In the Cove

Lane Cove’s Festival By the River 2016

Are you ready to enjoy Lane Cove’s newest festival?  Festival by the River is on again this year, after the success of last year’s inaugural event.  Festival by the River goes for two weeks from 1st November to 13th November 2016.  The aim of the festival is to showcase activities on the Lane Cove and Paramatta Rivers.

Festival Highlights

Aboriginal Astronomy

Hear Indigenous sky stories inspired…

Playground: Blackman Park

Address: Lloyd Rees Drive, Lane Cove West

We love the playground – but we do wish that it was fenced. It can be a little bit difficult to find this playground. All you have to do is follow the road all the way past the sports fields. There are swings, slides, flying fox and climbing frames. The flying fox is popular with all kids – who doesn’t want to pretend to fly?

The play equipment is easily suited to both the older kids and the younger kids.  There are areas with smaller equipment for the babies and toddlers. My girls love the swings. The slides (and flying fox) are fun for everyone!

I do wish that there was less bark though because my girls always come home really dirty from there. The paths can be quite dangerous when kids scoot or ride down them really quickly.

Toilets are located right across the road from the playground on the other side of the car park. There aren’t any shops in Blackman Park so you will need to BYO coffee & snacks. If you are desperate for a coffee stop into Fink Cafe on the way (closest cafe)

There is plenty of free parking in the car park. However be mindful of sport on the weekends as it can get quite crowded down there. (ITC note – Saturday mornings in winter are very very crowded due to soccer games).

There isn’t a lot of shade so make sure you bring a hat and sunscreen if it’s a super hot day. And water! There are lots of trees at Blackman Park but they don’t provide adequate shelter over the equipment.

We often visit this playground because there are plenty of things to do to keep my girls entertained. My younger one likes to follow her sister around. I wish it was fenced so that I could watch them without worrying that they will run out onto the road.

There are picnic areas and plenty of seats for everyone. But like any playground, there are times when it is very crowded.

I don’t really like when unleashed dogs run into the playground. The sporting fields next to the playground are mostly always unleashed dog areas. My girls can be scared when a big dog is unleashed.

I would like Blackman Park to have less bark, less rubbish (people need to open their eyes for bins!) and more equipment. But overall,  we think it’s a fantastic playground.

Summary: Address: Lloyd Rees Drive, Lane Cove West Toilets: Across the road on the other side of the car park Cafe: None – if you are desperate for a coffee stop into Fink Cafe on the way (closest cafe) Fenced: No Parking: Plenty

Lorna Baker is a local mum of two young girls who grew up in Lane Cove, and then moved away at the start of high school. She returned last year with her husband & children. She works part time. In her free time she spends a lot of time in Lane Cove.

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Lane Cove – What do your prefer Uber or Taxi?

ITC has never taken an Uber.  We have however over the years taken many taxis from Lane Cove to the city or the airport.

So which is better Uber or a Taxi?

Last week ITC’s sister came  to stay with ITC in Lane Cove.  She wanted to go into the city and had numerous bags, so a bus was not really an option.  She told ITC that she was the Uber Queenand how fabulous Uber was and how she preferred them…

Lane Cove Week in Review – 17 to 23 Oct 2016

Welcome to our Lane Cove Week in Review, for 17 to 23 October 2016.

It felt like we were living in Melbourne this week, what a huge range of temperatures!!!

Traffic Changes

The residents of Mowbray were excited this week to see the lights at the crossroads of Mowbray Road and Hatfield Street working.  This will make it safer for kids walking to school.

 Farewell to the long term owners of Lane…

Sign Up for the National Bike Register

Over the years, ITC has on numerous occasions, reported about bikes being stolen from Lane Cove garages. Some of these bikes have been very expensive bikes!!  Garages in Apartment/Unit blocks seem to be a bicycle theft hotspot.

This week Crime Stoppers Australia and Data Dot Technology (ASX: DDT) announced the creation of a FREE National Bike Register to combat the growing trend of bicycle theft.

Melbourne Cup Festivities in Lane Cove

Melbourne Cup is on Tuesday, the 1st of November 2016.

It is the race that stops a nation. Well, maybe it used to when it was run at around 2.45pm (back in the day), but a 3pm race time means school pick-up time for many and an interruption to those champagne focused festivities.

That said, just being a part of the Melbourne Cup hype is fun, and a great excuse to get together with a group of…

Will Lane Cove Cafes Slash Smashed Avocado Prices?

