Remember Deidra, the wandering dairy cow? She’s been with us practically since we began, but now she is sharing a beautiful hardback book with some much newer friends – The Two Little Pigs. Check it out! 😀
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The Two Little Pigs, and a cow, is available from all good bookshops ❤
Violet’s Vegan Comics – making funny, exciting and always entertaining vegan children’s stories since 2012
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Let the dogs out is a graphic novel that tells the story of a laboratory beagle’s escape, in his own words. The images are all hand-painted and, while the story is at times distressing, it is suitable for readers aged 12 and up.
It is based on insider accounts of conditions inside a laboratory breeding facility and comes complete with detailed sources and information on how to help laboratory animals.
Let the dogs out is available from all good bookshops and can be read for free here.
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Violet’s Vegan Comics – creating funny, exciting and often enlightening vegan children’s stories since 2012
All the Luke Walker chapters now under one cover! Check it out! 😀
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Violet’s Vegan Comics – making funny, exciting and always entertaining vegan children’s stories since 2012
Some years ago we started supporting Liberia Animal Welfare and Conservation Society and since then they have been sending us regular updates about their work.
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“Climate change has led to altered rainfall patterns and increased temperatures, resulting in periods of drought and reduced water availability for many donkeys, and cattle in communities where LAWCS works in Guinea. The animals are now suffering from heat stress, food insecurity including fresh water and healthcare issues. LAWCS continues to respond to the needs of working animals in Guinea by educating the population and providing free veterinary care along with foods and fresh water for animals in need.”
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“Promoting animal protection through education and providing plant-based foods for school kids is a holistic approach to instilling values of compassion, kindness, sustainability, and health. By integrating animal welfare education into school curriculums, students can learn about the ethical considerations surrounding animal treatment and the environmental impact of animal agriculture. Additionally, offering plant-based food options in schools not only supports these values but also encourages healthier eating habits and reduces the demand for animal products, thereby contributing to the welfare of animals. This is a dual strategy that educates children about the importance of treating animals with kindness while providing practical choices that align with these values. Every week, LAWCS serves over 300 school children with delicious plant-based foods.”
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You can go to their website to find out more about LAWCS’ vital work and/or you can download their latest newsletter here:
Find all the yummy chocolates in the word search – you can save the image and complete the puzzle on your PC by opening it in Paint, or you can print it and do it the old fashioned way, with a pencil 😀
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Or you can download the pdf version here:
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All chocolates featured in the Word Search are of course vegan and on the ethical chocolate list and you can find them on these websites:
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Violet’s Vegan Comics – making fun stories, poems and things-to-make-and-do since 2012
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What does the General Election mean for Crustacean Compassion?
On Wednesday May 22, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak surprised everyone by announcing that a General Election will be held on Thursday 04 July. In doing so, he fired the starting pistol on a six-week campaign where politicians will criss-cross the country vying for your votes.
Animal welfare always ranks high in the list of priorities for voters, and Crustacean Compassion will be working hard to ensure that the voice of decapods is heard throughout. These special animals were recognised as sentient in UK law over two years ago, but since then progress on increasing their legal protections and improving their treatment in the food industry has stalled.
What happens next?
Crustacean Compassion has already written to the political party leaders to seek their support and next week will be contacting all the candidates directly to ask them to support these pledges.
But they need your help. Watch out for updates on their social media channels for details on how you can help us reach as many candidates as possible and make sure that decapods have the strongest possible voice in the new parliament.
They’ll also be sharing more information about how you can get involved with this campaign in your local area.
Their new campaign to ban live sales
They’ve launched this new petition to show the new government that decent people in the UK support a full ban on the live decapods being sold as food. Every day in the UK animals like crabs, lobsters, prawns and crayfish are sold alive to the untrained public to be killed and cooked at home. This causes EXTREME pain and suffering to these fragile, sentient animals.
Please sign the petition today and share far and wide.
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Thank you ❤
There are certain things that we’ve always been able to get without plastic. Yes, it takes a bit more time, a bit more effort, but you find the time and you make the effort because you care. I’m talking bread in a paper bag from the bakery, and loose fruit and veg from the market. But there were some things that have made it very difficult to live completely plastic-free. Not anymore 😀
Okay, this is it, quick and easy – where to get all the plastic-free everyday stuff you need:
Mack! Keep it Mack with vegan, plastic-free sachets (biopods) of soluble detergents to which you add water. Everything you need to clean toilets, sinks, floors, hard surfaces, drains and to get rid of limescale. No need to buy any more plastic bottles BUT save the ones you’ve already got for refilling with these lifesavers! Also these products smell great and they’re easy on your wallet.
Add a heaped teaspoon of this citrus-smelling powder to hot running water et voila! Your dishes will shine in no time without hurting the planet or any of its inhabitants. Available from Planet Detox 🙂
Actually, it’s not margarine, it’s vegan butter! Mergulo Plant-Based Butter that comes in a cardboard box! This is a life-changer! For a long time now I’ve had to simply go without margarine, substituting peanut butter or simply straight on with jam. Which was ok. But not as good as a slice of hot toast with delicious melting fatty goodness!
