Bass Coast Post
  • Home
    • Recent articles
  • News
    • Point of view
    • View from the chamber
  • Writers
    • Anne Davie
    • Anne Heath Mennell
    • Bob Middleton
    • Carolyn Landon
    • Catherine Watson
    • Christine Grayden
    • Dick Wettenhall
    • Ed Thexton
    • Etsuko Yasunaga
    • Frank Coldebella
    • Gayle Marien
    • Geoff Ellis
    • Gill Heal
    • Harry Freeman
    • Ian Burns
    • Joan Woods
    • John Coldebella
    • Jordan Crugnale
    • Julie Statkus
    • Kit Sleeman
    • Laura Brearley >
      • Coastal Connections
    • Lauren Burns
    • Liane Arno
    • Linda Cuttriss
    • Linda Gordon
    • Lisa Schonberg
    • Liz Low
    • Marian Quigley
    • Mark Robertson
    • Mary Whelan
    • Meryl Brown Tobin
    • Michael Whelan
    • Mikhaela Barlow
    • Miriam Strickland
    • Natasha Williams-Novak
    • Neil Daly
    • Patsy Hunt
    • Pauline Wilkinson
    • Phil Wright
    • Sally McNiece
    • Terri Allen
    • Tim Shannon
    • Zoe Geyer
  • Features
    • Features 2022
  • Arts
  • Local history
  • Environment
  • Bass Coast Prize
  • Community
    • Diary
    • Courses
    • Groups
  • Contact us

Mr Toull’s big day

31/1/2018

12 Comments

 
PictureReg Toull and companion.
Photo: Terry Francis
Coronet Bay. A small town where you learn astonishing things about your neighbours. 

By Gill Heal
 
IT’S THAT kind of morning in Coronet Bay. Clear sky, light breeze off the water, sun warm on your back. 7am: dog walking time.
 
Joy Button and her border collie are heading home up Cutty Sark Road. Four days to go to Coronet Bay’s 11th annual Christmas lunch for people who’d like to be among friends. She’s mentally ticking off jobs to be done by the planning group. Sixty diners coming from as far away as Nyora and Clyde plus 16 volunteers. Ham, turkey, Christmas pudding, pavlova and berries ... $12 all in. And a takeaway box for the mince pies, shortbread, rumballs, Christmas cake. All home-baked fare.
 
Walking down the hill towards her is Reg Toull, his Jack Russell pulling at the lead to get to the water. Reg is close to 90 and he’s a bit of a legend.
 
“Morning, Reg,” Joy says.
 
“Had a big day yesterday,” Reg tells her. “Left here at 6.20 in the morning with my son and got to the Alfred at 9.40. Been seeing my specialist for years and yesterday he shook my hand, and told me he didn’t want to see me again. I’m cancer free.
 
“On the way back we called in at the Grantville Pharmacy and I told `em: ‘I won’t be seeing you any more. I’m cancer-free!’ They come up and hugged me and kissed me. Hugged me and kissed me, God damn it all!” he says happily, laughing in disbelief.
 
The Grantville Pharmacy is a busy dispensary. They might make up 400 prescriptions in a single day. But it’s a place where people stay to chat and drop in gifts of home-made jam and share photographs and good, and bad, news.
 
That’s how it goes around here, thinks Joy. We don’t have much but there are natural hubs. The pharmacy is one. Our general store is another. Drop-in places. Places to tell a remarkable story like this one.
 
“And yeah, when I got home I celebrated with a glass of red wine.” Reg said.
 
Reg was a builder and proud of it. He built the Lady Barron pub on Flinders Island. When his wife of 55 years died, he sold up the family home in Rosebud and bought a property in Benalla. The cancer story started there six years ago. The trigger was a hernia. Two weeks after the operation they took a swab of his throat and next thing he was having chemo for cancer. That was Wangaratta. Later it was the Alfred for more tests and more of those MRI machines.
 
“All these tunnels I had, I had about seven of them. The doctor’s went through it all, mate. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma in the throat. Then I went to the Austin and they found exactly where it was. So I went back to the Alfred. They zapped me 15 times for two minutes every day. Fifteen times! Then it’s all gone. After that I went back to the Alfred for regular check-ups and the other day I got the all clear.”
 
Joy is astonished. He had never talked about the cancer before, never complained. He’d always been so ... purposeful.
 
Meanwhile, Reg is warming to a favourite topic. “You know what did it? My specialist said: ‘Reg, You know why? Because you’re a healthy bloke!’ Because I eat well. Breakfast every morning, four Weetbix, never miss! I don’t drink beer and I don’t smoke. I give up smoking 50 years ago. All I do now, every second night is I have a little red wine while I’m cooking tea.”
 
