The Joslin Reserve provided much entertainment for my good self in my teenage years and into my…read moreearly twenties. The younger version of myself went to practice tennis, whereas the older version would find himself there late at night, mildly intoxicated, playing on the swings and giggling! Really, it is a typical inner suburban park with a basket ball hoop, slippery dip and a bit of grass space for tge pick up soccer game. For me, it gets four stars because it was my old local haunt and it is a pretty nice park.

I tell you what, since I have been Yelping I have been doing more reminiscing over my old haunts…read moreand what has made me the super huge, baby faced ninja-samurai that I am today. Twelftree Reserve, in the back streets of College Park (a real rough ghetto where homies drive Merc's and Beemers), was where I would spend countless hours playing kick to kick with my mate Jimbo, shooting hoops, and playing on the spinning top thingy.....that last one was more me than Jimbo. The reserve has a bit of everything, play equipment, basket ball mini-court, picnic tables (all under dense leaf coverage) and a nice sized area to dob the footy to your mate for hours on end until you can't walk. I guess I have my answer now as to why my knees are comparable to an 80 year olds!

Twelftree Reserve is like a desert with an oil rig or cattle station. There's a wide expanse of…read moreblankness and a dot of a structure where most of the population gathers together. Of course, the similarity ends there. And, to an extent, it doesn't perfectly begin there either. The little playground has seen a lot of traffic, I'm sure, but all my visits to Twelftree have shown all the reserve's patrons to frequent the desert or, in this case, the grassland. The playground isn't bad, but I much prefer the expanse. It's big and long (which means I can find a spot to myself) and the trees provide plenty of shade (which means I can stay there for more than ten minutes).

Yet another trip down memory lane! Linde Reserve used to be the home of the St Peters Bowling Club,…read moreand the Lawn Bowls for People with a Disability Synthetic Green. I used to visit this reserve often on Bowls related business, and always took the time to appreciate the surroundings. Now both the club and extra green have been demolished and replaced by open space and a community garden. I thought I would hate it, but I don't. I still really like the park! It is currently in, what seems to be, the final stages of a revamp, with new plants/landscaping, some community art, playground and some funky signs that probably cost 2 or 3 Billion dollars each. It has a little bit of everything with plenty of seating, open space, soccer goals, basketball half court, play equipment and bbq areas for family picnics. I also like the fact, that unless you set up on the Nelson Road side, you would have little to no idea that you were right in the middle of suburbia! Feel the serenity!

Ahhhhh, Walky's Oval! Back in the days where I was of an age that beer, the nectar of the gods…read morethemselves, tasted terrible and I was astonished that any would want to drink such a liquid when Coke was also available! I used to head there with my folks and friends to play tennis, kick the footy, bat in the nets and randomly climb all over the ornamental steam roller. After most of these days of innocent frivolity, although I had grass stains on my knees and the odd splinter in my arm, I was completely exhausted and happy as a clam. The Oval is still as it was many years ago, plenty of space for picnics, lots to keep the little ones entertained and the cricket nets to pretend you are Warnie....I alway preferred Ooo Aaah, Glenn Magrath personally!

It's an oval. There's grass, room to play some foot, and some cricket nets to practice your bowling…read moreand batting. If you've ever seen an oval before (not the shape now, silly, but the sporting arena), you'll have a very, very good idea what Walkerville Oval looks like. There's nothing wrong with it and there's plenty right with it; like a table with four legs, it accomplishes all the purposes you'd expect of it, but at that we can't forget it IS just an oval. Which is my justification for the three-star rating. Although, I'd give it a three-and-a-half star rating if I could, just for the cricket nets. Not EVERY oval has THOSE, you know.

I've a partiality for parks. I never used to, but I do nowadays. It's how I achieve my vitamin D, I…read moreguess, though I (mostly unwittingly) tend to avoid what sunlight I can whilst I laze about on the green green grass. The more parks I visit, the more I've come to think of myself as a sort of park genius. My knowledge s'far extends thus far: a park NEEDS a tap. It's rare I'll drive to a park. It just doesn't feel parky (and that's about as far as I've reasoned into the disinclination). I'll walk (if the distance is friendly) or catch public transport (if it's cruel). And when I'm lugging around a bunch of notepads, pens and books, the LAST thing I want to do is carry a water bottle as well. So it's good to replenish my stock with a little tap water. And with a tap you NEED a toilet. I don't mind going bush (well, depending on the... matter of expulsion), but I've been caught WAY too often. Honestly, if I'm a parking genius I'm also a pissing dunce. And, though the long-winded intro sounded like the wind-rush judge's swinging hammer, I'm happy to report this park has BOTH of those things. And [insert groan-joke about the park fitting like a glove].

Roughly the same size as the Botanic Gardens. But most of it is used as a home for a couple dozen…read morehorses. Seeing them roam the fields with the Hills in the background is like a scene from back in time. The last holdout from the good old days when you were free to ride your horse down the street and it could poop where it damn well pleased. There's a dirt loop for there owners to ride around. Poor bastards probably get dizzy! Other than well-kept Glover Playground on Lefevre Terrace (western side) this park is pretty shabby. The playground has enough stuff to keep the kids entertained, probably longer than you want to keep them entertained. There are swaying chairs on big springs, forts, a sandpit, modern alien-looking monkey bars and a BBQ with picnic table all fenced in. Near to here are a couple sports fields with field hockey style nets. Considering the park is pretty close to Melbourne St. Mum and Dad can get a coffee after. There's a cricket oval and some tennis/netball courts down the hill on the south-east corner of the park.