Nick Manglaras represents some of the richest aspects of the Sturt Bowling Club.
He has been a Night Owls stalwart since 2010, is a regular at Winter Bowls, has played pennants for the last three seasons, and is the club's Member Protection Information Officer.
Meanwhile he is very witty and self-deprecating, despite an illustrious career in education.
Generously, he reveals all in the interview below.
Nick, I understand that your career mostly involved teaching Educational Psychology to preparatory teachers. Can you give us a very brief summary of the lead up to that?
My academic career began at Parkside Primary School, where there was not one blade of grass, but lots of asphalt and children of migrants.
There I achieved the zenith of my academic career, coming dux of the school in year 7.
This, along with the moon landing of the same year, was an incredible achievement.
Academically, it was all downhill after that.
Adelaide Boys' High School - karinga ronga ringa, karinga ronga roo... - followed, with a mostly forgettable and lacklustre five years, although I was captain of the ping pong team.
University of Adelaide was my next port of call, with long hours spent in the Barr Smith Library and the bar.
Did you enjoy lecturing in educational psychology?
My first real job was as a tutor and then lecturer in Educational Psychology, at what was then Hartley CAE, which later became SACAE and eventually UniSA.
I did some further study in Special Education/Disability at Flinders Uni.
The first 20 years were great, but the next 20 went progressively downhill with the rise of managerialism and the increase in tutorial sizes from 8 to 30 and 600 students in one subject - I couldn't remember all their names.
In the latter years I was teaching inclusive education and was the academic integrity officer - AIO - and I dealt with students who were accused of cheating.
If you have children in their 30s or 40s who are teachers, they probably had me as their tutor/lecturer if they went to Magill campus.
When the Uni offered packages in 2021, I decided to jump ship with about 20 other colleagues in my department.
The best thing however, was that I met my wife, a lecturer in the ceramics department who taught me to throw a pot on the wheel. The rest as they say is history.
I understand you responded to a 'come and try' invitation at Sturt Bowling Club before commencing your bowling career here, in 2010.
I needed to do something very different from work, so I thought bowls would be perfect - hang-out with old people rather than young ones.
I responded to the 'come and try' pamphlet dropped off in the letterbox, so I turned up on a Tuesday night over 4 weeks.
What attracted you to bowls initially; and enough to form your Smoking Grass Night Owls team in 2010?
The physical exertion required suited me perfectly, so I was hooked.
On the last night of the try out, I was randomly grouped with three complete strangers - "strange" being the operative word - for a game: Wayne Berryman, Meryl Wilkinson and Matt Jeffrey.
We decided to become a Night Owls team and Smoking Grass was born.
I don't know who thought of the name, but what I know for sure is that it had nothing to do with smoking grass.
Smoking Grass has had some success at Tuesday Night Owls, winning a premiership. To what do you attribute this success?
Smoking Grass managed to win a premiership in 2018-19. Many said it was due to a favourable draw, but I think it was due to Matt Jeffrey's pre-game motivational talks and during-game abuse.
He kept us on the mat, on the jack and in excellent nick.
My Night Owls goal has been achieved, to get the words 'smoking grass' on the club's Honour Board; there is nothing else to prove.
What do you most like about Night Owls?
The best thing about Night Owls is meeting lots of people from different walks of life, listening to Paul Teesdale's exquisite commentary and the cheap drinks.
It also gets me out of the house on a Tuesday night, which makes my wife happy, especially if I come home with a meat tray.
Wayne Berryman says you bowl the occasional "magic" bowl. Is this a practiced skill?
I have been known to bowl the occasional brilliant bowl, bordering on wizardry.
I think it happened once in 2023 and once in 2026 at Colonel Light Gardens.
Other than that, I am best known for underestimating the distance between my bowl and the green.
When did you commence playing pennants at Sturt and what do you like about it?
I started playing regular pennants about 3 years ago, after being asked to fill in a couple of times.
Initially I thought they needed a Greek to satisfy a diversity requirement at the club, but soon realised that it was because they needed an excellent sandwich maker.
In pennants, you regularly skip. Do you like being skip?
For some reason the selectors more often than not select me as skip.
Why, I'm not sure, but I think it's because I'm terrible as a lead, second or third, or because I can endure the scorching hours on the green during summer and still be standing at the end.
I quite like being skip because I only have one other person to interact with at my end, rather than six desperate and sometimes cranky people at the other end.
How have you found performing the club role of Member Protection Information Officer (MPIO)?
As the Member Protection Information Officer, my role is to support and advise members should they have any concerns about club practices or incidents that impact on their wellbeing or safety.
In many cases individuals resolve issues independently, but when this doesn't happen, then the MPIO is there to provide a confidential ear.
If selection is your issue, speak to the selectors, not me.
Are you continuing in this role?
Probably. I'm assuming no one else wants to do it.
On and off the green you use clever wit frequently. Is this in your DNA or a deliberate strategy?
Many of my students were scared of me; they thought I was serious when most of the time I was joking.
Maybe it was the dead-pan delivery.
My children don't think I'm witty, but I'm glad some people do.
Are there some other personal aspects you can share, e.g. family, hobbies, pastimes, music?
I'm a house husband, so my wife works and I do the shopping, cooking, washing, gardening etc.
I'm the lucky one because I control what I do and when, except when dinner needs to be ready for the famished sons - aged 25 and 24 and living at home.
I do a good sour dough loaf and Greek biscuits.
My music tastes run to Bon Iver - favourite band, Brian Eno - Music for Airports soothes the savage beast, John Martyn - for a spot of early folk and Nick Cave - because he is my namesake, and Peaky Blinders.
For some local flavour, the Hindley Street Country Club - not at all country.