


2

Missing Frenchboy ‘could be in

UK’Special report by STEPHEN WARD;

additional reporting by FRANCES

ASHLEY

A MISSING French teenager could be being

held captive abroad, including in the UK,

police have said.

The news comes as Lucas Tronche’s

anguished parents have pleaded with his

kidnappers for direct contact with their boy after

receiving a mysterious email from them.

Lucas 16, vanished from his home in Bagnols

sur Ceze in the Gard, France in March last year.

A police spokesman at Montpelier where a

special unit has been set up said: "There's a

possibility that he could be abroad including the

UK. He’s been missing for over a year. His

parents are continuing to be hopeful. We have

neither found him nor a body."

Lucas’s parents Nathalie and Éric Tronche got

an email from his captors some time ago saying

he was with them, in good health and not to

worry. They received another message last week.

In a heart-rendering reply they beg to be able

to contact their boy direct. “We need a sign

direct from our son. Could you ask him for just a

written message or a message on our answering

machine. It's been a year since he left us. Our

suffering due to uncertainty is unbearable. We

need to be fully reassured. The moment will

come when we fully accept that Lucas has

decided to lead a new life somewhere. We trust

him fully. Please tell him we love him,” they say.

Since he went missing volunteers have

scoured the area and dozens of posters have

gone up in shops and restaurants.

To find out more and to help in the hunt go to:

www.retrouvons-lucas.fr

Nathalie and Éric Tronche

Lucas Tronche

Think you can

tell a story from

a string of

bananas?

We pay well for

tips and copy;

write in to us at:[email protected]

A string of bananas




3

GIVING allergenic foods to infants from three

months old may prevent allergies in later life

– a major new report has claimed.

The study, for the UK Food Standards Agency

(FSA) which has been published in the prestigious

New England Journal of Medicine, has found that

introducing allergenic foods to the infant diet from

three months of age may be effective in food

allergy prevention if the recommended quantity of

allergenic food was consumed.

The report backs up many others which have

come to the same conclusion.

Common allergenic foods are egg, milk,

peanut, tree nuts, wheat and soy; as well as

non-vegetarian

items such as fish,

and shellfish.

The research

compared those

infants that were

breastfed and had

consumed aller-

genic foods from

three months with

those solely breast-

fed and given foods

at six months.

Overall, food

allergy was lower in

the group intro-

duced to allergenic

foods early.

And the report

notably goes on to

make it quite clear

that early intro-

duction of all thefoods was not easy

but it was safe.

Among the infants

who did manage to

consume the recommended quantity of the

allergenic foods there was a two-thirds reduction in

overall food allergy.

Professor Gideon Lack, principal investigator,

said: “The results of the analysis of infants who

managed to consume the recommended amount

are most striking for peanut and add to the growing

body of evidence from our other studies, that early

introduction of peanut prevents the development of

peanut allergy in both a high risk population of

children with eczema and in a general population.”

Dr Michael Perkin, St George’s University of

London co-principal investigator, said: “We have

gained huge insights into what may be necessary to

help protect infants from developing food allergies.”

What do you think? Would you give your baby

allergenic foods? [email protected]

BABY DIET IS ALLERGY

CAUSE - REPORT SAYS

Tesco backs Veggie Week Continued from p.1

Richard Stoker, managing director and founder of

Good Full Stop Bars in Devon, another sponsor,

said: “I’m often asked why I became a veggie to

which I mischievously reply that it’s so long ago I’ve

forgotten.”

And fourth sponsor, Julie Nisbet, managing

director of Strathmore Foods, said the event was

the perfect way “to promote the continually

increasing variety available on a meat-free diet.”

The Vegetarian Society “influences, inspires and

supports people to embrace and maintain a

vegetarian lifestyle”. Being vegetarian is a choice

that is kinder to animals, to people and to our living

planet, the society claims.

Established in 1847, it claims to be the oldest

vegetarian organisation in the world.

Visit www.vegsoc.org for more information.

Visit www.nationalvegetarianweek.org for more

details and visit the society’s online ‘Kitchen Table’.

THE SALESIAN community is looking for cleaners

for its newly upgraded facilities in Battersea, south

London but applicants must be prepared to go that

bit further than just keeping the place spic-and-span.

