Earlier this year “comedian” Tom Gleeson labelled Lane Cove as Boring. This resulted in a media frenzy with talk back radio asking viewers to name Sydney’s most boring suburb. ITC was not impressed and thought we should take action to show you just how much you can do in Lane Cove if you so desire. So, ITC hit the town and made the most of what Lane Cove had to offer during a 30-day period spanning late April and May 2017.
This is what we did:
Happy Hour at Lodge
ITC had a lovely time at the Lodge Happy Hour (ITC may have gone to Happy Hour once or twice..okay ever Friday arvo during May and enjoyed it every time). Every Tuesday to Saturday between 4pm and 6pm is Happy Hour at Lodge. As an added bonus, there is live music on Friday and Saturday. Alexie is becoming quite popular and will even take requests (even songs that he does not know – he had ITC at Jessie’s Girl – who does not love an 80’s power ballad?!). Alexie alternates between singing at Lodge and Coves Restaurant and Bar.
Gallery Lane Cove – Opening Night Lane Cove Art Society artXtra
ITC attended the opening night of the Lane Cove Art Society artXtra exhibition. artXtra showcases the amazing talents of the Lane Cove Art Society members. With an eclectic diversity of artworks and genres including pastels, watercolours, oils, intaglio and screen prints, there was a lot to see and select from.
The aim of the Lane Cove Art Society is to encourage, recognise and reward artistic talent in the community. They warmly welcome new members – all you need to have is an interest in art.
The Lane Cove Art Society meets at 8pm on the 4th Tuesday of every month (except January and December) on the Lower Ground Floor, Lane Cove Living and Learning Centre, 164 Longueville Road. At each meeting, there is a demonstration or talk by a leading artist or guest speaker and anyone interested in art is welcome to attend.
The Lane Cove Art Society also holds two exhibitions yearly as well as workshops, visits to galleries or artists’ studios, and mini-exhibitions for members.
Drinks at Bar Blaq
Bar Blaq is a hospitality school by day and a funky bar by night with live music. You can also hire out the venue for private events. It is open on Friday and Saturday night from 6pm till late and on Sunday from 12pm to 10pm. ITC enjoyed the mocktail made by one of their student bartenders. ITC hears that on some Friday and Saturday nights, you cannot move!!
Permapatch & RepairCafe Open Day
ITC attended the combined Permapatch and Northside Repair Cafe open day on 7 May 2017. It was a beautiful sunny day in a gorgeous garden setting with celebrity gardener Costa joining in the fun. If you want to know more about these two groups just click here.
Crop Swap Sydney
Crop Swap Sydney held a crop swap at the Permapatch Community Gardens. Crop Swap is an initiative by a Lane Cove Local and it is going off.
Trivia Night at the Lane Cove Club
ITC is a huge trivia buff (did you see me on Millionaire Hot Seat?). ITC rocked up to the Lane Cove Club Trivia night and had a great time. This Trivia Night is hosted by Bryan from Trivia Magic. He is an extremely likeable and affable guy. This is more like a family get together than a competitive trivia night. All the teams know and like each other and have fun. The Trivia Night is on every Tuesday night.
Trivia Night at the Longueville Hotel
This night goes off. The pub is packed with teams all wanting to WIN. You have to get there early to get a seat. However, the food is good, so have a meal and then quiz on. The night is hosted by Noel from Innquizitive Trivia Events. Registration is from 7pm for a 7:30pm start. The Longueville Hotel even claims that their trivia night was voted as one of the Top 5 pub trivia nights in Sydney, so grab some friends and head on in for a fabulous time!
Sample Menu Tasting with Jon-Patrick Catering
ITC loves to look at food, talk food, eat food, cook food and basically embrace all foodie pursuits, so when ITC was invited to taste some of Jon Patrick’s new menu we did not hesitate. The highlight of the night was the sticky date pudding and ITC does not even like sticky date puddings. You can find out more about Jon-Patrick catering here.
