iAnimal: A new form of animal rights activism

Earlier this month, I had the wonderful opportunity to work alongside the charity Animal Equality. UKC VegSoc worked with them to bring their iAnimal experience to our campus.

Tips for commuting students | University advice

Commuting to school or university is something a lot of people do, especially here in the UK, but I rarely see blogs or YouTube videos discussing it. I thought I'd combat this shortage by writing an advice post for commuting students! While my placement is a 5 minute drive away, my university is substantially further than that (think about an hour of travelling each way) so I have plenty of experience dealing with commuting. Here are some of the tips I wanted to share.

Ecoffee Cup travel mug | Back to uni essential!

A travel mug is undoubtedly a back-to-uni essential, but I commute to campus which makes it even more important! I was given a free travel mug at Freshers’ Fair last year; it was okay, but not amazing. It did the job, but the lid didn’t seal shut so there were multiple times I ran for the train and spilt half of my drink. I decided that since second year is where you get serious (and need three times more coffee), I’d allow myself to buy a new one.

The Vegan Kind August & September Box Reviews

Hello again everyone! Sorry for my slight absence, I’m back at university soon so life has got a little bit hectic. Don’t worry though, I’m planning on getting all sorts of lovely content written up in the two weeks I have left before I start.

This month’s The Vegan Kind subscription box arrived not so long ago, and once again I’ll be showing you the lovely snacks that it contained. Since I forgot to write last month’s review, I’ll also be showing you what came in the August box. Aren’t 2-in-1 posts the best?

Deaf Cat Cafe | A vegan guide to Medway

A Vegan Guide to Medway is a series of brief posts highlighting my favourite vegan-friendly businesses in the Medway area.

Deaf Cat Café in Rochester has been my go-to food stop in Rochester for a number of years now. Although their options are somewhat limited, they’ve consistently had vegan options for the entire time I’ve been a customer.

Big Grocery Shop! Ocado, Tesco & Holland and Barrett

My household has a bit of a weird grocery shopping system. We’ll do one big £40 shop just after payday, and then buy things as needed throughout the rest of the month. We’ve found that this helps us keep our costs down! We can plan meals, but still make last-minute changes when needed.

Recently, our go-to recently for these big shops has been Ocado. We’ve fallen in love with it because of its amazing range of products for vegans; they have so many great alternatives, including a frozen pizza and a wide range of ice-cream! Nosing into others’ shopping is always fun, so I thought I’d share what we bought in our last big shop. It also included some other bits I grabbed from Tesco and Holland & Barrett.

Reflections on my first year at university

I’m going to start this post off by saying it’s more for me than anyone else. Although I’m sure this may be helpful for some of you who are about to start first year, I really just want to document my progress through university so I can look back on a detailed record of how I was feeling. With that being said, here’s a summary of how first year was for me.

My Experience working at Lush Cosmetics!

Winter was pretty hectic for me last year. I was at university and it was the first Christmas in our flat, but on top of that I managed to land a seasonal job at Lush Cosmetics! Lush was one of the first brands I’d ever experienced “consumer loyalty” for, and I desperately wanted to transfer that passion into selling the products, so I applied to three different stores around my area! I managed to get an interview, a trial shift and then eventually a job at the one in my university town.

Working at Lush is something I get asked about a lot, so I thought it’d be worth writing about. Everyone associates the brand with overly enthusiastic sales assistants, so many people assume working there is the best thing ever. I loved my time at Lush (and I often wish I had the time and energy to go back!) but, like any other job, it has good and bad points.

Follow Your Heart's Vegan Egg Review

I’ve wanted to try Vegan Egg since Follow Your Heart first announced it but hadn’t managed to find it yet, so I was super happy when it turned up in this month’s The Vegan Kind box! I didn’t really eat scrambled egg before I was vegan, but black salt has become a staple in my kitchen, so I was very interested!

Exploring Copenhagen (+ the best vegan burger EVER)

Last week, my sister and I went for a short trip to Copenhagen. We wanted a holiday together because we never see each other, and to be honest we chose the destination pretty much at random.

5 Eco-Friendly Ways To Decorate Your Accommodation

Art by Ben Cameron

It’s the time of the year where a bunch of 18-year-olds suddenly realise they’ll be moving out next month. This is an absolutely terrifying time for even the bravest souls; leaving your family to take on university and a new life elsewhere is daunting, so making this transition as eco-friendly as possible can easily slip your mind. Here are five easy ways to make your new accommodation feel like home, in a greener way.

Veganism is not inclusive.

If you’re reading this, you’re probably white. You’re most likely middle class, or upper working class, with a relatively stable income. You probably completed secondary/high school education, and you may even have a degree or be working towards one. Finally, you’re almost certainly in a western country.

Today I saw a bunch of vegans claiming that veganism is something everyone can do, no matter what social groups they’re a member of, on a Facebook group I’m in. However, the demographics I’ve listed (of which you probably fit at least two) suggest otherwise. How can veganism be “for everyone” if it’s a movement dominated by white, middle class Westerners?

