Madeleine Thomas

Everyone has wanted to travel back in time at least once in their life. When you visit Harry’s on Green Lane you’ll get pretty close. It’s a café by day and wine bar by night, and is named for horticulturalist Sir Harry Veitch, who sought out exotic plants from faraway lands for his wealthy London clientele. They’ve filled the venue with plant life and travel memorabilia. There are white wicker chairs, floor-to-ceiling bookshelves stocked with antique reads, marble tables, bamboo lamp shades and, in winter, a roaring fireplace. Harry’s is a mid-morning coffee spot that becomes a thriving lunch destination. It doesn’t open till 10am, so it’s not for early birds – and you won’t find smashed avocado or pancakes on the menu. However, you will find $10 Scotch eggs, with a golden, crunchy breadcrumb batter accompanied by a tangy aioli. There’s a small selection of cakes too, but arrive before lunch time to get your hands on one. On Friday and Saturday, Harry’s extends its hours to 11pm. The inside space becomes cosy; a dimly lit hub for young and old who wants a glass of Venetian prosecco or Spanish tempranillo over olives, mixed nuts and cheese plates. There’s also a heartier dinner menu available from 6pm. Harry’s is a welcome addition to Bowral’s Acre complex, which houses Dirty Janes antique market; the Press café and shop; Green Lane Kitchen for takeaway lunches; the Potting Shed; and Orangery for gardening enthusiasts.

This weekend, you can take a self guided tour of street art in the three-day festival Perfect Match. The festival, hosted by the Inner West Council, encourages people to discover new and pre-existing street art across Camperdown, Newtown, Marrickville, Enmore, Annandale, Lilyfield, Balmain and Leichhardt. Artists include Phibs, illustrator Mulga the Artist, and Jumboist, who will transform public and privately owned walls into art. The festival is part of the Council’s project to tackle unwanted graffiti with legitimate creative expression. Visitors will have the choice to tour the neighbourhoods with the festival map or to join guided walking, bike or train tours of sites like Petersham tunnel and Dulwich Hill Community Gardens. Plus, there is a tour specifically for budding photographers. There will be 16 new murals across the suburbs, in addition to over 60 pre-existing artworks. As well as the free guided tours, there will be special events including a heritage exhibition at Vicars Woollen Mill, a talk by artists Susannah Williams and Warren Armstrong about Sound Communities, an interactive installation at Enmore bus shelter, a meet and greet with artists, and a guided tour of Sydenham’s industrial and creative precinct. Perfect Match runs from August 4-6. Free. Have you seen the Shepard Fairey mural in the CBD?

After a three year hiatus, boutique food and music festival Lost Picnic is returning to the Domain in October. The eclectic, family friendly festival features musicians from Australia and New Zealand and food from well-known Sydney restaurants in one huge picnic in the park. All brought to you by the people who run NYE fest Lost Paradise. Headlining the music program is NZ reggae-soul-techno group Fat Freddy’s Drop, plus performances from ARIA award-winning artists Sarah Blasko and Montaigne, as well as Melbourne band the Teskey Brothers and Sydney’s country ladies, All Our Exes Live in Texas. Cover band the Beatle Boys will join the Australian Symphony Orchestra to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the classic Beatles’ album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club. While you’re listening to the music, you can snack on dishes from Malaysian restaurant Mamak, Chur Burger, organic restaurant Agape, Middle Eastern pop-up food company the Tel Aviv Issue and Woolloomooloo Italian restaurant Puntino Trattoria, who will be providing picnic hampers that you can preorder for $50. For the sweet toothed, you’ll find KOI Dessert Bar’s food truck selling Asian inspired desserts by former Masterchef contestant Reynold Poernomo.   Lost Picnic is a day out for the whole family Photograph: Lost Picnic     Lost Picnic is a family friendly event, so there’ll be plenty of kids’ entertainment acts including the Gramophone Man, Wind up Ballerina and the Blue Tongue Brass Band. Kids will find roaming m

In a move to raise awareness about food waste at home and worldwide, Oz Harvest and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) will be giving away free soup in Martin Place. Oz Harvest and UNEP are joining forces for a fifth year to promote their campaign Think.Eat.Save, which transforms Martin Place into a food marketplace from 11.30am-2pm.. On July 24, everyone is invited to collect a free bowl of soup cooked with rescued produce from award-winning chefs Neil Perry (Rockpool) and Daniel Pepperell (Hubert). There will also be cooking demonstrations from former Masterchef contestant Justine Schofield and clinical nutritionist Jessica Sepel, who will suggest ways to save time, money and food in the kitchen.   Everyone is invited to collect a free bowl of soup on Monday Photograph: Oz Harvest     As you eat, Oz Harvest CEO Ronni Kahn and Neil Perry will both speak on the importance of reducing food waste. Founded in 2004, Oz Harvest collects surplus food from restaurants, hotels, supermarkets, wholesalers, corporate events and many other food providers before distributing the unwanted food to over 900 charities, as well as stocking their own supermarket which operates under a ‘take what you need, give what you can’ policy. Four million tonnes of food is wasted in Australia every year and Think.Eat.Save aims to reduce this figure with informative events across the country. Sydney’s event will be hosted by ABC War on Waste presenter Craig Reucassel. Think.Eat.Save takes p