About Life Shopping Tours
Speaking of food (which ITC does all the time), ITC went to an About Life Shopping Tour. The tour was conducted by an About Life Wellness Expert. They share their knowledge and answer any questions you have on their products. It is a 45min tour (max 10 per tour). Plus, they even give you 10% off anything you fancy in-store that day, and a goodie bag of samples. The cost is $10 which is deducted from any purchases you make on the day. They have other shopping tours coming up and you can find out more here.
BBQ at Storage King Lane Cove
From time to time, the guys at Storage King Lane Cove put on a free BBQ for people to come and see their huge storage facility. ITC loves going to Storage King Lane Cove as there are so many businesses that run their business out of their facility. You never know what hidden gem you are going to find.
Storage King Lane Cove currently has a one month’s free promotion for anyone who is looking for storage.If a customer moves into Storage King, Lane Cove during June 2017 and pays for the 1st Month’s Storage they will receive the 2nd Month’s Storage Fees FREE. Also, to help reduce some of the costs involved with moving Storage King Lane Cove will provide their Truck and Driver for FREE. All you need to do is assist with loading and unloading the truck when it arrives at your house and returns to their Storage Facility.
They also have a huge range of packaging material such as boxes, wrapping paper, bubble wrap or protective plastic covers for mattresses, lounges and chairs is Call Storage King Lane Cove on 9420 2220 for further information.
Soulful Fitness Open Day
To celebrate their 2nd Birthday, Soulful Fitness had a huge open day with Pilates classes, yoga classes and seminars and of course cake from The Cake Man Lane Cove. ITC popped in to see all the action. There were over 24 different activities. Soulful Fitness is located in The Village Shopping Centre. The centre is really becoming a hive of activity with The Code Personal Training Studio, Soulful Fitness and NiBu Cafe.
Woman, Wine and Wellness
ITC attended a fab event called Women, Wine and Wellness at Gallery Lane Cove, hosted by Chiropractic Central. The night was all about looking after yourself and taking time out for from our busy lives to concentrate on yourself. There was a team of excellent speakers, including the inspirational Dr Sarah from Chiropractic Central, lots of women, wine and delicious nibbles courtesy of Wendy from A Cut Above Catering.
The evening was such a success, another session is planned for 23 November 2017. The event we attended was sold out – so book early next time. It’s a great way to meet other Lane Cove Women and to also have a fun night with your gal pals.
International Hamburger Day
The ITC family enjoyed celebrating International Hamburger Day with ½ priced Hamburgers at Chargrill Charlies. What a shame this event only happens once a year!! We are looking forward to International Fries Day and hoping that Chargrill Charlies will be selling ½ price fries. The ITC family is also enjoying using the Chargrill Charlie’s App and Loyalty Programme. ITC no longer has to worry about finding our loyalty card.
Lane Cove Makers Market
ITC always enjoys going to the Lane Cove Makers Markets. It’s a great excuse to browse, shop and then have brunch at one of our local cafes or do some other local shopping. The Lane Cove Makers Market is held on the 3rd Sunday of the month from 9am – 3pm. The Market showcases products handmade products. You can meet the Artists and Designers themselves. Tim Blake Jeweller is a regular market participant and if you have any jewellery that needs redesigning he will be able to help you.
Meeting Pointy Pembleton at Lane Cove Plaza
Local Natalie Panzarino and her friend Fer have found a fabulous way to raise money for Greyhound Rescue. They had a stall in the Lane Cove Plaza one Friday afternoon in May to raise awareness of Greyhound Rescue and ITC went along to meet them.
They have written a book to raise money for Greyhound Rescue and on Friday afternoon local kids got to meet Pointy Pembleton (sort of). Find out how you can help raise money to publish a book, where all the proceeds will go to Greyhound Rescue here.
