Provincial towns you jog round

Vegan paint job

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One of my favourite things about being in the vegan community is when people come together to help others.

It happened recently when readers of this blog helped raise funds to get Veg Instead back to trading, it happens daily when millions of vegans join voices to sign petitions like this one and I’m hoping it will happen again to assist a vegan restaurant in the UK with expenses related to redecorating.

Painted Elephant is a vegan restaurant in the Northern UK city of Newcastle. The business owners took a huge personal and professional leap when they decided to open the first 100% vegan eatery in this part of the country and I’m sure it has been tough work to get through these first few months.

But Painted Elephant has survived and is happily still serving up delicious plant-based meals and desserts to appreciative vegans and omnivores alike.

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I am grateful for the dedication shown by places such as Painted Elephant and that is why I don’t mind helping financially when I can. They save animals by serving alternatives to meat, eggs and dairy so they deserve a helping hand when they ask for it, in my humble opinion.

The owners of Painted Elephant opened their restaurant on a shoestring budget but have now decided they would like to decorate to ensure the location can compete with every other non-vegan place in the city when it comes to presentation and decor.

They are only asking for £500 to make this happen and I know £1 from 500 people is a realistic target. Let’s get Painted Elephant looking good as a thank you for everything they do for promoting vegan food and animal protection.

Click here to contribute.

If you are not in the position to contribute, you might consider supporting this restaurant by sharing news of the fundraiser.

Extra note: you can join me at Painted Elephant on July 23, 2015 for Vegan Roadshow. Australian vegan band Love Like Hate will be performing a gig inside the restaurant. Book tickets here. (strictly limited space)

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Edinburgh vegan

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You can’t stop this runaway vegan train.

Henderson’s Bistro of Edinburgh posted the following on their Facebook page yesterday:

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Birmingham eating

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Super short post for anyone in (or interested in being in) Birmingham this weekend.

CHoEdIPWIAADlDtYay for vegan food traders at local events!

I also like the sound of a mobile gin bar.

Not sure who or what Vegan Grindhouse is? Click here to read more.

UPDATE: After posting this story, I was contacted by Two Towers Brewery who told me their ales will be vegan during the event as well. Drink, eat and be extremely merry!

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Go Glasgow!

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There is currently a unique fundraising campaign underway in Scotland. A group of vegan activists have come together to raise money to have a vegan billboard erected in both Glasgow and Edinburgh.

That is some fucking awesome activism!

You can check out the campaign website here.

If you are in Glasgow this Saturday (20th June, 2015), you can head along to fundraiser concert being held at vegan venue Stereo from 7pm onwards.

Here is a bit of info about the night:

Meat is Murder: A Smiths-inspired pro-vegan fundraiser

All proceeds go towards The Vegan Billboard Campaign

Featuring performances by –

Hausfrau
P6
Seconds
Chrissy Barnacle
DJ Gavin Dunbar (Camera Obscura)
and more…

Tickets are available online.

If you can’t get along to the gig, consider donating to this campaign online.

Have a fun night, Glasgow!

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Vegan menu in Ayr

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Yay for Ayr in Scotland!

The Chestnuts Hotel in Ayr is a pleasant surprise for vegans. My buddy Kay messaged me last night to let me know the restaurant in this gorgeous hotel has a lunch menu for vegans and a dinner menu for vegans. (Both links open as PDFs)

11279965_10155727728690430_1901406736_nHave any readers been along to The Chestnuts Hotel? What did you think?

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VBites cafe opens in Chester

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Let’s hope this is the start of something huge.

Earlier this week, I found myself in the northern city of Chester for the grand opening of the VBites cafe located inside a Holland & Barrett outlet. I had been invited along by the PR team for the health food chain (they kindly paid for my train ticket) as they wanted me to see the new concession in action, as well as chat with owner Heather Mills about the cafe.

My take on the new cafe? It’s a completely revolutionary concept for the UK.

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Southend vegan

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Today’s post comes from a regular reader following her visit to Southend-on-Sea.

Julie Ann Pope (who also runs the fab London Lesbian Vegan group!) is responsible for all of the following words and photos detailing the vegan options at a 50s diner near the UK seaside.

Thanks, Jules!

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Hometown

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Did you all know that I am from Australia?

I grew up in a city called Brisbane. Actually, I spent my younger years in a seaside town called Redcliffe just north of Brisbane and later moved to the Queensland capital as a teenager.

Where you grow up always holds a unique place in your memories, so it was exciting to hear I had been mentioned in my hometown newspaper in connection to my blogging and event planning in the UK.

Check it out!

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Nottingham, here I come!

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Vegan Roadshow is gearing up to be an exciting journey around the UK for a merry band of travellers.

This July, I am hitting the road with Australian vegan band Love Like Hate and activist group Animal Equality for a series of events around the country. We have dates scheduled in London, Leeds, Newcastle, Glasgow and Oxford, plus we are adding new dates over the coming weeks.

Like this one in Nottingham!

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I am thrilled to be teaming up with legendary vegan trailblazers Veggies Catering Campaigns for the July 21, 2015 stop of the tour at the Sumac Centre.

Veggies are pioneers in the UK. They have spent decades educating people on vegan issues through compassionate catering. You will be hard pushed to find a more ethical undertaking than this food, activist and education enterprise. Read about all the levels of their awesomeness here.

So what is going to happen at the Nottingham stop of the tour?

Love Like Hate will be performing a special semi-acoustic live show, Veggies will be selling their tasty vegan treats, Animal Equality will be spreading news of their outreach work and selling merchandise while I will be chatting to anyone who will listen.

The Nottingham stop of Vegan Roadshow is a powerhouse collaboration between some of the busiest names in vegan UK. Support independent vegan musicians. Support vegan caterers. Learn and share information. Be there!

Click here to donate via the Vegan Roadshow Indiegogo campaign and claim your Nottingham ticket.

Follow Veggies on Twitter

Like Veggies on Facebook

RSVP to the Nottingham Vegan Roadshow Facebook event and invite friends

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Vegan job available

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Oh my. If I didn’t already have a job as the resident FGV, I would be all over this opportunity.

Do you know about Dr Hadwen Trust?

This charity is on a mission to find compassionate alternatives to animal-based research and prove that non-animal medical research is the future. Dr Hadwen Trust is the leading UK group in this crucial field and work hard to ‘fund new research committed to advancing biomedical science without the use of animals.’

You can find out more about Dr Hadwen Trust (and support their work) here.

But what’s this of a cool vegan job I mentioned?

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