As openings go, this was no T5....even though Westfield managers admitted to us at the end of the day they had been preparing for the worst, on the day it was packed to the rafters. But despite the crowds, there was a conspicuous lack of shopping bags with punters clearly chosing to browse rather than buy. The food outlets however, were definitely the winners of the day, being totally rammed from about 10am onwards.
Even a few problems with the gas at one point couldn't dampen spirits and despite queues of around 45mins at the lunch time peak, most customers said their dishes from the food court were worth the wait.
One little snag that will hopefully be quickly remedied..
In this post-smoking ban era, it's essential to have plenty of bins and ashtrays around for fag butts, but someone forgot to order them - so by the end of the day the outside was strewn with fag ends - lowering the tone somewhat..