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Money raised
Wow.
I know I put on some rollicking events, but even by my standards this week’s comedy fundraiser in the south London neighbourhood of Balham was a real good time.
Thanks to the generosity of the performers and food sponsors Fry’s Family Foods, my event raised just over £1000 for Hugletts Wood Farm Animal Sanctuary. Yes, £1000! (£1005.45 to be exact)
Guests laughed heartily at the joke telling of our host Carl Donnelly and the impressive line up of talent he assembled for the night. Eddy Brimson was a real crowd favourite, as was Jake Yapp with his explanation of the stages of being vegan. Lou Sanders was outrageous in the best possible way, while I can’t thank Wendy Wason and Chris Martin enough for stepping in at the last minute when two of our original line up dropped out.
These comedians donated their time and talent to ensure this night was a massive fundraising success, so please take a moment to click on each of their names and thank them for supporting animals.
Can we talk about the food for a second?
Fry’s really made things special by serving hundreds of their brand new Rice Protein & Chia Nuggets, as well as trays and trays overflowing with their famous Sausage Rolls. Every single guest was also offered one of the new Falafel Burgers, served in a soft bun with aioli and fresh rocket.
Check out my superstar sister-in-law Sophia dealing with food hosting duties on the night.
Those burgers were delicious!
Tammy Fry Kelly of Fry’s Family Foods was on hand to welcome guests and let them know a little more about the company and the new range. You can click here to see some of the products we served on the night.
Thank you to everyone who helped make this night a huge success.
If you would like to help the rescued animals of Hugletts, please visit this fundraising page and give what you can.
We’re on the telly
My inbox just blew up big time.
Every single person in the UK is desperate to let me know that my fab monthly party, Queer Vegan Disco, was mentioned on a Channel 4 program tonight. The Night Bus is a fly-on-the-wall docu-series that showcases the people of London as they attempt to get home on the night bus network in the early hours following the closure of the Underground trains.
Tonight featured the number 29 from Wood Green which means the wonderful Michelle and Mat were featured moments after leaving Queer Vegan Disco.
Check out the video!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Best vegan food
I’m currently in California where I’m enjoying sunshine, friends and a hell of a lot of fabulous vegan food.
The place where these three components met in perfect unison was the 6th Annual Los Angeles Vegan Beer & Food Festival. Thousands and thousands of revellers converged on the Rose Bowl in Pasadena for a day of drinking, eating and socialising.
Check out some of the impressive food photos I shot on the day, as well as photos taken by my friends. Try not to drool.
Pie Baby!
Dear Pie Baby. Where have you been all my life?
Pie Baby is exactly the kind of food venture I can throw my weight behind.
This new venture is a wife and husband food start up, formed in a home kitchen with nothing but big vegan dreams and a love of pies. Lara Fair is the cook and Finn Fair is the artist in charge of all design work.
BREAKING NEWS: Ms. Cupcake
Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, has put vegan sweets on the London food map quite like Mellissa Morgan. Mellissa’s Ms. Cupcake brand is known and loved by people all over the capital, while her recipe collection has sold by the pallet load to devoted fans.
Ms. Cupcake is a vegan brand that has come an impressive distance in a short time, but a booming Brixton bakery and plans for a follow up book do not signal anywhere close to the end of the story.
Ms. Cupcake and Mellissa Morgan have some big news to share.
Soho owl-less
Plans for the owl cafe have been abandoned in Soho.
I’m in somewhat of a celebratory mood but feel we must remain vigilant. The organiser of this event plans to move it to another location out of Central London.
The organiser is also in the process of launching a new app/social media platform, so it is understandable why some of us would be concerned about his true intentions. Is he using birds to build a user base for his app?
Some things to ponder.
The Annie the Owl pop up logo (on top) and the Locappy logo (below) are extremely similar. Is the intention to build goodwill for the app off the back of animals?
Here is a screenshot of Seb Lyall talking about the Locappy launch. Full video here.
Here is his name at the bottom of a press release for Annie the Owl pop up event, showing that the Locappy Seb is the same as Annie the Owl Seb.
It could appear to some people that Seb was trying to launch his app off the fuzzy affection the public have for owls. It is clear that he has attempted to showcase an owl cafe around the same time as the app launch, using almost identical graphics for both endeavours.
In my opinion, birds deserve a cruelty-free life without the payback of performance. People need to be taught to give a fuck without receiving anything in return. It would have been awesome if the Locappy launch happened and some funds were directed to owl welfare concerns without them expected to be adored in an inappropriate setting.
Bottom line: owls shouldn’t be exploited so an entrepreneur can launch a money making app (if that is the case here).
Keep a keen eye on Annie the Owl.
Vegan coach trip
I adore creating events that give the vegan community fun opportunities to socialise while supporting vegan businesses at the same time.
You knew that, right? Well, check this out.
I am thrilled to announce the first ever Fat Gay Vegan day trip. It is a Vegan Coach Trip!
This is your opportunity to spend a day with a coach load of compassionate people, get in some last minute Christmas shopping, eat delicious food and support vegan businesses.
Here are the details.
Like it ain’t no thang
There have been some fabulous vegan nights out in London during the last few weeks and The Vegan Butcher has dropped by to catch us up.
Time for a quick London Vegan Events roundup for the month of December!
The vegan community in London is growing larger and stronger each month. What December taught us is that we’re here! We’re vegan! GET USED TO IT! No, wait…that’s not quite it. What we learned this month is that London vegans love getting together to show off our mad kitchen skills/get drunk (depending on the event).
The December potluck was held, as always, on the first Wednesday of the month at the campus of Syracuse University London Program in central London. A lot of attendees kicked things into high gear because of the holiday season and the results were amazing. We had an Italian-style seitan roast, gorgeous salads, and delectable desserts, among many, many other things. Just take a look at some shots from the night.
The monthly London Vegan Drinks event was held this past Thursday at tibits vegetarian bar in central London. With over 100 RSVPs logged for this event, tibits showed us some cruelty-free love by making their buffet menu 99% vegan for the night. It was enough to warm any wind-chilled London vegan’s heart! It was yet another amazing night from the consistently fabulous tibits.
January’s schedule for these London vegan community events will be a little bit off, but I’ll let my chubby, gay friend tell you all about that. I wish you all a wonderful and safe holiday season. See you all in January! xx
Many thanks to The Vegan Butcher for a succinct round-up. As she mentioned, London Vegan Potluck is taking January off but will be back in full force in February. London Vegan Drinks is relentless and will be enjoying no such break. You can drink with compassionate people on Thursday Jaanuary 19, 2012.
Vacation, all I ever wanted
Not everything I write ends up on my blog. I like to spread my tales of vegan overeating around the web.
In this vein, please visit the champion of all vegan blogs to read my latest consumption review. Quarrygirl is currently hosting FGV words and pictures detailing my trip to Veg World India in Barcelona.
Say hi to quarrygirl for me!