Day 5

Day 2,
Another childhood story. I lived across the road from Jubilee Oval. In the long distant past (okay only 30 years ago, but it feels so long ago)this was a park where you could just go and play. Run through the trees and play hide and seek with brothers/sisters and down the street neighbours. It was safe and clean. Plenty of times I would gather fallen tree limbs and make a "jumping course" for my imaginary horse and I to do cross country type of events.

Now days you could not let your children just disappear for a couple of hours to a park without worrying who might be lurking.

As well of course early on I learned about "football", hey that's what we used to call league once upon a time. Naturally I followed the mighty Dragons! Yay Saints! By the time I was a teenager I would go to the games, they let us in for free at half time (and earlier if someone we knew was on the gate). I had a serious crush on a hot winger called Michael (Zorro). Skinny, Greek and with the best afro of all time, yum. (I saw him again not so long ago, and we were both a little taken back with the changes in each of us, me silver hair, him not much hair - that sort of thing, but funny we both recognised each other). I used to get the free tickets to sit in the members stand from Mick, and I sometimes looked after Teddy Goodwin's boys,Luke and Leon. Luke plays footy now! I'm going to get all sentimental and freek out about time flying and all that sort of thing if this continues.

There has been much development at the ground too. It is no longer just a suburban oval, it's a stadium. Somehow (ARL please take note) when you all went so professional, a lot of heart was lost in the teams, profit was all, and a lot of fans became disenfranchised, lost to the game of the battlers and never really regathered. Don't know about the rest of you, but I am always just a little sceptical about odd results when they happen now, not too sure who will gain by the upset win/loss. I don't go to games anymore, it's so expensive and there is little atmosphere anyway.

I spent summer holidays at craft workshops that were organised by the local council and held in the concrete bunkers under the old stand at the oval. I did basket weaving, plaster making and just about all the other crafty things they liked to give kids to do. Life was so much slower paced. (Can I have my childhood back, it sounds rather nice and ideal from this perspective?) Winter would see us collecting pine cones and branches for dad to burn in the bbq. Good times indeed.

Labels: childhood, Jubilee Oval. blogtoberfest, St George

posted by gemma @ 3:54 pm