Here at The Dalston Darlings we are big, big fans of The Vagenda a blog heralded as “like King Lear but for girls”. With their humorous and witty take on feminism The Vagenda loudly and proudly writes about everything to do with being a woman covering topics like the female orgasm, Lena Denham’s Girls, domestic violence and tongue-in-cheek quizzes on “Which Feminist Are You?” (go find out we urge you to! http://vagendamag.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/which-kind-of-feminist-are-you.html)

Recent graduates and long-suffering ex-flatmates Holly and Rhiannon set up The Vagenda, nearly a year ago. Since then it has had over eight million hits and they’ve secured a book deal with Random House. Holly and Rhiannon will be talking to The Dalston Darlings about the depiction of women in the media and journalism, and answering any questions you might have on all things funny and feminist.

The meeting will take place at The Hackney Downs Studio, Amhurst Terrace, E8 2BT on Wednesday 6th February at 7pm-9pm.

For more info check out: Vagendamag

Our first January meeting in the New Year will take place on Wednesday January 9th upstairs at Pub On The Park with nutritionist Amanda Ashy Boyd.

January is the start of the New Year and for most of us, the time when we all need to give ourselves and our bodies a bit of TLC. Nutritionist Amanda will be giving a talk entitled ‘Setting Yourself Up for Success: An Easy Way to Clean Up Your Diet’. This isn’t a crash diet to relieve the festive-induced lethargy but a lifestyle change!

Her talk will cover liver-supporting foods and foods that contribute to a sluggish liver. She’ll be discussing an action plan that we can all follow that will switch us Darlings to health mode in the New Year.

Amanda has a passion for for helping people find a healthier path and is looking forward to sharing it with us all. We look forward to it!

See you in 2013! We kick things off at 7pm.

Tiff McGinnis A.K.A Grande Dame is a self-taught audio and visual artist,specialising in Technicolor illustration and we are thrilled to have her as our November speaker.

Influenced by pinball art, art nouveau, vintage comics and more, Tiff blends different genres into a unique style that is completely her own. She also makes music, animating colorful videos to accompany her songs and 2013 will see Grande Dame’s debut album release – a roots rock and roll soundtrack on limited edition colored vinyl.

Tiff has a range of bespoke limited edition creations – from Giclee prints to porcelain plates, lights, fabrics and more besides and in a short span of time Tiff’s intensely pop art giclée prints have gained a strong show of support from collectors worldwide. Her porcelain plates have been featured in UK fashion bible Stylist.

She has animated for EMI, MTV Networks, Nickelodeon, UK’s Channel 4, and KPM Music, to name a few. And next year will see Tiff foray into the world of fashion as she teams up with legendary couture shoe designer – Terry de Havilland for a special SS & AW 2013 collection.

Tiff is a dedicated, creative maverick, with a keen eye for detail and hr work is thought-provoking, funny, colorful and exciting. Her show is big, her style is large – and with a personality as vibrant as her work, this will be a meeting not to miss out on.

www.grandedame.co.uk

We have a very exciting announcement … on Saturday November 3rd the Dalston Darlings are holding the W.I Wardrobe in the basement of Birthdays on Kingsland Road, underneath Rita’s Dining.  The W.I Wardrobe is a clothing sale and an opportunity for all Darlings to purge the contents of their wardrobe and make some cash for yourselves while raising money for the Dalston Darlings, as well as for our local charity Nia: Ending Violence Against Women.  Stalls are priced at £10 and allocated on a first-come first-served basis. There will be a limited amount of tables provided on the day, again first come-first served.  You will need to bring your own clothing rail(s), a maximum two per person.  May we request that clothing rails are no bigger than the standard size. If your clothing rail is bigger than this, then it you’ll only be able to have the one. If you’d like a stall at the W.I Wardrobe, or you’ve any questions at all then email Charlotte and Plum on: darlings@dalstondarlings.net

Alternatively if you’d just like to get involved but have no clothes to sell please get in touch as we’d love volunteers!  We plan on having a ‘Dalston Darlings’ stall telling people about us and what we do and we’d like some help running it.  We’ll also be selling baked goods, jams and chutneys so if you would like to bake and donate then send us an email.  Our events are always really great fun and a good way to get to know the other Darlings outside of meetings.

Hi everyone

We’ve been terrible at posting we admit, but finally all the details are up in the meeting section for all to see.

See you all soon

Love The Dalston Darlings

We’re delighted to report back that our tents at both Field Day and Apple Cart were a phenomenal success for the 2nd year running – we raised a significant amount of money for the W.I and also for our elected local charity, Nia.  However, there’s just no way we could have done it without the help of our volunteers, cake-bakers and most impotently, the local businesses that all supported us by donating cakes and/or raffle prizes.

We’d like to personally thank the following people for the cakes and/or savoury treats that they donated; Rebecca Wood, Rachel Valentyne, Tessa & Elliott Lidstone, Marianna Longmire, Maighread Neligan, Clare Davis, Tara Adamson, Sarah Waldie, Leanne Walsh, Jess Huxtable, Victoria Bell and our very own President Charlotte Hotham.

Thank-you so very much to the local businesses who supported us by donating cakes and/or savoury treats for us to sell at both Field Day & Apple Cart - Dalston Superstore, The Haggerston, Crimson Heart, The Tea Rooms,  Mouse & deLotz and Long White Cloud.

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We’re Baaaaaaaaack! This Saturday June 2nd The Dalston Darlings W.I are hosting a tent at Field Day once again. Putting our very own spin on the Jubilee we’ve created “The Royal Huntsman Lodge”. Think Her Majesty at Balmoral, hunting and corgis …. but on a more psychedelic tip! We’ve an action packed programme of fun and games, make-up and mayhem and a big dollop of burlesque thrown in for good measure.

Décor is supplied by the amazingly talented Lauren Baker Mosaics who specialises in creating contemporary and unique mosaic designs. Lauren Baker gives life back to perished animals and her work is inspired by the power of nature, afterlife and mythological, magical creatures. Each gold plated deer skull which will be adorning the walls of our Lodge is carefully and ethically sourced and each one comes with a story.
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The dazzling Dalston Darlings take over the Eastern Curve Garden on Saturday for a day of interactive fun, games and merriment to rival a royal fete. Expect all the favourites – raffles, face-painting, costumes, comedy sketches, games, food and drink, whipped up into a frenzy by host and festival-veteran Clayton Wright. A regular at Camp Bestival (and seen at last year’s Land Of Kings sporting some very becoming vicar garb marrying couples at the Dalston Boy’s Club on the royal wedding day), this time Clayton will don regal robes and take the role of The Queen. Cutting a fine figure, he’ll host The May Day Queen Contest, inviting audience participation for the scoring of each round, and children to join in with any dancing.
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Land Of Kings
After last years rip roaring success of a Royal Wedding event, we’ve been asked back for a second year and this time we aim to make it even better!

On Saturday 5th May, from 11am – 3pm,  we are holding a May Day celebration in the Dalston Eastern Curve Gardens where everyone is invited to come and join us for drinks, food, music and May Pole Dancing. Volunteers are needed to come and help set up the event from 9am – 11am.
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