More vin ordinaire

What do you get when you couple a moving musical experience from a musical hero with a dull, overpriced meal in a tiny restaurant in a suffocatingly upper-middle class town? Read on if you think you can deal with the dizzying highs and tedious lows of my recent trip to Cambridge.

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A reasonably good buy

Come here often? Good, then you’ll know that I love roller derby, drinking vegan booze and overeating. If this is your first time visiting me, you’re about to get a crash course in what makes a fat, gay vegan extremely happy. Buckle up, friend.

A few weekends back, Josh and I rolled on into the inner-city district of Earls Court to take in an evening of contact sport, vegan cider and delicious cruelty-free food.

Earls Court

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Just like I pictured it

My trips to NYC come along more frequently than most people can enjoy and for that I am humble and grateful. Travel is a luxury and New York is one hell of a destination. I am extremely fortunate.

But I can’t help feeling sorry for myself when I think of how very far I live from Red Bamboo and how infrequently I experience their delights. Come with me as I step back in time to December 2011. That date marks my most recent trip to this vegetarian paradise. Preparing the photos for this post was enough to make my head spin. Take a peep, won’t you.

Red Bamboo of NYC

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Vegan ice cream wars into overdrive

Every now and then something unexpected comes along and changes my life. My existence is peppered with random signposts, events and life-altering moments that have impacted deeply upon me.

One such occasion occurred last week as I was innocently trolling the Internet. I was casting an eye over the Vx website (as I had heard they were hosting a 2 year anniversary celebration) when I stumbled across an invaluable nugget of information: there is a new vegan ice cream on the market in the UK. My world was once again turned on its head.

The humans behind the new vegan desserts known as Bessant & Drury’s are wildly talented individuals. I can’t recall ever having been so instantly enamoured with a vegan ice cream in my life. Stunning doesn’t cut it. Would you like to share in my accidental, life-changing joy? Read on.

Bessant & Drury's

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And a big, bright, healthy smile

Sweetness is my weakness. Well, so are saturated fats and deep-fried foods but a FGV has to keep a special spot in their heart for sugary snacks. My body craves vegan delights such as chocolate and cupcakes…. and who am I to deny it?

Most of the sweet stuff I consume is made with processed cane sugar but I have recently come to adore an alternative to this regular sweetener. Vegans and vegan-curious, I would like to introduce you to Sweet Freedom.

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Feel my temperature rising

Are you in the mood to look at delicious, cruelty-free food that is too good to be true? Excellent. You will not be disappointed.

Superstar vegan food producer Redwood Wholefood Company are very seldom matched for quality, range and taste. Their extensive selection of compassionate foodstuff includes deli slices, breaded vegan cheese, bacon rashers, burgers, faux chicken pieces and flavoured desserts. This brief product rundown is not even close to exhaustive… I could go on and on.

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I eat eggs

Of all the religious celebrations that I opt out of, Easter seems one of the strangest. Can someone enlighten a FGV with atheistic tendencies? Why do people imagine a giant bunny is hopping around leaving chocolate eggs in nests?

As a naive child in Australia, I would fashion beach towels into makeshift nests and settle in for a night of anticipation. Would the Easter Bunny visit my ramshackle egg depository?

I am thankful those days (and sleepless nights) are long gone as I put my trust in more logical ways of thinking. However, the amusing twist in this bunny tale is the fact that I still adore devouring chocolate eggs whenever a vegan version makes its way into my FGV nest.

Cue the wonder and talent of Moo Free Chocolates!

Moo Free vegan Easter egg

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Just like a book I read, I’m heading west

My travels have taken me far and wide. I have enjoyed poolside cocktails in Western Australia and Winter walks through NYC’s East Village. The nights spent drinking in Mexico City gay bars are balanced by the morning train journeys endured between Leeds and Halifax. I have witnessed sunsets in Paris, Narita and Phoenix. City lights and country stars have hypnotised me on several continents. I never want discovery to end.

This insatiable appetite for moving recently spirited me to an unusual place located only 90 miles from Cuba, yet many more miles removed from my reality. Bound by water, Key West turned out to be a bizarre yet lovable town with one of the best vegan cafes found anywhere and a rather vibrant gay scene.

Key West at sunset

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