Mechelen: The European Capital of Volunteering Festival

The Centre for European Volunteering, who I co-wrote a song for in 2023, invited me to perform with their staff member and singer, Joseph Redsure at the Volunteering Festival in Mechelen, Belgium on Europe Day, 9th May 2025. I asked them if I could wear my European Wings and they were only two happy to agree - however, I hadn't realised that I made the wings too large to fit in even my largest suitcase - so I had to travel on the Eurostar with the feathers poking out the top!

I endured a bit of a traumatic journey on the way down to London, after a drunk man sat a few rows away from me and launched into a transphobic attack on another passenger including threats of violence. I recorded the incident and then made a witness statement to the police after arriving in London.

It was worth it once I got to Mechelen though, an idyllic Belgian town just outside of Brussels - it's always a delight to perform with Joseph who is always a very supportive team mate.

We did two songs together, the one we co-wrote and one of mine which has a very easy-to-learn chorus as well as some solo tracks.

Joseph invited me to dance on stage to one of his solo numbers. Normally I feel very shy about dancing but there weren't many people in the audience and Joseph makes the stage feel like a very safe and trusting space.

After we had performed we wandered round the fair and enjoyed some of the activities together and learned about different volunteering organisations from across Europe.

Sketches

I've been trying to improve my travel sketches by devoting more time to ensure accuracy and details as well as focusing on light and shadow.