Waitrose Russell and His Amazing Barnivore Effort

I was in Waitrose in Truro earlier. Among a few other things I was after a bottle of wine.  Now unfortunately Waitrose let us down a little with their shelf labelling of vegan wines, but they do redeem themselves slightly by producing a free 370 page Wine, Beer and Spirits List.  We picked up a copy back in the summer at another Waitrose store. 

Inside, the guide labels not only vegan but also organic and bio dynamic choices, along with great information about each product. It is a handy little guide to have with you whilst perusing your choices, and also seems to match what is indeed available on the shelves; so no long moments trying to find the one you've just identified in the book.  For this reason I keep a copy in the car.  

I decided to talk to the member of the staff in the wine area to say how much I appreciated having such a handy guide which clearly marked vegan options.  Well it turns out that Russell is a bit of a star.  He said although the guide was really good, he thought it was a shame that Waitrose didn't label the shelves as such.  He had been so disappointed at not being able to help a lady find some vegan wine that he had taken it upon himself to ensure he was able to check Barnivore if asked again.  Members of staff are apparently not allowed to have their mobile phones on them whilst working, but he had been given special permission to do so purely so that he was able to help again if anyone asked him about vegan products in his section.  His mother-in-law is vegetarian for ethical reasons and so he said he knew how important it was to people.  I was so impressed that he had gone to such effort and told him he had inspired me to write a blog post.

Now unfortunately all the guides got snapped up a while back in the store (even Russell doesn't have one he can refer to!). However, he said he would look into getting some more in.  I'm going to contact customer service too. I would like Russell to be recognised for the effort he has made, as well as back up his request for more helpful guides, and give Waitrose a gentle nudge towards better shelf labelling too.  I might even mention that it is nice to see them including a vegan recipe in their December 2016 magazine (mentioned on the cover and found on page 72).

So if you are in Waitrose in Truro, say hello to Russell.  He is the man in the know when it comes to pointing you in the right direction of suitable wines and it's always good to recognise those individuals trying to make a difference to our shopping experiences.

The True Power of Plants

We are big fans of Ecotricity and it's not often people get to say that they actually like their power company.  Ecotricity are a bit different though aren't they?  Yes, they still send those bills that you have to pay but somehow it doesn't feel quite so bad parting with your well earned money when you know they are doing their best to level the environmental playing field in Mother Nature's favour.  

We get email updates quite a lot from them explaining what they are working towards.  The one below came today and we thought we would share it.  Please do share it far and wide too and, if you are not already with Ecotricity, consider getting behind them too (with a vegan at the helm of the company you know they are going to be heading in the right direction).

Today we launched a new report, which shows that Britain can get almost all of its gas from a very simple source – grass. 

The benefits to our country of making our gas this way are pretty astounding, so we’re calling on the government to rethink where Britain gets its gas.

Quite incredibly, we’ve found there is enough suitable land to produce enough green gas each year to power almost all of the homes in Britain (97%).

And we can do that without affecting food production – in fact, we would be boosting it (via crop breaking), and at the same time we would create new wildlife habitats on an unprecedented scale.

Not to mention the £7.5billion boost to the economy and 150k new jobs in a new and sustainable industry - and making fracking a redundant concept. Our report shows that we now have a more than viable alternative to fracking, which people have been fighting tooth and nail up and down the country to prevent.

It’s not too late, because fracking hasn’t started yet. But we need a proper review of where Britain gets its gas from – we can either frack the countryside or we can grow the grass. It’s that simple.

We’ve recently got consent for our first Green Gas Mill. All we need now is the government to get behind this simple, abundant and benign energy source.

You can keep up to date with our plans on Facebook and Twitter – check it out and join in by all means. There’s lots more info on our website about what we’re doing, including the full report and detail on how our Green Gas Mills will work.

South West Christmas Without Cruelty Festival 2016

Barely has the dust settled from the crowds attending the Plymouth Vegan Fair last Saturday before we have another vegan event to look forward to this coming Saturday.  Although a little further to travel from the Cornish border, the Animal Aid South West Christmas Without Cruelty Festival at the Exeter Corn Exchange, is always worth a pre-Christmas day trip.

I know I have just mentioned the 'C' word and it is only November, but this Festival does tend to tweak the festive spirit.  Perhaps it is the plethora of 40 or more vegan stalls (many presented with a seasonal flair), the wonderful Christmassy food on offer, or perhaps it is just the joy of being surrounded by a fluffy warm cloud of veganism.

The entry is free but do make sure you do take plenty of wonga. You will be sure to want to treat yourself, get ahead of your Christmas shopping, and be lured by the lunch options, as well as be kind enough to drop more than a few pennies into the Animal Aid collection buckets by the doors.

