It’s the strangest kind of place that makes it feel like home. For those of the café late lifestyle Newtown, Sydney is a beacon of great food and even better coffee. For those who live locally, the Saturday throngs are a chance for amusement and mischief. From the Bird-Whistle man to Old Dave, the Virgin Newtowner is assailed with a bewildering range of characters totally oblivious to a visitors finer sensibilities. Though you may be sure that Old Dave will have judged from distance whether you might be up for a blue one or even better a lobster.

With the odd poet selling their wares to the multitude of local buskers making their drinking money with a few tunes, there is always an edge to Newtown that can surprise, amaze and even unsettle but never bore. In this truly diverse suburb, the waitresses know the characters and are much more likely to give them a free coffee than shuffle them along. But put aside your prejudices and Newtown can be a truly unique experience.

And it pays to have local knowledge. While Cafes and Restaurants have bloomed in Newtown with new trade coming from outside, the cheap, cheerful and bloody marvelous have disappeared somewhat. But not quite! Avoiding the main drag on a Saturday night can bring bonuses of great food at a very reasonable price.

Love Kilimanjaro African Restaurant but cannot get in, there is the African Express Eatery, owned by the same people, beside the Duke of Edinburgh on Enmore Road. For Pakistan/Indian food, Guzzlers on South King Street is the King of Cheap Eats. And down in St Peters, the Good Wok never fails to please! For Pizza, Torino’s on Enmore Road or for Pasta, there is a cosy little Italian restaurant Mamma Maria’s upstairs from the Old Fish Shop on the corner of King and Church Street!  Who needs Norton Street?

Thai restaurants? I wouldn’t even dare to suggest but almost all of them are great so go with your mood! Taking out a Vegetarian? The Green Gormet vegetarian Yum Cha will win you a friend for life, though almost everywhere in Newtown has plenty of Vegetarian options. For beer and food, the Courthouse is great, while the Zanzibar and Soni’s give a little more up market experience with lots of Tapas to keep you happy.

Coffee has to be Campos, votes one of the best 10 cups of coffee in the world, though it does get quite crowded. A take out with a nice walk to Camperdown Park is always a possibility. Other than that, take your time and check out some of the side streets for the hidden treats or join the crowd watchers on one of the many cafés facing onto King Street.

Article written by Pauline Bleach

After precipitating we follow our set course to sea, starting at its Ross River dam, we slither through kilometers of gallery forests where birds chirp intrinsically.  As gravity decides our direction we can see an abundance of culture and life; joggers, strollers, rowers, water skiers, cyclists, fishers and the occasion youth trying to take it all in and show it around with a camera.  We pass Castle Hill where hiking and 360 degree views reign.  We flow through the old train yard and the smell of booming residence is rich.  Here we split the right stream meanders out to sea but the left stream pumps through the heart of the city.

By day commerce fills the Flinders Street Mall.  By night social activities take hold we can see the ever popular Palmer Street known for its restaurants and jazz bands.  Its older sister Flinders Street East resides on the opposite side of the bank where clubs, pubs and bars are frequented by the local youths, students and army population. In between these street yachts and catamarans bob up and down and we welcome their interest in us with claps against their hulls.  At day they sail out to the Magnetic Island with its green and lushes forests and beautiful beaches.

We pass the port of Townsville, pass the breakwater and drift to the left.  With a single glance we can see the Strand.  People sit on the dunes with dogs, children, fish and chips while seagulls glide in front of them in cool off-shore winds.  As I evaporate out at sea, I recognise my necessity here and I hope I will visit again.

Article written by Chris Jensen

Tilpa is a tiny town in outback New South Wales with a population of just 9. It’s far away from any major capital city, 10 hours from Sydney and Melbourne. The locals live on huge cattle stations that stretch for hundreds of kilometres. The people work hard with the dusty, dry earth their family have passed down through generations.

The Tilpa Pub, an original from days gone by, sits on the banks of the Darling River. The walls are covered in black marker; messages that mark the memories of many. It is the thoughts of strangers which lights up the Pub. For two dollars, thoughts become timeless, and the Royal Australian Flying Doctors Service is supported.

