Another walk down story loaded memory lane!!This scan is of the menu from "Pancakes at Parramatta" which we went to lots in the 1980s in Church St all the way from Newcastle!! At one time you could buy a copy of the menu for a few dollars and then when times weren't so profitable and the allure waned they were a bit more circumspect.... so this one pictured made it out under a girls jumper of course!!
"Pancakes' was open 24 hours on weekends and genuinely included out of work 'Home & Away' actors and sports stars....
How it worked is that we'd be sitting around on a quiet night after a video or a party and someone would ask 'Supper?' which always meant piling into the car and heading down the Highway [only part of the F3 existed back then...] to Parramatta and back in one night... where the food was brilliant!! My favourite was the pancake stack with a beef pattie and a hash brown like potato pancake... fat city... but great flavours!!
There were a number of memorable nights where hopefuls times were completely ruined by misinterpreting the attentions of a young lady who genuinely wanted to be your 'friend' and became horrified that you took her attention any other way!! Will those other lads never learn I often thought!!!!!!!
On one memorable night a few years in, we had actually been to a late movie first and it was way after 10pm when someone said "supper?" We had to travel around and collect several girls jumpers before heading off.... It was the LA Olympics and we saw many Finals and memorable races on the screens at 'Pancakes'...
Driving home included a sidetrack to East Maitland where it was so late we turned off the motor and glided down Jelly's street... then down the road and started the car around the block to head back home!! A total waste of time when Jelly realised she had no key and climbed into the kitchen window stepping into a sink FULL of plates and cutlery.... making a little noise as you'd imagine!!
On the way back thru Mayfield under the orange highway lighting you notice that cars are all grey and grey cars are nearly invisible. By now its 5.30am and as I drift off to sleep at the wheel Woz calls out "ummm!! CAR!!" as I swerve into the centre lane and miss running up the back of a stationary Falcon car by about 15cms....
On arrival at our Islington Unit I recall falling asleep on a loungeroom beanbag watching athletics on TV at about 6am!!
Those were the days!!