The job description on the Catholic institute’s

website reads: “To maintain and implement a

consistently high level of hospitality e.g. fresh

flowers, clean carpets and furnishings, pictures

straight, condiments in visitors’ rooms, sensitivity to

individual’s needs, etc.”

Just a tiny bit

higher on the

right …

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.vegsoc.org/

http://www.nationalvegetarianweek.org/

http://www.nationalvegetarianweek.org/

http://www.vegsoc.org/


http://www.veganicity.com/home.php




4

GAY INDIAN men are being

urged to ‘come out’ in support

of their rights as the country

looks again at its draconian

legal system where homo-

sexuality is still punishable by

life imprisonment.

The call comes as a ground-

breaking film with a gay theme

was released recently and another

is looking for an Indian screening

after having to be filmed in secret

because of its gay storyline.

The Bollywood film Aligarh is a

biopic of a gay Indian professor

who died under mysterious

circumstances after being

suspended from the Aligarh

Muslim University for his

homosexuality.Caught in a sting operation Dr

Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras said:

"I am happy because I have been

judged in a wrong way. I myself

declare that I am a gay person.

“I am the same person, with

[the] same qualifications, features

and personality."

The film’s lead actors and director

have brought out a video in support of

the LGBT movement against Section

377, (which outlaws homosexuality in

India) by encouraging people to come

out and discuss and accept homo-

sexuality more openly.

In the video, actor Manoj Bajpayee,

who plays Siras, declares: “We are free

only if we can come out and livewithout fear.” And director Hansal

Mehta says: “The closet is a lonely

place, come out.”

Meanwhile Loev , directed by

Sudhansu Saria, is an Indian love story

between two men.

It had to be filmed in absolute

secrecy because Saria feared that if

‘COME OUT’ CALL

AS INDIA MULLS

GAY LAWS

Loev, an Indian love story between two men

RELAX AND UNWIND WITH ROLLING RESTORATIVE YIN YOGA89a Cronulla Street, Cronulla Beach, NSW, Australia. +61 409 700 511

A model strikes aYin Yoga pose

cont. on page 5

by Parvis Rusthum




5

This recipe serves six so go ahead and invite some

friends round. They’ll love it. You can substitute the

butter and cheese with vegan options.

Ingredients:

Knob of butter

1 kg floury potatoes e.g. King Edwards, peeled and

thinly sliced

500g parsnips, peeled and thinly sliced

200g pack baby leeks, sliced

450 ml hot vegetable stock

Method:

Preheat oven to 170 deg. C, gas mark 3. Butter a two-

litre ovenproof dish. Layer the vegetables in the dish,

seasoning lightly as you go.

Pour the HOT vegetable stock over the top of the

veggies. Dot with a little more of the butter and add

ground black pepper. Cover with buttered foil and

bake for 1.5 hours or until vegetables are tender.

Remove the foil for the last 20 minutes to allow the top

to brown. For a main course just add some vegetarian

sausages and sprinkle grated cheese on top.

people learned of its content it could threaten

its production.

He told the BBC recently: “Getting any sort

of permit, given we didn’t have money, we

were just relying on favours. I just didn’t want

to complicate things beyond a certain point.”

Tragically, lead actor Dhruv Ganesh died

of tuberculosis while the film was in post-

production.

Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code

dates back to 1860 and was introduced

during British rule.

It criminalises sexual activities "against

the order of nature", arguably including

homosexual acts. The section was

decriminalised in cases of sex between

consenting adults by the High Court of Delhi

on the 2nd July, 2009.

That judgement was overturned by the

Supreme Court of India on 12th December,

2013 which held that amending or repealing

Section 377 should be a matter left to

parliament, not the judiciary.

On 2nd

February this year at a hearing inthe Supreme Court the three-member bench

headed by the chief justice of India T.S.

Thakur said the complete section would be

reviewed afresh by a five-member

constitutional bench.

‘COME OUT CALL’… cont. from page 4

approximation

VEGAN body builder, and all round

heart throb, Robert Webster, took

time out of his sweaty gym workout

recently to pop in to say hello to his

favourite magazine.

