Weekend Review: Lucy Stevens

The weekend is what you make of it - there's endless opportunities whether you're at work or play. Today we speak to our friend, Leicestershire based Artist Lucy Stevens, who explores the relationship between Humanity and Nature through environmental soundscapes, digital illustration, drawing and printmaking. Lucy is also very well travelled and takes us on a round the world tour with her ideal menu!

What do you do for work?

I work in Arts Marketing at Attenborough Arts Centre (AAC) and have done now for 6 years. This can be anything from managing the website and social media to writing press releases and developing audiences through creating campaigns. So for example offering loyal audiences rewards for sticking with us or trying to attract new ones (Not actually as dull as it sounds!) I also really enjoy networking, including meeting with similar organisations and arts marketeers and securing partnerships with media and PR agencies to raise our profile. We have a varied year round programme of exhibitions, learning, education and performances so that's a lot of planning and promotion! 

If we're talking artwork then i guess that my job at AAC means that I can pick and choose what I want to do with my own practice, as I'm not necessarily relying on it to generate an income, although that doesn't mean i'll work for free! I'm able to seek out new commissions and funding opportunities to develop my practice and collaborate with new artists, musicians and those who work in the arts sector. At the moment i'm really interested in the notion of the value of nature and the efforts to protect it from extinction through conservation. I've been recording the sound of birdsong and then visualising it using printmaking techniques, with the idea of raising the profile of birds and preserving their songs and calls to present to audiences at exhibitions and concerts.

Where did your interest in birds and the natural world begin?

Oddly enough with pigeons in 2010. I used to walk through the Rally Park when I lived nearby and I noticed a collection of pigeons gathered near the bridge everyday. I was interested in racing pigeons at the time and had met a few people that still raced them. I also took part in a citizen science project led by Cornell Laboratory in New York who were interested in why pigeons existed in so many colours. They were asking the public to count the number of pigeons and note down the different colours for a week or so... but I did this for a year and created two works to visualise this data. 

What's been your proudest achievement in life so far?

Blimey, that's a tough question! I guess if i'm answering this as an artist it makes sense for it to be an artwork I've created and that's usually the most recent project, so it would have to be "The Red Species List'. This was a commission from AAC to respond to the Lucy + Jorge Orta exhibition. I decided to create a concert inspired by the songs of endangered birds in collaboration with musicians. I created over 200 monotype prints in preparation for the accompanying videos, but only used 20. The concert was a sell out, extra seats were added and I had some wonderful feedback from the audience. 

And your biggest achievement outside of work?

Maintaining a great network of friends and family. I try to treat people the way I like to be treated and surround myself with people who have similar morals. These people mean a lot to me and are wonderful supporters of what I do. In particular my boyfriend Ali who is a musician, so understands the artistic temperament! Although my biggest champion is my Mum, she'd literally bend over backwards to help and has done so for many years, her belief in me (Whatever I do) is unwavering.

When is your weekend?

My weekend starts early on a Friday as I work half a day at AAC leaving the other half and the weekend to concentrate on my art practice. If i'm working on a commission with a tight deadline I will work every evening after work, at weekends and take leave from work to make sure its complete. It's a real love/hate relationship sometimes, but i'm not sure what i'd do without it!

 

How did you spend this weekend?

This weekend was my Dad's birthday and we went for a family lunch at the Forge Inn. I have a bit of an addiction to sausage and mash at the moment so that's what I ordered, but was too full for dessert and jealous when I saw what my boyfriend and nephews had ordered; waffles with toffee ice cream and chocolate covered popcorn... I tried a bit and it was gorgeous! After this we went to a friends wedding reception in Foxton Locks. We drank a lot of Pimms, ate a lot of cheese and danced until our feet ached! We (Ali my Boyfriend and I) had a very lazy Sunday, catching up with Game of Thrones by watching 6 episodes and eating pizza... a rarity!

How typical was it for you?

At the weekend i'm usually visiting friends or family, unless I have a project on, in which case I turn into a complete hermit. PJ's on, chocolate stocked, curtains closed (to block out the world) and completely focus on making new work or writing/researching. I can see why this would seem strange as i'm inspired by birds but decide to work in isolation, but it's the only way I can focus!

What was your highlight of last week?

