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Sadness and happiness

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Today was World Animal Day and I celebrated by teaming up with Fry’s Family Foods for a trip to Hugletts Wood Farm Animal Sanctuary.

I will post in much more detail and with many more photos in the coming days, but for now I want to share this photo before I head to bed.

Josh Priya

This is Radhe Priya walking alongside my partner Josh.

Radhe Priya was born completely sightless into a dairy farm where she was struggling to stay alive. Terrified and unable to manoeuvre to the feed within her cramped living quarters, time was running out for this heartbreakingly-beautiful cow.

Thankfully the kind people of Hugletts sanctuary gave Radhe Priya a safe, secure, loving and forever home and she was liberated from the dairy farm.

Today at the farm she rubbed her body gently against Josh and even though she cannot see, Radhe Priya followed him closely all around the paddock by using her senses of hearing and smell. It seemed like she never wanted Josh to leave her side.

I am devastated to think the happy ending for Radhe Priya is an uncommon rarity, but also thrilled for her. It was such a bittersweet experience.

I implore you to donate whatever you can to the special campaign I am running in conjunction with Fry’s Family Foods. We need to raise funds to build a new fence and purchase security cameras that will allow animals like Radhe Priya to live their lives in peace and security.

We have raised over £1,000 of the £13,000 target.

Please give now and share this post widely.

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Save cows

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Fry’s Family Foods and Fat Gay Vegan are teaming up to raise much needed funds for Hugletts Wood Farm Sanctuary.

Animal Aid

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London Vegan Beer Fest is not the only exciting event taking place on Saturday July 18th, 2015.

You can also join Animal Aid for their sponsored 10 km Walk For The Animals on London’s Hampstead Heath.

Get along to meet Marsha, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier saved by the fantastic New Hope Animal Rescue, along with some other shelter residents.

The animals will be enjoying a day out from their kennels, as well as hoping to find a new forever family.

You can register for the walk and print off more details here and sponsor Marsha – who is walking for Animal Aid – here.

Tell everyone about this wonderful event!

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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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Vegan food stand accident

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Scary news out of Croydon.

The traders running vegan street food market Veg Instead had an extremely fortunate escape from serious injury today when a car crashed into their business.

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Screen grab from London Evening Standard report

According to London Evening Standard:

An unmarked police car crashed into a south London market stall amid a police chase following an armed robbery this morning.

The black Citroen hit a stallholder and then smashed through a vegan food stand at Surrey Street Market in Croydon just after 9.10am.

You can read the full story here.

As soon as I found out about this accident (thanks Oliver for the tip), I phoned stall owner Greg to check if everyone working this morning was OK. He assured me all was fine as far as physical wellbeing goes, however most of the Veg Instead equipment was destroyed.

This is where the vegan community comes in to help fix this situation.

I have set up a Just Giving page to raise the funds to replace the destroyed equipment. Greg estimates the damage at around £500.

Click here to donate now.

We have the collective power to get Veg Instead back on the road instantly. Insurance claims can take weeks and every day they wait to reopen, Veg Instead are losing income and Croydon is without a vegan food option on its streets.

All we need is 500 people to give £1 and I know more than 500 people will read this story. We can and should use our vegan might to sort this out.

Donate now.

You can like Veg Instead on Facebook

You can follow Veg Instead on Twitter

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Vegan truck

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When an opportunity comes along to help a vegan business, it is our duty to seize it.

The Mighty Food Fight is a super fun food truck parked in Bristol that has been serving up 100% vegan treats to locals since October 2014. When I mentioned I was traveling to Bristol for a business trip a few months back, I was inundated by people telling me I must track down this truck. It is a much-loved resource in the city.

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The food truck is the brainchild of Hannah and Isabel, two dedicated and compassionate people on a mission to bring quality plant-based foods to the Bristol masses. They work tirelessly to give their customers a cruelty-free option and they have won many adoring fans in the process.

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The truck is currently in a garage, waiting on repairs. Repairs cost a lot of money, you know. To get The Mighty Food Fight back on the road is going to set Hannah and Isabel back approximately £750.

That is certainly a lot of money for a small, independent vegan business but not that much when you combine the awesome power of our community.

Let’s break it down like this.

75 people could donate £10 and the truck could be repaired. How about 150 people fronted up a fiver to get the job done? It is completely reasonable to believe there are 750 compassionate humans out there willing to part with just £1 each to make sure the world doesn’t lose this incredible vegan food truck.

To me, this is a no brainer. If every single person reading this gave at least £1, Hannah and Isabel would be back on the streets of Bristol in record time. If you don’t buy one coffee or tea this week and give the loose change to this cause instead, they will reach their goal easily.

Click here to donate now. Do it! It is a kind and thoughtful act of selflessness, plus you are giving cruelty-free food a much-needed boost in the UK.

Donate!

Please follow The Mighty Food Fight on Twitter.

Compassionate ride

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How charitably-minded were you when you were 15?

If I recall correctly, I was obsessed with Morrissey, Madonna, The Cure and Prince and did very little to help other people. Not that I think I was overly self-absorbed, but 15 was a time of my life where I was trying to work out who I was as I indulged in sometimes garish displays of self-determination. Most of my energy was spent trying to get into gay bars to dance all night to Bananarama, New Order and Neneh Cherry. My exploits didn’t leave much time for helping others.

