Bunter Childhood

Leslie Forbes, born in 1949, recalls growing up in Bayswater, Australia. He walked to school at a young age, accompanied by his older sister. He had a close-knit family and played with siblings and neighbors. Being Catholic, he could only be friends with other Catholic school students. He faced some difficulties with boys from a nearby state school, but the beatings were not severe. His family was one of the few in the area with a phone and a car. His father, who had a successful accounting practice, prioritized social activities like bowling and music. Leslie's father was a talented musician and singer who won a competition but declined the prize to be with his friends. He studied medicine but was expelled for riding his motorbike into a pool. Lesley's father created a fun and social atmosphere at home and organized social nights at the bowling club. However, Lesley did not inherit his father's musical or sporting abilities. Dad, how are you today? Well, Vex, I just want to paint the scene that this is, I think, day three of your Bali holiday. I think you're right. And I've dragged you kicking and screaming into the lounge room of your apartment here to find out a little bit more about little Leslie, when he was a boy. We'll see what we can tell you. That's great. So you were born in 1949? Yes. And what were the facts there? What area were you born in? To be honest, I don't know. As far as I know, I was born in Mt. Hawthorne, but I don't really know where my parents were living at the time. I've been to Scarborough, but I don't know. First recollections will be in Roseberry Street in Bayswater. And what were your earliest memories of childhood? What can you remember? 23 Roseberry Street, the house, and probably the earliest memories would then be walking to school at St. Peter's. This is pre-primary school. Pre-primaries didn't exist in my age, so no, this is grade one at St. Peter's, which was one mile away from where I lived, which is 1.6 kilometres. So at five years and four months old, my parents put a bag on my back and sent me up the street, 1.6 kilometres, every morning and every afternoon. And what was that experience like, going to school by yourself when you were just five years old? I sort of coloured the truth a little bit there. I had an older sister, yes, and obviously I was semi-escorted to school and back, but Sue was only one year older. But yeah. And tell me a bit about the home life then, describe the home that you grew up in when you were a boy. The home that I grew up in, two bedrooms and a sleeper, a lounge, a kitchen and a laundry as well, a veranda. The home I got brought up in was identical to the home in Champion Street that your mother got brought up in, basically the same floor plan, yes. The houses were the same. And what was home life like? What was a typical day in the life of Lesley Forbes when you were a boy? And as a boy that was school, there were the neighbours who lived across the road, and one of those kids was my best mate. No other, and having had two sisters and a brother, a lot of entertainment was provided within the family group, a lot of everything. And the guy, the person over the road, the person over the road was your best friend and that was it. And being a Catholic, being born into a Catholic family or being Christian to Catholic and going to a Catholic school meant you could only have friends who went to Catholic schools. And when you lived a mile from the Catholic school, there was nobody else from your school that lived anywhere near you. So you were isolated and the territory was dangerous because people who went to state schools hated people who went to Catholic schools. And so when you said dangerous, what kind of things would happen? You could say 200 metres up the road were these very tough boys who went to a state school. And that probably didn't happen very often, but you thought you were going to get beaten up every day when you walked home, which isn't nice when you're eight years old. Yeah. Did you ever get beaten up? Yes, occasionally. But the beatings weren't severe or anything, you just chased, punched, had your arm twisted, but no, nothing, no visible scars. Then again, they provided a great excuse if you got home late from school because you were doing something else, because you could always say you had to hide from the boys up the road and not tell the truth. Yes, which was handy. That's good. And what about what you were like as a child? As a, when you were a child? Perfectly. Perfect. Perfect. Yeah. Okay. I don't believe you. Probably the only way I can describe it. So nothing's changed. What, what, what do you want to know about? I had one friend who lived across the road, and brothers and sisters, that's it. That was your main social group. And as I said, people from school, especially in the early years, nobody lived a mile from the school, so they were closer. So they were closer. Everybody else