Take the BS out of new wine appreciation.

Latteccino along with B&S Wines invite you to experience a fine dining experience right here in the Concord West Village.

Introducing the:

Cheviot Bridge Wine Dinner

Wednesday April 4th @ Lattecchino

Becoming a regular event, locals are enjoying a beautiful night out while combining the best cuisine with the best wine, all from local providers. Be sure to book early. bswines@bswines.com.au

See you there!

Mike Biggs

CSIRO Lab on Legs Light and Sound Show

Simple interactive demonstrations show the fascinating properties of light and sound. Come and freeze a moving object using a stroboscope or see an 'invisible' laser beam.
Suitable for Yr 3 - Yr 8
The Event will be on Thursday 12 April at 2pm.

Bookings are essential for all school holiday activities and will be taken from Monday, 26 March 2007. Bookings will not be accepted before this date. Please contact the Five Dock Library on (02) 9911 6310.

If you have booked tickets but are unable to attend, please contact the library so the tickets can be allocated to those on waiting lists. Children under 7 MUST have a carer in the library for the duration of the show. Limit of 4 tickets per family.

Article Taken from the Canada Bay Council Website

Mike Biggs

Printed Version of Biggs Times for Download

IKEA Serves 'Flat Pack' Food

Restaurant Review

Just like the neatly packed furniture, the cafeteria at the IKEA store Rhodes, also feels rather neat and tidy. As I took a tray and slid it along the rails, selecting various juice and entree' combinations, I felt like I was, in their words an IKEA 'co-worker'. Reminiscent of a school that I have never attended, the feeling of belonging was as strong as the cold sterile surroundings.

A cheap meal got me interested, and with a cooked breakfast for $2 it's sure to raise an eyebrow. By the time I had collected enough items to fill my tum, I found that I had spend $7.50. Still not so bad since I had a cooked breakfast and felt like part of a team.

The food wasn't so bad. The bacon wasn't the best cut, but it was cooked properly and tasted nice. The scrambled egg was a little watery, but again I enjoyed it, along with the apple danish, hash brown (I love potato), and an apple/guava juice.

I was a satisfied diner.

The fact that I was happy with my meal will be blindingly obvious when I tell you what I did the following day.

I went to IKEA for lunch. This time I had meatballs and chips. It would appear to be a staple diet in Sweden, meatballs that is. In fact this time I was more impressed than the last, the meatballs were great and I again was satisfied.

What was interesting about the size of my meatballs serving was that they were measured by number of balls. I had opted for the medium size which entitled me to 15 balls (I think). I suppose there is no other way to measure the serving when there are three serving sizes available.

All in all I would recommend the restaurant for a cheap meal break during a long day of shopping, or as a quick breakfast on the way past on Homebush Bay Drive. Although, be aware that their breakfast does not start until 9.30am.

Send in your own local restaurant reviews to the email on the right.

By Mike Biggs

"Single, no return thanks!"

This is what you’d have to say to the
ticket office at Concord West station if you are disabled.

For me Concord West is a great station but not for the convenienceof a person with a disability. It may be overlooked by most, but I have noticed what a problem exists if you need to get off a train from the city while in a wheelchair. You might find yourself in a bit of trouble here.

Platform 1 which is city bound, has an exit straight to Queen St. OK, so getting to the city is easy, but what about coming back?

Coming back and exiting at Concord West would pose a big problem foranyone in a wheelchair. Trains from the city stop on platform 2 or 3and neither platform has a way to exit that doesn’t involve a flight of 20- 30 steps (not counting the way back down).

It would appear that Cityrail do not care about ensuring the provision of services for ALL passengers traveling to Concord West, since they do not provide lifts or any alternative exit from platforms 2 and 3.So if you are some one who uses a wheelchair, you might have to go all the way to Rhodes station and exit there, since they have lifts there.

If you have any thoughts on this topic, please provide feedback.If you are as outraged as we are, maybe we can get Cityrail to do something about it.

By Champ

Graffiti is Nice

Graffiti is considered contrastingly by different age groups in our society. Some consider it to be a scourge on the face of a city, while others see it as a ray of beauty in a horribly ugly sea of concrete.

Regardless of what you think of the vandalism element, it is undeniable that there is much skill and creativity that goes into a good piece of so called 'graffiti'. What once was an ugly brick wall is now covered in a beautiful expression of art. You can't argue with the value in that.

We are unsure who the artist is who created this piece, found on the north end of the John Witton bridge, but they have certainly done a wonderful job.

By Mike Biggs

Share your local 'graffiti' or other beautiful artworks. Take a picture and Email us on the contact on the right. Save the email to your mobile phone, you can email us from there too!

What do you think?

International Thinking Conference

Not much to do with our area, but of infinite value. Hopefully we have a few thinkers in our community.

Thinking is such an important skill to the business mind, but equally the individual in everyday life. There are experts in the field of thinking who have devoted much time and effort to understanding the way we (the human brain) thinks and sees the word.

The international Thinking Conference is held almost every year and this year will be in Sweden. If you are interested in the subject of thinking, do yourself a favour and go to the Conference.

Dr Edward de Bono will be there along with many other though leaders from across the globe. See the website for more information.

Mike Biggs

Canada Bay Bicycle User Group

If you like Bicycling, and you enjoy soaking up the inspiring outdoors of our community, then you should make your way to Concord West and join a bike ride with BAYBUG.

With multiple weekly rides organized, there is something for everyone both day and evening. One of the main meeting points is Concord West station.

For more information see www.baybug.org.au

I am off to the bike shop to get a bike!

Mike Biggs

Canada Bay opens Community Art Gallery

Hopefully a sign of the kind of talent to expect, local artist Caterina Di Girolamo is exhibiting her work at the new community art gallery.

Located within the Five Dock Leisure Centre on Queen St, the gallery will expose upwards of 250,000 people per year to the beautiful works of local artists.

The current collection on show called 'Life at Canada Bay' captures what is is really about to be a part of this great community. Work that's been in the making since Caterina first picked up a camera when she was 15.

The opening night saw along with many interested parties a purchase by Mayor Angelo Tsirekas.

Take a look at the gallery yourself, with 8 collections planned per year, there's always something new to see, and definetly something for everyone.

City of Canada Bay’s Community Art Gallery is based at Five Dock Leisure Centre, Cnr Queen’s / Williams Road, Five Dock. Entry is free and the gallery is open 5.30 am to 10.30 pm (week days), 8 am to 7 pm (weekends). ‘Life at Canada Bay’ runs from 9 March – 5 April 2007.

For more information contact Canada Bay Council or visit http://www.canadabay.nsw.gov.au/news/community_art_gallery_launch.html

Jazz Festival this Sunday

Get into the groove down at Brett Park Drummoyne this sunday to soak up the Sunny sounds of Jazz and Blues. Proceeds go to the Concord Hospital, and it is sure to be a great afternoon with a great line up:

Confirmed acts include the legendary ‘Galapagos Duck’, the bluesy ‘Foreday riders’, the smooth blend of ‘Nolan’s Groove’ with ‘Laurie Bennett’s All-stars’, veteran jazzists ‘Jive Bombers’ and bass player ‘John Leigh Calder’, who all come from Sydney. The Central Coast’s sensational ‘Carol Ralph’ will also supply a sultry repertoire of jazz, blues and gospel.

See www.canadabay.nsw.gov.au for more information.