Ton's Kitchen: After Hours

My brother found the love of his life... and I thought I'd found mine. I was only twelve when I fell for a shy little girl named Kim. She gave me a necklace with her name on it, and I wore it like it was the most precious thing in the world. When I lost it on a beach at The Entrance, I searched for hours, convinced that if I couldn't find it, I'd lose her too. This is the story of firs...

Growing up painfully shy, I never imagined a cheap CB radio would change my life. After joining my brother Plug's citizen band radio club, I discovered a whole new world of convoys, bonfires, parties, and lifelong memories. But when one drunken act of humiliation destroyed everything the club stood for, I walked away and started my own club for teenagers. For a few years, Midnight Transmitters bec...

Our street in Penrith was a strange place. A Scout Master, a police sergeant, a school headmistress, a family rumoured to be swingers, and a neighbour who probably should never have been trusted with a driver's licence. Then there was my family. In this episode I share stories about the people who lived around us, the trouble my brothers caused, a stubborn old neighbour determined to keep her...

In this episode, I look back on a time when chaos seemed to follow my family everywhere. A housewarming party turns into another drunken disaster, my old man lands himself in hot water chasing women, and my brother Plug introduces me to the fine art of wagging school with forged sick notes. What starts as a taste of freedom soon spirals into booze, bad decisions, humiliation, and a very angry visi...

BONUS STORY: Corporal Punishment For those of you still hanging around after Flaming Karma, here's an extra story from Heartless High. This one starts with my brother Vic, a joint, a trip to vote for the first time, and a cap gun that probably should've landed us both in serious trouble. It ends with one of the most feared teachers at my high school, a brutal dose of corporal punishment, a...

Growing up in Western Sydney, home wasn't always a safe place. But hidden beside the family house was a quiet sanctuary where I could escape the chaos and think. Then one day, one of my brothers committed an act of cruelty that would stay with me for decades. Later, an unexpected accident brought those memories flooding back and left me wondering whether karma might actually exist. A darkly fu...

Season 2 begins. Jim arrives at Heartless High carrying the baggage of his Sharpie family name, only to be humiliated, renamed “Zim,” and thrown headfirst into the brutal social tribes of Australian high school life in the 1970s. From bike shed smokers and hockey field attacks… to misfits, rebels, and the first signs of belonging among society’s outcasts — this episode marks the beginning of a dar...

A feared rebel kid with an Alice Cooper obsession became my first real school mate at Penrith Primary. But between ballroom dancing humiliation, tree bark cigarettes, getting blindsided by high school thugs, and a brutal hardwood floor accident, childhood was starting to feel a lot less safe. As Season 1 comes to an end, I also share two bonus stories from infants school — including the day I acci...

Footy on the field… and something else on the hill. Sharpie chants. Cold beers. And a uniform that set them apart from the rest. But when the music started… the mood shifted. A strange ritual. A calmer side. And a glimpse into a world few outsiders ever saw. Welcome to My Daymare — Bit 13: Sharpie Rituals at Penrith Park

A flashy Ford Falcon. A battered green Datto. Sharpies drinking in paddocks. A kid desperate to belong. In this episode of My Daymare, a little revenge tastes sweet for a while… until one bad corner on Chain-O-Ponds Road brings the good times crashing to an end.

In Australia, An 18th birthday is a special one, because it is the coming of age day when you're legally an adult. Turning 21 is the day you get the symbolic key to the door, when you are trusted as a responsible member of the family. In our family, they were a great excuse for a huge piss up. The celebrations were chaos, with kegs of beer andtestosterone cocktails. Whichusually ended in punch...

When I was around ten years old, our Christmas holiday adventure was a 600-kilometre drive to visit Mum’s brother. Mum and Dad threw me and Vic in the car… and nine hours later we arrived to a welcome colder than lukewarm. Come along for the ride and see how it turned out.

After losing my job… I set off on my biggest adventure yet. Fifty kilometres of open road… a backpack full of sandwiches… and one surprise visit that didn’t quite go to plan...

Welcome to my Daymare – Bit 8 The Chair Man & The Hit Man Thechairman wreaked havoc. Sue ran. He hunted down his littleslaves… The danger level was redlining. Until… the hit manfinally showed his hand.

Welcome to My Daymare – Bit 7: Day of the Dancing Dead Some memories don’t fade… they linger, sharp and unsettling. In this episode, I revisit life around a man whose presence turned ordinary days into something far darker than they should have been. Moments of fear, strange lessons, and childhood confusion blur together into scenes that still echo decades later. This chapter carries the weight of...

Welcome back to Ton's Kitchen: After Hours. In this episode of Welcome To My Daymare , we hit the Road to Riches… or at least my childhood version of it. With five kids to feed, Mum worked hard to keep us clothed and fed, and watching her hustle lit a fire in me early. From selling homemade string art along the front fence to picking chokos off the neighbour’s vine, I was determined to prove t...

**Welcome back to Ton's Kitchen: After Hours.** This mini episode from *Welcome To My Daymare* dives into one of my earliest memories… and one of the most terrifying. A family trip to Cronulla beach turns into chaos when a simple splash in shallow water becomes a fight for survival. What started as childhood fun quickly spiraled into panic, confusion, and a moment that could have changed every...

This is Bit 4 of the "Welcome to My Daymare" series from Ton’sKitchen: After Hours. In this bit, young Chubsy discovers beauty, embarrassment, and heartbreak in one unforgettable moment. A childhood crush, a sudden accident, and a memory that left more thanjust a scar.

In Part 1, I told you about Rusty’s bicycleaccident… the one that nearly finished him. But that was only the beginning. In this episode, the near misses keep stacking up. Rusty dodges danger more times than seems possible… from a broken needle travelling through his veins, to accidents, fights, and brushes with death that could’ve ended differently. As the older boys drift deeper into gang life, a...

Today’s episode of Ton’s Kitchen: After Hours is a special birthday tribute to my mum… better known to some as Grotty Auntie Dotty . Born Dorothy Pearl Plater in the coastal town of Maclean, she lived a life that was anything but ordinary—full of laughter, struggle, creativity, and just a touch of the supernatural. From surviving childhood accidents and carrying lifelong scars… to raising a family...

This is Bit 2 of the "Welcome to My Daymare" series from Ton’s Kitchen: After Hours. In this bit, Chubsy learns that survival sometimes means sharpening instincts early. Childhood lessons come fast, rough, and without warning, shaping the mindset needed to survive the chaos ahead. Trigger warning: contains references to domestic violence and traumatic events. Next up: Bit 3 — Hanging Wit...

This is Bit 1 of the "Welcome to My Daymare" series from Ton’s Kitchen: After Hours. In this bit, Chubsy opens the door to childhood chaos, strange characters, and the kind of memories that stick like gum on a hot footpath. Meet Rusty and the world that shaped the stories to come. Next up: Bit 2 — Killer Instinct