“You have to work hard at a marriage. Just be nice to each other,then no one is unhappy.”Supplied
My maternal grandmother, Irene,was born in the late 1800s. She was an amazing woman who had 10 children to my bookmaker grandfather,Bill. Most of them were born on the kitchen table. My mother,Gay,was the second last.
Irene’s kids all liked different foods,so she did three dinner shifts every night:tripe and brains for the oldest boys,soups and stews for the middle girls,and chops,sausages and peas for Mum and her older brother,Bill.
I grew up with Nana around me,as we went to my grandparents’ house in Bondi every Sunday. She used to light her ciggies off the stove and her hair would catch fire. My older brother,sister and I were always jumping on a chair to put it out.
My mother was very much a homemaker. She was all about her family. It was a great shock when my father,Allan,died at 53. She had known him since she was 15,as they lived across the street from each other.
Mum is a very tough woman. She’s had cancer three times,each time with full chemotherapy. Her second open-heart surgery was last Christmas. At 88 she wasn’t expected to live,but she came through miracle-style. I took her favourite pavlova to the hospital and spent Christmas day with her. I am always amazed at her resilience,which stems from growing up in that big family with all of those boys.
I was frightened of girls as a teenager. I wasn’t a good dancer and I didn’t have a chat-up line. I was no good at school,but I was good with my hands,so Dad suggested I learn carpentry with my older brother,Brad,in our garage.
I had a girlfriend for two years. We travelled around Australia in a four-wheel-drive. We ended up in Exmouth,Western Australia,where I became the maintenance manager and house carpenter for a resort,and she became the barmaid. She broke up with me for the bloke she’s now married to.
I drove home across the Nullarbor to be with Mum,as she was on her own. One weekend,I went to the Blue Mountains to watch some mates play footy. I saw my future wife,Ann,a schoolteacher,on the sidelines,and I fell instantly in love.
Ann was very beautiful, but I also could see she was nice. That night,I told Mum I’d met the girl I was going to marry. I’d like to say I had a romantic story about my marriage proposal,but we were living together,and I said I’d like to get married,and Ann agreed.
We have three children – Charlie,26,and 23-year-old twins Bill and Sarah. My wife is amazing for the relationship she’s created with Sarah. I don’t think there are too many relationships in which a mother and daughter go on holiday together,but every year they do. Sarah tells her everything. They are like best friends.
Ann has accompanied me to the Logies since 2003. She is extremely thrifty,and at one point she wore the same dress six years in a row. She’s like,“No one is looking at me. I’m not on the telly. They don’t know who I am.” She doesn’t have a thousand pairs of shoes and handbags. Our whole family tries to force her to go shopping.
When I was a young carpenter with three kids,and I didn’t have any money to give her that week,she’d say,“We’ll eat from what’s in the pantry.” She grew up with a great attitude.
You have to work hard at a marriage. Just be nice to each other,then no one is unhappy. I like to cook breakfast for everyone when I’m at home in Sydney. I’ve got menus:crêpes,omelettes,baked eggs and beans in the oven. When the kids were at school,I did three sittings due to their different start times. So I am just like my grandmother. I have come full circle.
The Block:Tree Change airs on Channel 9 on Sunday at 7pm,and from Monday to Wednesday at 7.30pm.
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