Made with coconut oil and cashews, this is absolutely scrummy and we found it at Holland & Barrett! Google a supplier near you.
But if you can’t find any Mergulo near you, all is not lost because Flora have come out with not one but two vegan butters: salted and unsalted. Find these at your local supermarket and here’s a tip – the unsalted one is just as delicious as the salted so don’t be afraid to give your heart a break 😀 They’re wrapped in plastic-free biodegradable grease-proof paper.
So get yourself an old-fashioned butter dish – these aren’t spreadable from the fridge 🙂
Simple: Go to Georganics 🙂 a one-stop online store for all your dental needs. Or – if you’d rather shop locally, it’s not too difficult nowadays to get toothpaste tablets in glass jars, and bamboo toothbrushes at supermarkets, health food shops and chemists. But my favourite tooth-tabs (and the cheapest I’ve found actually) are Denttabs which you can get from anythingbutplastic 😀
You can get pasta in paper bags from the Northern Pasta Co. – they’ll tell you where you can buy it online and in actual shops.
And you can buy rice in paper bags from Marks & Spencer’s!
I’m sure you can find other manufacturers and retailers but these are just two examples I found easily.
You can’t go wrong with Prodigy, Plamil and Vego for vegan, organic, fair trade delicious chocolate that’s NOT WRAPPED IN PLASTIC. Available in health food shops, some supermarkets and online. Click on the pics! 😀
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How to sew a doll by hand – YouTube by Root and Stitch. She also has videos of how to make rag dolls with a sewing machine. I chose to cut the legs off the pattern and sew them on separately.
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Following the pattern I downloaded from Root and Stitch, I chose the colours of fabric that I needed for Mildred’s face, top and dungarees, and cut them out to fit the pattern generously.
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And sewed them together.
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Fold it in half (right sides together) and sew, leaving an open end to add stuffing.
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Turn it right side out. 😀
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Then stuff with kapok.
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Sew on the legs. 😀
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Make arms and sew them on.
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Add neck ties for the Girl Scout Twins, and stitch their belts on.
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Next it’s time to make hair!
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I cut out a generous piece of fabric for the hair on the back of Mildred’s head, and pinned it to make it tidy. And cut out two half-circles for the hair on Mildred’s face.
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I pinned it into place and sewed it on.
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Then I cut out pieces of fabric for Mildred’s bunches, sewed them, turned them right side out, stuffed them with kapok and sewed them on.
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For Claudia’s hair, I used yarn. I stitched it on down her centre parting, all the way down the back of her head, and then added more stitches either side of her head, to hold her hair in position.
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Next I sewed their faces on.
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Next I made a hat for Claudia.
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And there you have it! Lovely vegan rag dolls.
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Please let us know if you make yourself some lovely vegan superhero rag dolls, we’d love to see them.
Have a great weekend!
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For October only we are giving away a book AND a bar of Prodigy chocolate to everyone who joins Violet’s Vegan Comics Club!
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It’s free to join and all you have to do is make your own membership card and email us pictures of it. Easy! And fun! Here’s how 😀
So what are you waiting for? The sooner you send us the pics of your card, the sooner you’ll get your free gifts!
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New Reflecto Girl episode starts on Monday!
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Violet’s Vegan Comics – making funny, exciting and always entertaining vegan-friendly children’s books since 2012.
If you haven’t already you’ve got to try Prodigy chocolates! There is no bad here. They are delicious – my favourites are the coconut one and the peanut butter one – they are recommended on the Food Empowerment Project‘s ethical chocolate list and they are PLASTIC-FREE!!!!
Nuf said, right? Help the planet, help the animals (yes, of course they’re vegan), help the cocoa growers, and help yourself! You won’t regret it 😀
So what are you waiting for?! Get yourself a Taster Box, or a Family Bundle, or Value Bundle, or a big box of chocolate biscuits or …. you get the idea with that: there’s a lot to choose from 😀
Oh, I almost forgot – they don’t contain refined sugar either!
Make the world a better place with plastic-free chocolate ❤
ps We’re not getting anything for this you know, so you can trust us. We say it because we mean it 🙂
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Violet’s Vegan Comics – making funny, exciting and always entertaining vegan-friendly children’s books since 2012.
Continuing our vegan detective story from yesterday: Sherman and Geynes (pretend detectives) and the ghost of the wall that didn’t have a door in it anymore:
Come back tomorrow for the next part of the story!
Or, if you don’t want to wait, you can read the whole story here, right now. 😀
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This comic was created with Comic Life by Plasq
Violet’s Vegan Comics – creating funny, exciting and sometimes action packed vegan children’s stories since 2012.
Continuing our vegan detective story from yesterday: Sherman and Geynes (pretend detectives) and the ghost of the wall that didn’t have a door in it anymore:
Come back tomorrow for the next part of the story!
Or, if you don’t want to wait, you can read the whole story here, right now. 😀
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This comic was created with Comic Life by Plasq
Violet’s Vegan Comics – creating funny, exciting and sometimes action packed vegan children’s stories since 2012.
Continuing our vegan detective story from yesterday: Sherman and Geynes (pretend detectives) and the ghost of the wall that didn’t have a door in it anymore:
Come back tomorrow for the next part of the story!
