The day began with the worst possible weather- floods on the road between Devizes and Marlborough, driving rain and pitch black sky. However the sky cleared by 9am and the streets of Marlborough were thronged with Xmas shoppers who were about to be enticed into the very beautiful St Peters Church. To this end Alex O’Donnell of Radio Wiltshire chatted to one of our members on air on her Saturday am show and promised to post a vegan recipe on her website. Tomas, Adeel, Sarah and John did a sterling job (sometimes in the rain) walking up and down the High Street with placards and posters advertising the event. This was in addition to mentions in the local papers over the previous three weeks and provision of posters and flyers to 25 local schools, and local shops and libraries. Consequently we were pleased to welcome lots of curious omnivores, vegetarians interested in exploring their options and vegans looking for new taste experiences.

A big thank you to the on site café for producing a vegan soup and having soy milk available for hot beverages on the day.

So what did people have to say?

1 Alpro Provamel Soy Drinks. Some loved the chocolate, some the strawberry with apparently no middle ground between them. NB Alpro Provamel has now changed hands and is currently owned by largest US dairy processor and distributor Dean Foods. If you'd rather not support them you may prefer to check out soy drinks from Plamil who are a vegan company.

2 Sausage Rolls by Frys from Beanies. These were almost universally praised. It was less easy to get people to try the Polony but those that did, liked the flavour and texture.

3 Booja Booja Truffles- hard to say which flavour was most popular as they all went very quickly.

4 Bute Island cream cheeses were super popular. The more adventurous tasters were keen on the chives and mexican flavours. Lots of people stated that they had never seen the whole range before (both hard cheese and cream cheese varieties). We encouraged everyone who was mourning the lack of local availability to approach their local supplier to request stocking a more comprehensive range, or to contact us and we’ll do it for them. Of course this also applies to all products on this list.

5 Clearspring rice crackers were a great hit and the savoury seed snacks disappeared quickly. Many people were not at all familiar with these products. So again we’re hoping requests to local outlets will be made, or let us know and we’ll do the hard work.

6 Dr Hadwen and PETA material was less well received than the recipe based stuff but this is maybe not so surprising given the nature of the event.

7 Essential Trading Co-op yeast extracts, herb teas, pesto, choc spread, dates and tamari all went down well. Folk were very interested in product range info.

8 Just Wholefoods jelly crystals, stuffings and burger mixes were very popular. The younger kids were keen on the fruit pastilles and jellies. Our student contingent snaffled the cup-a-soups.

9 Kinnertons. Quite a few people told us that they recognised the brand name as recommended by the Anaphylaxis Society but hadn’t realised they were vegan. The Lollipops were a great attraction to kids of all ages.

10 Natural Balance aroused intrigue with fruit infused raisins, some were already familiar with these products and the Nakd and Trek bars.

11 Plamil chocolate was surprisingly not as popular some of the others despite being the only orange flavour on display.

12 Redwoods Chicken Pieces and Lincolnshire sausages whizzed off the plates. Lots of people were unfamiliar with the Pepperoni slices and these elicited strong reactions both for and against. Interestingly the Mozzarella cheese was a big hit with omnivores.

13 Seagreens provoked interest and enthusiasm particularly in those already keen on seaweeds but not familiar with these particular items.

14 Tropical Wholefoods Tropical Fruit Bar was well received.

15 Vegan Society and Animal Aid recipe leaflets were particularly popular and people commented on the high quality of the photos and the easy to follow recipe methods.

16 Venture Foods Organica nougat bar samples flew of f the plates almost faster than we could keep them stocked. There was huge interest in the different types of chocolate, particularly the cranberry, white and raisin and almond mix. The relishes and chutneys and agave syrups were commented on. Once again people were remarking that they had not realised these kind of items were available.

17 Wholebake A huge hit with our student contingent.

There were interesting reactions to meat, poultry and dairy substitutes. Some vegetarian and vegans were very against their use and display, feeling that their diets had progressed beyond this level. Others felt not only had these products been useful for the transition from an omnivorous diet but made it easier to cater for omnivorous friends or family. Some just liked the taste and flavours.

Thanks to VIVA (June, Christine and Dave) and Pewsey Vale Hunt Sabs (Aubrey and Sally) for running stalls. Forty five people signed the sabs petition. Thanks to everyone for donating to VIVA and the Pewsey Vale Hunt Sabs collections, the sabs raised £8 and £9.74 was collected by VIVA.

Thanks to all the producers who so generously donated their products- without their input none of this could have taken place. For a full list of producers and their contact details follow this link www.wiltshire.vegangroup.co.uk/links/index.html For a list of local suppliers of these products follow this link www.wiltshire.vegangroup.co.uk/articles/1151.html

Go to Galleries in right hand menu on home page for pics or use this link. www.wiltshire.vegangroup.co.uk/galleries/index.html

Unfortunately a café customer complained about one of the videos we were showing which obliged us to re locate the screen. If you therefore missed some of what we were showing here’s the info so you can find it and evaluate for yourself.

PETA http://petatv.com/tvpopup/archive.asp Bryan Adams Veg Testimonial Chew on this Foie Gras (John Gielgud) Forest Whittaker, Joan Jett Veggie Testimonial Joaquin Phoenix John McEnroe (neutering) John Salley Kevin Eubanks One can make a difference (Ingrid Neukirk) Rude Food Simon Callow

Mark Bittman NY Times Food Writer http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/263

Vegan Society Truth or Dairy http://www.vegansociety.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=408products_id=218

CDRom if you would like a copy for your school get in tocuh with Rob Jackson at the Vegan Society; 0121 523 1738 or youth@vegansociety.com He can also organise speakers and cookery demos for schools.