Ethics Girls

Monica is a legal English lecturer and has worked at various universities around the world. She has been a lawyer for over twenty years. She is currently working on a new book about her unique approach to teaching Legal English and is also the co-founder of M2 Legal Services, a new concept law firm that also offers linguistic and legal technical training services.

She has a background teaching human rights cases both in the UK and Spain and prioritises teaching cases with strong political and historical contexts to encourage her students to look beyond their national borders, see themselves as world citizens and see the bigger picture in everything they learn. We catch up with her and ask her about her legal background, her unique approach to teaching legal English, international law, the future of humanity and human rights and her exciting new book project.

1) Have you always wanted to be a lawyer?

In truth, my desire was to become a performer. Before enrolling in Law School, I was studying dance professionally and my initial intention was to continue along that path. My other choice was to choose languages, another one of my interests. My father is a lawyer, so eventually he persuaded me that Law school was the best choice. After graduating, I then decided to pursue a career as a lawyer. So summing up, no I haven’t always wanted to be a lawyer. Let’s say I found a compromise between my creative/artistic side and the more “serious” one: I managed to nurture my passion for the arts while practicing as a lawyer since I studied acting in parallel and joined a theatre company in the end. So, I was practicing as a lawyer during the day and performing on stage at night. After, since I had been practicing yoga for many years I studied to become a yoga instructor. Therefore, I replaced the theatre with yoga classes and maintained my double life. I still teach yoga now, but at the moment I have taken up singing and I am really glad I did.

2) How important is it do you think to have a legal background to teach legal English?

I think it is in fact a plus. In my experience, I have come across several teachers, and to my surprise, none of them were legal practitioners. Let me put it this way: most of the materials and cases I use in my classes are real cases I have worked on in my twenty years as a lawyer. That has proved to be much more effective than using some random article or some remote case from old Law Reviews. Of course, landmark cases and statutes are regularly used in the classes. Now, my perplexity has always been the fact that, to explain these concepts (whether about somebody’s practice or not), somebody without a legal background would certainly have to struggle. Is it then necessary to be a lawyer to teach Legal English? Maybe not, but it would most definitely be preferable. In any case, it is essential to have a solid legal background and I would add: a solid background in both civil and common legal systems.

3) What is the ordinary way to teach Legal English and what is the approach to teaching it in Europe compared to the US? 

Most of the Legal English books used by teachers are written by English or American authors or in any case somebody coming from an English-speaking country where the legal system is based on Common Law. Those types of works then, refer to concepts and terms typical of that system. There are indeed references to corresponding Civil Law concepts when available, which tend to be, as said brief and concise. Now, one of the main problems I have encountered in my own experience is precisely teaching Legal English to civil lawyers (including myself in the learning process) and explaining Civil law concepts to Common Law practitioners using Legal English. Some would say that this is quite an insuperable problem since Legal English is based on common law. But is it? I noticed that most of the time civil lawyers are mainly interested in explaining to their common counterparts what the Civil law system is really about and what they should be aware of when, for example, having clients planning to invest in their country. Can they do that after taking a Legal English course of the ones available now? Not so much in my opinion. In my experience, there isn’t a text where various areas of the law are analysed and compared from both perspectives fulfilling what the needs of the civil lawyers are. After all, common lawyers don’t need to do that since they already study Legal English when they study at U. K, U.S or Australian Universities for example.

4) What ethical issues do you include in your teaching and how do you teach ethical aspects of controversial issues to your students?

Ethics are a very important part of the things I teach.

“I like to awaken young and older students’ consciences and make them face ethical issues.”

(photographer: Alexander Grey)

I believe that an important part of studying law is to learn what rights we all have and how to protect them in every field. I don’t think that learning law provisions by heart or seeing this profession as a way to become wealthy and powerful is more valuable than becoming passionate about protecting and advocating people’s rights. Therefore, if one, as a lawyer, does not have it in his/herself this lack of passion will eventually show. The law can be very dry and quite dull, to be honest. It’s mainly in the aspect of protecting people’s rights that it becomes challenging and interesting.

“It is sadly true though, that areas like Criminal law, Human Rights, Public International law, etc, are less remunerative than Company law, Contracts, M&A, Banking and Finance but that is the way the world goes. It makes me think about the Arts too. How badly remunerated are they? Very. In particular when you compare them to other professions. It is indeed funny how the most interesting things are the most neglected ones.”