His welcome visit came at theVegFest Brighton where he flexed a

bicep or two, in front of our advertising

banner and the admiring crowds.

Robert is living proof that you don’t

have to eat meat to be fit and healthy.

As well as Robert hundreds of

readers new and old stopped by to say

hello or sign up for the first time.

FG policy is to meet our readers so

that they can put a face to their favourite

publication.

On hand to do just that at the Brighton

conference centre were Silvia Majorska

and Marijan Suárez.Silvia managed the Friends’ Gazette

stand while Marijan played the role of

roving ambassador digging out potential

readers as she attended a variety of

talks and lectures.

Friends’ Gazette will be on stand S21

at the Bristol VegFest next month.

See our ticket competition inside.

GIVE

ME A (vegan)

TUFF

GUY




6

Breakfast in Beas

TOP INDIAN politician Rahul

Gandhi has met with holy man

Gurinder Singh Dhillon ahead of

next year's Vidhan Sabah

(national assembly) elections.

The top secret meeting took

place at the Radha Soami

Satsang Beas ashram in the

Punjab, north west India which is

headed up by Dhillon.

In India, the group, known as

RSSB, has a following of millions,

mostly low-caste Dalit Sikhs.

Gandhi, vice-president of India's

Congress Party, is on a mission to

try and win back support from

nationalist parties in their

heartlands, such as the Punjab.

The rise of these parties

resulted in Congress being driven

from power in the 2012 elections.

Gandhi stayed overnight and

attended a religious gathering the

next morning, press reports say.

Before that he tucked into a

strictly lacto-veggie breakfast and

then went on to Dhillon’s private

residence for a two hour closed-

doors meeting.

Dhillon, who maintains a neutral

stance politically, is related by

marriage to Sukhbir Singh Badal,

deputy chief minister of Punjab

since 2009.

Badal is also the president of

Sikh political party Shiromani Akali

Dal (SAD) and the son of Punjab

chief minister Parkash Singh

Badal.

SAD is the sworn political

enemy of Congress.

Dhillon made a point last July of

visiting Sikh activist Simranjit

Singh Mann, 70, then being

treated for a heart condition in

hospital in Punjab's second city,

Chandigarh, as reported in the

July/August 2015 editon of FG.

Mann once stood accused of

conspiracy to assassinate Rahul's

grandmother Indira Gandhi who

was gunned down in 1984 after

she had imposed a national state

of emergency. All charges against

Mann were later dropped.

Mann told reporters at the timethat Dhillon had expressed ‘deep

concern’ over the plight of Sikh

political prisoners.

PEOPLE’S CHAMPION

Rahul Ghandi, 45, is a scion of theNehru-Ghandi family, a political

dynasty at the very heart of Indian

politics since Independence.

His grand-mother Indira and

father Rajiv were assassinated

while serving prime ministers.

He holds a masters degree in

Philosophy from Trinity College,

Cambridge.

Under his leadership, the Indian

National Congress Party was

hammered in the 2014 poll when

the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

and allies including the Shiromani

Akali Dal (SAD) swept to power.

Both ran on traditionalist/quasi-

religious platforms.

In May 2011 he was arrested by

the Uttar Pradesh police at Bhatta

Parsaul village after he turned out

in support of agitating farmersdemanding more compensation for

their land being acquired for a

highway project.

Rahul stood with the farmers for

over 15 hours as they were

demanding their rights.

THE CATHOLIC church is urging its members

in Scotland to ‘get political’ in a veiled attempt

at influencing the debate on abortion.

Voters go to the polls next month to elect 129

new Scottish Members of Parliament.

In an official letter read out in churches this

month Scottish bishops urge their flocks to join a

political party saying: “It is the duty of every

Catholic to try and influence society for the better.”

After giving details on the voting system, the

letter continues: “As well as existing powers

over education and health, the parliament has

been given more control of the economy, with

greater ability to raise and lower taxes.

“It will also have responsibility for legislation

regarding abortion in Scotland.”

Labour has warned that Scotland’s newly-

acquired power on abortion could leave women

with fewer rights and the ruling Scottish Nationalist

Party has vowed not to change the present law.

Unlike Scotland, abortion is illegal (except in

medical circumstances) in neighbouring Eire,

where the Catholic church is highly influential.

