London vegan news, reviews & events
The votes have been counted, the floors have been mopped and I am thrilled to announce the winners of Best Beer in Show and Best Overall Brewery as voted by attendees of London Vegan Beer Fest 2015.
Hold on to your pints.
Drum roll for best beer in show as voted by attendees of London Vegan Beer Fest 2015.
I was once awarded the runner up ribbon in a creative writing competition as a child and everyone took great delight in telling me the thrill actually existed in the nomination.
I expect to hear that phrase a lot this year after discovering I have been nominated in the VegfestUK Awards.
You can check out my insurmountable competition in the Best Vegan Lifestyle Website category by clicking here. Not sure if I’ll enjoy losing to Viva!, Animal Aid or The Vegan Society more but of course the real pleasure is in the nomination.
Thanks, VegfestUK!
Maybe this is what it feels like to send a child off to college.
Almost four years have passed since I launched London Vegan Drinks back in 2011. In that time, I have welcomed thousands of vegans and not-yet-vegans to meet, eat, drink and mingle at one of the biggest monthly social events on the planet.
The event has truly become a legendary staple of the London social scene and has been attended by people from all over the world. It has been an honour to have nurtured London Vegan Drinks every step of the way. I worked long and hard to make it a roaring success and in the process created a very special and much-loved event for London vegans. My aim was to create an inclusive, safer space for people of all walks of life with compassion as the binding trait and I’m certain countless people now have many happy memories thanks to the event.
But everything changes.
After 10 shows in 9 cities, my first ever Vegan Roadshow is all over.
I want to give a massive thank you to all the people who supported our Indiegogo campaign, helping us to cover some of the costs associated with taking a band, a blogger and an activist group on the road.
Lots of love and appreciation goes out to the venues that hosted our event. Thank you for taking a chance on our unique tour and I hope it was worthwhile for you. Your support was invaluable in helping us spread our message of compassion.
We wouldn’t have had a tour without the attendees. The people who came to the shows were full of enthusiasm and made all of us feel welcome in each city. Thank you for showing up and spending your money on merchandise. We are thankful.
Thank you to the bands and performers who helped us entertain people along the way including the wonderful Chrissy Barnacle and the irrepressible Colour Me Wednesday.
Superstar food providers kept us fed and happy during the tour. Thank you to the wonderful chefs and cooks who came out to each stop of Vegan Roadshow to impress us with their culinary skills.
HUGE appreciation goes to Connor Jackson who not only managed the Animal Equality merch stand at every stop of the tour, but also stepped up to perform at most of the gigs. Connor is an incredibly talented multi-instrumentalist who works hard to spread the vegan message. Thanks, Connor.
Josh Leuner is my partner and he certainly got more than he bargained for with Vegan Roadshow. Josh drove the van all on his own for the entire tour and performed an acoustic set at most of the stops. His unwavering support of my outlandish pursuits is the stuff that makes life bearable. I love you, Josh.
Final thanks to the Vegan Roadshow resident band, Love Like Hate. Sonja and Heather are two of the most passionate, authentic and compassionate people on the planet and I’m extremely fortunate to have shared this experience with them. Their unwavering love of music and doing the right thing pushed them into agreeing to fly all the way from Brisbane, Australia at great personal expense to help me bring Vegan Roadshow to life. I am forever humbled by their musical talent and kindness. Saying goodbye to them as they prepared to return to Australia filled me with a definite sadness. Thank you. Lots of love, always.
