THE year is 1975.
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This then young correspondent is in a euphoric mood, as the mighty Eastern Suburbs Roosters have obliterated St George 38-0 in the NSW Rugby League grand final. It's also a few months before the GG John Kerr criminally sacks the democratically elected Labor Government.
However, closer to home and in the dead of winter, this then young (as previously mentioned) correspondent enthusiastically heads to the outdoor, concrete courts at Chatham High School to play basketball, where the last match tipped off at 10.10pm. Basketball, you must understand, has finally found a base at Chatham High after a couple of years without a home.
The courts were uneven and slippery after a bit of rain and then baking hot in summer.
But at least we could get a game. And at 10.10 on a Wednesday night in mid-winter it was no place for brass monkeys.
Still, this correspondent (then youthful, as mentioned) and our ilk had no qualms about setting out in almost antarctic conditions to play. We'd usually get beaten as well, regularly by a side that went by the odd name of Tadpoles, but that made no difference.
Then in mid-summer we'd have to play matches in searing heat at 6pm. At least we could go for a swim in The Quarry when it was over. Did we complain? Well, yes, a lot really, but we were only teenagers and no-one listened to us, so it was a waste of time.
Related:
Is there a reason for this history lesson? Not especially, however, we started thinking about our old basketball days recently when doing a story for this newspaper.
This concerned Taree Basketball's push for funding to transform Saxby's Stadium at Taree Rec Centre from the current two court facility to a four-court mega-stadium.
There's one at Port Macquarie as well, apparently, but then again, they get everything up there, don't they. We wish them well in their endeavours. Taree we mean, not Port Macquarie.
If anything, it just goes to prove that sporting types back in the 1970s and 1980s were hardier and more resilient than the pampered pets of today.
The old concrete courts at Chatham High were only marginally harder to land on than the flint-like footy fields at Taree Rec Centre.
Hockey players had to negotiate uneven fields that were lucky to be even mowed, light years away from what's now on offer at the superb Manning Hockey Centre, with its three synthetic fields and clubhouse and all. And when it rained and the grounds turned into a quagmire, well that just made things just a bit more interesting.
There had to be rain of biblical proportions to even think about calling games off back in the day. The Jack Neal Oval was .... well, the Jack Neal Oval. Good to see some things don't change.