Hard Rubbish Cafe

We all know of the bustling perennial metropolis known as the Garden of Unearthly Delights, but have you ever stopped to consider what's going on across the road? The Hard Rubbish Cafe, just as its name implies, is furbished entirely out of thrown out oddments destined for council pick up.

"It began by us looking for a venue me to do my show ['Gadonk!'] in and we couldn't find one suitable," says Bryan Lynagh, who co-operates the site with Cass Tombs.

"Then we had some friends over and we were sitting in our backyard that's just full of old couches and the like and someone said, 'Hey, this is really relaxing, why don't you get all this out in to the parkland and call it The Hard Rubbish Cafe? And because we thought it was a good idea, we then went ahead with it.

"But because of the Fringe now going yearly it also crept up on us so we had to quickly ring up a few local councils and get the dates for hard rubbish collections were in various suburbs. We just lied and told them we were from certain suburbs," he confesses, "and places like Glenelg and North Adelaide were a bit of a goldmine and then our shed just slowly started to fill up with couches and chairs," he tells me, as we sat on a comfortable grey two seater collected from down Unley way.

"I guess our aim was to help create a more relaxed atmosphere where you can just kick back and meet your friends pre-show and enjoy a quiet beer because it can become very chaotic during the Fringe," he explains. "We also have a marquee here where we have ticketed comedy and cabaret acts, but even if you don't come here for a show you can still enjoy the peace and quiet. We've also got a coffee stand set up and a ping pong table and a barbeque, so we'll be having fantastic sausage and Heineken deals going on," he adds. "Overall we've got pretty cheap bar prices which we've had a lot of good feedback on. And on Saturday nights, non-stop Big-Hair metal nights with DJ B-Man playing things like Motley Crue, Poison and Kiss with rare live footage showing on the big screen. So there's plenty of air guitar and sing-a-longs," he enthuses.

"Also if someone wants to perform here and there's an open spot they're welcome to come see us at the bar. For example we've had people come here with just an acoustic guitar, plug in and play away in the background and that's really nice," he offers, invitingly. "Oh, and we've also got the Hard Rubbish Cafe library which is full of books and magazines that we found on the street, And there's jigsaw puzzles and board games like Twister, which is funny to watch intoxicated strangers set it up and try playing."

Then there's the ping-pong table, also saved from hard refuse. "At first we thought it would be just like a novelty that people could just look at," says Lynagh. "but it's been so popular that there's been queues to use it." In summary: Warm summer nights, comfy couches, affordable drinks and Fringe activities. It's a great place for respite and recharging the batteries.

Steve Jones

The Hard Rubbish Cafe is open every night throughout the Fringe, down in the East Parklands