We had to tell them it was not being held this year - as was the case last year.

To say they were most disappointed, even angry, would be very fair.

I too am most annoyed that the street parade is not being held.

For several decades, we were the only centre in the state who held an annual Christmas street parade to get residents into the Christmas spirit.

It may not have been the grandest of parades, but it was a parade none-the-less, and everyone loves a parade, especially the kids.

Here at the Post, we took it in turns - entering a float in the Christmas parade one year, and the Elvis Festival the next.

While it saves us setting up a vehicle and coming up with a theme, it is still something we all miss.

In their wisdom, civic leaders decided to try something different last year.

Markets in the park, together with a family movie, must have worked so well they are going with the same format again this year.

It should be a very special night for local families, and I hope they enjoy it in great numbers.

But hopefully, thoughts of a street parade have not been buried forever.

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I’ve mentioned before how our language seems to be changing rapidly.

I’m not sure if it is polically correct terminologies coming into play or not.

Whatever it is, it’s not English! For example...

We had the case of the Parkes Swimming Pool becoming Parkes Aquatic Centre.

We have Talent Acquisition Teams now hiring staff.

Even our local hospital became a ‘campus.’

(Thankfully the sign at the front of the new hospital actually calls it Parkes Hospital!)

There’s stacks more, but my memory doesn’t serve me as well these days.

But one beauty came to my attention this week.

We used to have a Tourism Update presented at the Parkes Shire Council meetings.

Know what it is called now?

It’s the Marketing and Destination Development Update.

No wonder the world is such a bloody confused place!

Who thinks these terms up?    And is their job to keep us all in the dark?

Because most of the time, I certainly don’t know what they are talking about!

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I had a mixed response to some of the ‘old day’ comments I featured a couple of weeks ago.

Many said I obviously had nothing to write about, while plenty of others said it was fantastic - ‘Just the way it was.  Brought back great memories.’

I said I would publish some more, so here they are...

26. A playdate was walking to a friend’s house, ringing the doorbell and saying, ‘Can Cathy come and play?’

27. School excursions happened without a ‘risk assessment’ and a two to one kid / parent volunteer ratio.

28. There was no padding on netball posts.

29. No one wrote names on cups at parties.

30. You could offer your friend a bite of your hot dog.

31. If the bus driver yelled at you, the bus driver didn’t get in trouble, you did.

32. If you didn’t make a team, you tried harder or tried something else.

33. Pass the parcel had one winner.

34. There was one kind of milk. It was full cream and it was delicious.

35. Meat was bought at the butcher, and was packed without a use-by date. Our parents used their noses to tell if the mince was off.

36. Getting one present on your Christmas wish list was a good result.

37. Drives of longer than an hour happened without supplies of rice crackers and juice.

38. Going to the shops/church/the nursing home to visit Nan was boring as hell but could be endured without an iPad.

39. School holidays were about not being at school, not soccer workshops, art classes and pony camp.

40. Being tired was no excuse for being rude.

41. You had to do something great to get a ‘student of the week’ award. Not just show up at school.

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And finally, my beautiful wife, Chris is planning to finish her working career to spend more time with the grandkids and in the garden.

She thoroughly deserves a more relaxed lifestyle, having put up with me for more than 42 years, raising three great kids....and all while still working.

She started with Mike Richardson’s dentist, then operated Gumnut Gift Shop and for the past 25 years, has been at Dunford’s Chemist.

She loves her garden, so will be in absolute heaven.

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‘What some people mistake for the high cost of living is really the cost of high living.’