I had the day off on Tuesday to go to a conference about print makers to learn about their practice and how and why they make work at DMU. After the conference I went to the Fine Art degree show. I was really excited by the standard of work on dislay, there were some great, really well thought out and technically interesting pieces. Thursday is always a good day too because I go to yoga after work, its just enough to keep me flexible but is quite gentle too, I usually end up falling asleep at the end of the session!

Your ideal Sunday menu....

Breakfast: In Berlin at the Wintergarten Cafe in Literaturhaus with my Mum. We went for Ali's birthday last year and had poached eggs and Prosecco for breakfast. I also adore the breakfast at Bar Dos Hermanos on Queen's Road, can't beat a half monty and mango juice!

Lunch: New York! We (Ali and I) were running around so much when we visited that we had to grab quick lunches, and we stumbled on the most amazing deli - Dean & Deluca. I had a huge beet (not beef!) burger covered in sour cream with avocado. It was so good I snuck it into the MOMA and continued to eat it out of site of security and my friends. Plus a peanut butter jelly doughnut which we shared at an 'Against Me' gig later on.

Dinner: I'm not a very adventurous eater. I'm the one who will order Bolognese when on holiday rather than try something new because i'm a bit of a fussy eater. I'd rather order a cocktail to try something a bit different. So let's say a traditional spaghetti Bolognese in Italy, somewhere like Lake Garda with a group of friends, not forgetting the cocktails. 

What's in your Fridge?

Vegetables which usually get thrown into a chilli, bolognese, lasagne or curry (I like to make stuff in bulk)

Ready made sauces - i'm a but lazy when it comes to food.

Lots of things in jars - pickled onions, beetroot, piccalilli, strawberry jam, jalapeno peppers, mango chutney, sundried tomatoes, garlic puree, tomato puree, vinegar, tomato sauce, brown sauce, mayo, balsamic vinegar, Lea & Perrins, cheese, milk, eggs, white chocolate mousse, double cream, blueberries, bread, tortilla wraps, potatoes and Brahma Beer.

Quick fire - Name your absolute favourite...

Book: My New Holland concise bird guide, it's pocket sized so it comes with me on every trip to record the sound of birdsong. I'd be lost without it!

Film: Coming to America (I usually lie and say Amelie... which is still up there in my top 10)

Album: Anything by First Aid Kit

Holiday Destination: New York- I've just come back from here and it was bonkers and busy, full of culture, art and naughty food but I loved it and want to go back.

Museum: The Hunterian Museum in London - it's part of the Royal College of Surgeons and its a fascinating macabre collection of human and animal specimens. I also love the Natural History Museum, in particular the birds section (Of course!)

How can people follow what you do and get in contact?

My website: www.lucystevens.co.uk or on Twitter @lucyjstevens

---

Making it happen: Great Central

If you've ever read this blog, you'll know how much we love bigging up our home city of Leicester and indulging in the cultural happenings it offers up. So we were very intrigued when we heard word of a new magazine with a similar mindset. John Helps is the man with the plan, and has been kind enough to jot down his thoughts on the matter for us...

Leicester is wicked. It took me a very long time to come to this conclusion – passing variously through stages of absolute hatred, resignation and overwhelming disappointment at various points over the last decade – but we’ve reconciled our differences and it’s finally feeling like home.

I think it helps that the stars have aligned to make this one of the greatest periods in living memory for Leicester – between Richard III and the football there isn’t much to complain about in terms of national profile and local enthusiasm.

It wasn’t always this way - we all remember – and if we’re not careful we’re in danger of slipping back in to a post-premiership-champions malaise.

I came to a bit of a realisation pretty early on in my time here. Sitting around complaining that nothing happens in your city is pointless.

Nothing happens unless somebody makes it happen, and if you want what YOU want for your city, then that person almost always has to be you – if not directly then by persuading others to get involved. Apathy is the absolute killer.

The Robot Needs Home Collective has become the banner under which my friends and I try to create awesome things. That’s basically the remit. We started White Noise Festival, then Handmade Festival. We persuaded The Cathedral, The Guildhall, and a handful of churches, galleries and other weird and wonderful spaces to let us put on some of our most memorable shows of the last ten years. We’ve managed to get Leicester bands and festivals on to the national stage, and we’ll keep doing that for as long as people keep listening.