Memories of how tumultuous my teen years were help me to understand what an incredible act of compassion and drive is about to be performed by Gwen Stanbrook.

Read more

Made in Hackney

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Every single day seems to bring another plea for donations. Crowdfunding has become the go-to way to pay the bills for everything from home baking enterprises to fully-realised restaurants.

The seemingly never ending requests for money can get a bit tiring. You only have so much to go round. How can you be sure that what you are backing is a worthwhile endeavour?

Getting a recommendation from someone is one way to cut through the sea of monetary requests and I am about to give you a recommendation that I truly hope you take onboard.

Made in Hackney is everything the world should be. This community-driven initiative organises pay by donation classes focussed on food growing, cooking and composting. These classes are delivered to residents of housing estates, local children, adults at risk and charities supporting people with mental health conditions.

All of their programs are plant based. Yes, 100% vegan. How awesome is that? Made in Hackney shows class attendees how to preserve foods, forage for ingredients and even make their own cosmetics.

The label says it all
The label says it all

The centre holds masterclasses to financially support the pay by donation classes and has been partially funded by Lottery funding that is now coming to an end. That is where concerned people like you and me come in with our money.

Made in Hackney needs money. The organisation is attempting to raise £12 500 in order to keep performing their vital community work. The campaign so far has seen just over half this amount amassed with just 21 days remaining.

Here is what I think you should do:

  • Donate money. Whatever you can afford.
  • Send a link to this blog or to the fundraiser page to everyone you know.
  • Write a blog post about the campaign yourself.
  • Email and write to newspapers, blogs and all mainstream media to raise awareness.
  • Book and pay for a Made in Hackney masterclass.

Even if this is the one community fundraiser you back this year, I am confident you couldn’t find a more deserving cause.

Read more about Made in Hackney here.

Donate to the Crowdfunder campaign here.

 

Army of Moz

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Online Morrissey fan group Mozarmy is set to stage a charity event at an inner city Manchester nightclub on May 26th, 2013 in order to raise money for the Manchester and Cheshire Dogs’ Home. 

There isn’t a person on Earth with a working knowledge of popular culture who would dispute the fanaticism of Morrissey/The Smiths followers. But far from sitting in the solitude of their dark bedrooms listening to the songs that saved their lives, modern day Morrissey fans have evolved with the times to ensure they stay connected with their hero’s music and, more importantly, each other.

Smiths and Morrissey fans around the globe have embraced a virtual Twitter group called Mozarmy like a second family. The online fan collective, founded by London-based Scot Julie Hamill (@marriedtothemoz), brings together like-minded music fans sharing a common obsession with all things Morrissey and The Smiths. Julie is the perfect leader for such a group, as her riveting ’15 Minutes’ interview series with Morrissey/Smiths collaborators proves (juliehamill.com).

Perform a Twitter #Mozarmy search and you will discover lyric trade-offs, witty banter, news updates, the weekly Mozarmy quiz, picture swapping and possibly some virtual romance between far-flung Moz disciples perched on opposite sides of the world.

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This unique fan club is set to take their commitment to the next level by staging a unique Morrissey/Smiths night with special guests in legendary Manchester venue Star & Garter on May 26th, 2013.

The night is not only a chance for virtual friends to discover whom among them is real, but it will also feature appearances and entertainment by noted artists and Morrissey/Smiths associates as well as raise funds for local animal charity the Manchester & Cheshire Dogs’ Home.

Manchester legend and Smiths/Morrissey photographer Kevin Cummins will be taking photos on the evening, broadcaster/performer and Morrissey fan Amy Lamé is hosting a special quiz while former Morrissey drummer Andrew Paresi and bassist Jonny Bridgwood will be making appearances.

More surprise guests to be confirmed closer to the event.

Tickets are available for £12 (+ fee) from mozarmymeet-estw.eventbrite.com

For more information contact Julie Hamill via contact@juliehamill.com

First Annual Mozarmy Meet

Star & Garter Manchester

Sunday May 26th, 2013

8pm – 4am

Eat and be charitable

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I love announcements and I especially love announcements featuring a whole lot of vegan food. If the news can also contain a bit of info about a cool animal charity too, I am giggling with delight.

This month, London Vegan Potluck will be hosting a raffle on behalf of Moo Free Chocolates. The company is currently running a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for new chocolate making equipment in order to expand their business.

Any money gathered from the raffle will be added to the Kickstarter fund. Moo Free are supplying us with a selection of their delicious and tempting treats for the competition. Read about my love for Moo Free Chocolates here and here and here and here.

FGV approves
FGV approves

As Kickstarter requires fundraisers to reach their full target before collecting any of the money, Moo Free have indicated they would like the raffle funds to go to The Farm Animal Sanctuary in the instance of their target not being reached.

Find out about and donate to the Moo Free Kickstarter campaign here

Follow Moo Free on Twitter

Discover The Farm Animal Sanctuary here

Like The Farm Animal Sanctuary on Facebook

Come along to the February London Vegan Potluck. You could win some tasty vegan chocolate. You might just raise some funds for a compassionate company. There is a chance your money will support a wonderful animal sanctuary. And you are certain to eat a whole lot of delicious, homemade vegan food. Winners all round!