was closer to the school. So the opportunity to play with friends from school probably didn't have, can't really remember doing it in primary school. I went to that school grade five, years one to five only, and I can't remember going to their places to play. I mean, for me to go to somebody's place, I would have to walk a mile sort of thing, and it just didn't happen. Yeah. And so what about the, in terms of the day-to-day life in that era? I mean, did you, did you have a car? Did you have a television? What was, what was your day-to-day life in my house? In the street, from memory, and this is a lot of guesswork going here, we were the only people anywhere near me who had a phone. Yeah. Because the old man had his earning breakfast, we had a phone. So occasionally people came over and asked, could they pay whatever it was, cartons, to use the phone. But nobody had phones, and we were one of the only families to have a car as well in the whole. So you had a car. We had a car. Yeah, but it was not common then. No, having cars was definitely not common. It was extremely uncommon. And so we had one. And when TV came out, just once again, we were probably the first in the street to have a TV. Yeah. So that's what, that's what life was like. We had these things and others didn't necessarily have them. And so how did your family, were they able to do that? Was it because your dad had this accounting practice? Was that the reason? Because he was having some success there or what? My father was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Right. Yes. Not that good a spoon though. His mother. Is it Raymond John? Leslie Raymond. Leslie Raymond. But he went by Raymond. He went by Ray. His mother had owned a hotel in Kalgoorlie and made money. He was brought up, they lived in Kalgoorlie. So he went to New Norcia, which was a big private boarding school that lots of country people went to. It would rank nearly with the governor's school, with all the big colleges that might not even have been around when he went to school. But New Norcia was huge. And that's about how far from Troth is New Norcia. About where Djin Djin is. It's like an hour. Yeah. Back in that day it would have been because there wouldn't have been roads out there. Our suburb was one of the last. In Melbourne. Yeah. And his mother bought him the house. Okay. That you lived in. That we lived in. She bought it. Okay. When you say his mother, what about his father? Because it wouldn't have been you. Longevity is not on your side of the family, young man. His father died when he was less than, oh, when he was under three, I can't say. That didn't exist. And on my parents' mother's side, as far as I know, her family were all dead before she was 12. And she was brought up by relatives. And what about your grandmother? So my grandmother lived for quite a while. She was still alive until when I was 10 or so. And I'm not sure about that. But yeah, because I can remember going and seeing her at an aged home in Mount Lawley, which is where, but as I said, she just paid cash for his house. So didn't have a lot more money, spare money than that. Right. Yes. And I suppose that, did he make much out of his accounting practice? I don't think so. He didn't work. My old man played bowls until four days a week. But he definitely took Thursdays off to play bowls. He took Tuesdays off to go and watch the women's bowls and be at the bowling club. And he spent a lot, he didn't work. It wasn't in his ethics. He didn't do it. So he had a good social life. He was busy. And the bowling club was the center of that. He, again, the bowling club was when I'm around. Yeah. His whole life was built around sport and music. Neither of which attributes he passed on to his eldest son. Okay. But he was very good at both of those things. Very good. What music did he do? Whatever they were playing then. During the war years when he was in London, he went in a competition where you, if you won the singing competition, you got to go on a date with that then movie star. Yes. He won it, as it turned out. He won it. But he never went on the date because he wanted to be out with his mates. Because if you give him these dates, you go somewhere, but all it is is sitting at tables, getting your photo taken, and your mates are having all the fun. Yes. So, but that was him. Yeah. But he got shot down over France because he was a navigator in a plane. Yeah. Took him, he was on the dead and missing list. But while he was dead and missing, he was best man at a wedding in Holland, had a few other kids. So he took the casual route home. Okay. So, and that's him. What I was going to tell you, he studied medicine at UWA till he got kicked out for riding his motorbike into the pool, the main pool there. They kicked him out. So that was the end of his medical studies. He was a spoiled brat. Could play musical instruments. Oh, he played instruments as well. Yeah, yeah. I forget which one