Thankfully there are a tonne of others with exactly that attitude in the city at the moment. I don’t remember a better time for happenings of all shapes and sizes – there are gigs, festivals, comedy, art and performance and more restaurants and coffee shops than there has been for ages and it feels like there’s a real buzz in the air…

But Leicester still has the power to disappoint. For every sold out show, there will be an empty room. For every bustling coffee shop, there is an empty restaurant. It’s always been hard to tell people about what’s going on, primarily because there just isn’t the infrastructure to do it.

As good a job as the fine people at Leicester Mercury and BBC Leicester do, it feels like an uphill battle. These aren’t the target markets for most of us, and although we came painfully close to convincing the city council to provide better provision for us to spread the word it was snatched away at the final hurdle - ironically seemingly forgotten once Richard III and premiership success reared their heads.

So, in the spirit of “being the change we want to see in the city”, a swift Facebook post and a couple of emails to people who I thought would be good at this sort of thing and we have an “alternative” newspaper on the verge of being birthed in to the world.

She’s called Great Central and she’ll be out quarterly (to start with) focusing on arts, culture and entertainment. Previewing rather than reviewing and bringing peoples hard work in to the public consciousness. It’s a long battle, but I’ve already been astonished by the amount of positive feedback and support we’ve had, and it just keeps growing.

It really feels like this is something the city needs and has been crying out for. Hopefully with a little time we can be a small part of the solution to that problem. 

Follow and support the progress of Great Central on the website. Slideshow images of cultural happenings in Leicester kindly provided by  photographer David Wilson Clarke.

Working With (Your Own) Children

Today's guest blogger, Kenton Hall is no stranger to juggling work - switching regularly between actor, writer, filmmaker and musician. But how did he get on mixing the roles of director and dad...?

When the Weekend Collective asked me to write about the making of "A Dozen Summers" I was thrilled. Then I was a bit sleepy. Then hungry for a bit. Then I had a nap and some vegetarian sausages and went back to being thrilled again. 

This movie - made in Leicester - was a labour of love. Which is probably for the best, as labours of ambivalence only tend to lead to further Transformers sequels and nobody wants that. 

So, for those of you who don't know, "A Dozen Summers" is a micro-budget indie family comedy about two 12-year-olds (played by my daughters Scarlet Hall and Hero Hall) who hijack a traditional children's film and decide to tell their own story instead. 

It was written because I had become aware - for the second time - how difficult it is to be 12. Not yet an adult, no longer a child - with little control over your own life and with no one taking you terribly seriously. 

And, yet, my daughters and their friends were clever, funny, strange, opinionated, bewildered by the adult world and full of ideas on how it could be fixed, sharpish. 

They deserved to tell their own story. 

My role was to try and understand that story well enough to put it on-screen. Without much in the way of resources, other than the time, talent and support of dozens of extremely talented, generous people and organisations, of course. 

The experience has exceeded all of my expectations - just from the proximity to so many amazing people. And now it's coming out on DVD (which, apparently, is like a VHS tape, but flat and shiny) and we want as many people as possible to see it. 

Also, to buy it, because bills. 

TWC, in their wisdom, have give me a few questions to answer. I, in my lack of wisdom, have chosen to answer them below. 

Is working with children really that difficult?

They say "never work with children and animals". But, to be fair, grown actors are far more idiosyncratic than either group, so I'm not sure why they get singled out. Children just need looking after on a set, both protecting but also inspiring them to do what they still remember how to do and we, as so-called "grown-ups", have forgotten - which is to play.

When young people are enthusiastic about something, it's a joy to be around. I think, in all honesty, we avoid working with children because they can remind us how jaded we have become and how tired we look before our 17th cup of coffee. So, no is my answer. It's a lot of responsibility, but it's a treat. 

Did you know you wanted the twins to be part of it from the start?

It was based on them, and their friends obviously, but I didn't know if a) they wanted to, b) they were ready for it and c) whether it would too much pressure to ask them to carry a film. So, they auditioned. They read with other children.

It became clear that this could be something we did together, that it would add something to the movie and that they weren't about to give up the roles to anyone else willingly. And I'm a father, I know when I'm beaten. 

How much are their characters in the film based on their real personalities, and your real relationship with them?

There's a lot of them in there, sometimes direct quotes, but I also wanted to give them something to play. Ironically, perhaps by playing the characters, there is much more delineation between Maisie and Daisy, and Scarlet and Hero now, then there was when we started. But all the good bits comes from them.