Going back to my teaching, I usually choose topics related to historical happenings but not only. I’ll give you an example of the topics I dealt with in my last course. As for Masters students I had them deal with ethical issues concerning the treatment of IRA prisoners during “The Troubles”. For the bachelors their first exam was a presentation chosen amongst: 1) Looted art by the Nazis during World War II, 2) Human rights violations related to waiting time for convicted felons on death row, 3) The theory of the innocent bystander. Witnessing bullying, abuse and violence without doing anything. We are indeed bystanders in that case, but are we innocent?

So, as you can see there is a lot of ethics involved.

5) What do you think about the lack of international law present in this humanitarian issue in Gaza right now? Isn’t international law the solution to achieving peace on all sides? Doesn’t the conflict in the Middle East prove yet again that people’s rights correspond to their power and wealth? What is the future for humanity and human rights?

(photographer: Lübna Abdullah)

This is a very interesting yet painful topic. The Israeli-Palestinian situation is an old thorn in the side. At this time, the problem of violation of Human rights has gone beyond all expectations. You would think that all or most countries would get involved to solve this problem but just like the Russian-Ukrainian conflict where diplomacy and action by most States in the world have lacked, we are witnessing a very tepid international reaction to what is happening.

“Power and wealth indeed correspond to people’s rights and people who have less in that respect, are considered to have fewer rights even if not openly. We are now witnessing a situation where human rights violations happen daily in many areas of the world.”

(photographer - Mati Mango)

However, the current pressure and hardship of everyday life have made us turn a blind eye to most of them. The only possible future is to awaken consciences to what is really important, to stimulate people to know, to get interested and passionate, to open their minds. Most minds are too closed on the world right now and open only to volatile and superficial values (if we can even call them that). I am an optimist by nature although I cannot help but be realistic and honestly, the situation does not look good at all.

“However, I think that we can still believe, we can still change but we need to take action even in our small sphere, and we need to step up and do something otherwise we will be the makers of our own destruction.”

6) Congratulations on your new book publishing contract with Cambridge Scholars Publishing. What inspired you to write this book about your different approach to teaching Legal English?

Well, I have been doing this for a long time now and I have seen that in this field there is very little innovation. The methods are very standardized and have been so, for as long as I can think. The approach to this topic has always been very schematic and based on the same texts all along. As I mentioned before, everything connected to the study and teaching of legal subjects is by definition very hard and quite dry (not to mention extreme dullness at times). I have experimented with a new way to learn legal subjects throughout most of my studies in the past and I have decided to put it into practice. We have now a lot of different resources to learn Legal subjects: half of the series on the market deal with legal situations, lawyers, courts, etc, there is a lot in the literature that we can use for these topics and an incredible amount of movies whose plot deals with legal concepts and believe it or not songs’ lyrics (fewer materials there but still there are quite a few examples). That’s what my book is going to be based on. It’s still Legal English but with another approach to legal concepts and terminology.

7) How do you inspire your students and bring to life legal concepts and legal terms in your teaching methods?

I always encourage my students to reflect and reason on legal concepts. There is no point in knowing legal definitions and legal terms if we don’t know what they mean in practice. I prefer to explain with situations and examples. And again, I use the resources above. I show them videos, film clips, literature excerpts, etc. I encourage them to put everything into practice.

8) How important are creativity and innovation in teaching at the moment?

They are both essential.

“The old method is still valid to some extent but without creativity and innovation the new generations in particular are less inclined to learn.”

Again, these resources and encouraging participation, group and individual activities in the classroom is a much more effective and productive method. Seeing is believing. I have used the old method with students who asked me to use it, books, exercises, listening practice, etc, especially lawyers and consultants and I can assure you that that has turned out to be less effective than the innovative and creative method.

Creativity and innovation are, in Monica’s opinion, a very good choice and what we need at the moment.  It is indeed important to have firm beliefs and methods, but at the same time change is necessary in every field and creativity brings that change even in the most traditional and "stiff" areas. 

In celebration of the launch of Monica’s new book ‘The Ultimate Legal English Manual: A Different Approach,’ she will be running a pre-book launch webinar to give a sneak peek into the book. Anyone interested will have to register and they’ll be a recording of the live version. Watch this space.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monica-migliarotti-461b721a/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/m2englishlaw/ 

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@M2englishlaw

The Gate Restaurants are celebrating this Christmas with their innovative meat-free menu including a classic aperitif of prosecco. Diners can choose between 2 or 3 courses and each course has 3 options to choose from. We headed to their branch in tranquil St. John’s Wood, where we were given a very warm welcome and the service throughout was very professional.

