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.
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.
This week in Bristol I had the pleasure of wrapping my laughing gear around The Mighty Food Fight’s delectable offerings and let me say one thing: BEST DONUTS IN THE UK!
One of the biggest joys of being on the Vegan Roadshow is meeting all of the people who come out to listen to the bands and chat with Animal Equality.
The Glasgow stop of the tour brought an extra special (and generous) guest in the form of Karris, the founder of the subscription box service The Vegan Kind.
Not only did Karris buy a ticket to the show, support Animal Equality with donations and listen appreciatively to every piece of music played by our performers, she also gifted everyone on the roadshow with one of her lovely subscription boxes.
As my Vegan Roadshow rounds the halfway point, we are getting ready to depart Glasgow and head to Liverpool.
I wanted to take two minutes out of my day before we set off down the motorway to show you a few photos of the vegan food I have been devouring in Glasgow these past few days.
My buddy Jhenn took over the kitchen at Veg Bar in Brixton a few weeks back and she is now getting into the swing of things as she launches her new menu tonight.
Get along to 45 Tulse Hill from 5pm today (Saturday July 25, 2015) for live music and a new vegan menu that looks delicious.
As you know, my Vegan Roadshow is currently snaking its way around the country with Australian Band Love Like Hate.
A few nights back we stopped for a show in Leeds. It was a great crowd filled with friendly faces and lots of lovely beer, but surely one of the highlights was Sam with his homestyle cooking.
Last year, 8 years after our last cat died, my partner and I adopted an adult male through the Cats Protection League, and called him Moby. He’s the best thing to happen to us in a long time: an endless source of joy and amusement.
Moby
The only downside: the daily dealings with death. I’d forgotten how disturbing it is to dish up smelly lumps of meat. But what choice do we have, when cats are obligate carnivores? Predators FFS! It would be cruel, even fatal, to wilfully deprive them of their natural birthright? Right?