Or, if you don’t want to wait, you can read the whole story here, right now. 😀
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This comic was created with Comic Life by Plasq
Violet’s Vegan Comics – creating funny, exciting and sometimes action packed vegan children’s stories since 2012.
Continuing our vegan detective story from yesterday: Sherman and Geynes (pretend detectives) and the ghost of the wall that didn’t have a door in it anymore:
![Ravi: "Oh hi Anish! I was just telling them my ghost story."
Anish: "Well don't! We're playing cricket."
Ravi, Sherman and Geynes: "Sorry."
Ravi: "It won't happen again, I promise."
Anish: "Thank you, goodbye Herman and James."
Detective Sherman: So, we've got a ghost who likes to rearrange equipment,"
Detective Geynes: "And a ghost who guards treasure."
Sherman: "But we aren't any closer to solving the mystery of the ghost of the doorway in the wall that isn't there anymore."
Genes: "You mean the mystery of the wall that doesn't have a doorway anymore."
Sherman: "Precisely."
Geynes: "Maybe there isn't a ghost in this particular wall."
Sherman: "Well, let's not jump to any crazy conclusions."
Geynes: "Hahaha, well, we did say it must be an invisible ghost."
Shermand and Geynes, [pretend detectives], the ghost of the wall that doesn't have a door in it anymore. Vegan funny children's imaginary detective story.](https://violetsvegancomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/page-11.png?w=724)
Come back tomorrow for the next part of the story!
Or, if you don’t want to wait, you can read the whole story here, right now. 😀
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This comic was created with Comic Life by Plasq
Violet’s Vegan Comics – creating funny, exciting and sometimes action packed vegan children’s stories since 2012.
Continuing our vegan detective story from yesterday: Sherman and Geynes (pretend detectives) and the ghost of the wall that didn’t have a door in it anymore:
Come back tomorrow for the next part of the story!
Or, if you don’t want to wait, you can read the whole story here, right now. 😀
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This comic was created with Comic Life by Plasq
Violet’s Vegan Comics – creating funny, exciting and sometimes action packed vegan children’s stories since 2012.
Continuing our vegan detective story from yesterday: Sherman and Geynes (pretend detectives) and the ghost of the wall that didn’t have a door in it anymore:
Come back tomorrow for the next part of the story!
Or, if you don’t want to wait, you can read the whole story here, right now. 😀
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This comic was created with Comic Life by Plasq
Violet’s Vegan Comics – creating funny, exciting and sometimes action packed vegan children’s stories since 2012.
Continuing our vegan detective story from yesterday: Sherman and Geynes (pretend detectives) and the ghost of the wall that didn’t have a door in it anymore:
Come back tomorrow for the next part of the story!
Or, if you don’t want to wait, you can read the whole story here, right now. 😀
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This comic was created with Comic Life by Plasq
Violet’s Vegan Comics – creating funny, exciting and sometimes action packed vegan children’s stories since 2012.
Continuing our vegan detective story from yesterday: Sherman and Geynes (pretend detectives) and the ghost of the wall that didn’t have a door in it anymore:
Come back tomorrow for the next part of the story!
Or, if you don’t want to wait, you can read the whole story here, right now. 😀
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This comic was created with Comic Life by Plasq
Violet’s Vegan Comics – creating funny, exciting and sometimes action packed vegan children’s stories since 2012.
Continuing our vegan detective story from Friday: Sherman and Geynes (pretend detectives) and the ghost of the wall that didn’t have a door in it anymore:
Come back tomorrow for the next part of the story!
Or, if you don’t want to wait, you can read the whole story here, right now. 😀
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This comic was created with Comic Life by Plasq
Violet’s Vegan Comics – creating funny, exciting and sometimes action packed vegan children’s stories since 2012.
Continuing our vegan detective story from yesterday: Sherman and Geynes (pretend detectives) and the ghost of the wall that didn’t have a door in it anymore:
Come back on Monday for the next part of the story!
Or, if you don’t want to wait, you can read the whole story here, right now. 😀
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This comic was created with Comic Life by Plasq
Violet’s Vegan Comics – creating funny, exciting and sometimes action packed vegan children’s stories since 2012.
Continuing our vegan detective story from yesterday: Sherman and Geynes (pretend detectives) and the ghost of the wall that didn’t have a door in it anymore:
Come back tomorrow for the next part of the story!
Or, if you don’t want to wait, you can read the whole story here, right now. 😀
********************************
This comic was created with Comic Life by Plasq
Violet’s Vegan Comics – creating funny, exciting and sometimes action packed vegan children’s stories since 2012.
Continuing our vegan detective story from yesterday: Sherman and Geynes (pretend detectives) and the ghost of the wall that didn’t have a door in it anymore:
Come back tomorrow for the next part of the story!
Or, if you don’t want to wait, you can read the whole story here, right now. 😀
********************************
This comic was created with Comic Life by Plasq
Violet’s Vegan Comics – creating funny, exciting and sometimes action packed vegan children’s stories since 2012.
Continuing our vegan detective story from yesterday: Sherman and Geynes (pretend detectives) and the ghost of the wall that didn’t have a door in it anymore:
Come back tomorrow for the next part of the story!
