South West Sydney mmmmm ... My Mum and Dad had a plot of land when we use to live in Merrylands until I was about 10. Then they decided to build on it in 1988... little did I know what Minto (Minno) was like.

Growing up and attending Sarah Redfern it was an eye opener to see government housing projects left forgotten and the word 'pension' was what I thought old people used. I quickly found out not to talk back to certain people in my class or I'd receive some sort of bloody face, so my choice of friends were wise and somewhat neutral.

Traveling into Minno Mall and learning the streets on a bike when I was young made me appreciate many things, that I had got a little easier when my Mum and Dad worked.

Hitting the late teens and getting into under age clubs - such as Cheers and Chevy's was easy then, bouncers didn't blink an eye too much if you had someone else's ID who looked completed different. Ending up drunk of Southo or Jimmy was way too regular occurrence and the police were lax but terse when you stepped out of line.

I moved over to London eventually when I was 24 and just recently returned. They've torned down most of the govt housing, relocated families and built middle class housing around the now hardly used Minto Mal (KMART has even packed up and left)l. I remember walking passed the BMX track, acres of scrub where I learnt how to fire a slingshot and corner shops near the train station which never seem to open, even the old graffiti seems to be losing its color on the armor guard sidings. They've put an over-pass over all the rail lines and the distant dinging of bells is all a somewhat dream you once heard as the freight train steamed through at 2am each morning to remind you where you were. Shopping trolley graveyards are somewhat a memory also since the stores decided to make magnetic locks on the wheels.

Minto was a place to be growing up in the 90's. The echo of 'Push Minno' was familiar at league games and school sports, I discovered traditional Koori ways which I'm sure would never have got the chance in any other suburb and my respect is far greater then some stigma attach cultures in Sydney, many people who I thought would not have made it after high school have proved me wrong (the lower bell curve of the HSC results my ass).

I resorted to forgetting Minno between 20-24 when I moved out of home to Northern Sydney and to tell you the truth, nothing happened when you walked along the street up there.

In Minto when I was young I remember seeing an old man pick up cigarette butts at the bus stop every day while I was going to school, Single mothers, bare foot, pregnant again and pushing prams in Lycra was somewhat a usual sight. People didn't really care too much, except about the price of cigarettes going up again.

Nowadays coming back from London - I love being out here, it's just a pain to get into the city - which I easily forget about when I start driving in there.

Today's Minto is a suburbia - I miss the old Minno pride - but I relish the fact when I walk passed someone who I haven't seen in a long time. The one thing remained and made me smile. Since I was 11 I walked down the hill and passed a rival primary school to Sarah Redfern, I passed a lady who was the Lollypop Lady. Seeing her 20 years returning from London, greyer but still the same pink tracksuit made me smile from ear to ear - this time I stopped to say hello and told her my little story of passing her every day - I think I gave some of my youth to her that day.

To Minno!