July 2016 Round Up!

The limits of my gig photography (Trash Boat @ The Dome, 28/07/2016)

July has been a pretty good month for me. Although summer break’s lack of structure always leaves me feeling a bit lost, I’ve done some really fun things and even forced myself to do some work! I’ve hung out with friends and gone to some cool events such as Just V and Maidstone Vegan Festival. I also managed to get a head start on my autumn term at university, made a small backlog of crafts to list on my Etsy shop when I’m busy with uni, and of course have worked on this blog.

Possibly the most exciting thing was hitting 1,000 views! This has been on my bucket list since I started the blog, and certainly wasn’t expecting it to happen so soon. Thank you so much to everyone who have been reading, hopefully I can keep creating content you guys enjoy!

Ditching Fast Fashion: Why you should buy second hand clothes

Shirt from What Goes Around... vintage shop in Camden Market

I’m happy to admit I’ve never been that fashion conscious, as I’ve always valued comfort over style. I didn’t start paying attention to my clothes until I hit 18 and suddenly realised that if employers care what I look like, maybe I should too! At that point I looked at my wardrobe of band t-shirts and skinny jeans and thought, “this needs to change”. But renewing your wardrobe is even more daunting when you’re passionate about protecting our planet and living ethically.

Linda McCartney Vegetarian Quarter Pounder Review

If there's one thing I love in life, it's a hefty burger. I'm in love with all kinds of vegan burgers - bean burgers, veggie burgers, mushroom burgers, and especially meat replacements. So I'm sure you can imagine that I was pretty excited when I finally found Linda McCartney's vegan quarter pounder burgers in my local shop!

Maidstone Vegan Festival 2016

On Saturday I had the pleasure of attending the first ever Maidstone Vegan Festival, hosted at the Union St. Methodist Church. Kent had been a bit lacking in celebrations of the lifestyle until 2015, so it’s wonderful to see another vegan event spring onto the scene.

Clean Eating's Dirty Secrets: My Response

My beautiful breakfast instant noodles.

I’ve been a fan of Grace Victory (aka UglyFaceOfBeauty) for literally years, so when I heard she was making a documentary exposing the clean eating trend, I was hyped. I was convinced she’s do a great job, so I made sure to watch it as soon as it came out! So there I was, sat there with my bowl of instant noodles in anticipation (yes I had instant noodles for breakfast, don't judge). But then, one minute in, I heard it.

“HEY YOU BANANA BITCHES”

My heart sunk. Freelee's in it. Please don’t use the word vegan. Please, please, please.

“The number of vegans in the UK has nearly tripled in ten years.”

Ugh.

Trip to Margate

The other day, I took a trip to Margate with my grandad. We didn’t plan out the day at all, so we ended up wandering around aimlessly. Last time I went there was several years ago for a gig, so I had no idea what to expect, but we still managed to find some exciting things!

Five things I've learned from Pokemon Go

Pokemon Go themed art cards, available on my Etsy shop

Pokemon Go has taken the world by storm, and secret nerds like me are loving it. The Pokemon fandom is the only one I’ve ever been a member of, and knowing that I can suddenly talk about so many people about it is amazing! It’s also taught me some valuable lessons in the short time it’s been out, which I thought I’d share with you.

Just V Show 2016

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the Just V show, a free event that showcases vegetarian brands. It runs at Kensington Olympia in conjunction with the the Allergy & Free-From and the Love Natural Love You shows. With the heavy focus on vegetarian and allergen-free foods, there’s naturally a lot of vegan stuff! We attended last year and were impressed, so decided to go again.

Cocoafeliz chocolates / Vegenaise / Bute Island cheese tasting

The Vegan Kind Subscription Box Review (July 2016)

Yesterday, my first The Vegan Kind lifestyle box was delivered. I've always loved the idea of subscription boxes but never really found one I felt was worth committing to beyond the cheap but loveable Graze box. However, TVK caught my eye. Since they do an introductory offer when you sign up for their newsletter, I thought I'd give it a go - I could always cancel it if I didn't like it. No need for that though, as I do like it!

Craft update | June 2016

Hi there everyone! Many of you may know I own an Etsy store called Geomancy Designs, where I sell some of the arts and crafts I create in my spare time. I thought I'd give you a little insight into what I've made in the month of June, and how I go about making those things.

Vegan pizza at Zizzi | Review

Since Italian restaurant chain Zizzi launched their separate vegan menu in March, everyone seems to be going crazy for their pizza! They were the first major chain to introduce vegan cheese, so it's little wonder everyone got excited. But is it worth the visit? I've managed to eat there twice since the opening and thought I'd share my opinions.

Cyprus: A second home

Every year, my family go to Cyprus for a holiday. It's our destination of choice because my grandparents live there, and it's become a home away from home. I was born on the island (well, kind of - at one of the RAF bases!) so I've always felt a special connection to the country. Unfortunately I won't be visiting this year so won't be able to experience the joy Cyprus brings me, so I decided to express my love for the country in a blog post instead.