“Let me just say that I was not looking for a relationship and I was quite happy be single and footloose and fancy free.
It was my 30^th birthday as I was living with a girlfriend from work in Elwood. The year is 1991. I worked in IT in the office and Jodie worked in direct care at one of the community residential units.

We had decided that morning to celebrate my birthday at the Grainstore. We both went to work. Jodie was working at the CRU, her hours differed to mine, therefore I arrived home at normal time around 6pm and I wasn’t expecting her until about 7pm.

I got dressed for a night out clubbing when Jodie rings me and tells me that there has been a crisis at the CRU and she doubts very much that she is going to make it home in time for us to go out. I tell her not to worry. Feeling a little tired I get into bed for a nap fully dressed as I could not be bothered to get out of my ‘going out’ clothes. At around 11:30pm, I see Jodie’s car headlights shine into my bedroom. Jodie quietly knocks on the door and asks me whether I still want to go out. I uncover myself, fully dressed and ready to go out saying to her ‘Absolutely’.

We decided as we didn’t have much money to spend in those days, that we would get in with my Grainstore Medallion and drink water all night and not talk to any boys – just a great girl’s night out.

I notice a really great looking guy under the DJ box and point him out to Jodie. She nods in agreement. I see him walk over to the bar to get a drink, so I walk over to the bar, and position myself next to him. He leans over and says “You look really great in those jeans”. Remembering that we were not going to talk to any boys that night, I just give him the biggest smile I can muster and walk off.

After a while, he disappears and I say to Jodie “easy come, easy go” and continue dancing and having a great time.

Apparently, he was downstairs, chatting up another girl. But she lit up a cigarette and he was not interested in any girl who was a smoker.

He appears again much later, again at the bar. I walk over for another glass of water and smile at him and walk off again.

The third time I see him at the bar, I go and get yet another glass of water and he leans over and whispers “If I see you again at this bar, I’m going to have to ask you to marry me”. I smile and walk off to the dance floor.

At this stage, I see Jodie, dancing with a guy – what happened to not talk to any boys tonight? I think to myself, but I just join in and then this other guy, who looks like Axel Rose and holding a Crown Lager in his hand, dances over to me and starts to make a move. I hurry over to the bar. The cute guy is still there. I say to him “Excuse me, I am trying to get away from someone on the dance floor, would you mind dancing with me?” He replies, “No, I won’t dance with you but I would love to buy you a drink.” To which he did and the conversation started. Paradise by the Dashboard Light, by Meatloaf was playing at the time.

We then moved onto the Mega Bar and talked until 5 in the morning.

Greg had never been to the Grainstore. The DJ who was studying to be a Chiropractor was a friend who gave him two free tickets to the nightclub. Greg had the tickets for two years. Then a neighbour asked Greg to take her son out for the night as he was a sailor and was visiting from Sydney. Greg thought it would be a great idea to use the free tickets. The rest, as they say is history.”