London Budding With Green Drinks

By Londonist Last edited 169 months ago
London Budding With Green Drinks

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Blonde beer? White Russian? Red wine? How about some Green Drinks? London hosts 20 monthly eco-minded gatherings all over the city, from Balham to Brixton, Hackney to Hounslow and Streatham to Sutton.

The premise is simple: meet up with fellow greenies in your area and enjoy a beverage and a good chat. There are no rules or formal structure and everyone is welcome. Each locality chooses a night and a regular haunt; Brixton, for example, is the third Wednesday of the month in the Trinity Arms.

How can you get involved? Take a look at all the groups listed for London and see when your area is next meeting up. Then just go along and say you’re into green stuff!

The initiative started in 1989 when a group of eco-conscious fashion designers had an impromptu night of revelry in a north London Slug and Lettuce. Since then, the idea has spread as far as Paraguay and Cambodia. There are 576 active cities, many with their own sub-groups like London, and each meets up at least once a month to share ideas and network in a green-friendly atmosphere.

As well as the sub-groups, London also has an umbrella Green Drinks that takes place on the second Tuesday of each month. That’s a week today! The pub is The Glasshouse Stores on 55 Brewer Street in Soho. It’s a Sam Smiths so it has a good range of well-priced draught and bottled beers. The whole of the downstairs is dedicated to the night and there’s normally a great turnout.

If you can’t wait until then, Balham, a hotspot for green activism, has a thriving green drinks meetup that takes place on the first Thursday of the month - just two days away. Mark Shearer of the green community site Project Dirt is a regular Balham attendee: “Meeting people, chatting green, sharing ideas and having a glass or three. Green drinks is the perfect excuse for a constructive drink!”

By Lucy Langdon

Last Updated 02 February 2010