We chose the Three Onion Tart and Truffle and Mushroom Arancini for our starters, the Christmas Rotolo and Wellington for our mains and the Chocolate and Orange mousse and Baileys Cheesecake for our desserts. The taste of cranberries, sage, chestnuts and roasted veggies really reminded us of Christmas and now I’ve seen their menu in full, I already want to go back to try the Plantain Fritters, Aubergine Schnitzel and Sticky Toffee Pudding.

The Gate has been producing seasonal and original plant-based food for more than 30 years, so they really know what they’re doing. This indulgent feast will be available from 15th November - 24th December, for lunch or dinner and is really filling but healthy (apart from the desserts). Whoever says meat-free food can’t be decadent is wrong. Really wrong. All vegetarians would absolutely love it here and need to go!

Website: https://thegaterestaurants.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gaterestaurant/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheGateVeg

Twitter: https://twitter.com/gaterestaurant

The Gate Hammersmith, 51 Queen Caroline St, London W6 9QL

The Gate Marylebone, 22-24 Seymour Pl, London W1H 7NL

The Gate St John’s Wood, 87 Allitsen Rd, London NW8 7AS

Dr Naomi Newman-Beinart, Member of the CThA & Division of Health Psychology, BPS

Interview by Julia Nelson

Having access to educational information online is a real gift, but with all that’s out there, it’s always good to pick the brain of an expert to avoid getting lost in content. We had the pleasure of chatting to Dr Naomi Newman-Beinart on how to look after ourselves age 40+. Someone had to!

What is the secret to good health? 

In my opinion, it's all about mindset. I always say that there is no health without mental health (it's true!). Funnily enough, I am trying to get Instagram going (it's not as easy as it sounds!) and my post yesterday was all about this, I was saying that it's obviously a brilliant idea to try and eat a healthy and varied diet (and I am super excited that new research shows that eating your 5 a day specifically 3 veg and 3 fruit - means you're more likely to live longer and less likely to have chronic illnesses as you get older). BUT I always try and focus on how I feel when I get up each day. Do you wake up feeling positive and energised? Or wake up dreading your day? Or wake up somewhere in the middle..... 

No-one is expected to feel amazing 100% of the time. But it’s really important to do some things for YOU and to make sure that you aren’t struggling more than is necessary with daily stresses.

These are a few things I try to help feel better at the start of each day:

Stay in touch with people.

Increase movement and exercise.

Focus on the here and now.

Be kind to yourself and others.

Learn something new.

This advice is even more important given the global events of the past 18 months I would say. 

How should women age 40+ take care of their health and wellbeing? 

I think that it is really important that women are given more information about their hormonal health from the age of 40. The NHS usually do a health review for over 40's health for men and women, but this doesn’t cover hormonal changes or changes in bone density that women start to experience by this point in life. I think that as long as women are aware of hormonal changes in peri-menopause and what symptoms to look out for, and consider the fact that if they haven't already, it's time to get back into exercise - even walking, and trying to eat healthily most of the time, not always - reducing booze but still having fun, and considering any genetic illnesses that might rear their ugly heads at some point (e.g. osteoporosis - it may be time to start taking Vitamin D and think about calcium and collagen containing foods etc)

Do supplements work and do you recommend taking multivitamins every day? 

I am a fan of trying to get everything you can from food, but I believe that as you get older you may struggle with a less effective digestive system and you may have more 'issues' that supplements could help with. For example, I take borage oil for hormonal health and I find it really effective, but I didn't need it when I was 25. I personally take a multivitamin most days, as I like to get my B vitamins and minerals, but I always say that it's important to get a decent quality multivitamin and not buy the cheap ones that are using poor quality ingredients and lots of fillers. 

Should your blood type determine what sort of food you should be eating? i.e pescatarian diet 

I tend to make my recommendations based on science when research is available, and research into blood type diets does not show that it works as such. BUT saying that, the diets recommended by blood type are generally better than most diets, so most people should feel an improvement when they try a blood type diet. I do have a few patients who swear that the blood type diet has worked for them, and if you find a healthy and workable diet that suits you, than go for it. But don't try and follow a diet that you feel you should be following if you feel bad on it or it's making you mentally struggle. 

