Toronto

Well everyone has to start somewhere and for your's truly it was as a little bloke on the silty shores of Toronto bay. I grew up in a beaut little lakeside town called Toronto (all us Torontowegians like to pronounce it Taronno) which lays on the banks of Lake Macquarie where tourist's go (by accident).When I was a little kiddie Toronto was known as a little bush town 30km's from Newcastle, and now almost 40 years latter it is known as a big bush town 30km's from Newcastle.

The school that I spent my kiddie years at was called Saint Josphes..... is now gone..... The church that I spent my kiddie years (trying to miss every Sunday) Saint Josphes is now gone.....

The corner shop at the bottom of the boulevard where I use to hang out and play space invaders is now gone..... The newspaper shop at the bottom of the boulevard where I use to collect my footy cards and get my 20c newspaper the Tele, Mirror or the Sun, has closed down and moved up the street...

The world reknown (in Toronto anyway) Eddies corner where I use to get takeaway tucker after Baseball matches has changed quiet a bit, it's now called Fiona's but at least it's STILL THERE! The place where I got my first job Coles New World has closed and moved... My favorite drinking hole (cos it was so cheap) The old Toronto Bowling club is gone.... Where I use to go roller skating at the YMCA...gone..... The fish 'n chip shop at the top of the boulevard has served it's last battered sav years ago..... The old diesel trains that I caught every day for four years going to St Pius X highschool in Adamstown are now history, and the old tracks just collect dust and rust.

And the house that I grew up in The old 122 Brighton ave, toronto!! for over 20 years of my life is now changed hands and has it's days numbered.

The old Wangi Queen use to tire up there and yes the old Queen still get's around. You can still get a beaut feed at Heney Penny and

the best scrutinise Chinese meal at the old Dragon sky.

Then these the Toronto workers club where I think I spent most of my growing up years (getting drunk) I can remember being a stretcher case many a night.

They had the best snooker tables going around, me and me mate Mick had the longest game of snooker in history about three hours and we would off still been their but they chucked us out! Fair dinkum.

We use to go to all the Macquire United home matches as Mick's old fella use to be on the gate so with a little nudge, nudge, wink, wink say no more and before you knew it we were in .... you little beauty.

My first beer was dranked at the RSL which over the years has had some major face lifts but still has a heap of memory for me, from being a kiddie sitting out the back after anzac march and waiting for a my drink and ice cream which every kiddie got after the march. Then as a young fella playing two-up out the back with my brothers and my dad. And more recently as an older fella sitting upstairs having a few beers around the table with my dad and his mates.... these are moments that sadly will never come again but that's the way life is. Somethings change for the better and some things just for the hell of it and somethings just stay the same.

Like the old Toronto Hotel hasn't changed much over the years but it was in a better shape when me sister was working as a chef upstairs but now upstairs is shut and downstairs looks like a brothel. Bloody pity that, as the pub is a flamin' beaut place but over the years the owners have been able to just run it down.

But Toronto is a beaut little place and will always have a place in my heart, I will always remember riding my bike out to Freeman's waterhole just to get a caramel milkshake at the old Oak.

 I'll remember kicking my footy around the carpark across the street from the oldies house, and off cause the day Macquarie WON the flamin' Grand Final..... finally!!, I was their with Mark and Dad and we were sloshed (full as googs)..... as my brother would say 'You little beauty'. Then their was the time I fell out of the old mulberry tree next door to us and landed on a flamin' rusty water tank and cut my leg... nine stitches latter I was up and going again.... no prob bob!!!

Watching Newcastle Knights at home (122 Brighton Ave) win their very first Grand Final with me family and Ernie the concrete Abo watching it on the telly. Talking about the telly I can remember all of us sat around it when we saw the first start of channel 0, which changed it's name to SBS. It was the start of something new ... not only did we now have Channel 5 (ABC) and Channel 3 (NBN) we also had a wog channel, that after about three weeks we never watched again..

Yes many great memory's in that grand old place but time must move on and everything must move with it. If were around in another 40 years time I can only think what old Toronto would look like then.... I bet Dragon Sky Chinese take-away will still look the same .....