Henry, my character, is the father I'd like to be. I'd never claim it's the father I always manage to be. In fact, Jacqueline, Sarah Warren's character, is much more drawn from my feelings about myself - trying hard, but easily distracted by shiny things and not always knowing what to do for the best. So much so, that Sarah, consummate pro that she is, started nicking my tics and mannerisms and working them into her performance. So, that's me. But Henry - I'll keep trying to be Henry. 

How did you find switching between being writer, director, actor and father? Is it difficult to be objective?

In reality, the objectivity I faced was knowing that if the film ended up as something that might embarrass them, or hurt them, or wasn't something of which they were proud - that the Dad side of me, my dominant side, would steal the files and dump them in a lake. The director side of me knew this and kept his fingers tightly crossed. Thankfully, it just brought us closer and we got to go to work together for a while. And they won a Best Actress Award (jointly, thank goodness, for the sake of sibling harmony) at a festival in Spain, for their FIRST film - so mostly I just had to balance intense pride and professional envy.

What ambitions do the twins have? Are you hoping filmmaking will become a regular family pastime?

Scarlet really wants to continue performing. Hero, I think, is gravitating towards the other side of the camera. She wants be in charge of the whole story. I'm all for that, as she can employ me when my career hits the skids. She'd better, anyway. Someone who has thrown up on you as often as one's offspring... they owe you a gig. But then they also both want careers in caring professions: doctors, social workers. Hard not to be even more proud of that. I'll support them in whatever they are passionate about, because, a) that's the job and b) they've always done the same for me. Plus, I want to go to a GOOD home when I'm old. 

We talk about doing something else together. I think I probably have to make at least one without them, to prove I'm not riding on their coattails, but we do have an idea for something very different we can do together in the future. 

Watch this space. 

A Dozen Summers is released on DVD in the UK (from Ballpark Film Distributors and Screenbound Pictures), US and Canada (from Stacks Entertainment) on August 15th, 2016

A Dozen Summers is released on DVD in the UK, US and Canada on 15th August 2016, but available for pre-order now. Find out more about the film on the website.

---

A Week Of... Vegan Food

I'll admit it - I'm a sufferer of FOMO (that's 'fear or missing out'). It's in my nature to constantly  seek out new experiences, to be fascinated by other people's passions and lifestyles, and wonder how my life would be if I could just do more or less of a certain activity.

So in order to practically satisfy some of my ponderings without completely overhauling my life permanently,  I've decided to try out a few things within a limited time-frame. A week, to be precise.

First on my list: how easy would I find a week of eating a vegan diet? The rules: No animal products in my food (that includes meat, dairy, eggs and honey)

Day 1

Breakfast: Porridge made with oats and water, cooked with raspberries and topped with strawberries and almonds. Black coffee.
Lunch: Avocado and chili flakes on toast, with tomatoes and an apple.  
Dinner: Falafel burgers (recipe here), humus, harissa-spiced couscous, flatbread, roast vegetable skewers. Cocoa-peanut butter "ice-cream".
Snacks: Pear. Peanut butter (eaten off a spoon, obvs). Iced coffee with almond milk. Tea with almond milk..

Yesterday I was super excited about starting my vegan adventure. Fast-forward to 8am on Sunday and it's a different story when I add unsweetened almond milk to my coffee for the first time and promptly pour it down the sink  and declare "Life without milk is miserable!". Possible a  little premature/ridiculous a response,  likely born out of nerves. At 10.30am I have a six-mile race - the first time I've taken part in a Leicestershire Road Running League event.

Lunch is a much better, much calmer affair. I'm always happy when there's avocado involved - even if I'm missing the additional, perfectly-poached eggs topping my boyfriend's serving. The successes continue - I discover that the almond milk works much better in iced coffee (or perhaps I'm just getting used to the taste).

It's a hot day and the smell of barbecues drifts into my garden all afternoon. I get searching online and come across a simple recipe on the Minimalist Baker for baked falafel burgers - which are tasty, if a little dry (I've never been able to get falafels right). Afterwards while Paul, the boyfriend, munches on triple-chocolate cookies, I whizz up a frozen banana with cocoa powder and peanut butter - which tastes excellent.

Day 2

Breakfast: Overnight oats made with almond milk, grated pear and cinnamon, topped with coconut "yoghurt" and strawberries. Black coffee.
Lunch: Seaweed hummus, tomatoes and peppers in a sourdough cob from Modern Baker. Carrot sticks and a banana.
Dinner: Vegetable and bean chilli, with rice and nachos, plus an undressed side salad at The Plough. Mint tea.
Snacks: Almonds. Rice cakes. Tea with almond milk.