it is. And in those days, he mainly played the ukulele, because you could carry it wherever you went. Yes. But no, he could play music. And from all records, he could sing and entertain. At the bowling clubs and those things, he organised the social nights, and the good times were had by all. Yeah. That was him. But didn't pass those attributes on to either me or Robert, to be honest. Hmm. And so what was he like at home then, in the home? What was it like? What do you remember about him? Then, again, it's hard to say what I remember about him. He spent a lot of his home life involved, a lot of it. But by the same token, when we went down to the river for a swim, which is what you did in those days, the car was packed. Any kid in the street who wanted to come got that crush into the car, because most kids couldn't get to them. They didn't have a car. Yes. So we always, we went to the, we would go to the beach every weekend, to the river, once a week in summer, to swim. There was always time for that. Yeah. As long as it didn't interfere with golf. Sure. Yeah. We always got taken there. And we got taken to Scarborough. The beach, where water was the main thing that we did with him. So, yeah, that was it. Yeah. And, you know, backyard cricket and that. Yeah, because he worked in town. So most days, he was a nine to five. He never drove a car to work. Caught the train in, caught the train home. You knew he'd be home now. Yes. And, yeah, good sense of humour. He was a class entertainer. Was he? At whatever level of entertainment you wanted. Yes, he was. It would just, it would tell jokes or how it is. Yeah, he could tell jokes. He can sing. He can do skits. All those sorts of things. He was just entertainment. And as I said, very gifted. Very gifted. And what sports was up? Well, the ones I knew. He was Probables versus Possibles at hockey. So playing for the state side. So he was in that. And he tried out with Sudbury, but he went down there. Then he just only went down once. AFL. Sure. Local. Yeah. Only went once because he said, I said, don't go down there. He said, you're fighting with the people you're training with. Because everybody's killing each other to get in. He said, I'm not fighting. He wasn't playing sport to do that. He would be playing sport to win. Yes. But not to do that. He won the state bowling championship. Club singles, maybe four or five times in a row. So no, he was just good at sport. Yeah. And what do you remember most about your mum? My mother, didn't notice this at the time, but on reflection. You have to consider that my mother never worked a day after she got married. Never worked. She had four kids. We had a cleaning lady. We had an ironing. We had a guard. And she said, so in that respect, she had an asshole of a husband, but in that respect, she had a good life. And she got a driver's license. I remember that. But I don't think she ever drove. And she also pretty good at sport and another, bowls. She was a member of the bowling club as well. Yeah. The bowling club. Yeah. And she won her club championships and things like that. They were both good sports people. In her youth, she was a good tennis. She used to play tennis. You know, that's all men and play tennis. I know that. But yeah, they were brought up, both of them playing sport. And that's what they passed on to Robert, but not to me. And tell me about what it was like in primary school in terms of, you went to St. Peter's. Yeah. And then later in high school, you went to Christian Brothers. Oh, yeah. Yeah. But what was St. Peter's like? What was your school experience like? And what kind of student were you? A student I never was. Okay. Yeah. That part of school, I was lucky enough to always be able to pass and pass well. But I had a very poor record at school as far as teachers were concerned. That's it. I didn't do anything really wrong, but definitely didn't do anything right. Right. Yes. And I've heard some stories about how they would discipline students, but I don't want to put words into your mouth. If you did something wrong, what would be the punishment? If you were at St. Peter's with the lovely nuns, they would whack you with a ruler across the knuckles. And that's who you had to pay if you were in my house. And you had to learn a musical instrument because they could all play music. I couldn't play music. And that meant I had to go to these lessons first thing in the morning, had to get to school early one morning. And that meant I had to walk a mile to school in the rain, in the poles, to sit cold in a room with a piano and have a nun whack me with the edge of the ruler across the knuckles every time I hit a bad note. So, no, those memories. But when it's happening, it doesn't bother you. For a higher picker. Yeah, it really doesn't bother you. It's just something you accept as part of the game. When I get to Christian Brothers, they gave away the ruler idea, but they had straps, which