I need to remind you that GreenBay Supermarket in Fulham still exists and as one of London’s best independently-owned vegan businesses, you should take a moment shop with them when you have the funds.
GreenBay has just started selling copies of my first ever book. Eat, Drink and Live Like You Give a Sh!t costs £8.99 and if you buy from them online or in the shop, they get to keep half of the money!
Click here to buy it from their online store. While you are there, grab a basketful of vegan groceries and enjoy next day delivery in the UK!
GreenBay is a fully-stocked vegan grocery store located on North End Road but if you can’t get in there, you can shop online and they will bring the good stuff to you.
The shelves are overflowing with all manner of compassionate products including cheese, meats, pastas, personal care items, drinks, yogurts, chocolates, and pretty much anything you could want or need.
My friend (and all-round vegan yoga superstar) Louise Wallis is hosting an amazing yoga retreat in May 2019.
And you wanna get booking because space is limited and these retreats ALWAYS book up super quickly.
Celebrate the May Day Bank Holiday weekend and the first stirrings of summer with 4 days and 3 nights of yoga and delicious vegan food in an idyllic location. Take a dip in the indoor heated pool, walk to the beach, or sit by the campfire (or wood burner) and relish every moment.
Treat yourself to:
4 x days and 3 x nights full-board stay in a beautiful eco-Retreat
Exclusive use of the venue & all facilities, including heated pool (see photo below)
8 x Yoga / Meditation / Relaxation classes
Delicious vegan meals prepared by the resident Chef (mainly organic, local produce)
Complimentary gift bag
Free WiFi and parking
The venue
Bonhays Retreat Centre is a magical place. A secluded sanctuary, nestled in Dorset’s rolling hills between Bridport and Lyme Regis, and just 2 miles from Charmouth beach. With its heated pool, comfortable accommodation, valley views, and tranquil location it’s the perfect getaway.
If you are interested in finding out prices, accommodation types, and the yoga schedule for this May 3 – May 6, 2019 retreat, see all the information online now.
UK company Norty is making delicious vegan desserts in Bristol before shipping them all over the UK.
And you can order online!
Check out these gorgeous flavours:
The Norty puds come in three flavours: Banoffee, Salted Choc, and Xmas Choc Orange.
You can also pick up some nut butters (Chai Spiced Peanut Butter, Choc Hazelnut Butter, or Salted Caramel Cashew Butter) and drink blends (Hot Chocolate or Turmeric Latte).
It is with a mixture of fondness, a little sadness, and a big sense of achievement that I announce the ending of the legendary Hackney Downs Vegan Market.
What started as a special Christmas market collaboration with Eat Work Art at Hackney Downs Studios quickly became the biggest regular food event in the UK.
Hackney Downs Vegan Market has played such an important part in changing the face of veganism in London, across the UK, and even throughout the world. It has inspired countless copycats and made big business take notice of vegan consumers in a way that very little had done before it.
Our community market was featured by the BBC (web, radio, TV) and countless blogs, newspapers, podcasts, magazines, style guides, and social media platforms.
The market has been a special place where we have given a huge stage to businesses owned or co-owned by women, people of colour, disabled people, and LGBTQ+ people. Josh and I have been committed to redressing disadvantage and oppression via the safe space of our market.
Many of our traders used the funds earned at Hackney Downs Vegan Market to go onto bigger and better things. Those early months of the market with record breaking attendances helped independent businesses such as Temple of Seitan and Young Vegans funnel much-needed funds into new shop premises.
The market helped support the financial stability of our vegan scene. It brought in tens of thousands of pounds to the pockets of independent business owners across its lifespan. We made this possible by charging the lowest pitch fees of any vegan market. We worked hard for little return so our traders could earn a living, not feel exploited.
We made global headlines with our record breaking attendances and we forced the city to rapidly recognise the power of the vegan shopper.
In turn, this was our undoing. Ian from Clarkshaws Brewing called it the ‘winner’s curse’.