It's an easy start to the morning, having prepared our breakfasts last night. I'm actually putting a lot more thought and effort into making my food than usual - unlike Elle, I am not an enthusiastic cook and too easily fall into the trap of cooking the same meals over and over without thought for alternatives. We eat breakfast while discussing the ethics of being a consumer - deep stuff for the morning.

This is the first day I have to ask a stranger, "Is this vegan?". I'm working in Oxford today and grab a takeaway lunch from Modern Baker when I arrive. Their sourdough cobs (that's rolls for non-East Midlanders) are just so good - last week I went their two days in a row for exactly the same lunch - an aubergine, tomato and brazil pesto combo. Unfortunately this turns out not to be vegan... so I instead opt for the seaweed hummus. Not such a fan, but the bread is still incredible.

For dinner my team decide to head to The Plough - from their website I see they cater for vegetarians, but how about vegans? I give them a call...  "We can do veggie chilli without cheese... wait... is olive oil okay?" Yes it is. Later at the pub after placing our orders, the pub chef comes out to the beer garden to double-check if I'm happy with undressed salad. He also refers to me as a "food terrorist" - although his friendly manner means I don't take massive offence, especially when he follows it up with "It's up to you what choices you make". This sparks another deep conversation, exploring the various ethical and environmental factors that may influence a switch to veganism - which makes me realise how complicated the world is. I sleep very well.

Day 3

Breakfast: Porridge made with water, fresh and dried fruit. Black coffee.
Lunch: Mix of veggie bits from a salad bar - including avocado, roasted carrot and freekeh. A banana.
Dinner: A selection of vegan food from Tibits buffet. Peanut butter ice-cream and chocolate and beetroot ice-cream from Yorica!
Snacks: Almonds. Coffee with almond milk. Fresh mint tea.

Buffet breakfast in your standard hotel is not a vegan dream - animal products seem to be slipped into the most simple seeming dishes. On the upside, it's stopping me falling into the usual trap of overindulging. I'd hoped to grab lunch between two meetings, but it wasn't to be. Luckily the second was in the BBC Media Cafe, who had an excellent salad spread.

After work I headed straight out for coffee with my friend JT, who was keen to take me to try out a slightly unusual cafe - a former underground men's loo called The Attendant. The brilliance of the location made up for my sad-vegan moment of the day - for some reason the almond milk curdled in my Americano. Luckily the fresh mint tea which followed was much more appetising.

Dinner was with another friend, Bindi, who was well up for visiting the vegetarian restaurant Tibits who just so happened to have Vegan Tuesdays. It's a buffet style restaurant, where the price you pay is based on the weight of your plate. After a few days of studying ingredient lists for anything I put in my mouth, it was refreshing to just choose whatever I wanted from a large selection of dishes, without worry. Our slightly cautious response to not emptying our bank accounts at the plate weigh-in had an upside - space for pudding! After a quick online search, Bindi pulled up a winner - a "free-from" ice-cream parlor, with an entirely vegan menu. Tucking into "peanut butter" (actually toasted soy) and "chocolate" and beetroot "ice-cream" with fake Oreos on top, we both couldn't get over we weren't experiencing the real thing. London - probably unsurprisingly - is the place to be if you want to eat out as a vegan.

Day 4

Breakfast: Porridge made with water. Fresh and dried fruit and seeds. Black coffee.
Lunch: Avocado, carrot and harissa hummus wrap from Benugo. Carrot and cucumber sticks. Grapes and blueberries.
Dinner: Hip, Humble & Healthy salad box from Itsu. Muesli with raspberries and almond milk.
Snacks: Tea with soya or almond milk. Banana. Almonds.

It's become clearly apparent I'm a creature of habit when it comes to my breakfast routines as a vegan (to be fair, this is probably true when I'm not on a plant-based diet too - I'm already thinking a future 'A Week Of...' will involve trying out new recipes to start the day). Wednesday consisted of an inspiring but tiring training course, in a windowless basement room - so imagine my delight, when in the first break I discovered the canteen at Broadcasting House had soya milk for my tea! 