Or, if you don’t want to wait, you can read the whole story here, right now. 😀
********************************
This comic was created with Comic Life by Plasq
Violet’s Vegan Comics – creating funny, exciting and sometimes action packed vegan children’s stories since 2012.
Vegan detective comic for kids. Sherman and Geynes (pretend detectives) and the ghost in the wall that didn’t have a door in it anymore, starts here:
![Page one of the new episode of Sherman and Geynes [pretend detectives] episode six, the ghost in the wall that didn't have a door in it anymore. Our detectives are eating in a lovely vegan cafe, and discussing ghost buses.](https://violetsvegancomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/vegan-childrens-story-sherman-and-geynes-comic-page-1.png?w=724)
Come back tomorrow for the next part of the story!
Or, if you don’t want to wait, you can read the whole story here, right now. 😀
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This comic was created with Comic Life by Plasq
Violet’s Vegan Comics – creating funny, exciting and sometimes action packed vegan children’s stories since 2012.
Brand new vegan comic: Sherman and Geynes #6: The ghost in the wall that didn’t have a door in it anymore starts on Monday! In this delightful new episode our pretend detectives go looking for ghosts, along the way they meet lots of interesting people.
Read all about it, online, for free!
So, one Saturday afternoon, we were playing Star Trek Top Trumps, like you do, and we thought – it would be great to have a Violet’s Vegan Comics Top Trumps game. I’m sure you can guess the rest but I’m going to tell you anyway 😀 We looked online and, lo and behold, found a wonderful website called Personalised Playing Cards dot com. We were so excited!
For the next two or three weekends we eagerly drew head a shoulder portraits of our story characters – heroes and villains – and then ummed and ahhed about what the categories should be and what score each one should get. We changed them repeatedly, and I’m still not sure we got it right, but then I don’t think the makers of the Star Trek cards did either. I mean – I love Neelix but how can he have a higher ‘To Boldly Go’ score than Spock?!
We had to draw 40 characters from our stories, many of them regulars, some of them only occasional or one-offs, and added their series title to the side.
It was a lot of fun and I wouldn’t be surprised if we make some more cards to add to our pack 😀
Wait – there’s more! 😀
And that’s the lot for now 😀 Why not make some yourself? So much fun! You can either make them yourself on card – cut up an old cereal box or something – or upload your drawings to the Personalised Playing Cards website like we did 😀
If you’d like the pictures of VVC characters we used, just contact us and we’ll email them to you.
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Violet’s Vegan Comics – creating vegan children’s books and vegan things to make and do since 2012.
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The first issue of Vegan Rascals is finally here and we love it! A proper old-fashioned comic with multiple stories, a fact file, a puzzle page and a yummy chip butty recipe. And as if that wasn’t enough – there’s a board game on the back! Not bad for under a fiver eh?! 😀
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Of course all the stories are free to read here, but if you’d rather read a proper paper book, this is it! 😀
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Vegan Rascals #1
Pages: 57
Binding: Paperback
Interior: Colour
Dimensions: US Letter (8.5 x 11 in / 216 x 279 mm)
Available from our Lulu shop 😀
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Anyone who has read Venus Aqueous episode 4 will know how we feel about wildlife carnage caused by wind turbines, so when I got an email today from Greenpeace, asking me to write to my MP and get them to tell Michael Gove to end the UK’s ban on land-based windfarms, I was very concerned indeed. Not because I am against renewable energy you understand, only methods of generating it which maim and kill.
There is much information, at the bottom of the Venus #4 page, about alternative technology which generates wind energy without bird-and-bat-bashing blades, some of it invented more than ten years ago, and yet all the big energy companies are ignoring them and sticking with turbines. Now the government, encouraged by Greenpeace, is thinking about doing the same, but anyone who believes that the potential consequences for all life on Earth should be considered before anything is built or installed should read this article by Whit Gibbons, and then write to their MP and ask them to tell Michael Gove NOT to lift the ban on new UK wind farms.
This planet does not belong to us.
“Although viewed as a clean and sustainable energy source, wind power is not without environmental costs and hazards that should be acknowledged and addressed. Unequivocal documentation exists that windmills kill more than 300,000 birds each year, especially species that fly at night [as well as bats]. …. However, another aspect of wind turbines also needs to be considered. How does wind energy development and operation on a commercial scale affect nonflying wildlife? An article in Applied Energy by Jeff Lovich (U.S. Geological Survey) and Josh Ennen (Renewable Energy Wildlife Institute) provides important perspectives on environmental impacts of windfarms. Wind power is a promising source of renewable energy and has gained popularity among advocates in recent years. Wind is widely seen as an alternative to fossil fuels. However, the costs as well as the benefits need to be considered when adopting windmills or any other energy source.
Lovich and Ennen conducted an exhaustive scientific literature survey of research addressing environmental consequences from all aspects of windmill energy production. Their findings reveal some of the downsides of giant windmill farms other than whacking birds and bats out of the sky with enormous spinning blades. Power companies, regulators and politicians advocating wind turbines need to pay attention to the findings.