Doors open at 10am and as it is a special 10th Anniversary festival this year, the first 250 visitors will be given free gifts donated by Lush Cosmetics and Natural Balance Foods. Fairfoods make their second appearance in a week (Plymouth last Saturday) to treat us to their tasty vegan snacks and delicious lunches, all at really good prices.  Food is from 12.30pm and queues get long so do get there early to avoid disappointment.

This year the comedian Sara Pascoe will be speaking so make for the main stage at midday if you would like to catch what she has to say.  In fact, the weekend starts early for vegan comedy fans as Sara is performing a stand-up show at the Exeter Corn Exchange on Friday evening with all profits going to Animal Aid.  Vegan food is available before the show and during the interval from Rabbit, Exeter's first vegan cafe which opened its doors recently. For tickets for the evening visit the Corn Exchange website.

For more details on the festival, please visit the Animal Aid website.

South West Christmas Without Cruelty Festival 2016

Exeter Corn Exchange, Market Street, Exeter, Devon.  EX1 1BU

Saturday 19 November - 10am till 4.30pm

Plymouth Vegan Fair and Party

Get yourself just over the border to Devon tomorrow for not only a vegan fair but a vegan party afterwards.  The Plymouth Vegan Fair, hosted by Plymouth Friends for Animals, has been organised to celebrate the Vegan Month of November. Both take place at the Discovery Cafe on Eastlake Street in the city centre.

It's free admission to the fair, which kicks off at 3pm and runs until 6.30pm, with food available from the delicious vegan Devon based caterers Fairfoods.  There are talks during the afternoon including an Alkaline Diet Talk by Laura Wilson, James Stewart talking about the badgers role in Bovine TB, Berty Justice on the power of food and the power of you and a talk about Cornwall Badger Rescue from Kathryn Driscoll.  For vegan shoppers and information gatherers, there are plenty of stalls to peruse including; 

Alkaline Diet
Andy Pollock - Wood Turner
Dr Hadwen Trust
Tropics Cosmetics
Devon Wildlife Trust
Devon Badger Group
(St Agnes) Marine Conservation
Plymouth Friends for Animals - info and sales
Oh My Goodness Cakes
Ethica - all vegan shop
Devon County Hunt Sabs
The Naturally Vegan Plot
EFFA with Animal Headsets
James Stewart - wildlife photographer

Hyfryd vegan skincare - hand made in Wales
Ethical Investors
Wild Futures
Cruelty Free International
Arts, crafts and jewelry stalls raising funds for CALF Sanctuary and Rabbit Rescue

If that wasn't enough entertainment for the day, half an hour after the fair closes the Vegan Party opens its doors, again at the Discovery Cafe.  

There is a charge to attend the party which does include a vegan meal from Fairfoods. 

Fortunately for Plymouth Friends for Animals all the full price meal tickets have sold out now (unfortunate though if you are only reading this now and kind of wanted to go and eat too!) but there are still some standing non meal tickets left for the evening if you would like to indulge in some great vegan company, music, and poetry.  

For full details on the fair and the party please visit the Plymouth Vegan Fair Facebook page. 

For more information on the work of Plymouth Friends for Animals, give their website a peek via the link above.

Bale Ale - Haytor Rebel

Around these parts the mention of "Bale Ale" immediately conjures up fond memories of the Crantock Bale Push, and the resulting aching arms and legs the following day if taking part. Around this time a beer appears in the local shop, and in the Cornishman pub, that bears the name 'Bale Ale'.  It has no other identifying features.  We have tried to find out who brews this each year, so far without success, and therefore we have yet to determine if it is suitable for vegans and so haven't tried it.  

On a recent trip up to Tavistock we found another beer bearing the legend 'Bale Ale', but this time it is the name of the brewery.  With so many micro-breweries and craft beers popping up all over the country, you can forgive any confusion resulting from a few similar sounding names.  In the U.K. we haven't quite got to the point of having specialist lawyers who focus only on craft beer names and descriptions among the thousands of competing brewers (as they do in America), and hope that time never comes.  Even though this most recent bale ale comes from across the border in Devon, we might have to admit that it trumps our local brew by announcing in no uncertain terms that it is "suitable for vegans" on the bottle. Check the 'why cloudy' section of their website for further confirmation of vegan status.  We also must admit that it would probably come out tops in a taste test also, as it's one of those beers where you take one sip and go, "aah... now THAT is a good beer".  

So far Bale Ale only seems to be marketing their 'Haytor Rebel' ale, which, being keen cycling fans, is a "tip of the hat to anyone who has ridden one of Devon's greatest climbs". They state on their bottles that they are "obsessed with cycling and ale", and we've got to admit there are far worse ways to spend your days than in the pursuit of the best of both.   We'd also like to 'tip our hats' both to the quality and taste of their ale, and the fact that they've made it clearly suitable for vegans.  

Check the 'where to buy' section on their website to taste for yourself.  We found some in Roots and Vines, and will be looking out for more of them in future.  It is a perfect ale for relaxing with after a hard day in the saddle, or indeed pushing the bale.