The pub sells most things, including fuel and a hearty meal. Although occasionally a shortage of fuel can leave visitors stranded for a few hours. It’s never a long wait, with a local volunteering to help out, or the fuel truck arriving ‘just a bit late’. Outside the pub, a tiny airstrip runs alongside the Community Centre. A monthly visit from the doctor caters to the health of the locals, young and old.

The area was once known for its cotton farming, where the riverboats would pass by the farms, taking cotton to the major towns. It’s hard to imagine, given now, years later, the river is drying up, leaving farmers desperate for water.

Tilpa held a fundraising concert in 2005 for the Royal Australian Flying Doctors Service. The town population swelled to 2000 for the night. The sounds of many music stars including well known country music legend Lee Kernagan could be heard many kilometres away.

Tilpa is a genuinely warm and inviting town. Many of the local properties offer boutique and unique accommodation. The locals are friendly and a bush cuppa will be made with a smile.

Article written by Carla Clark.

Two Flat Whites have today embarked on a writing series called Towns & Places in Australia. The aim of this series is to help our talented writers further promote and showcase their work while promoting this wonderful country of ours.

Check out the wonderful articles and creative skills displayed by our home grown talent over the coming months. It’s not too late to get involved. Whether you are an up and comer or established and experienced writer, we want you!

So why not give it a go! If you are interested, please email me at ben {at} twoflatwhites(.)com and provide your choice of place or town.

The Two Flat Whites Team

I have turned off the BBQ and dusted off my pen and am excited to have joined the Two Flat Whites Team. Over the course of the year, I will be providing you, the Two Flat Whites readers with a commentary on some of the spectacular, wacky and unique towns and places this wonderful country of ours has to offer.

We get the ball point rolling and shine the spot light on the inner west. Glebe is an eclectic slice of Sydney. The diverse groups of people that live, shop and visit Glebe get a real feel of the Bohemian culture. The area is renowned for its young and fashionable art loving, book devouring and coffee consuming atmosphere.

Glebe was discovered by the English very quickly on the arrival of the First Fleet. Its name derives from the land on which it was developed. Originally owned by the Church of England, ‘The Glebe’ was a land grant of 400 acres given by Governor Arthur Phillip to Reverend Richard Johnson, Chaplain of the First Fleet, in 1790.

Today, Glebe has a population of about 14 thousand residents, with almost half of them aged between 20 and 39. The area houses an abundance of charming bookshops, multicultural restaurants, divine cafes, funky pubs and bars. Glebe is also home to the Anzac Bridge, Wentworth Park, Fish Markets, Valhalla theatre and the rejuvenated Sydney Tram System.

Annual events include The Glebe Street Fair and Glebe Music Festival in November, the Sydney Teapot Show in August every year and the upcoming Sydney Shakespeare Festival. Established in 2007, the annual Sydney Shakespeare Festival has fast become a fixture on Sydney’s summer calendar. Shakespeare’s plays have captured the imagination of millions of people throughout the world for over 400 years and are as exciting and provocative now as the day they were written. Grab a picnic, a bottle of wine, your friends and head to Sydney’s spectacular harbour foreshore for a night of theatrical magic from the 7th January to 14th February 2010.

Article written by the Travelling Larrikin.

As I reflect on the four days I spent at the 2009 Dungog Film Festival, it is the above quote – from festival director Allanah Zitserman – that seems to be the easiest way to describe my experiences to you all.

Dungog is unlike any other film festival I have been to.  I saw many great Australian films, met many interesting people (film-makers, film-goers, and local residents), and listened to many enlightening film industry discussions.  What made it unique was that all of this took place in a small, northern-NSW rural town, three and a half hours out of Sydney.  This was not the Dendy in Newtown (my local inner-city cinema), this was foreign turf, and I was a wide-eyed tourist having my own little personal adventure.  I’m sure that every single one of the 6,000 people that flocked to the festival this year had their own personal adventure as well.  It’s the sort of thing that you really need to experience for yourself.