Catholics should try to

‘influence society for

the better’ bishops say

Pictured: top, Rahul Gandhi;

below, a Vidhan Sabah in

Chandigargh; below left,

part of the RSSB centre.




7

With a

little helpfrom ourFRIENDS

FRIENDS’ GAZETTE is a free and independent magazine/newspaper

and we intend to keep it that way.

To do so we need the support of advertisers.

Our current advertisers include some of the top producers in the

vegan/vegetarian world from spring water to vegan marshmallows.

We don’t believe in touting for testimonials, many of which end up

being paid for. However here are a few compliments which have

come our way, without asking, in the course of business.

Thanks everyone. SW

I believe that the FG is of a very high standard and I would like my brand

to be associated with it.

Mordechai Chachamu - Nutural World

Perhaps I could offer a selection of our products to Friend’s Gazette for

you to review.

Julian Lucas – Plamil Foods

Happy to see the result of our collaboration as a whole now!

It looks great.Caroline de Filipis – Bute Island Foods

Love it!

Ananda – Ananda Foods

Your articles look at moral reasons for being vegetarian or vegan which is

a very interesting mix and unique . . .

Tim Barford - founder VegFestUK

Have seen the advert. Looks good and I'm enjoying reading the articles.

I have given it to my dad to read. Thanks again.

Lady Hummingbird - vegan jewellery

Thanks for the ad. It looks good. We are always happy to do business

with Friends’ Gazette.

Salique Khan - Diwana’s Brick Lane

Your market - our readers

Real journalism

News not propaganda

Exclusive stories

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8

Christmas comes early

for FG chocoholics

In the habit - Benedictine monkswear black hooded robes

A model strikes ayin Yoga pose

‘LIFE IS JUST ….’ an easy but substantial read

Product review

by our readers

HUNGRY FG readers got together recently to put a

well-known vegan brand to the test and celebrate

Christmas a few months early.

Plamil founded in the 60s to provide an alternative to cow’s milk now

produces a wide range of pure vegan products including chocolate bars,

chocolate spreads, baking chocolate, egg-free mayonnaise, carob bars,

organic soya milk and even ethical aprons.

In our independent test four varities of the company’s chocolates were

at the mercy of our choccoholics’ taste buds who could award up to five

hearts per product, according to preference.

Out of the sugarfree, orange, mint and organic cayenne flavours

orange came up tops with a heartfelt 13; with mint running a close

second with 11 and sugarfree nine. The cayenne (chilli) flavour scraped

in last with just three.

Solange Egea, a retired careers adviser, gave the mint the full monty

(or minty) with a heartfelt five, saying: “The mint flavour is well-balanced,

though a little sweet.”

Whacking in with a further two hearts, artist and anthropologist Pierre

Cayol commented: “The mint marries well with the chocolate taste.”

And retired philosophy professor, Gerard Egea, Solange’s partner said

of the mint variety: “A good combination of the two elements.”

For Marie Cayol, an eminent writer on American Indian culture and

philosophy and Pierre’s partner, it was the chocolate orange which stole

her hearts – all five of them!

Giving the product the full shebang, she said: “This is a classic! The

orange taste goes perfectly with the taste of chocolate.”

For her, the mint chocolate scored a miserable one heart. “I don’t likethe mix of mint and chocolate,” she declared.

But when it came to the cayenne (chilli flavour) she was the only one

who rated it with a rosey three, all the others couldn’t find it in their ‘hearts’

to give it any score at all!

Full results as follows: Chocolate Orange: 13; Chocolate Mint: 11;

Sugar free: 9; Cayenne: 3.

To have your product considered for testing by our readers contact

[email protected] in the first instance.

Mark your email: ‘product testing’.

There is no charge for this service.… and the contenders are (l-r) - Plamil’s no added sugar, organiccayenne, mint chocolate and organic orange - all delicious!

‘Life is Just ...’ by Nigel Lesmoir-

Gordon is set in the swinging 60s.

The story starts with a

mysterious death in 1931, which

will grab your attention and keep

you guessing until the end.

Fast forward to 1962,

Cambridge, and we meet Freddy

Wheatcroft, who has just been

appointed Dean of St. Andrew's

College, and the rest of his

successful but dysfunctional

family.