were, if you took, what would you say, a one-inch wide belt, and stacked them five on top of each other, sewed it together, and the belt would then be about 15 inches long. They held it up one end, you put your hand out, and they whacked your hand with it as hard as they could. That was standard punishment in a Christian Brothers. How often would you get hit like that? Well, I'd been at those in the brothers every week. I was in grade five, and I'd just gone down to Christian Brothers now. Fortunately, when I went to Christian Brothers, of my class at St. Peter's, maybe five or six of them came down, so we had friends. When they, within two weeks of being at the school, were in the yard, school yard, which wasn't a very big yard, but were playing keep it up with some of his cats. That's when the principal saw me throw the cat. That's when the principal called me to his office, and he showed me what the strap was and how they applied it. Two weeks into school, I was in trouble. So you handed the principal? I did, yes. And it didn't change? So you got strapped fairly regularly? Often enough. And how painful was it? Was it okay, or was it just... It hurt. But you don't show pain, no matter what happened. You had to stand there. Is that it? I did two cuts, but fortunately, I was good at maths. One of the brothers who taught maths, if you couldn't do your mental arithmetic, you had to stand up and say, what did you do wrong? I multiplied, and then he went, with his hair, he's going to hit you twice. You multiply, and put your hand down, he moves to the next. One guy got 38 cuts of the strap in one maths session. Yes. Now, I'm not saying I never made a mistake, but getting two whacks on the hand is somewhat irrelevant. And school career was never changed. They had an inter-school sports, and... This is high school now? Yeah, high school. Christian Brothers Inter-School Sports, the first year at Perry Lakes. It had just been built in... No. Beattie Park had just been built. And so all the Christian Brothers schools were there. And yes, in blocks, cheering. Anyhow, there was a bit of problem around the back where you walked. And the next day, I had to go and report to the principal, me, and five others. And the principal then called my parents in, and they said to my parents, either you will decide your son's leaving the school, or I will. But then I think money changed hands, and I continued on. Because I was the only one of the five that got made to stay there. Oh, really? All the others. Parents took them out of the school. What happened back then? We just had fights. We're just walking down the back end. But the fights were nothing. Nobody got hurt. No broken arms or anything. Just fights. And the answer is, that was the Brothers style of discipline. It was all... Brothers schools were all about discipline. Nobody ever complained. If I went home and told my parents I got the cuts, I'd get hit again. That was the rule. Yeah. They technically supported. They paid money for you to go there. So if you looked at it realistically, they paid money for you to be beaten up. Okay. So at primary school at St. Peter's, was it mostly nuns? Yes. And then when you went to high school, Christian Brothers, high grade, it was more... It was basically Christian Brothers. The very first grade, grade five, had a teacher, Mrs. Brown. I think she was there for 40 years. So everybody who went through Christian Brothers had Mrs. Brown. Yeah. And then there was only, in my time, there was only one other lay teacher, bloke by the name of Jim Villay. He was the geography teacher. He was the only one who wasn't a brother. Right. And the Brothers stayed a bit, three to six years at each school, then moved around. Yeah. And we now probably know why. It wasn't... Were you aware of any of that kind of thing going on? There was. In the year when we had the trouble at Beattie Park, one of the guys who moved, the story was that one of the brothers was sitting on his lap and playing the... And was that... Do you think that was true? Yes. So it did happen, but never to you. And never to any of your group. Not that I know of. You don't think so? Yeah. Only that one guy, Peter Walt. Just going back to when you were a child, like before high school, do you remember what your hobbies or interests were when you went to school? What did you like to do? What would we say? Maybe 150 metres from my house, there was a swamp. So you always went to the swamp. It's tadpoles, et cetera. Just where you went, because you had water. Yeah. Apart from that, you played extreme footy. Yes. With your one friend across the road. Yeah. Kicked the ball across the road to each other. Yes. I had to go to tennis lessons. Yes, that was another thing. Yes. I couldn't complain. The opportunity to learn tennis was there. And it wasn't that hard, because I would get picked up. I would get driven there and driven home. Yes. So yes, those opportunities were not