Dave Hughes is not only a funny man, he also considers himself something of an expert on milk.
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Hughes has never liked powdered milk, much preferring the fresh product, in this case, straight from the source.
"Dad used to do shift work and he'd bring home powdered milk for us, I hated it" Hughes said.
"And I remember we'd drive just out of town towards Koroit and we'd get fresh milk straight from the dairy, it was great."
The workplace of his late father Des was the Nestles factory in Dennington.
The street the Hughes' lived in, Examiner Crescent, was a working class heartland in Warrnambool's west in the 19870s and 80s, and Nestles was the employer of many living there and in the surrounding neighbourhood.
While Hughes never liked the powdered milk his father would bring home to himself, his brother, two sisters and mother Carmel, he did appreciate the dedication and diligence his father had to his work in the factory.
"Dad was a shift-worker so there were all the trials and tribulations that went with that," Hughes said.
"Trying to sleep during the day, going to work at midnight, all that sort of stuff."
While Des was working around the clock at Nestles, Carmel was busy combining motherhood with her own career as a nurse.
She started at the Warrnambool Base Hospital and later at the Koroit Hospital, completing a parental double as an example of the importance of a strong work ethic.
It was an influence that the young Hughes took onboard.
After quitting a university course after just six weeks, his father let him know it was time to find a job, which the young man did, working at Warrnambool Meatworks.
"It (the meatworks) was only small back then and I remember getting up early every morning for a year in the cold and working with sheep," Hughes said of his entry into the workforce.
Hughes attended CBC College in his secondary school years, and his primary school years at St Pius.
The primary school was around the corner and down the road and like most of his colleagues, Hughes set out on foot to school each day.
He loved reading, which pleased his favourite teacher of the time, Mrs Stringer.
It was at primary school he made lifelong friends such as Andrew Starkie, Steven Marris and Mark Patterson.
He recalled a happy childhood, with Davidson Oval and a playground over his back fence.
Like most youngsters in West Warrnambool of the time, Hughes' favourite shop was Harry's Fish n' Chips at the top of Morris Road.
His favourite times of the year included seeing Santa at the Nestles Christmas party and late October when the Warrnambool Show came around.
"I remember the show was a massive deal at the time," Hughes said.
When childhood gave way to teenage years and then early adulthood, Hughes followed the path of most local Warrnambool lads.
He played football, first for Old Collegians and then Mortlake, and like many country town lads he had a love for a night on the town.
As was the want for those chasing the nightlife in Warrnambool at this time, the Lady Bay Hotel was the place to be.
"I spent my formative going out years at the Bay," Hughes said.
"It was the wild west back then."
Hughes recalls the long walk home from Lady Bay to West Warrnambool when a ride was not forthcoming.
"I remember even running half the way home some nights, you just wanted to get home" he said.
While both Hughes' parents have now passed away, he still has a sister and brother and other relatives living in Warrnambool, as well as owning a house in the town.
"I still love Warrnambool and talk it up whenever I get the chance," Hughes said.
"It was a great place to grow up, good memories."