If you have a chronic health condition like osteoarthritis or Hashimoto thyroiditis for example should you tailor your diet accordingly and take specific supplements? 

Yes, absolutely. You don't have to make massive changes if you already eat a good diet (e.g a Mediterranean type diet), so to aid joint health I would suggest thinking about Omega 3 and turmeric (for example) in your diet and also think about foods that cause your joint pain to flare up, and avoid those where possible. A lot of people find that tomatoes and potatoes (to name a few) cause arthritis symptoms to flare up and avoiding them can reduce pain and improve mobility. I love marine collagen powder (I take Correxiko's Marine Collagen powder every day!) to help improve my general health. I love that collagen research is very well carried out and shows great results for osteoarthritis and osteoporosis, which makes sense, as collagen plays a huge role in the health of all of our organs and joints and bones. 

Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) - So there is some good research showing that people with thyroid issues may be deficient in certain nutrients and Vitamin D, selenium, zinc, iron and B12 are a few of them. In fact, low Vitamin D levels have been associated with worse symptoms for people with HT. I would suggest eating a varied and healthy diet (as I tell everyone!) but even more so in the case of people who are diagnosed when they are young (under 50). The longer you can go with symptoms that don't affect your daily life, the better! And eating a healthy diet has been shown time and time again to reduce the likelihood of various chronic illnesses, which you really want to reduce the risk of! Again, like with any diagnosed condition, find out what works best for you and what foods might worsen your symptoms so you know what to avoid. 

Obviously if anyone is on medication, always check with your healthcare professional before taking supplements as they may interfere with your meds or not be suitable to take with your condition. 

How can you get tested for food intolerances / allergies?

Yes, you can ask your GP, or you can go privately, to have allergy tests. With regards to food intolerances, I don't feel that there are any very effective tests, as you are testing something quite different than when you are testing for food allergies. I tend to suggest working together with a nutritionist, or dietitian to organise an avoidance diet to help you figure out what foods lead to negative symptoms of food intolerance. 

Should women aged 40 and over have regular general health checks and who does these? Can you recommend where to go for a general health check? 

Yes! I think that it is really important to keep on top of your health and to talk to your GP if you have any issues. Breast checks are very important, as are bone density scans, full blood count (including fasting glucose) and blood pressure. Pay attention to any urinary tract infections as you'll want to nip these in the bud asap to reduce the risk of kidney infection or even sepsis - these are much more common as you hit the peri-menopausal stage (age 42-48 or so). 

You can pay privately to have many more tests done and that is your decision if you are able to, but as long as you keep on top of your diet and exercise and the checks mentioned here, your GP should be able to help you with any health issues that crop up. 

How would you recommend prioritising your health and wellbeing? 

I am a big ambassador for kindness. I believe that if you are kind to others then it comes back to you in terms of mental health. And that brings me back to suggesting that people focus on their mental health as a priority. It's also important to consider that research has found that people who eat more unhealthy foods are more likely to report moderate to severe psychological distress - so if you are able to try and eat healthily, one meal at a time, I would hope that you would start to feel better emotionally and then be more likely to make good decisions about exercise. That is how we build healthy habits :). I am a chartered psychologist specialising in health psychology and I find this works so well with my nutrition degree.

Nowadays there’s such a strong focus on living a healthy life, and it can be daunting and to be honest, a little bit scary…..

Don’t stress. Just take one day at a time and think about one healthy choice at a time. This can be a useful way to think about diet, exercise and emotional health.

We promote ethical lifestyle brands and green living, can you tell us what ethical lifestyle brands you like and use? 

I have used so many over the years and good ethics is VERY important to me when it comes to brands that I use. I love Correxiko, as mentioned earlier. I also LOVE Uralix as I think that they have a wonderful outlook and the owner really wants to help women with urinary tract infections (which are so awful!) and this is 100% why she invented the product. I love Higher Nature products - I am currently using their 'relax kids' powder at bed every night (for me!), but all of their products are fab. And I love Greenspring matcha tea powder as I love and need the theanine that you get naturally from matcha tea. Ooooooh I also love medicinal mushrooms and Hifas da Terra are a wonderful and highly ethical company that do fantastic mushroom research to help people with ailments that are not necessarily being helped enough by medications. 

