Zydney Preparez For Zara. Daytime Soap Has Lost Its Froth.

By this time tomorrow, I'll be Zydney Shop (Zhop would be taking it too far) Girl.

I'm observing the count down to Good Friday with a Lindor egg a day.

Only more sleep until Zara opens at Westfield in the city.  I'm planning my assault carefully.  Is it too optimistic to think that the crowds will have settled by the end of the long weekend?  How bad can it be anyway?  It looks like the police and extra security are all lined up.  I've also come of a killer backbend and twisting standing pose class at yoga so I should be able to roll with punches if there are any and be flexible enough to nab that last dress in my size....

The price points sound rather promising actually and the photos of the stock in store here in Sydney look better than I had feared they would.  Dresses are priced at the $130 mark with winter coats around $240.  I might even find my Going To Darwin outfit if I look (and fight) hard enough.  Don't worry, I've already asked.  Mr SSG is absolutely not going to be spending his lunch hour witnessing Australian high street fashion history on my behalf.

Children of the early 90s, do you know who these gorgeous star crossed lovers are?

Image courtesy of http://www.cybercom.net/

That's right - it's Eden and Cruz from Santa Barbara. My favourite daytime soap from Year 12.  The complicated course of their love sustained me through 4 sets of school exams plus the final tertiary entrance exams (TEE but they were definitely not a cup of tea).  It was so reassuring to know that the constant barriers to their love would be there for me each holiday and swot vac break.  That little would 'really change' but that there would be plenty of wacky plot twists and revealations to make up for this.

Why am I reminiscing about the land of froth and bubble today?  It's because I was just reading this article in The Guardian.  All My Children and One Life to Live are to be axed by the American ABC.  They've been in production for a combined total of 83 years.  That's generations of us around the world that have been comforted by their over the top plots and hair when we've been home sick, recovering from night shifts, studying or looking after loved ones. 

Daytime soap taught us all about:

• waiting.... and waiting for ..... anything really
• to expect the very unexpected
• that we're all related somehow, we just don't know it yet
• reincarnation and reinvention being reasonable ways of dealing with life's difficult times
• that we'll always come back.

And what will fill the void that daytime soap has left behind?  'Lifestyle' programs hosted by the stars of those train wreck reality TV programmes.  Can 'life' and 'style' be words used in the same sentence to describe some of the people who've graced E! and MTV?  Perhaps the programmes are a journey of learning and self discovery for them.

So goodbye, daytime soaps, we'll miss you and we'll try never to forget all that you've taught us.

I thought I'd leave you with a little montage of Eden and Cruz.  For old time's sake.