Brian spent his days as a boy growing up in the leafy suburb of Chatswood. His mother was a nurse and his father was in the Air Force. He had an older sister, who he loved playing tennis with. “I won two championships,” Brian said proudly. He also had a younger brother. “We often played football together but playing handball was a favourite way to pass the time,” Brian recalled, before mentioning he also played cricket for a while. Brian loved going to school and attended the local Catholic school. He enjoyed most of his subjects but history was his favourite.
If there was one word to describe Brian, it would be ‘trustworthy’. Church and religion have always played a big part in Brian’s life. “I was an altar boy and helped the priest with the plates and collection of money, which I put in the safe before taking it up to the bank,” said Brian, and smiled as he remembered the bank tellers often saying to him, “You’re here again, Brian. You must be very trustworthy.”
Brian was taught all the responsibilities of an altar boy, as well as how to open and close the Church. “I made sure the Church was always locked up before I left,” said Brian very proudly, before adding, “I would often teach the other altar boys how to do things the right way. I also did lot’s of singing at Church, which I enjoyed.”
As Brian grew up, he continued to be a big part of his Church and the Chatswood community. He volunteered his time and became involved with the Sunday School, Bingo, Bus Trips and Train trips. So much so that he is still seen as a parishioner and is sent weekly Church updates - which get delivered to SummitCare Baulkham Hills and personally delivered to Brian’s room.
Brian was a long-time employee of Grace Brothers, working at the five-storey flagship building in Broadway (now the site of the Broadway Shopping Centre). “I worked in the shoe and clothing department serving customers. I really enjoyed it. I loved people and people loved me,” said Brian casually. Brian also knew the owner, who, at the time, happened to be one of the sons of the two original owners.
It was a great love and knowledge of movies that has Brian describing himself as a movie buff. Not only did he watch movies as they were released but also worked at the cinemas where they were showing. Brian worked as an Usher in several Cinemas in Sydney, and he has also worked at the Regent Theatre, The Majestic Theatre, and the historic Golden Age and Ritz Cinemas, among others. “My job, on a Saturday afternoon, was to take people to their seats. I also did safety procedures in the theatre and generally helped the manager out,” said Brian.
With a love of movies from the 50s era, Brian names a few that most resonated with him, such as The Blue Lagoon, an old British coming-of-age film, So long at the Fair, South Pacific and the Great Caruso, to name a few. “My favourite movie was Lovely to Look At with Kathryn Grayson, who was a wonderful actress but also a good singer," Brian said. He also enjoys English comedies, such as the Carry On movies, which Brian described as very good and funny, and Alfred Hitchcock movies.
Brian also enjoys a variety of music. “I used to do a lot of musical comedy and I once sang at the Sydney Town Hall,” Brian said, before adding, “The old time songs are the best - and musical shows like The Yellow Cab Man. I also like Opera and the singer Richard Tauber.”
These days, one of Brian’s favourite things to do is join other residents for a SummitCare bus trip. He also mentioned how much he loved visiting Sydney Harbour and Fort Denison, as well as Manly. And I’m sure he’s still watching his favourite movies every chance he gets.
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