Three years ago, my friend Josh and I sat down and decided the London LGBTQ community needed something. We needed a place to express. To perform. To create. To listen. To connect. So we started Queer Open Mic.
That was back in 2022. We had no idea where it would go, but we knew what we wanted it to feel like. We wanted it to be safe. We wanted it to be welcoming. We wanted people to turn up with songs, poems, guitars, jokes, and voices.
And we wanted them to leave feeling like they’d been seen and that they belong.
Fast forward to 2025 and Queer Open Mic is still going strong. In fact, it’s thriving. We now call The Cock Tavern in Kennington our home. It’s a proper south London gay bar with heart, and it’s the perfect setting for a night that is all about lifting up community voices.
If your ideal Saturday night includes beats, vegan food, and a dance floor full of happy people, keep reading.
There’s a free club night coming to north London and it’s got everything your plant-based heart could ask for. It’s called Plants ‘n’ Bass and it’s happening at the ever-welcoming Karamel Club on Saturday 2 August, 2025.
If the thought of another night alone with a meal deal and an even sadder swipe app makes your blood run cold, I’ve got news for you.
Sylvia, the brains behind vegan and vegetarian speed-dating events in Bristol and Liverpool, is bringing the love (and the friendship) to East London. Mark your calendars for Sunday 18 August, 2025 because Love Shack is about to be taken over by plant-based romantics and platonic hopefuls.
Tell Me Where I’m Going (Wrong) is barrelling along into its second year and the chaotic and unrehearsed nature of it persists.
In this episode, Josh and I chat about LGBT icons as well as Ozzy Osbourne, classic Australian television show Prisoner, The Cosby Show, and lots of other random topics.
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If you appreciate my blog posts and the work I do to support vegan business and challenge injustice, please consider making a one time small donation of a couple of quid online here. You might also be in the position to sponsor my work on an regular basis via Patreon.
You can order my book ‘Fat Gay Vegan: Eat, Drink and Live Like You Give a Sh!t’ online now. It has been out a while now but is still a good read. You can also listen to the Audiobook read by me!
Every now and then I find myself loitering in the chilled aisles of a supermarket, not because I need anything, but because I’m curious to see what new vegan goodies are lurking in the wild.
My most recent nosey adventure happened at the Sainsbury’s in Angel, North London, and I was impressed with what I found.
Club Mexicana is at it again and this time it’s not just about fabulous vegan food. It’s about solidarity.
In the lead up to Trans+ Pride London, Club Mexicana is using its incredibly delicious platform to shine a spotlight on MindOut, a mental health charity run by and for LGBTQ people.
This inclusive and welcoming event is back at Karamel in Wood Green on Saturday 26 July 2025 and it’s shaping up to be a cracker. Entry is free, so the only thing you need to bring is your sparkling personality and perhaps a working knowledge of karaoke classics.
The popularity and visibility of veganism in 2025 is often breathtaking for an old time vegan like me.
As I discussed in a recent post, I’ve been vegan for more than a quarter of a century and the changes I’ve seen around the UK and the planet have been staggering.
And one of the most exciting (and surprising) changes in this time has been the rise of vegan restaurant chains.