Collecting for Red Shield Day
ITC enjoyed meeting locals when collecting for the Red Shield Appeal in the Lane Cove Plaza on the Red Shield Appeal Collection Weekend. The Red Shield Appeal is The Salvation Army’s signature fundraising drive which helps fund their vast network of social and community services. The Red Shield Appeal began in 1965 to fund the Salvation Army’s social welfare and community service programs. Vulnerable Australians rely on these programs every day. Their services range from providing shelter for the homeless, assisting families in crisis through practical support and financial counselling, to guiding people with addictions through to a clean, healthy lifestyle. Get involved next year, you get a warm fuzzy feeling after you have been involved (they call it the volunteering buzz). Below are Jack and Tom Collecting for Red Sheild – so many Lane Cove residents helped with the collection.
Lane Cove Vocational Pride of Workmanship Awards
ITC attended the Rotary Pride of Workmanship awards. The awards were first launched in 1975 to encourage pride in personal performance in the workplace. The motto is Do it Once – Do it Well. ITC was the keynote speaker at this year’s event. ITC spoke about the benefit of supporting local businesses and the importance of our local community. This year’s recipients were:
- The team behind The Village Observer (Jocelyn Biddle, Mariano Massa and Sharon Curby):
- Bern the Chef;
- Roshni Shar from Gavin Starr Pharmacy; and
- Jennifer and Jeremy Ryan (who run a local gardening and landscape business)
Lane Cove Rotary meets every Tuesday night at the Lane Cove Golf Club and everyone is welcome (even if you just want to hear one of their fabulous speakers)
Local Studies Lane Cove Library Course – Trace your WW1 Family Member
The Lane Cove Library is one of the best local libraries ITC has visited in Australia. The staff are super helpful. It is a great place to study or relax and read a book. They have a huge range of current magazines and papers.
ITC attended a workshop on how to trace your WW1 Family Member. This workshop was fascinating! I managed to trace my grandfather and look at his military service. It was a small hands-on workshop. You were taught to use TROVE, archives, and genealogy websites, as well other published sources. You can also access Ancestry.com for free at the Library. ITC highly recommends the courses at the Local Study section of the Library, you can trace your street name, house name and much more.
Lane Cove Council Meeting
ITC attended the May Lane Cove Council monthly meeting. It is not the most exciting night, but you do learn about what is happening in our local area and the local issues that impact you on a daily. Did you know that before every council meeting members of the public are invited to raise any issues or concerns they have. Every person has 3 minutes to state their case. So, if you have an issue that you do not think is being addressed by the Lane Cove Council, go to one of their meetings. You do not have to stay the entire meeting (because that would bore you as they go through many procedural issues). Don’t be the silent majority – make your thoughts known to the LCC or tell ITC and we will make them know email us at [email protected]
Lane Cove Public Transport Forum
Lane Cove ALP recently hosted a public bus forum to discuss the lack of buses in Lane Cove. The keynote speaker was the NSW Shadow Minister for Transport Jodi Mckay (who was a very impressive speaker). ITC (who does not usually go to political party events) went to this event to meet other Lane Cove people who were concerned about public transport.
Charity Car Wash
Jack & Co was pumping when a charity Car Wash was organised by Riverview Year 10 students to raise funds for communities in Mt Druitt, Bathurst Island, and Bowraville. Your car was washed while you had coffee and met other Lane Cove residents and Jack & Co handed out free coffee vouchers. Many ITC readers got their car washed and asked if this could be a regular event.
Head On – Photo Festival at Gallery Lane Cove
ITC attended the Head On Photo exhibition at Gallery Lane Cove. The exhibition was of photographs depicting the experiences of modern life within city streets and subway stations. ITC highly recommends viewing some of the installations they have at Gallery Lane Cove. A nice early Saturday afternoon activity is to visit the gallery and then go to lunch at one of the local cafes.
It was a jam packed 30 days, the above does not include the numerous cups of coffee and meals at our local cafes. It does not include the walks in the park or the visit to the off-leash doggy parks or any sporting activities. So, get out there Lane Cove – we are NOT boring!
Do you have a local issue you would like help with? ITC is here to help just email us at [email protected]
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