Claire Isaac May 8, 2026 — 5:00am A car turns the corner on Cook Road in Sydney’s Centennial Park and gives a quick toot of the horn. Sitting outside his home, perched on a walker in the morning sun, Donald Shrubb lifts a hand in greeting. Another car passes, another toot. Shrubb waves again, this time with both hands. This happens dozens of times a day. On the footpath, people often stop – 76-year-old Shrubb is always happy to have a chat. After more than two years of sitting outside nearly every day, even in the depths of winter or the heat of high summer, Shrubb has become a familiar presence on the street – the man in the chair who seems to know everyone, as much a fixture in the neighbourhood as the footy traffic or the parking inspectors. Seventy-six-year-old Donald Shrubb has lived in Sydney’s east for decades. Edwina Pickles Shrubb never set out to become a local celebrity. In fact, sitting outside his building started for a much simpler reason: to stay connected.…