The prose is evocative and

engaging. The characters are

realistic and well developed.

Lesmoir-Gordon also deftly

highlights the growing spiritual

interest in Eastern religions and

philosophy.

Freddy’s twin sons, Mark and

Dominic, as well as his daughter

Lauren, represent intellectual and

intuitive youth trying to

disentangle from their father’s

conservative mind.

The darker side of that era in

terms of mental illness and

homosexuality and the way they

were viewed in those days is well-

explored and thought-provoking.

‘Life is Just ...’ is an easy yet

substantial read about familial

bonds, struggles, guilt, and

acceptance.

There are some parts of the

narrative that are slow for me, but

the overall pace is good.

Readers who grew up through

the sixties, especially in

Cambridge, will be able to identify

with the story intimately.

All in all , this is a solid read

from Lesmoir-Gordon. (SbA)

Taste buds at the ready; (l-r) Solange Egea, Marie Cayol, Gerard Egea,and Pierre Cayol make careful notes.




9

Meet us atVegFestUK

BrightonFebruary

27th /28th

STUNNING is the best way to

describe both Réunion and

Mauritius; set like jewels in the

azure waters of the Indian ocean.

One can feast one’s eyes on the

lush green rugged mountains

stretching as far as the eye can see.

There are more impressive

waterfalls than you can point a stick at

and the giant lilypads at the

Pamplemousses Botanical Gardens in

Mauritius are a sight not to be missed.

Réunion is a much younger

volcanic island than Mauritius and

only a comparatively small part of the

coast has white sand and coral reefs.

No matter. The inhabitants are

warm, friendly and welcoming with

low crime rates as compared

with South Africa where

crime is more of an issue.

Réunion is not only very

much a part of France, but

part of the European

Common Market and,

strangely, the Euro Zone.

Its citizens enjoy an old-

age pension and free health

care benefits that mainland

France enjoys and are the

envy of the nearby Indian

Ocean countries.

France has obviously

spent billions on infra-

structure with top class

freeways, roads, rubbish

collection etc.

It’s like being in a parallel,

tropical France.

Mauritius has 52% Indian

population and hasn’t had

the money thrown at it by theBritish that Réunion has from

France, so it's the slightly

scruffy sister to Réunion.

Uncollected rubbish and

poor housing is evident and

the road infrastructure and

maintenance, as well as living

standards, is well below Réunion’s.

Saving grace? Being five million

years old Mauritius has many more

beaches and coral reefs on which to

enjoy plenty of lazy sunny days and

tropical nights.

One point of interest not to be

missed is La Vanille Réserve des

Mascareignes in the Rivière Des

Anguilles, Mauritius.

There you can see some great

examples of the island’s giant

tortoises imported from grandparent

stock in the Seychelles in 1880s at

the behest of none other than

Charles Darwin himself.

Visit us atVegFestUK Bristol May

21st/22nd

MAURITIUSOR RÉUNIONLee Kirk helps us decide

http://www.hempish.com/index.php



















1111

A knight of the spirit

http://bristol.vegfest.co.uk/

http://bristol.vegfest.co.uk/



READERS’ LETTERS

JOIN 3,000

OTHERS AND

CLICK THE SCRIBD

LOGO (left) TO

READ FGs ALL

THE WAY BACK

TO JULY 2013

FG has teamed up with top Vegan food

company Bute Island Foods to offer two of their

promotional tee shirts as competition prizes.

Just answer this question.

Is the Isle of Bute on the

● Firth of Clyde,

● the Firth of Forth,

● or the Forth of Fifth?

First two correct answers out the hat will win a tee shirt

each.

The 100% cotton Fruit-of-The-Loom tee shirts, usually

costing £12 each, come in small, medium, large and extra

large for men and women. Please state preference with

entry.

GETTING into Europe’s top vegan show has never been

so easy! Just answer this simple question to be in with a

chance of winning four tickets to Bristol VegFest next

month! (Two per day).

Amongst other things Bristol is famous

for its glassware (see pic).

What’s it called?

● Bristol Navy,

● Blue Bristol, or

● Bristol Blue.

