Frank Turney

Sydney's Brighton Le Sands will mean a lot of things to me throughout my life. Joanna and I stayed at the Novotel when it was brand new. Every time we'd drive to the city or airport when I was a kid the signs warning you there might be sharks in Botany Bay would fascinate me. I was on my way to the city to see a play for a school excursion one day when the bus broke down on the corner of Grand Parade and President Avenue. We waited for an hour and missed the play before another bus came and took us back to school. That same corner holds other significance for me too. It was the location of a small Esso service station where we spent a decent number of hours as kids during school holidays while Dad worked there. There's an apartment block there now, but before that it was still a service station and muffler place for years after Frank managed it. I can tell you exactly when it was and how old I was because, like a lot of formative events in my life, I only need to rem