Following are factors, other than killing flying creatures, that should be considered when assessing the pros and cons of wind as an energy source.
From Wind Power Comes With Environmental Costs, Hazards by Wit Gibbons
- Environmental impacts of destruction and modification of habitat at the windmill site: Roads are never environmentally friendly, and the permanent presence of those needed for windmill construction and maintenance can cause lasting ecological damage to animals that must travel between habitats. During construction, heavy machinery may cause soil compaction and erosion that can kill subterranean animals. Wind turbines sit on enormous concrete pads that eliminate native habitat from use by plants and animals.
- Effects due to air and ground vibration, constant noise, shadow flicker from propellers during the day: Although more research is needed, these disturbances may have negative impacts on ground-dwelling animals. The droning noise of propellers and the near-imperceptible but ever-present vibrations could also be a problem for people living nearby.
- Offsite impacts related to acquiring, processing and transporting construction materials: Building a wind turbine and moving it to the site requires considerable expenditure of energy before the windfarm itself begins to offer a positive return.
- Microclimate changes downwind: Natural climate regimes can be altered as far away as 14 miles downwind of a large windfarm. One finding showed that ground level temperatures were higher at night, but lower than normal later in the day. Such changes may be small but they create conditions that native plants and animals have not previously experienced. More studies are necessary to determine if downwind impacts have long-term effects on wildlife.
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Hang on a minute – the Alpha311 addresses all these problems!
“While our turbines can be placed anywhere, the optimal location is next to a highway, where they can be fitted on to existing infrastructure. There’s no need to dig anything up, as they can attach to the lighting columns that are already there and use the existing cabling to feed directly into the grid. The footprint is small, and motorways aren’t exactly beauty spots.”
Mike Shaw, a spokesperson for the company.
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Now that’s what I’m talking about! Why are they still installing bird-bashers?! These babies generate energy from the whoosh of passing traffic. Tell that to Michael Gove!
The most popular story for little ones at Violet’s Vegan Comics is: What’s good for the goose is not good for the panda
And the most popular story for ages 8 and up – Reflecto Girl 8 – How would YOU like it?
The most popular fairy tale is: The princess who liked to be popular
And the most popular story for 12 and up – Maddicts
Have you read them yet?
What will you read next? There are tonnes of vegan children’s stories, with lovely vegan characters, to choose from on our stories and comics page. Read them for free, any time you like. 😀
Cut out the main head and body piece for your cloth mouse. I used a rectangle, folded in half. With right sides together, stitch around the edges, leaving one end open for stuffing.
Choose a different fabric for your arms and legs. Cut strips about the same length as your main piece, as wide as you want them, with room to spare for turning back the right way around after sewing.
Fold it in half (right sides together) and sew, leaving an open end to add stuffing.
Make another one, then turn them right side out. 😀
Then make legs. You can make long legs, the same as the arms, or little legs. Either way is fine, so do whichever you fancy. I’ve done little legs this time.
Stuff them all with kapok. If you don’t have kapok you could use old socks to stuff them, or fabric cuttings. I have done this with some of my mice, it just makes them a little bit heavier, and somewhat lumpy. When they are stuffed, sew them together! Remember that your main piece is head and body, so the arms go a little higher than half way down, depending on how big a head you want your mouse to have. 😀
Next cut out some fabric squares to make the ears. Sometimes I make very tiny ears, this time I made big ears, then I sewed them right sides together, trimmed the edges, and turned them right side out. Make two. (You probably noticed that I have used pinking shears to cut my material. You don’t have to do that but it’s good for preventing the fabric from fraying).
Then tuck the ears over the top corners of the mouse’s head and sew them on, like so:
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Next you need to make a nose for your mouse. Cut three triangular pieces and then, putting their right side edges together, sew them together lengthways, to their points – I’m not explaining this very well – look at the diagram below 😀 Leave the base ends open, turn right side out and fill with stuffing.
Then tuck in the edges, and sew the nose onto the mouse’s face.
Next your mouse will need some eyes. I sewed over and over in one place to make these eyes, but you could sew circles of fabric on, or use buttons.
Now your mouse needs a tail 😀 This time I folded a length of fabric up so that the edges were tucked in, and sewed it over, but I have also used ribbons and oddments in the past. Attach the tail to the back of the mouse’s body.
Now your mouse is finished! I bet he’s cute 😀 Send me a photo, I’d love to see him or her ❤ Here’s some I made earlier:
You can make lots of friends for your mouse, in all shapes and sizes. Here are some I made earlier:
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So there you have it 😀 A word of warning – once you start making rag mice, you may find it difficult to stop 😉
“We cannot wait for governments – we must act immediately – and moving to a plant-based diet is the most impactful thing any individual can do”
Dr Richard Nicholson, Councillor for Haywards Heath
In July 2022, Haywards Heath Town Council became the first town in Europe to endorse the Plant Based Treaty, this was later followed by the City of Edinburgh Council in January 2023.
Dr Richard Nicholson, Councillor for Haywards Heath says, “The South East of England has endured the highest ever summer temperatures in history and people’s properties have been destroyed by fire and flood. We cannot wait for governments – we must all act immediately – and moving to a plant-based diet is the most impactful thing any individual can do to help address the grave situation we face. I’d encourage all Town, District, County and Metro councils to sign the Plant Based Treaty immediately.”