Veganism is absolutely everywhere and people don’t have to travel for at least an hour on the Overground followed by a 10-15 minute walk in the cold in order to get inventive and tasty vegan food anymore.
It is now on their own doorsteps and to a large extent they have us to thank for that. We showed London how immensely in-demand vegan food was and the city took notice. Vegan food is simply in every nook and crevice of the capital, therefore our attendance figures at Hackney Downs have suffered. Many of our past food traders will now deliver to your door at the touch of an app, making the idea of going to an outdoor market less appealing for people.
Of course it makes me sad to see the market end due to lower attendance but as an activist wanting to see veganism spread far and wide, I have to be secretly happy.
I cannot sufficiently express my gratitude to our regular traders enough. It is impossible in this space to tell you about the countless ups and downs these people went through. Winter at the market is particularly brutal and the World Cup last year almost broke us completely.
These traders spend days preparing food and goods for the weekend, not knowing how many people will show up. Street trading is notoriously unpredictable but people like Chanel of Vegan Delice, Davina and Michelle of Cafe SoVegan, and Ian and Lucy of Clarkshaws always gave it their all in all types of weather.
They didn’t do it just to make money. They tirelessly supported the market because they understood it helped build social capital. It was a home away from home for many of our traders and an adored place to visit for our customers. They did it because they believed it made the world a better place.
They are my idols.
Eternal thanks to Adam of Eat Work Art (who has since moved on to another role) and his replacement Rosie for taking us under their wing and giving our traders a home for two years. Our market manager Robertas is nothing short of a hero and has built stalls and battled extreme weather to make sure everything ran smoothly. When he couldn’t be there, he made sure his friends Laurynas and Nerijus filled in and now they are also part of the market’s legacy and family.
And thank you to all of our customers who have braved the elements and made the market a world-famous foodie destination.
Together, we all did this amazing thing to improve outcomes for animals and our community. We made a difference.
We really, truly did.
Please visit the final ever weekends for Hackney Downs Vegan Market and make sure our traders go out like they started… with a bang!
Final dates for the market are Sat 15 and Sun 16 December as well as Sat 22 and Sun 23 December, 2018. The weekend of December 22 and 23 will be our Christmas market, so don’t miss out.
All details for the market can be seen online here. Get along to these final weekends and be a part of history.
Extra note: the FGV section at Venn Street Market is set to continue every Saturday in Clapham and don’t miss our one-day-only Xmas lunch market at Guildhall in the City of London on Friday December 21, 2018. Details here.
This weekend at Hackney Downs Vegan Market is your chance to try the award winning meat alternative by superstar brand Oumph!… for free!
Oumph!, a favourite in Sweden and the Nordic countries, is made from soya beans and organic herb and spice mixes. It’s plant-based and free from gluten and dairy… and it is taking the UK by storm.
Oumph! is versatile and easy to cook. It’s suitable to grill, boil, sauté, deep-fry or even heat over an open BBQ. In addition, it’s high in protein and fibre and a source of iron and folic acid, as well has having a low climate impact.
And no animals were harmed to bring it to your table!
Oumph! is absolutely delicious so it comes as no surprise that the brand has been busy sweeping all the awards in 2018, including:
• Oumph! Kebab Spiced – awarded ‘Best Food Product of the Year’, Food Matters Live.
Oumph! The Chunk – awarded Gold ‘Food For Food Service’, FreeFrom Eating Out Awards.
• Oumph! The Chunk – awarded Silver in the ‘Food Innovation’ category, FreeFrom Food Awards 2018.
If you are curious to see what all the fuss is about, get along to Hackney Downs Vegan Market to taste the incredible Pulled Oumph! for free.
Pulled Oumph!
On Saturday December 15 and Sunday December 16, 2018, you can try hot samples of this groundbreaking products served on crunchy corn chips with pickled onion.
Truly sensational.