ITC is a big Bernard Salt fan.  We follow him on twitter.  On the weekend he wrote a very funny article about Smashed Avocados.

For those of you who are not familiar with Bernard Salt, he is a well-known advisor, speaker, author, columnist, and social observer with an expertise in demographics.

In Bernard Salt’s weekend newspaper column, he suggested young Australians should be spending less on…

Is Your Home Making You Sick?

ITC lives in a house where mould is very prevalent.  There are certain areas of Lane Cove (located near the bushland and river) where mould is a very real issue.  We asked guest bloggers Xchange Air to tell us how to dal with the mould issue.

Located in Lane Cove West Business Park, Xchange Airare experts on improving the quality of the air you breathe at home. The specialise in “providing a…

Top 10 Hill Runs in Lane Cove

We know that many people in Lane Cove love running, so we asked one well known Lane Cove runner, Andy Smith, to tell us the top 10 hill runs in Lane Cove.

You cannot run a solid distance around Lane Cove without encountering at least one or two decent gradient hills so if you want to be challenged these are the roads to look for otherwise if you’re just starting out or wanting to take it easy,…

How to Raise a Healthy Family in the Digital Age

  How much time do you and your kids spend watching screens?  The answer is probably too much time. A survey by the British Chiropractic Association found that 73 per cent of children aged between 11 and 16 spent between one and six hours looking at a laptop, tablet or computer. The UK survey of 460 parents found that 40 per cent of children aged between 11 and 16 had back or neck pain and 15 per…

ITC brunches at The Mowbray Eatery Lane Cove North

ITC loves to brunch (fav meal of the day). Mowbray Eatery Lane Cove North, is one of our favourite places to brunch in Lane Cove. Located just off Mowbray Road near St Peter’s Aged Car Facility, it is set back from the road, and has a lovely green you can look at while you brunch. The outdoor seating area is quite big, and is set around a large paperbark tree (which looks stunning at night when…

Bird Watching and Counting in Lane Cove

This week ( 17th to 23rd October) is official Bird Counting Week.  Who knew??  This is your chance to help record the number of birds in Lane Cove.  Anyone can be involved.  Guess what – there is an app for it (of course)!!

Just get comfy in your favourite outdoor space, make sure your eyes are peeled and record what you see for 20 minutes.  Why not make it a family affair?  You can count as many…

Figtree Greengrocer Wins a Prestigious Fresh Award

Figtree Greengrocer has again won an award at the prestigious Fresh Awards.  Figtree Greengrocer won the best small business award.  This is an amazing achievement and not an easy award to win. You have to be on your game all year round as you receive three visits from accredited mystery shoppers and vists from the judges.  Each mystery shopper completes a comprehensive questionnaire.   The…

Lane Cove Week in Review – 10 to 16 Oct 2016

Welcome to our Lane Cove Week in Review, for 10 to 16 October 2016. Quirky Fence on William Edward Street Longueville Goes Up in Fire

The Quirky/Crazy fence on William Edward Street Longueville went up in smoke last Saturday.  The cause of the fire is not known.  However, it does look like it started inside the property.  This fence really is a dividing fence – you either love it or hate it.

 C…

The Jungle Book by Lane Cove Theatre Company

IRRESISTIBLE CLASSIC TALE COMES TO LIFE AS MUSICAL – The Jungle Book with youth cast – on Sydney’s North 18 Nov – 3 Dec

“This exhilarating show ticks all the boxes for families looking for an uplifting theatrical treat.” – Time Out

The Jungle Book – Rudyard Kipling’s enthralling tale of the child raised by animals – comes to Sydney’s North in irresistible musical form from November 18.

Following…

Lane Cove Night Out – the perfect excuse to shop locally!

Friday 28 October 2016 is not just any night in Lane Cove. For two hours local businesses are giving you once-a-year, knock-your-socks off specials as part of Lane Cove Night Out!

From 6:00pm – 8:00pm you will find almost 30 businesses in Lane Cove ready to reward you for shopping locally. And the great news is that this year there has been a 40% increase in businesses who have signed up! So…

Did we meet you at the Lane Cove Village Fair 2016?

The Lane Cove Fair is one of the highlights of the Cameraygal Festival.  It also happens to be the day that we launched inthcove.com.aulast year.  This year we met so many ITC fans.  Thank you for your kind words and encouragement. We had heaps of people come up and thanks us for fighting for more buses in lane cove and safer intersections.  We could not do this without our great roving reporters…