forthcoming. But that was only one hour a week. Apart from that, if you wanted to work a mile and a half each Saturday afternoon, you got to walk to the local theatre, which was, as I said, a mile and a half away. Watch whatever the movie of the week was. Buy a packet of lollies, which whatever they are, five-seat packet, whatever it was in the dojo. And then walk home and be the cowboy or the Indian on the way home, you know. Yeah. That was it. That was the entertainment. TV didn't come in until much later in our lives. Used to sit at home and listen to the radio. And there were serials on the radio that you listened to. The adventures of Pop Harrigan, The Lone Ranger. You'd sit and listen to the radio. It was great. The whole family would. Yes, sit around in the evenings. In the evenings, you got to the detective shows and that, you know. That's how you can involve this blonde. Lovely long alabaster legs right up to her. This is it. So you're getting to do it. But the alabaster legs, I know that's... We're getting together with a few of my friends now. We can nearly resize it all. Obviously made an impression on them. Well, it did at the time. Do you remember when you were a boy, some people think, I want to be something when I grow up. Do you remember what you wanted to be? No. I didn't. Trying to. Yeah. Trying to think about what... I think, not when I was little, but I probably think I was resigned to being an accountant a lot earlier than I should have. Hmm. But no, when I first got the TEE, I did think of dentistry. Okay. But this is later. This is... Yeah, before then, you probably want to be a fireman or a policeman. Yeah. Yeah. And what do you remember about your sisters and brother when you were growing up? What do you want to see? Before we get there, sure. I haven't mentioned this one. Yes, I would have told you before, but couldn't have. And to Johnny Cash song, A Boy Called Sue. I relate to that. I related to it even long before Johnny Cash sang it. My parents called me Leslie. Yes. Leslie was a girl's name. Yeah, Leslie. My friends have names like Fido, Calm, Daily Letter, and Thistley. So as a child, I was never called Leslie at home. Never. I was called Bunter. Yes. Billy Bunter was a cartoon character, a little fat cartoon character. Yeah. So it was a genuine... You were properly called. That wasn't just a nickname. That was occasionally... That was what you were called. Yes. Now they couldn't... The common character was Billy Bunter. Yes. And... But they couldn't call me Billy because I had a cousin by the name of Billy, Billy Fletcher. So I got called Bunter. And Sue and Annie will probably still occasionally call me that. Mandy only ever referred to me as Uncle. But there was no other name. Yes. My friends at school, I didn't... Les didn't come in. Even now when I'm in Bali, my mates are going to call me Bill. Yes. So yeah, I don't think anybody ever appreciated the psychological effect of me or having a girl's name. Because you can have a girl's name if you're a big, strong brute and you're playing sport and you're with anything. Yeah. But when you're not, it's very hard. Yeah, yeah. No, that's interesting. No, that's good to know. And then in Turkey, I mean, you mentioned before that a lot of your childhood is playing with your brother and your two sisters. Yeah. Had your friend across the road. And what was it like between the four of you when you were growing up? Because I think you actually shared a room with Bob. Is that right? In later years. When you only have a three-bedroom house... Yeah, and you had four children. The girls got the bedroom. Yes. Robert and I shared the sleep out, which was the back veranda that had been enclosed. And so out there, there was a double bunk. And that's what we shared until I left home at 20. Yeah. And what do you remember most when you sort of transitioned from being a boy to suddenly you're a teenager? What do you remember most about your teenage years? Not a lot. Not a lot. Because I went to another, as I said, I went to Catholic school in protected society. At least when I went to the Catholic school, basically the same rules applied. When you live two and a half miles from your school, I'm like the kids and the kids are all just meeting over the park after school and having a kid. Because I've got to catch a bus home. It's sort of like coming to Bali and living in Seminyak when I want to be in Kuta. It was impossible to do that. Yes. If I wanted to come home and catch a bus, although I did have a bike, but you know, it just wasn't practical. So yeah, my school was pretty much the same as... What's that? Great school life. Yeah. Our life was good. I mean, I'd be at Christian Brothers Highgate. I would stay at school and play volleyball or games at school and get home six o'clock at night. I'd just catch the lake bus home. So a lot of life still revolved around being with those people in that environment. And that's where you