A coalition of groups is urging town and city councillors up and down the country to support sustainable diets by signing the Plant Based Treaty.
You can read the Plant Based Treaty in full here but, in a nutshell, it is a promise from the towns and cities who sign, not to build new or expand existing animal farms; to promote the benefits of plant-based diets in hospitals and schools; to teach farmers how to transition from animal to arable farming; and to redirect subsidies to fruits and vegetables growers so that everyone has access to healthy food.
Twenty cities have so far endorsed the Plant Based Treaty – in India, Turkey, the USA, and the UK – have you written to your town council? It’s easy to do. The nice people at the Plant Based Treaty have written the letter for you (which you are free to personalise) and have already worked out who the councillors are for each town so all you have to do is add your name 😀
Vegan Christmas Story: Big Blue Sky, continues from yesterday, but if you want to read it all at once, here it is 😀
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We wish you a very happy, peaceful Christmas and an awesomely vegan New Year! 😀 ❤ xxx
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Violet’s Vegan Comics – creating funny, enlightening and sometimes action-packed vegan children’s books for readers of all ages since 2012.
Vegan Christmas Story: Big Blue Sky, continues from yesterday, but if you want to read it all at once, here it is 😀
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Come back tomorrow to see how Clarence and Luca’s story ends ❤
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Violet’s Vegan Comics – creating funny, enlightening and sometimes action-packed vegan children’s books for readers of all ages since 2012.
Vegan Christmas Story: Big Blue Sky, continues from yesterday, but if you want to read it all at once, here it is 😀
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😮 Oh no! No no no! Is all hope lost? Come back tomorrow to find out ❤
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Violet’s Vegan Comics – creating funny, enlightening and sometimes action-packed vegan children’s books for readers of all ages since 2012.
Vegan Christmas Story: Big Blue Sky, continues from yesterday, but if you want to read it all at once, here it is 😀
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Story continues tomorrow ❤
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Violet’s Vegan Comics – creating funny, enlightening and sometimes action-packed vegan children’s books for readers of all ages since 2012.
It’s that time of year again and, for those who haven’t read it before, here begins our Christmas Story: Big Blue Sky. I will share a little of it every day this week, but if you want to read it all at once, here it is 😀
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Story continues tomorrow ❤
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Violet’s Vegan Comics – creating funny, enlightening and sometimes action-packed vegan children’s books for readers of all ages since 2012.
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I’ve always loved bread but it doesn’t love me, so in recent years I’ve had to avoid it. I feel better if I avoid gluten and yeast most of the time but once in a blue moon I just can’t resist a bit of toast. So I decided to have a go at soda bread. Unfortunately, they usually put egg and/or milk in shop-bought soda bread, and anyway it comes in a plastic bag. So I looked online for vegan soda bread recipes and discovered that they include buttermilk, which is made by adding vinegar to milk and makes the air bubbles form in the dough when it’s cooking. The vegan recipes therefore do the same with plant-based milk. But I didn’t have any of that either, so I thought I’d try substituting plain old water. And it worked! Here’s how: First pre-heat the oven to Gas Mark 6 (200*c, 400*f).
4. Then spoon the moist mixture into a lined loaf tin,
and flatten it with the back of a wet spoon.
5. The next bit is VERY important – I learned this the hard way and still have a scar on my left index finger. Before you put it in the oven, cover the tin with foil. If you don’t, the top crust will bake very hard and the weight you’ll have to put behind your sharp, serrated bread knife to slice through it, could result in a bloody mess 😮
I use if you care foil and greaseproof paper because it’s recycled and eco-friendly. Since this won’t make the foil dirty, you can fold it up afterwards and reuse it 🙂
Oh, I’ve just noticed, on the if you care website, that they have an illustration of a roasted chicken on one of their products, which is very disappointing.
I’ll have to tell them that people who care wouldn’t be roasting chickens. It’s horrible when someone you trusted lets you down.
Anyway, back to the vegan soda bread:
7. Don your oven gloves, hold your head away from the oven when you open the door, take out your loaf, remove the foil and put the bread on a wire rack to cool.
When it’s cool you can use it right away, or freeze it, but what I do at this point is slice up the whole loaf and put a small piece of greaseproof paper in between each slice, wrap it, put it in a container, and then freeze it.
That way, I can take my bread out of the freezer a slice at a time, keeping it fresher for longer.
I prefer mine toasted, so it goes straight from the freezer to the toaster, add some peanut butter, Marmite and baked beans for a delicious nutritious meal in minutes. 😀
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Violet’s Vegan Comics – creating vegan stories, vegan comics, vegan poems, vegan things-to-make-and-do, and vegan children’s books since 2012.
If you’d like your own Megan doll (from the Megan & Flos vegan science fiction comics), here’s how to make one 😀
First, find a pattern. I used Jean Greenhowe’s “ten of the best” pattern which is from this book but there are plenty of others to choose from, including lots of free ones you can download.
