Walk into the Fountain Inn hotel in Port Melbourne on a Saturday night in the late 1950s and chances are you’d have been greeted by one of today’s most beloved entertainers. Denise Drysdale’s family lived in and ran the revered pub. And when her parents, Nancy and Keith, headed out on a Saturday night dinner date, she’d be drafted in to help behind the bar.
“I’d sit with mum’s fur coat on when I was little and do the till,” the now-72-year-old TV veteran laughs. “I’m an only child, and Mum and Dad had the pub from when I was three to the age of 13.”
Lest you think this is the start of a story on terrible parenting, Denise is quick to point out that her parents were far from typical publicans. Not only were they teetotallers, but in order to avoid her witnessing rowdy customers during the dreaded “six o’clock swill”, young Denise was sent to May Downs School of Dance. It was here that she was quickly recognised as a star performer.
Soon teacher May placed the talented youngster up on stage at The Tivoli in town, playing bit parts in the pantomimes and comic sketches. Her mum would accompany her daughter to these Saturday afternoon performances and – once the show was over – invite the comedians and vaudeville performers to carry on the fun back at the pub.
“They’d still be there until Sunday morning,” Denise laughs. “They would have the most amazing parties, always with wonderful people who would tell jokes or sing. Dad didn’t drink at all, he just used to get high on the company.”
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July 2021 من The Australian Women's Weekly.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July 2021 من The Australian Women's Weekly.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Hitting a nerve
Regulating the vagus nerve with its links to depression, anxiety, arthritis and diabetes - could aid physical and mental wellbeing.
Take me to the river
With a slew of new schedules and excursions to explore, the latest river cruises promise to give you experiences and sights you won’t see on the ocean.
The last act
When family patriarch Tom Edwards passes away, his children must come together to build his coffin in four days, otherwise they will lose their inheritance. Can they put their sibling rivalry aside?
MEET RUSSIA'S BRAVEST WOMEN
When Alexei Navalny died in a brutal Arctic prison, Vladimir Putin thought he had triumphed over his most formidable opponent. Until three courageous women - Alexei's mother, wife and daughter - took up his fight for freedom.
The wines and lines mums
Once only associated with glamorous A-listers, cocaine is now prevalent with the soccer-mum set - as likely to be imbibed at a school fundraiser as a nightclub. The Weekly looks inside this illegal, addictive, rising trend.
Jenny Liddle-Bob.Lucy McDonald.Sasha Green - Why don't you know their names?
Indigenous women are being murdered at frightening rates, their deaths often left uninvestigated and widely unreported. Here The Weekly meets families who are battling grief and desperate for solutions.
Growing happiness
Through drought flood and heartbreak, Jenny Jennr's sunflowers bloom with hope, sunshine and joy
"Thank God we make each other laugh"
A shared sense of humour has seen Aussie comedy couple Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall conquer the world. But what does life look like when the cameras go down:
Winter baking with apples and pears
Celebrate the season of Australian apples and pears with these sweet bakes that will keep the midwinter blues away.
Budget dinner winners
Looking for some thrifty inspiration for weeknight dinners? Try our tasty line-up of low-cost recipes that are bound to please everyone at the table.