started to form those close friendships, the Azraeli life really. And the one with Stephen Jones started because he had to get on the 40 bus. He was a year younger than me. We had to wear caps. But when you're a year older, if you take the kid's cap off and chuck it out the window, he's got to get out of the bus there and go and collect his cap and walk home. And that's what happens. You don't get to see the movies about the private schools now. Yeah. That you used to see in years gone by. But all of those habits that have been horrible to what they call phasing now. Oh yeah, that happened. Yes. And yeah, as I say, you're a year older, you get away with murder. And it was horrible. Did you do any work or have any paid employment when you were a teenager? Yeah, I think about the year 10, I got a job at Woxus, which was the men's store. And one of the first men's stores to have branches. Branches were big. What had happened is the first supermarket that opened, but then the first shopping center, which was at Morley, Morley Shopping Center opened. And Woxus, which was the men's store, opened an outlet there. And one of my old man's parents' friends, he was managing there. Yes. And so I got a job at Woxus on Saturday mornings and a school holiday selling men's clothes. And did you enjoy that? How did you find that? Absolutely loved it. I liked selling. When you asked me, I really wish I'd become a sailor. That's what I wish I'd done. Right. Yes, it was never happening. What did you like about the job? What did you enjoy about it? I was just good at bullshit. Yes. I would have people come in. Realistically, I'm not selling trousers to these people. That was the boss's job. But people come in for a pair of shorts and I was able to sell them the expensive shorts, come in for a t-shirt. I couldn't beat you when you had to buy bonds, you know, and the collar or whatever. Yes, I could do that. Yes. It was just roll of the tongue. So, yes, I had no qualms. I liked doing it. And I was okay at it. Yes. So saying that, I was always good at that stuff. Pontard Boys Home used to have a fair and we would run, our school would run a … whatever it was. I would be on the mic and we would make more money than anybody else. Because I might just … When you say on the mic, you're presenting or you're … Yes, I'm here. And see, I'd be sitting there. If it was today and we're at Pontard, we're looking at the … Oh, look, there's Chris Judd. Chris, come over here. And … show you if I come. I didn't have any qualms about doing anything. So, yes, and I loved it. Loved every minute of it. But I wanted to be a salesman. I reckon I should have been a life insurance salesman or something like that. Yes. Because they, back then, technically were making what looked like very good money and still do it. Yes. Yes. Well, it's a no. When you're good at school, you go to university. Yes, although university wasn't then, you know. And I went to uni. Well, first of all, people didn't go to year 12. That was seldom seen. Yes. I had 80 students in my class in one class at Christian Brothers in year 7. Eighty-three of them. Had 22 in year 12. And, you know, people who were going to become plumbers left school at 20. Yes. So, now all of those people stay and do a year 12. And then da-da-da-da. Yes. And everybody goes to, you know, get a degree in lawn mowing. Yes. And a degree in street sweeping. Yes. Anyway. And so, looking back on that time in your childhood or your teenage years, what are your fondest memories that stick out? I would say the school years. My school years were great. High school or? High school in particular. Yes. And just short, but high school years were great. Yes. We did what we liked. Again, my high school years were good because I was going to pass. That was never, it was never. So, I didn't have to worry about school or such. Worry about not doing homework, worry about this, but not about school. So, school was the opportunity to go and meet up with all these mates because I only had one kid across the road. So, as soon as I got to school. Yes. I was walking a world that I loved. And I loved school years. Even the early years of uni, I mean, the fact that I got kicked out four or five times is irrelevant, but I was enjoying that full-time education at uni and the social aspect. Apart from the fact that I had no money. That was the disadvantage. And no, no real money. And what, from your childhood and teenage years, and whether this cast real parents or from some other source, but what were the most important lessons that you learned about life from that period? I don't think I learned any. Okay. I don't think I take things in like that. Sure. It's not how I view things. Yes. I suppose that the most important thing was probably brought around by the fact that I lived, only had one friend across the road. So, my life revolves a lot around friends. Yes. And family. But I had the family. I had brothers and sisters. And