Lunch was on a tight schedule, so I nipped out and grabbed a takeaway wrap - very tasty, and supplemented by extra veg and fruit. My dinner was a bit of a shambles. Whenever I'm in London for work it's pretty inevitable I'll end up at Itsu where I'll always buy the same meal. Luckily this meal turns out to be, in the words of the guy who served me, "super vegan". It wasn't however, super filling. By the time I travelled from London Paddington to New Street Birmingham, I was in need of something to stop my stomach grumbles. My solution? Buying a box of muesli and a carton of almond milk, which I ate in my hotel room, out of a cup, in my PJs. The luxury of hotel living. I'm not proud.

Day 5

Breakfast: Porridge made with water topped with berries and nuts. Fresh fruit. Black coffee.
Lunch: Jacket potato and a salad bar mix.
Dinner: Mushroom, puy lentil and butterbean burger in wholemeal cob, with onions. Sweet potato wedges, corn on the cob, salad. Chocolate covered strawberry ice-cream.
Snacks: Coffee and tea with almond/soya milk. Mixed fruit pot. An apple. Almonds.

No surprises about hotel breakfast - although the berries were a bonus. I was hoping to head out into Birmingham to one of the vegan-friendly cafes I'd researched, but time-constraints we were restricted to another BBC canteen. Jacket potato and a mix of salad - nothing to write home about.

I'm at Paul's for dinner, and after some unfocused wandering around the supermarket (as per usual) we decide to test out some pre-made "processed"  vegan offerings in the shape of mushroom and bean burgers, and vegan ice-creams. The main meal is a success, especially the sweet potato chips, but I'm not a fan of the ice-creams which just taste a bit fake. At least this prevents me eating two. It's probably at this point in the week I start to get increasingly grumpy about not having "a proper cup of tea".

Day 6

Breakfast: Porridge made with water topped with blueberries, almonds and a sprinkling of muesli. Coffee with soya milk.
Lunch: A brown cob.  Salted popcorn. A banana and apple.
Dinner: Sweet potato and spinach dhal (recipe here) with a wholemeal pitta. Strawberries, mixed nuts and a Nakd Cocoa Delight bar.
Snacks: Strawberries and almonds. Coffee and tea with almond milk.

Sorry for the slightly disgusting photo of my morning coffee, but I want to bring you some of the realities of my week - one of the mysteries of this week is why milk-substitutes occasionally do this to hot drinks, but the rest of the time mix quite easily. Odd.

My lunch is probably the least interesting of the week - I'm on the move when I suddenly get a bit light-headed and decide I need some food pronto. Unfortunately, after circling it three times, I realise the small-supermarket I'm passing doesn't have any vegan-friendly grab and go food. So I literally just eat a bread roll - followed slightly later by fruit and popcorn. Determined to make up for this let-down, I research a super-tasty recipe for dinner. I will absolutely be making this dhal recipe from BBC Good Food again! 

Day 7

Breakfast: Cinnamon porridge made with water topped with pear, strawberries and blueberries. Coffee with rice milk. Then black.
Lunch: Leftover dhal with a pitta bread. Black coffee.
Dinner: Tagliatelle Pepe E Zucchini (with gluten-free pasta) at Don Leone
Snacks: Chai

Of all the milk substitutes I've tried this week, rice milk is right at the bottom of the list. After my first taste, my hot drinks for the rest of the day are drank black. Lunch is simply the last of the dhal from last night (Paul has scrambled eggs and I genuinely feel like I've got the better deal).

In the evening we head to Leicestershire Cricket Ground to see Elton John in concert, along with my mum - but before that we go out for dinner. I ring ahead to Don Leone's to check they cater for vegans, yet there's still a little confusion over what I can eat when we arrive. Watching mum and Paul tuck into incredible looking goats cheese pizzas, I can't help but feel a little hard done by with my gluten-free pasta. It provides decent fuel to Crocodile Rock dancing, at least.

Week conclusion

It's been a mixed week of meal successes, but on the whole it's been a positive experience. Apart from a few jokes at my expense from family and friends (which I expected, largely due to the faddy nature of my experiment!), I found people pretty receptive to my dietry requirements - even if they were occasionally a little confused about what a vegan diet actually consists of (see Bindi's question below for my favorite example of this!). It's really made me appreciate how much of my "flexitarian" diet actually includes animal products, but also how removing them doesn't necessarily mean a healthier, cleaner lifestyle. I fully appreciate it's been my choice, but I definitely think I've consumed more processed foods this week than usual - largely through milk substitutes. In fact, milk was the only thing I can say I genuinely missed and couldn't wait to have again.

