Out and About - Local Groups and Info Centres

Our local contacts are busier than you think organising displays, information stalls, veggie-themed events and social occasions. Here are some reports of recent happenings and events taking place soon

Lunch with Benjamin

At the beginning of June, I had the great pleasure to cook lunch for veggie/vegan personality/poet Benjamin Zephaniah, between his performances to school children at the local Rimac Nature Reserve. I have to say, I've never had such a good reaction over my vegan cakes before - Benjamin enjoyed them so much, he wanted to take the rest home with him!!

On the longest day of the year, 21st June, we held a 'Summer Solstice Party' in our garden. Luckily, the weather was kind to us so we were able to sit in the garden all day and evening. Everybody bought a dish to share, so we were thoroughly spoilt with lots of delicious food to eat.
~ Sally Taylor, Louth veggies

NESX stall at Ipswich May Day Festival

on Sunday 3rd May, five NESX vegans manned a stall at the Ipswich May day festival in Alexandra Park in Ipswich. We tried to promote vegetarianism/veganism for the sake of the environment, using a wide range of environmental leaflets and recipe booklets.

There was a special 'transition zone' in one part of the park, where the Ipswich Green Party and the Ipswich food co-op. had a tent which included a vegan cafe!

NESX show “Meat the Truth
On the 6th May, we had a meeting at which we showed the film 'Meat the truth'. This is a very good documentary, made by the Dutch Party for the Animals, and it considers the destructive effects of the global livestock industry on the environment - it is a response to the film 'An inconvenient truth', which looked at the factors involved in climate change and damage to the environment, but conveniently omitted to mention the livestock industry.
The DVD of 'Meat the Truth' was very kindly loaned to us by the Plymouth Environmental Centre - many thanks to them, and to everyone who came to see the film.

~ Annette White, NESX Vegans

The Jain Community of Manchester Celebrate Mahaveer Jayanti with
a Vegetarian and Animal Compassion Theme

The Jain community of Manchester organised a two day event on 18th and 19th April at their splendid community centre. Nitin Mehta of the Indian Vegetarian Society was a keynote speaker on the 18th. Amongst the other speakers were Gaurakrishnadas of Manchester Hare Krishna society, Mukesh Pancoli of the Brahma Kumari organisation and Marion Hussenbux of the Quaker Concern for Animals. Nitin spelled out the ecological and the health cost of a meat diet. Each one of us he said should practise Ahimsa in our lives and encourage people to give up meat eating. Leather goods such as leather shoes, leather sofas or cars with leather seats should also avoided he said. Honey should not be consumed by vegetarians as there is violence in its production and it is effectively bee vomit! Nitin also urged vegetarians to consider giving up dairy products due to the cruelty perpetrated on dairy cows. A Mahaveer award was presented Leslie Tarleton who for the last 30 years has dedicated her life to animals kept at the two sanctuaries she runs in Liverpool and Wales. The award was given away by Jayendrabhai Patel who is an active member of the Jain Samaj. On the 19th around 300 people attended the celebrations of the birth of Lord Mahaveer. In his talk Nitin urged Jains to revive the message of Ahimsa as preached by Lord Mahaveer. We have inherited a priceless culture, we must protect it and nurture it well. Ahimsa and Vegetarianism are the keys to the spiritual revival of our heritage. Children must be brought up in a way that they acquire a taste for traditional Indian vegetarian food. Nitin thanked the organisers specially Sarojben Patel, Bela Mehta and Dipti Mehta for making the whole event possible.The president of Manchester Jain Samaj Piyush Mehta, on behalf of the Jain community presented Nitin with a memento for his tireless efforts in promoting vegetarianism. Manchester Jain community is a very good example of how unity can bring success. The Vegetarian Society of UK has it headquarters in Manchester and there were thousands of vegetarians in Manchester area as far back as the 1870's. The Jain community of Manchester is keen to build new links with the Vegetarian Society of UK to promote Ahimsa.

In February we had our best event to date - a visit to our local chocolate factory followed by a walk and lunch. Rosanna Benn of Special Edition Chocolate (www.specialeditionchocolate.co.uk) treated us to hot cocoa and a continuous supply of tastings whilst we listened to a very interesting talk about the history and nutritional value (hooray!) of dark chocolate. As you can imagine, it was hard work having to try so many flavours (fig, orange, earl grey, chilli to name but a few), but we did our best and certainly left with a spring in our step!! We then tried to work the calories off by having a lovely walk around the village of Tealby, then had the most superb lunch at the Old Barn in Tealby. The chefs had come up with a fabulous menu for us - all amazingly vegan, incredibly delicious and beautifully presented. We can definitely recommend a visit . . .
In March we held a curry night at our house - 18 people enjoyed starters followed by ten different curry dishes, then puddings and home-made chocolates to finish. A very enjoyable night!
~ Sally Taylor