He had twelve years in Benalla.” Only me, the dog and the bird. When I got sick it was too much to look after so I came down here to my daughter’s partner’s house. He’s been doing it up. I’ve done a bit. I’ve done the verandahs, just taking my time, because I’m a builder. I don’t have to hurry. And I don’t worry. The only tablets I take are two Digoxins; they’re nothing to do with cancer. But what I do every morning is put a pinch of bicarb soda and half a teaspoon of salt in some warm water and gargle that after I have me breakfast.”
 
“It’s like what the doctor said. ‘You’re one of the few, Reg.’ In five months time I’ll be 90. And I’m still riding the motor bike: the big Cruiser. Been riding bikes since before I was married. Sold the Harley, got a Honda Cruiser. Play nine holes of golf with a friend once or twice a week.”
 
What a way to start your day, thinks Joy. She loves this open, generous town and the way people bump along together. She thinks of the devastated boy who had his kayak stolen. A quick whip round, word of mouth, and they’d raised enough to buy another kayak. The town’s Facebook page is abuzz with information sought and offered. Recently someone posted a request: “Can anyone lend us a ladder?” Within minutes there were five or six people saying: “I’ve got one!” Someone else says: “I’ll bring it round now.”
 
Reg isn’t a joiner. He marches to the sound of his own drumming. “There’s only me and the dog and the bird. The day after I got here I took my bike out – it’s the same as a Harley except its red, the Cruiser. ‘Geez, that’s a nice bike!’ they said. And I got to know `em all.
 
“I walk that Jack Russell every second day with a big lead and he swims a mile and a half and I walk along with him in the water or on the sand. My bird is a cockatiel. He talks like mad. ‘Welcome home, Reg,’ he’ll say. I’ve had him 23 years. Of a night time I watch Chase. I love that.”
 
Taking her leave, Joy calls: “It’s a good life, Reg”.
 
He raises an admonishing index finger: “Only if you don’t weaken!”
 

12 Comments
bob middleton
2/2/2018 10:26:17 am

Well done Reg,you;re a bloody marvel. And thank you for building the Lady Barron at Flinders island where long ago I enjoyed an ale or two.

Reply
Joy Button
2/2/2018 10:54:38 am

Thank you Gill for writing such a fantastic article about one of our great characters in Coronet Bay. Your story depicts Reg beautifully and shows what a marvel he is at 89 years of age, and no aches or pains and now cancer free ... lucky man! Your article has been written beautifully with great sensitivity ... thank you!!

Reply
Roger Clark link
2/2/2018 01:32:49 pm

What a wonderful story. There are so many people in our community whose stories should be told. Lets hope we see many more during 2018.
Well done Gill, and Joy.

Reply
Jan Fleming
2/2/2018 02:54:22 pm

Great story Gill.

Reply
Felicia Di Stefano
2/2/2018 03:41:30 pm

Thank you for a beautiful story, Gill. I fell in love with Coronet Bay the first time I saw it. What would it take to make the world into Coronet Bay, I wonder.

Reply
Julie Cameron
2/2/2018 08:18:12 pm

Dear Joy, Gill and Terry, you have brought a smile to a lot of people's faces with this story, although I am now living in Wonthaggi, I still love Coronet Bay, it is so peaceful there, and the people are so kind and friendly, Thand you for this story, and Good Luck to you Mr Toull, you are a Legend.

Reply
Pamela J Gill JP
2/2/2018 09:32:12 pm

What a wonderful story Mr Toule.
You Are an inspiration to all who have read this and are going through the trauma of this terrible decease. Thank you

Reply
annie Brookes
2/2/2018 10:01:44 pm

such an inspirational story all about Mr Toule. Congratulations on being cancer free ...............such wonderful news for you and your family. Just goes to show age is just a number and living in such an amazing community helps keep you full of life ......... its just like that movie Cocoon

Reply
Lyn harris
6/2/2018 04:13:20 pm

Thank you Mr. Toull you made my day, you reminded me that life is meant to be lived not tolerated, I wish you many more productive, useful and happy years. Well done Joy and Gill for passing on the good news.

Reply
Geoff Ellis
6/2/2018 10:43:11 pm

Gill,
You've captured the spirit of Coronet Bay.
More please.
'Good on you' to Joy and Reg.
Cheers to Coronet Bay!

Reply
Keith
2/2/2022 08:46:22 am

Just a beautiful life story. If only ..........

Reply
Michelle M Lindsay
2/2/2022 02:53:02 pm

Thank you Joy for sharing this article it was a pleasure to read it.

Reply



Leave a Reply.