Meal of the week: Spinach and sweet potato dhal
Pudding of the week: Ice-cream from Yorica!
Vegan-friendly location of the week: London
Question of the week: "Is kosher salt vegan?"

---

Weekend Review: David Wilson Clarke

The weekend is what you make of it - there's endless opportunities whether you're at work or play. Today we welcome our friend, David Wilson Clarke for a peek into the life of a professional photographer, and what he might keep in his fridge... 

Where do you call home?

I have a little bungalow in Shepshed, Leicestershire, next to a river. This means that to go anywhere, I go through the countryside, which I love.

What do you do for work?

I'm a full time professional photographer. I love saying that, as I've been a photographer for quite a while, but only recently take it up full time. Portraiture, performance art and dancers, as well as commercial work.

What's been your proudest career moment so far?

I photographed David Attenborough, as he was opening Attenborough Arts new gallery. I was one of quite a few photographers so getting the shot I wanted in a busy event was tricky. But, at one point, he looked directly at me for a second, and I had my shot.

And your biggest achievement outside of work?

I used to be a Mountaineer, so I think it's climbing Elbrus, the highest mountain in Europe.

When is your weekend?

Work is busier on weekends, so weekends tend to be snatched hours sitting in cafés or pubs after work has finished.

How did you spend last weekend?

I was assisting another photographer on a shoot in Paris. Saturday was full on concentration, making sure everything went smoothly, then Sunday was hanging around the cafés of paris, just drinking and eating.

How typical was it for you?

There is no typical. It may be working in arts centres, sorting out the studio, collaborating with a performance artist, photographing a dancer, or like this weekend, taking portraits on an Afghan camera with Leicester Lo-Fi. Although there is bellringing on a Sunday morning at All Saints Loughborough, which is the one fixed point in my weekend.

What are you most looking forward to in the week ahead?

I'm photographing a dancer on Tuesday. This is something I started recently, after realising I didn't know how to photograph dancers in a way that I liked. I'm an unlikely dance photographer, but these things come to you, and to go with them makes life interesting.

You're ideal Sunday Menu...

Breakfast: Veggy sausage cob, with mushrooms or an egg on top, and maybe a little bit of melted cheese. All at home, then relax.

Lunch: I'm not one for a big Sunday lunch, so a cheese board (With Sparkenhoe, a Shropshire Blue and a strong Cheddar.) In a nice pub garden with a pint of Summer beer, talking rubbish with friends.

Dinner: Years ago I was working near Bath and stayed in The Tollgate Inn, Holt, Wiltshire. The food was incredible. I've always wanted to go back and see if the food was as good. So there, again, with friends, talking rubbish.

What's in your fridge?

Cheese. Then some more cheese. 

QUICK FIRE: Name your absolute favourite....

Book: Philip Pullman - His Dark Materials. 

Film: I can never decide between Léon: The Professional or Amélie

Album: The answer to this changes constantly. Currently, Grails - Deep Politics

Digital versus Film photography, which gets your vote and why?

I work a lot with both, and both have their place. If you have a job with a quick turnaround: digital. But if you want something with a little extra, with imperceptible mood, something classy and classic, the film.

How can people follow what you do and get in contact?

web: dwc-imagery.com

email: dwc@dwc-imagery.com

facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DWCImagery/

twitter: @ddwwcc

flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidwilsonclarke/

Instagram: @davidwilsonclarke

---

Behind the Scenes: Styled Wedding Shoot

Our friends are a talented bunch, and last week we were lucky enough to take part in the first styled wedding shoot by The Wedding Collective. A meeting of minds, skills and modern crafts coming together to create a little slice of magic. The team is comprised of...

Matt Horan's amazing photography

Rachael Horan's beautiful cinematography

Louise Price's etherial Floral Design

Kayley Tarrent's contemporary modern calligraphy design 

Joella Senior - make up artist

Elle Dabell - hairstylist 

Selma Hujic - model 

And our own Elle Townsend's creative cakes and bakes

Matt has created a beautiful post about the day which you can see here. We thought we'd give you a little look at the action behind the scenes. We've used a mixture of our own photos and Matt's, you'll no doubt be able to spot the difference! 

Plenty of hard work went into pulling the whole shoot together but loads of fun was had by all too, especially by Teddy Wilson the miniature dachshund! 

---