How can women feel confident and positive about their health? 

Don't make changes for anyone else, make them for yourself. You don't have to calorie count and be a size 8-10 to feel great. As long as you are doing your best to live a healthy life, you don't have to be perfect everyday! Don't deny yourself when you want a glass of wine or a treat and don't put everyone else first, you have to come first too. Try and focus on the here and now and what you can do right now that will make you happy and as you act positively, it will help you build healthy habits (that's the psychologist in me talking.....). 

A great day to celebrate some creative thinking from businesses all around the world🎉🎉

Check out some of these great ideas :

Milk + Blush have set up a new scheme to get their customers to send back their old hair extensions - these will then be sent over to the USA to the charity Matter of Trust.  They use hair extensions to soak up oil spills but placing them in storm drains - Great idea & does a small part in reducing our landfill - check it out 👍

Stay Wild sell a beautiful  range of eco swimwear, made using  ECONYL®  which is derived from unwanted waste such as old fishing nets.  Today though we are highlighting the Stay Wild circularity project. They are asking their customers to send back their old swimwear once worn down or broken.  The old swimwear will then be recycled and repurposed into eco-industrial products such as eco-carpet underlay - check it out  👍

Shed1Gin produces award-winning, small-batch, classically distilled craft gin with a contemporary-style.  Beyond making the gin, this company has lots of lovely recycling projects - there is the ingenious Marmalade Fund, making marmalade from the waste citrus fruit, they encourage customers to recycle with a bottle and jar returns scheme and also the company shreds all their cardboard to be used as packing for their online orders - check it out  👍

Tropic’s Colour Palette make up range is based on the design of a refill system, using product pans that can be bought individually.  The product pans are made of aluminium, which is infinitely recyclable. The process of recycling aluminium saves around 95% of the energy needed to make the metal new from raw materials and it can be repeated infinitely without any loss of quality. Every time a customer refills their palette with award-winning eyeshadows, blushers and bronzers, they’re making a sustainable choice.   To date, the Colour Palette has stopped over 10 tonnes of plastic waste from being generated, compared to our previous makeup range - check it out 👍

Over the years of following the world of recycling, it does seem that as well as recycling being a very practical practical manufacturing process, this all would not happen without some inspiring creative and ingenious ideas at its heart.  For me, this makes it such an exciting process.  Once you enter the world of recycling, you start noticing that ideas literately pop into your head  on the secondary use for something. My garden is full of old wash basins and sinks, frying pans and an old BBQ tray.  Their second life is as as bird baths and pools for the frogs and I have an old broken garden chair working as a bench for some veg pot.  My proudest moment - putting my dog’s hair sweepings out for the birds, then seeing dog hair in a nest🎉  It was a joyous thing to see.

With the the move to the home office, have you been missing your office plants?  For many, you may see plants as part of the traditional office furniture.  However by now, after all these months, are you now realising that you’re missing the office plants, not only for giving you greenery but also for the quiet joy of seeing something grow & thrive.

Particulary at this COVID time, getting more plants into your house is a great thing to do.  They can provide focus and joy, especially if you haven’t had any house plants before.  There is also some science to suggest that house plants help reduce stress, so completely helpful in these strange times....

If you are looking to get some house plants & live in London then please do check out a new online plant delivery service, The Stem.  

Not only do the Stem have lovely plants to choose from, their website is laid out in a really helpful way, providing  plant suggestions for each room, giving you indications on their size, suggesting pet and kid friendly options - having these search filters is such a great idea. Also there is advice on plant care, written simply plus you can either take their standard pots or choose from a range of pots. As well as plants, they supply plant food and watering cans (one made from recycled plastic, pictured below).

The other bonus to buying from The Stem  they are a committed sustainble company.  They deliver your plants in electric vans (eco clap 👏👏) and for every purchase, they plant a tree for every order (part of the Eden reforestation project) and they have no plastic packaging, use vegetable dyes for their printing & last year they helped to reduce CO2 emissions by a massive 1,875kg in collecting and recycling Christmas Trees for free by turning them into wood chips.

If you have a full plate in your personal and work life and don’t have time to spend in the kitchen, you might want to try food delivery service ‘Love Yourself’. They prepare calorie controlled gourmet meals using healthy fresh ingredients every day and deliver to your home every evening. Just imagine having healthy meals at your fingertips every day, what a luxury that is! 