Pulled Oumph! on crunchy corn chips with pickled onion
Oumph! is a part of Food for Progress. Food for Progress is a Swedish food company producing tasty, nutritious and climate-friendly food that everyone on the planet can eat.
Shayna Weisz and fellow students at Middlesex University have won a hard-fought campaign to have live animal displays banned on their campus.
This inspirational story shows what hard work and a belief in being kind can achieve. I am thrilled for Shayna to tell the story in her own words below.
Reindeer on display at Middlesex University
Our victory by Shayna Weisz
I am thrilled with this news.
It’s taken such a lot of hard work over the past year. They really didn’t make it easy for us – I joined Middlesex University in North London last year, and as soon as I heard about their upcoming Christmas market featuring live reindeer, I started off writing politely to the event organisers about my concerns and encouraging others to do the same. They simply dismissed us, so I decided to organise a peaceful but powerful protest where myself and others stood with signs and handing out leaflets surrounding the reindeers’ pen at the event, where the poor animals stood with no stimulation for 8 hours straight, surrounded by the noise and the crowd. We also noticed that they were transported to and from our campus in the back of a van.
Student protest at Middlesex University
Most people attending the event easily saw the validity in what we were doing as soon as we explained it, and agreed with our stance – including teachers and professors who stopped by and praised us for what we were doing. This was very encouraging, so following that we started a university-wide petition – although there were so many rules in place for how and when and where we were allowed to collect signatures, that it took a full 6 months to gather the required amount for it to pass.
We were informed that it was the biggest petition ever run at the university, and that the motion now had to go to a referendum. So we had to campaign again, but finally, with 60% of the students voting in favour of our motion, it passed just last Friday – specifically calling for a ban on all live animal use as entertainment on campus. For the first time in 12 years there were no reindeer at their annual Christmas market and this will also eliminate the future use of owls who are usually chained to little stands on World Book Day and caged exotic reptiles on Easter.
Reindeer on display at Middlesex University
Moving forward
For more information about the suffering of reindeer at festive events, you could check out Animal Aid’s recent campaign where they’ve done a while undercover exposé of the industry, and have lots of facts about the detrimental effects on the animals’ health and wellbeing.
I’m over the moon that all this hard work has paid off and that my University won’t be having live animal events anymore, but I really think it’s also important to get the word out there about this important step they’ve taken, in the hope that other institutions will be inspired to do the right thing and follow suit.
I stumbled into my local Marks & Spencer this afternoon and discovered a big range of detergents and cleaning products all carrying the words ‘suitable for vegans’.
Check them out below and let me know in the comments if you have tried any.
Culture Club has released a new music video for their Let Somebody Love You single and there is an interesting vegan aside in the clip.
In one scene, a group of people can been seen gathering around the band as they hold signs featuring slogans and affirmations.
One placard reads ‘Only vegans are pretty’.
I’m not sure how or why this happened. I know that Boy George eats a mostly plant-based diet but I don’t know if anyone in the band identifies as vegan.
Vegan stuff is everywhere. From high street restaurants, to mainstream media, and now even to a Culture Club music video!
Watch the video below or click here if it isn’t loading.
Following on from the food, beer, and karaoke extravaganza that is Sheffield Vegan Beer Fest hosted by Fat Gay Vegan, the official after party takes up residence in Church – Temple of Fun from 8pm with free entry, a DJ spinning tunes, later food service until 10:30pm from Make No Bones, and a late closing time of 2am.
All are welcome to the after party. Even if you haven’t been to the beer fest you can still join the party.
Show your wristband at the bar and you get a 10% discount off all food orders during the after party plus 10% discount off our bespoke chili margarita cocktail, Slow Burner. This cocktail has been especially requested by Fat Gay Vegan for the after party and it packs a punch.
You can buy cheap online tickets for Sheffield Vegan Beer Fest for just £4 here: http://veganbeerfest.co.uk/sheffield2018/ (reminder you do not need a ticket to attend the after party but you only get the food and Slow Burner discount if you are wearing a wrist band)
