36. Adelaide-part two. Salisbury revisited.

One of the things that I was looking forward to on our trip down under was to revisit some of the places that I could recall from my childhood times in Adelaide. Today was the day for trying to do this!

Overnight, a cool change had swept across the area (yes, I remember the forecasters using that phrase fairly often!). The temperature was a more comfortable 20C, although it was windy and there were some hefty showers about.

Today, Saturday, was also the day of the annual Christmas pageant which runs through the streets of the city. (For any family members reading, John Martins no longer arranges the pageant, indeed, John Martins no longer exists as it was knocked down in 1998 and rebuilt as a shopping plaza. However, the Royal Adelaide Hospital is still there!). It seemed like every south Australian and his dog had come up to the city for the parade, but we were heading out to Salisbury and to the area in which I lived from the age of 8 to 10 1/2.

The train journey took just 20 minutes, going past Parafield Aerodrome where I often used to visit and then stopping at Chidda station at the bottom of "my" road, Frost road. We walked up, over Cross Keys junction and there was "my" old house, number 74. It was strangely familiar, yet different. The big eucalyptus trees at the front had gone and the old porch had been revamped, but the metal fence at the front, the post box and the garage were all the same. The garden at number 76 was a lot more mature (obviously), but the frontage at number 72 looked exactly as I recall it did all those years ago. Along the side of the road, the gum trees were also a lot more mature and the foliage and occasional building meant that there was no longer a clear view across the fields to the aerodrome.

Turning the corner into Mortess street, the old scout hall was still in existence and then a few hundred metres further on was my old primary school. The main school building appeared as I remember it, but there are now more classrooms and extensions, and the playing fields are manicured rather than being dust bowls. Walking onwards towards the centre of Salisbury we passed the church where my sister had been christened (exactly as I remember it), and then we were in the town centre and soon waiting for the train to take us back into Adelaide.

Once back in the city, the pageant was ending, but all the children seemed happy with their balloons, hats and painted faces, whilst their parents looked stressed  The main shopping area of Rundle Mall was full of musicians, buskers and other street performers keeping the crowds entertained. We watched them for a while and then took the tram across the city to have a look around the Chinatown area and the Adelaide markets. This proved to be a good decision as more showers gathered. The markets were heaving, full of every kind of produce, product and cuisine from virtually every country on earth, but we could not be tempted to stay and eat.

Instead, we opted to dine a little later in the evening and brought the day of journeying down memory lane to a close with a pizza and beer.