Answers to:

[email protected]

First correct answers out the hat

will win prizes. Mark your entry ‘Vegan’ for the show

tickets and ‘Scheese’ for the free teeshirts.

Only one prize per entry, per competition.

You can enter both competitions.

The editor’s decision is final.

WIN! WIN! WIN!

Team Bute Island Foods in their tees - somewhere in Scotland …

Mon Dieu! Ellesexistent encore!MERCI, merci, merci Steve pour apporter

ce sujet sur FG. (Death in the afternoon -

FG March 2016).L'indifférence des Francais a ce sujet

est choquante. Les animaux ont aussi des

droits: ceux d'être traite humainement.

Ce qui n'est pas le cas dans les

corridas. Combien de temps faut-il pour

changer "les traditions"?

Les corridas sont le dernier espoir pour

gagner de l'argent pour certaines

personnes désavantagées et c'est

peut être une des raisons pour ne pas les

supprimer, sans parler du gain

pour l'économie locale.

Ce n'est pas la première fois que je

signe une pétition contre les corridas.

Marie-Michele Bailey

Surrey, England

My God, is it really still going on?THANK you so much for carrying this story

in FG. (Death in the afternoon - FG March

2016).

The indifference of the French to this

subject is totally shocking. Animals have

the right to be treated humanely.

That just isn't the case with the

bullfights! How long will it be before

anything changes?

Bullfighting is the last hope for somedisadvantaged members of society to earn

money and that maybe why it’s still going

on, to say nothing of boosting the local

economy.

This isn't the first time I've signed a

petition against bullfighting!

Marie-Michele Bailey

Surrey, England

Je signe unepétition, tu medemandes

pourquoi ?SIGNER une pétition, se délecter de ce qui

n’est pas issu de l’exploitation pure et

simple d’autrui, s’intéresser davantage à ce

que l’on consomme, devenir végane,

s’engager au sein d’une entreprise qui

partage ses valeurs…

Peu importe ce que l’on décide de faire,

peu importe qui et comment : chaque

geste compte. Chaque voix qui s’élève est

une révolution en soi.

Il me semble indispensable aujourd’hui

de devenir acteur de ce monde que l’on

compose. Les traditions sont parfois

simplement de mauvaises habitudes.

On sait au fond de nous que cela nousdessert, mais on continue sans plus se

poser de questions. Jusqu’au jour où…

l’on décide de ne plus se complaire dans

sa propre ignorance, et jusqu’au jour où

l’on dit stop !

Je m’oppose évidemment à la corrida.

Cela n’a cependant pas toujours été si

« évident » à mes yeux. La chose est bien

« vendue » et savoir cela est même rassurant.

Comment pourrions-nous cautionner pareille

barbarie, sinon qu’en étant capables de lui

trouver des attraits « acceptables » ?

Jusqu’à ce jour, où l’on réalise. On ouvre son

cœur, on accroit son empathie.

Que fais-je à cet autre être vivant que l’on

torture pour la beauté du spectacle ? Lui, que

ressent-il ?

Caroline de Filippis

Isle of Bute - Scotland

I signed the petition -

you asked why?I'm happy not to be involved in the

exploitation of other animals. I'm becoming more

interested in what I eat.

To be a vegan, getting involved in the heart of

a company that shares my values; it doesn't

really matter what you decide to do or how.Every action counts. Everyone who takes a

stand is a revolution in themselves.

To me it seems there’s no choice today but to

do something positive in the world in which we

live. Traditions are so often just bad habits.

We know in our heart of hearts that it's not

good for us but we carry on regardless until .....

we decide to break out of our ignorance. Then

we say: Stop. Obviously I'm against bullfighting.

But my eyes weren't always open.

Bullfighting is so cleverly sold it somehow

reassures you. How else could you bear such

barbaric behavior. Until one day you wake up,open your heart and find your compassion.

‘What am I doing to this other living creature

that's being tortured for the thrill of the fight?

‘What's the bull going through?’

Caroline de Filippis

Isle of Bute - Scotland

Translations by FG in-house team

https://www.scribd.com/user/233175741/friendsgazetteed

Friends' Gazette April 2016 edition

Documents

Transcript of Friends' Gazette April 2016 edition