Tired of going on food shopping trips, I tried a couple of meal plans from the ‘Vegetarian and ‘Veto’ diet menus and it saved me a lot of time on picking out ingredients and cooking. I love cooking but there are times when it’s nice to go out or be cooked for so this really helps! I particularly liked the morning and afternoon snacks in the Vegetarian Diet meal plan, as they don’t make you feel guilty at all. They’re filled with goodness and keep you going throughout the day. I recommend the mango and pineapple smoothie as an afternoon snack and the sweetcorn and feta muffin for a morning snack. And if you don’t do gluten like me the chickpeas bolognaise with gluten free pasta lunch is also delicious.

The Veto diet’s breakfast is less conventional but interesting - I can’t say I’ve ever had a ricotta and courgette tart for breakfast, but I liked it. It was a nice change from porridge or a smoothie even though I try to be as adventurous as I can with my porridge toppings and smoothies. For my lunch, I had something called ‘Shakshuka’ which had bell peppers, tomatoes, smoked paprika, eggs, feta and parsley in it and I just had to warm it up for a few minutes. It was very tasty indeed!

I can see why you might lose weight with this service as there’s no second helpings and they use locally sourced fresh, seasonal and healthy ingredients. They change their diet menus on a weekly basis too, so you’ll never get bored.

Love Yourself is an eco-friendly business and they ensure their carbon footprint us as small as possible and are constantly looking to reduce it further. We heard that their food containers make great seedling germination pots hint hint. As a company they believe that a healthy diet is key to living a happy life and we agree entirely. They also offer a free 15 minute online nutrition consultation with one of their experts, so you can receive free nutritional advice tailored to your diet goals.

I now want to try the gluten free and pescatarian diet menus!

Website: www.loveyourself.co.uk

Take some time out to deep dive into another world, the world of illegal low pay, terrilble working conditions and inconsiderate employers in terms of respecting their employees during COVID times.

You may assume this is going on in Asia somewhere, not Leicester.

For the full story listen to the The Guardian “Today in Focus” podcast “ The Leicester garment factories exposed by Covid-19″ where the journalist managed to weave together some hard thruths about the garment factoriies here in the UK, with the help of Labour Behind the Label.

'Halo Burger', the fun and unpretentious burger joint for junk vegan food, is offering a NEW Katsu burger for one month only in their new eatery on Great Eastern Street, Shoreditch. Renowned for its colourful bars, galleries, eateries, and fine dining restaurants, this prime location is sure to attract vegan-curious diners and junk food lovers in general. Yes, vegan junk food does exist! 

'Halo Burger' first opened in community project 'Pop' near arty Brixton Village and has always stood out from all the street food start-ups in its own little way. Tucked away amongst the independent retailers and restaurants their 'baby' burger bar has been standing tall and proud from the word go, so we're not exactly surprised it's branched out and opened a second base. The classic Halo Burger still gives me cravings to this day and the chips are yummy. Much better than Macdonald’s..

Nanban restaurant owner and Masterchef winner Tim Anderson has collaborated with Halo Burger to introduce a new Katsu burger and it is available Sundays to Wednesdays from now until the 10th of April in their Shoreditch branch. We loved the deep-fried crispy smoked Gouda cheese. For me, this was the highlight. Inspired by his new book ‘Vegan Japan Easy’ you can see where he got his idea for this classic & modern vegan Japanese burger recipe. 

If you like your burgers messy, Beyond meaty and fun, you'd love this one. Plus, anywhere that plays Man in the Mirror gets a big thumbs up from us.

Website: https://haloburger.co.uk

Crowned as the No. 1 Sri Lankan restaurant at the recent ‘London Asian Food Awards’, Yaalu Yaalu has been celebrating its success by launching a new Brunch Menu available to try from 9am till 2pm at weekends. Featuring innovative Sri Lankan dishes with mouth-watering coconut accents, this menu is a new take on the tired brunch basics you see and is just the thing for Londoners who are looking for an exciting new experience. We went down to see the team again and sample the new menu. Lucky for Vegans and Vegetarians, half the menu caters specifically for them and Co- founders Dinesh Mandawal and Roshan Gunasekara are working on inventing a brand new Vegetarian dish every week.  Watch this space!  