So, I won’t give you pattern details, you can just download whichever pattern you fancy and then make her look like Megan. If you don’t know how to knit yet, you can either learn, or sew a ragdoll instead 🙂
Anyway, this is what I did:
I used DK (Double Knitting thickness) acrylic yarn from my bag of oddments – no need to buy anything new. Her clothes don’t have to be blue, you can choose what she wears, and if you don’t have a bag of oddments, they often sell bags of leftover yarn in charity shops. I used UK size eleven (3 mm) needles.
The pattern I used starts at the ankles and works up to the top of her head (working in stocking stitch – one row knit, one row purl). I started in dark blue, for her jeans, then I changed colour, and knitted her light blue top, up to her shoulders,
then I changed colour again, to pink for her head. Then I cut the yarn, leaving a long length to thread through the stitches. Hey – didn’t I say I wasn’t going to explain the pattern? Sorry – I guess that’s useless information if you don’t have the pattern, and superfluous if you do. Oh well 😀
Excuse my photos by the way, my camera phone is very old. But you get the idea with that 🙂
Then I knitted the arms and the feet. Megan is wearing baseball boots, so I knitted the feet two thirds white, one third red. As you can see from the photo of the finished doll, they are proper red. I don’t know why the photos here make them look brown 😀 Then I sewed laces into the red part.
Then it was time to sew her up and stuff with kapok (natural organic fibre harvested from kapok trees, used for centuries – probably – for stuffing pillows and soft toys). But if you don’t have any kapok, you could fill your doll with cut up strips of old T-shirt. Any soft material will do.
Before stuffing, it was necessary to sew down the middle of the dark blue legs section, to create two legs, and after stuffing I tied a length of yarn around the base of the pink section, to make the head 😀 The boots were folded, sewn and stuffed before being attached to the ankles; and the arms sewn, stuffed and attached at the shoulders.
Next she needed a face! I just sewed her features on, and not very well at first – embroidery is not my strong suit – so I unpicked it and tried again. And again, until I was happy with it 😀
She doesn’t look like Megan yet does she? That’s because she needs hair!
So I made the hair by cutting lots of long lengths of yellow yarn, tying them in the middle, and sewing them from top to bottom of the back of Megan’s head. Ouch! Your pattern will show you how 😀
If you only have a little bit of yellow for her hair, the pattern shows you how to make a hat or a hood for her, and then you’ll only need a little bit to stick out the front. 🙂
Now she looks very Megan-ish! But there’s still one more thing she needs – do you know what it is?
For this I cast on five stitches of purple and worked in moss stitch (every row knit) until it was long enough. I kept measuring it up against the doll as I went along, until it was the right length. Then I cast off, sewed the ends of the belt together, and added the gems. Or did I sew on the gems first, and then sew the ends together? You decide 😀
Why don’t you make yourself a Megan doll? Or a Reflecto Girl doll? Or any of our heroic vegan characters. And do send us photos if you make any, we’d love to see them 😀
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Violet’s Vegan Comics – creating vegan comics, vegan stories, vegan nursery rhymes, vegan children’s books and vegan things to make and do, since 2012.
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I was so moved by a post I read this week that I wanted to share it with you. Since there was no reblog button I am copying and pasting, so please go over to Marie’s site to LIKE and comment on the original post, it’s such a … what word am I looking for? I am lost for words. All I will say is that I’m so grateful to Marie for sharing her experience and lighting a fire under me. The following are all Marie’s words (and photos):
On Tuesday last week, in the pouring rain, I headed to Manchester for a peaceful vigil outside a slaughterhouse. I have never been to one before, and honestly, I never believed it would be something I could manage. But recently I’ve felt ready to step forwards much more with my animal activism.
The slaughterhouse is in Ashton-under-Lyne and activists there have been peacefully protesting for years. Animal Saves are done in cities and towns all over the world. After some time the activists here have developed a good relationship with the security guard who allows the trucks to stop for a few minutes before going in.
I pulled up right in front of the group to ask for directions of where best to park and saw a slaughter truck at the gate. I had been feeling strong but immediately felt myself break. After I parked up I walked to meet the small group. The last slaughter truck had gone in. Annoyed at myself I didn’t even manage a hello before becoming upset. Thankfully this didn’t seem unusual behaviour and everyone welcomed me with open arms.
Another slaughter truck pulled in. The driver stopped at the gate. The activists moved forwards to the truck. Many had bought stools to stand on as the open section is quite high. Someone kindly offered me theirs. I stood on it and looked into the truck. It was crammed with young pigs. The heat and the smell was intense – I know they could have been in that truck for hours without food or water. They were very quiet and barely moved. I didn’t want to look in their eyes but I made myself. I could only see fear and it was beyond intolerable to see an animal that frightened. The driver beeped his horn. We all stepped back. The truck drove into the slaughterhouse. Just before we did I managed to stroke one of their ears with one finger peeking through the bars and tell them it would all be over soon.
This process repeated itself I think 7 more times in the 2 hours I was there. I can’t say it got any easier. The other activists told me about themselves, everyone introduced themselves to me, someone bought a bunch of vegan snacks. I politely nibbled mine, I couldn’t stomach it. I was struck by their friendliness though. Occasionally while you were chatting you could hear screaming in the background. I declined to go closer to the area where the animals are killed to be a witness to the screaming. But maybe I will be ready for that another time.