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Slotted between Mah Jong, Line Dancing and playgroup, 5 women meet every Tuesday at The Leisure Learning Centre at Balcombe Heights Baulkham Hills to quilt. Anne has been with the group since 1999 and explains the language of the craft, “Quilting has a language of its own such as ‘fat quarters’, piecing, stippling, blocks, rotary cutter, ‘Jelly Rolls’, rotating mat, templates… special names to reflect the finished appearance e.g. Grandmother’s Garden, Shoo Fly, Ohio Star, Flying Geese.”

Quilting has a history that spans the entire globe with ancient beginnings in most unlikely places.  The Bangladeshis quilted, the Dutch, Hawaiians did too, in fact, and all are still at it.  But perhaps the most influential are America’s Amish people. And yes, Anne assures me, men do quilt.

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If you are travelling into the city on a Sunday and if you are looking for something interesting to do, make sure you check out the Domain philosophers.

Perched atop of fruit and cardboard boxes at the top of the Domain Park across from the Art Gallery of New South Wales, these Philosophers  are willing to impart their knowledge to whomever is willing to listen.

Broken into two sides, seemingly right and left wing, by the footpath that runs through them, these men (yes, there are no ladies here) seem to never tire of hearing their own voices.

The divide between the two groups reminds me of Israel and Palestine, as on one side you have the right wing self proclaimed “Domain Philosopher” who is quick to rattle off random facts about Aristocracy, Newtons Theory of Relativity (I tried to ask him if he meant Matthew Newtons role in Underbelly, but he wasn’t having a bar of it) and to why the private school system is the only system that people can learn from.

On the other side of the walkway, you have the resident Science Guru who claims he has invented a language that is far superior to anything else currently being used and that Alien life-forces regularly visit him, and a group of fervently religious fellows, one of whom who asks the question did god cause the bushfires? I didn’t get a chance to ask him, because I wasn’t game to go near him seeing he has a green rope cordoning off his workspace on the grass. Who knows what magic might happen if you step inside it, or maybe it’s a safeguard for the public as it stops one from being sprayed with saliva from his sermons.

One could spend hours here just listening to or arguing with these men, as they never seem to skip a beat. Why not have a look see, and if you get bored you can always go and take a visit to the art gallery.

Article by Daine Nagas

As the West is bracing for a recession in response to the credit crunch, the superstitious market gurus are looking to fashion fables as indicators of the uncertain future.

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I’m sure almost all of you would be on a mailing list of some sort, it’s unavoidable these days. It is the no-brainer PR tool of our era. When most people spend their working day sending and receiving, the easiest way for websites to target their market directly by getting you when you’re guard is down at the counter of your favourite store or at the door of a nightclub. It seems harmless enough at the time to scribble down your email address, but in fact you are soliciting a potential floodgate.Here in Australia, we have a adopted a law based on an American model.

The Spam Act of 2003 states that companies or websites using mailing lists are obliged to address specifics such as: –

- Consent – must obtain proof of consent to contact the recipient

- Identify – include accurate information to identify the website/organisation as the authorised sender of the message in the email

- Unsubscribe – email messages must have a functional unsubscribe facility allowing recipients to permanently opt out of the list at any time.

Now, as long as I can easily unsubscribe at any time I have no issue being signed up to a mailing list. What really is annoying is when you have no way to unsubscribe or the mailing list breaks and then all sort of nonsense happens. This was the case last week with a mailing list for a methodical NY Street label. Their email list broke and all of a sudden every reply back was sent to everyone on the mailing list so it has become one big email orgy and so far it hasn’t occurred to anyone controlling it to shut it off.

I have had the pleasure of experiencing this in the past when the sender was too cheap to use a third party web based emailer for sending out e-flyers. The result is a million people asking to be unsubscribed and telling everyone else not to reply all.

I suppose these things happen, but there are A LOT of Australian small businesses and designers who fall into the same trap out of ignorance. This may well be a cheaper option, but you run the risk of breaking the law (OK, so who cares?) or alienating the exact people you are trying to win over which is far worse a crime!

- David Goldberg – article provided by Design Federation