeezing her back into the now too small pair the next morning (and the arguments) when with a wave of relief, I realised it was Thursday. I ushered her quickly back into the car telling her, ‘We’re going late night shopping.’
When we arrived at Westfield she said wearily, ‘This isn’t the uniform shop?’ It was then I realised our six-year-old had no idea shopping centres stayed open at night. So, like Willy Wonka leading his factory tour I turned to her in the backseat and said, ‘Come with me!’
As we climbed the escalator I was surprised to find the stores teaming. We breathed in the buzz (as well as the oxygen pumped air) and found our tired selves quickly coming to life. ‘It’s like being inside the internet!’ she smiled up at me.
At the shoe shop she was fitted with care, like when I was a kid in the nineties. She felt seen and important. Afterwards, high on a sense of achievement we couldn’t help but stop in at a few other stores. We were having fun! In a store! On a school night!
On the drive home I was sad thinking about how easily I could have relegated that job to the internet and missed a moment to make a core memory with my girl. I thought of all the ways the internet has made our lives frictionless as parents today. No more frenzied scouring the aisles of Officeworks with mum and a school supplies list at the end of summer or trailing her at the grocery store trying to keep at least one treat in the trolley. Has the internet given us something by taking away these once mundane tasks? Or does it rob us of being in the moment?
I write this as my daughter watches the nineties Jumanji movie beside me, relieved I’ve written my copy for another month and also ordered her books for 2025 in a matter of clicks, but I’ve missed the start of the film.
Recipe: Sarah’s Chocolate Caramel Slice
Another childhood favourite is Chocolate Caramel Slice. I ate countless slices in my teens alongside my best friend Ames (whose mother Sarah baked it). It’s unbeatable.
| Ingredients Base: 1 cup self raising flour ½ cup brown sugar ¾ cup desiccated coconut 125g butter, melted Filling: 1 tin condensed milk (395g) 3 tbsp golden syrup 30g butter Topping: 1 ½ blocks dark chocolate | Method Preheat oven to 180°C fan-forced. Grease and line a 20cm x 20cm baking tray. For the base mix flour, sugar, coconut and butter in a large bowl and press evenly into the tray. Bake for 15 minutes or until base is lightly golden. For the caramel filling blend condensed milk, golden syrup and butter in a saucepan on a low heat. Stir until butter is melted. Spread caramel over the base. When the slice has cooled, break chocolate into small pieces and melt in microwave. Spread over caramel. Refrigerate and slice when cold. |