they had great allies. When you've got Sue and I, one year apart. Yes. But we argued all the time. She's a horrible person, but we were there for each other. All the time. Yes. Whether we argued or not. She's got your back. Always. Always had and always will. And so has Annie and so has Robert. Yes. I mean, you know. So, she's not horrible. She's lovely, but… No, no, but that's… She's a normal brother. Your assumption of he's got your back is probably the correct one. No matter what I do, they're mine. Yes. That's… Yes. That's… Yes. Yes. No, that's a good answer because I've always felt that way with our family. So, yes. That was clear. They've got your back. Yes. At least they know you. That's the other important feature of family. The family know you. And they've got your back. Yes. So, this idea in letting them down, it's pretty strange to me because… What? Didn't you know about me? You know, you should know. I can't do anything wrong because you already know what I like. Start out and getting drunk. Like, Jonesy would say, but that's Forbesy. Yeah. Don't think he's coming along the same lines, is he? He's not. No. I've been surprised when Liz came home from golf earlier and not drunk. She'd never seen him like that before. Yeah, forget it. She's told her, oh, words to that effect. She's told her what? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And, yeah, that part of it's good. Yeah. So, yeah. So, that's… Yeah. I didn't just believe. I've got, in that respect, I've got my family. Yes. And I've got my friends. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. In that respect, I've got my family. Yes. And I've got my friends. Yes. And they don't need a lot of me. Yeah. No, that's great. That's a good note to end on, I think, Dad. That was… There's one other comment. Mel's wedding. Yes. I'm going to cry. Mel's wedding. Everybody's leaving. Yes. And I'd made a comment in the speech about friends because I was going through cancer. Yeah. And Rob had come up, we love you too. Yes. Because I hadn't been to his family. Right. Yeah. Yeah. You met his sister. Yeah. And I said, I don't have to say that. You're my brother. You know that. You know I know it. But yeah, it was on that. And see, even though he was six years younger. Yeah. I had a lot to do with him because he didn't have a dad. His old man died when he was… Yeah. And I was 17, got a driver's license. And so we did a lot after school all the time. Him and I played more cricket and footy in the back than you could win me. Yes. If you think about… We played a lot too. You'll think about how much time we put in. Yeah. I put in the same as he. Yeah. And that's probably why he turned… Although he could run. Probably why he turned out reasonably good at sport. He played against somebody bigger and better. Yes. Only better because I was six years older. Yeah. He ran better all the time and got the practice. I had one Italian kid over the road who didn't play any sport. So my kid didn't know footy. I didn't get that. My old man's range. My old man, if the sun was up, he was playing sport. Probably. Yeah. So I didn't get that. But yeah. So at Mel's wedding, since you raised her, part of your speech was you were talking about the importance of the friars. I did. I do. Thank you. But I just want to go back to that moment because I want to understand. And what Bob came up and said is, we're your family. We love you too. How did that make you feel when he said that? It made me feel like an arsehole because I hadn't mentioned it. But do you think when you then spoke to him that that was resolved? I mean, there was no… He came up and gave me a hug. Right. This was not a confrontation. Yeah. Look, he took his camellia and did… We love you too. So it was a nice moment. Of course it was. Yeah. Well, it just made me feel bad because I thought, well, I don't have to tell you that. You know that. Yes. Another incident that involved you, similar, was we were driving home from basketball. Okay. You're in the middle of the backseat because you're landing one night. Yeah. And I'm saying, now, when you got there, you should have laid up. You could have pushed through. Yeah. Don't do this. Don't do that. And you started to cry and said, I thought I played well. You were best on green. Yes. Yeah. So all I'm doing is coaching you. Yeah. Because you… Not me. You wanted to be combined side. You wanted to do all these things. But that's a very similar comment to Robert and me. Well, sort of. I probably didn't even say you played well. Because that was taken for granted from where I am. Yes. But I've never forgotten that. Because, you know, I'm thinking, well, if I laid up, here you go. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I understand. So, yes, that's the difference. They're the little things that we remember, sort of thing. Anyhow, done. That's done. Thank you so much, Doug. Yeah, but I… That was really good. It's good. I appreciate it.