It may seem like quite a pointless thing to be doing for some of you reading. As of course you can’t stop what is happening to those animals you lock eyes with. You just have to step back when the driver beeps his horn and let the animals go in. The answer to why is to simply bear witness to an injustice, to document it and to share it. With the hope that this may help more and more people connect with farmed animals and consider to not be a part of their exploitation. This blog post explains what you are trying to achieve way better than I am as well as providing self care to activists and is well worth a read – https://www.dominionmovement.com/self-care
For myself – although I know what happens to animals in animal agriculture and am horrified by that – seeing part of the process was another level of knowledge. It was obviously extremely tragic and upsetting. But I know now that I can be extremely upset and act at the same time. I feel like the least I can do is look into their eyes and acknowledge and witness what is being done to them, even if I can’t stop it.
I am still processing that day, thinking about the pigs I met, the ears I stroked and the backs I rubbed. I hope they’re at peace now. I’m grateful for the kindness of the other activists, how gladly they welcomed me. Many cars beeped their horns and waved as they drove by seeing the signs – it feels like all hope is not lost.
Marie Canning – Manchester Pig Save 15.11.22
Vegan science fiction comic for kids, Megan & Flos episode 7 continues from yesterday. For the story so far, click here 😀
The End. For now 😀 Don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next episode!
Have a great weekend 😀
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This comic was created with ComicLife by Plasq 🙂
Violet’s Vegan Comics – creating funny, enlightening and sometimes action-packed vegan children’s books, poems and things to make & do, since 2012
Vegan science fiction comic for kids, Megan & Flos episode 7 continues from yesterday. For the story so far, click here 😀
Yes! Megan’s back! Come back tomorrow to see what happens next! 😀
*****
This comic was created with ComicLife by Plasq 🙂
Violet’s Vegan Comics – creating funny, enlightening and sometimes action-packed vegan children’s books, poems and things to make & do, since 2012
Vegan science fiction comic for kids, Megan & Flos episode 7 continues from yesterday. For the story so far, click here 😀
My goodness! Come back tomorrow to see what happens next! 😀
*****
This comic was created with ComicLife by Plasq 🙂
Violet’s Vegan Comics – creating funny, enlightening and sometimes action-packed vegan children’s books, poems and things to make & do, since 2012
Vegan science fiction comic for kids, Megan & Flos episode 7 continues from yesterday. For the story so far, click here 😀
Fidem? Fidem!? Will Fidem respond in time? Come back tomorrow to find out 😉
*****
This comic was created with ComicLife by Plasq 🙂
Violet’s Vegan Comics – creating funny, enlightening and sometimes action-packed vegan children’s books, poems and things to make & do, since 2012
Vegan science fiction comic for kids, Megan & Flos episode 7 continues from Friday. For the story so far, click here 😀
Gasp! 😮 Come back tomorrow to see what happens next! 😀
*****
This comic was created with ComicLife by Plasq 🙂
Violet’s Vegan Comics – creating funny, enlightening and sometimes action-packed vegan children’s books, poems and things to make & do, since 2012
Vegan comic for kids, Megan & Flos episode 7 continues from yesterday. For the story so far, click here 😀
Gasp! 😮 Come back on Monday to find out what on Mitis is going on!
In the meantime, have a great weekend 😀
*****
This comic was created with ComicLife by Plasq 🙂
Violet’s Vegan Comics – creating funny, enlightening and sometimes action-packed vegan children’s books, poems and things to make & do, since 2012
Vegan comic for kids, Megan & Flos episode 7 continues from yesterday. For the story so far, click here 😀
It’s not perfect now?! 😮 Come back tomorrow to find out why.
*****
This comic was created with ComicLife by Plasq 🙂
Violet’s Vegan Comics – creating funny, enlightening and sometimes action-packed vegan children’s books, poems and things to make & do, since 2012
Vegan comic for kids, Megan & Flos episode 7 continues from yesterday. For the story so far, click here 😀
So far so good. I wonder what will happen next. Come back tomorrow to find out! 😀
*****
This comic was created with ComicLife by Plasq 🙂
Violet’s Vegan Comics – creating funny, enlightening and sometimes action-packed vegan children’s books, poems and things to make & do, since 2012
Vegan comic for kids, Megan & Flos episode 7 continues from yesterday. For the story so far, click here 😀
Uh oh 😮 Anyone speak gobbledygook? Come back tomorrow to see if Megan can make sense of it all 😀
*****
This comic was created with ComicLife by Plasq 🙂
Violet’s Vegan Comics – creating funny, enlightening and sometimes action-packed vegan children’s books, poems and things to make & do, since 2012
Vegan comic for kids, Megan & Flos episode 7 continues from Friday. For previous episodes, click here 😀
Mitis at last. Come back tomorrow to see what it’s like on the ground 😀
*****
This comic was created with ComicLife by Plasq 🙂
Violet’s Vegan Comics – creating funny, enlightening and sometimes action-packed vegan children’s books, poems and things to make & do, since 2012
Violet's Vegan Comics 