Tuesday 12 November 2013

The sociable vegan

An arm injury (it involved a stool and momentarily forgetting where I was) curtailed my ability to get around at the end of October so I was happy to make up for it this week by attending two vegan events.

Vegan Pot Luck is something I've planned to attend for sometime. Alas as it's on a Wednesday evening it clashes with my Burlesque class. My injury is requiring me to take a little break, which has opened a window of opportunity.
Broccoli tarts

Deciding what food to take was a dilemma but in the end I made these Broccoli tarts. What an event it was! The selection of food was great, and varied. In fact there was some serious impressive food including a zombie graveyard. It was a real pleasure to experience so much home cooked vegan food. It was also good for chatting to people I hadn't met before.

I meant to take loads of photos of the food but only remembered as plates started to be filled - too late you've gotta get in quick in a room full of vegans feeding! And new dishes kept appearing as latecomers added their contribution to the tables.

Plate of food

Saturday was the Brecknock Road vegan festival organised once again by that ever enthusiastic organiser of excellent events, Fat Gay Vegan. Various shops in Brecknock Road were taking part, Will's Vegan shoes were being launched at The Third Estate, and I'd volunteered to staff the Vegan Society stand for a couple of hours.

Despite the rain it was an excellent occasion. I kicked off with a hot dog from The Mighty Fork. The beer sauce kept me warm.

Hot dog

Then I got down the business of chatting to people, giving out Vegan Society material, and handing out goody bags. I was also pleased to find out that although the Vegan Society logo is being changed, the vegan symbol that appears on approved products isn't. That'll make my choice of tattoo easier then (see Forty for 40 - no.26).

 I was delighted to met a brewer of vegan beer who is based in Essex.

Bottles of vegan beer
Andy, the head brewer, at Pitfield's was happy to tell us all about his beer. The Christmas brew involving cherries and dark chocolate sounds amazing, and with changes to CAMRA regulations his wares/brews are likely to be making an appearance at beer festivals.

I was reluctant to leave the stand after my stint (I do like to meet people and talk) but it was nice to go inside and defrost my feet while admiring the stock at The Third Estate, and the new shoe range.

Will's vegan shoes
Quite frankly The Third Estate is the best place to go in London for vegan shoes, and this addition just makes it even better.

I returned to Essex to rest my arm with a slice of chocolate cake and a feeling of optimism. When can I spend another day talking vegan, admiring shoes and buying cake?

Wishing you all things green,
Annastasia

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