Vegans can choose between two options on the menu: the ‘Kola Kanda’ and the ‘Kiri Bath’. The ‘Kola Kanda’ is Sri Lankan’s equivalent to our traditional porridge and is made with blended green leaves in savoury rice. It is served with roti and sweet coconut juggery, which is traditionally used in Asia instead of sugar and is unrefined and intact with minerals and vitamins. This is an extremely healthy dish and is filling and satisfying similar to porridge. The ‘Kiri Bath’ is made with coconut milk rice and a choice of tuna or jackfruit and comes with caremelised onion chutney. This is a classic example of Yaalu Yaalu showing off their creative flair by pairing authentic savoury ingredients with sweet elements - they’re not one to play it safe with their recipes. Vegan and full of fibre, jackfruit is a major meat alternative now and highly popular in both Asian and British cultures.

Vegetarians can also choose between the ‘Curd Sensation’ and ‘Coconut Pancakes’. The ‘Curd Sensation’ is a healthy Sri Lankan granola made with Sri Lankan yoghurt referred to as ‘Curd’, toasted cashew, avocado and pomegranate dressed with palm treacle and a slice of roti. This is a deliciously healthy and colourful dish and more daring and interesting than your classic granola. The coconut pancakes come with sweet ‘Pani Pol’ (caremelised shredded coconut with palm treacle) blueberry, pomegranate and ‘curd’ (traditional Sri Lankan yoghurt). This is heavenly to taste and all the flavours fly in and out superbly. This would make a fabulous dessert dish too we thought.

If you’re big into brunch like us, you would certainly enjoy popping down to Yaalu Yaalu to start your weekend with what we can positively describe as a brand new experience. Yet again, we were blown away by the deliciousness of the food, the beautiful presentation and the team’s super-friendly hospitality.

We ended our brunch with Coconut Lattes and left feeling like we were ready to change the world! Yaalu Yaalu likes to keep things fresh and different, which we really like and the food simply speaks for itself. Could this be the newest brunch in London?

Website: www.yaaluyaalu.co.uk

Instagram: @yaaluyaalu

Aww, dammit! Do you know how many great jackets I've tossed out because the zipper broke. No more! pic.twitter.com/2VWTWpUxTI

This is a piece written by Sophie Tranchell, CEO of Divine Chocolate.  We can forget so easily that our big chocolate companies began with kind hearts, with their business objectives at their heart, to alleviate poverty.

The chocolate industry is an example of what industry has the power to do, the power to drive down prices without thought for the impact on the supply chain, right through to the innovative Fairtrade system, where prices are used for the good.

Introducing the bin lorry that's powered by the rubbish it collects! ♻️ pic.twitter.com/IftQrqrenz

When you read the blogs about ethical/eco wardrobes you will often hear that we should all be investing, buying better quality clothes, less frequently.  These are great pieces of advice, but maybe hard to hear when we’re in a rush to buy something.  Walking a different path from the “normal” can be challenging at first but what we need are good habits.  I start with the sales and buying out of season - this is my top tip :)  So with this in mind here are some suggestions from the sales just now - happy browsing!

The Florence Collarless Blouse - 100% cotton & shell buttons - £39 now (down from £75).  Bibico sell online and have a shop in Bath.

What they say: We design beautiful easy-to-wear clothing made from quality natural & organic fabrics. Designed by Snow and made ethically by producers we know and trust.

The Lowie Tiger Print Josephina Dress - 100% cotton - now £49 (down from £149).  Lowie design their own clothes & retail in London.

What they say:  Started in 2002 by designer Bronwyn Lowenthal, Lowie’s philosophy is to produce beautiful clothing people want to wear as ethically as possible without jeopardising design. ‘We aim to pay our hand makers and small manufacturers a decent price, while small production runs ensure each piece is a limited edition’, says Lowenthal.

Finisterre Cribber Navy Stripe Jumper - 100% organic cotton - now £60 (down from £85).  

What they say:  Born over a decade ago from the needs of hardy British surfers, Finisterre designs functional and sustainable product for those that share a love of the sea...... Since day one we have taken a pioneering approach to making better and more sustainable product, challenging and innovating, seeking alternatives to what has gone before. We’re committed to making informed decisions about our impact on the environment and are constantly trying to push boundaries to make the best product we can. In our eyes this is gear that will be with you the longest; and the longer you have it, the more attached to it you become.

Nancy Dee Jessica Black Brush Stokes Print Dress - 95% Bamboo / 5% Elastane - now £43 (down from £72).