And the grand total is....

A massive £720.88

Thank you so much to everyone who helped us to reach this mighty sum.

THANK YOU

Just a very quick note to say thank you to everyone who helped us on Saturday night. It was a great success! We're still counting the cash but it looks like a healthy amount was raised for Oxfam!

Soo... thank you to all our helpers, ticket sellers and stall holders; thank you to our fabulous bands who all gave their time free of charge; thank you to our sound man who made all the bands sound amazing; thank you to The Lot for having us; thank you to Oxjam Edinburgh for their help with everything; thank you for all your donations to the bottle & cake stalls; BIG thank yous to all the businesses who donated prizes for our raffle. An exhaustive list will appear here soon.

We've been really overwhelmed by how generous people have been with their time and their goods.

And a final thanks to everyone who turned up!

Love from Oxjamboree XXX

SOLD OUT

Oxjamboree is sold out. We've got quite a long waiting list too...
Thanks for your support everyone, looking forward to seeing you tomorrow night!

Mums Buns

A wee bit of detail about our cake stall on Saturday. Initially this was just going to be selling cakes made by our mums, hence 'Mums Buns'. However so many people wanted to show off their baking skills that we've had to accept NON-mum cakes. Shocking flaunting of trade descriptions act.

Anyway we hope you won't be disappointed. Our mums' cakes and biscuits (hazelnut shortbread, hello) will be on the trolley alongside others made by several domestic gods and goddesses...including a chef who works in a Michelin starred kitchen.

Wallets are going to be lighter, but we fear the weighing scales will tell a different story.


p.s. Still trying to decide what to bake. There have been some very insistent eccles cake voters to @oxjamboree...

Smack the Ox(en)

Courtesy of two pals of Oxjamboree, we will have the marvellously named game 'Smack the Ox'. Some of you may be familiar with its close cousin 'Smack the Rat'. We are reliably informed that it is a common attraction down South (Englandshire).

There will be oxen, there will be prizes, and there will be a spurtle to smack said oxen.

What more one could want on a Saturday night?

Oxjamboree blue cheese in Johanna Basford Twitter Drawing!

Designer and illustrator Johanna Basford (@JohannaBasford) has a #twitterpicture project running today and tomorrow. Johanna asked fellow tweeters to suggest things for her to include in a drawing. She's doing the drawing as the tweets come in!

Oxjamboree suggested a wedge of blue cheese (thinking of Errington's Dunsyre Blue, one of our raffle prizes). Johanna has already included it in her drawing...you can see it on the right hand side of the image shown here. Screen prints of the drawing will be available to buy.

For more information about #twitterpicture visit Central Station.

ALMOST SOLD OUT

We are now very close to selling out of tickets. There are no longer any for sale at Avalanche. If you would like a ticket please email us (quickly!): oxjamboree@gmail.com

Lunch for 2 at Annabelle's

Another nice prize from another great neighbourhood eatery! Annabelle's is a bit of a hidden gem, tucked away on Sciennes.

With an ever changing menu of excellent tagines, quiches, stews, fish specials and brilliant breakfasts it is easy to understand why there is a strong contingent of regular lunchers.

Home baking is taken very seriously too, with all the classics covered. Words are failing us on the coffee & walnut cake! There are often some lovely hot puddings too: the warm honeyed figs were a hit with some of Oxjamboree's recent dining companions.

Might have to nip down for afternoon tea today.

Win a meal for 2 at Susie's Diner

Another nice prize up for grabs in the raffle is lunch or dinner for 2 (with a glass of wine each), kindly donated by the good folks at Susie's Diner.

Susie's specalises in healthy vegetarian and vegan fare with a large selection of hot dishes and salads. But they also does a great line in puddings and cakes! Oxjamboree has enjoyed their raspberry sponge and marble cake on many an occaision!

Friendly staff, relaxed atmosphere and regular live music make the cafe a really lovely place to while away a few hours...

The moon may not be cheese but one of our raffle prizes is!

What a great raffle prize: cheese donated by HJ Errington & Co, local heroes and makers of Lanark Blue, Maisie's Kebbuck and the award winning Dunsyre Blue. Fallachan, a fermented whey 'wine' is now produced to complement to the cheeses.

Humphrey Errington and his daughter Selina head up a small team at Walston Braehead Farm in Lanarkshire, where they make their cheeses by hand. Ewes milk from the Erringtons own flock is used, with cow's milk coming from a neighbouring farm. The artisan cheeses are traditional in style. Walter Scott described a locally produced cheese, which was probably very close to the blue cheeses made by the Erringtons since the mid 1980s.

It may seem unbelievable now but 15 years ago it looked like production at Walston Braehead might have to stop completely, after the local authority deemed the unpasteurised cheese too dangerous for consumption! The protracted but successful legal battle that followed made Humphrey a much respected pin-up for independent enterprise; The Man Who Saved Scottish Cheese.

If you win this prize you will have both something nice to put on your oatcakes, and also a wedge of Scottish history.

Further information is available at the Eat Scotland website and the Scottish Food Guide. HJ Errington cheeses are stocked at branches of IJ Mellis across Scotland, Earthy and numerous good delicatessens and restaurants in Britain (and further afield).

Other Oxjam events in Edinburgh

Just a wee bit of advertising for our fellow Oxjammers in Edinburgh...

Our pals over at Oxjam Edinburgh have got some great stuff lined up. Their flagship event is The Takeover on the 23rd of October. And it is looking epic: 5 venues, lots of great bands and all navigable via one wrist band. A cracking idea. They've got some further events programmed in the run up to it too. This one caught our eye: Ipod centred speed dating! Check the Oxjam Edinburgh blog for further developments.

The Big Play is looking likely to be no less mammoth - it's a mass traditional music session in The Tass. Wonder what'll be noisiest, this or The Takeover. Hmm could be close.

But most importantly how are we going to get along to all these things?! And do we get a loyalty card?

Tickets on Sale Now - £5 each

You can now purchase tickets for Oxjamboree at Avalanche Records on Cockburn St; these super folks are selling our tickets with no commission or booking fee. If you do go in to buy Oxjamboree tickets make sure and shed some cash on other things. It won't be hard.

Tickets are also available from us: email oxjamboree@gmail.com to make your booking.


UPDATE 14.10.09: WE ARE NEARLY SOLD OUT. TICKETS ARE NO LONGER ON SALE AT AVALANCHE

Will you be eating a nice bit of Venison?

You might do if you enter our raffle! Fletchers of Auchtermuchty have donated a gift voucher to spend at their Edinburgh Farmers Market stall.

John and Nichola Fletcher have kept deer in Fife for 30 years, and a string of awards for their venison has followed. The non-intensive method that Fletchers use is reflected in the quality of their meat: Fletchers' joints and steaks have been cooked by Nigel Slater and Gordon Ramsay, amongst others. Nichola is also an expert in Venison cuisine and has published several books on the subject, the latest winning a prestigious writing prize.

If you have never cooked Venison before there are lots of recipes and tips on the Fletchers site (Nichola has her own site too), including one for Venison Biryani! Those less adventurous might be interested in the sausages and burgers on offer. Lean, healthy, Venison: delicious.

Gone and made ourselves hungry again.

Win vouchers for Valvona & Crolla!

The nice people at Valvona & Crolla have donated some vouchers to spend in their shop on Elm Row. Established in 1934, and one of Edinburgh's best known epicurean destinations, V&C hardly needs an introduction. If you look up 'Scottish-Italian' the definition will probably be 'Valvona & Crolla'.

The original shop on Elm Row is stacked to the (very high) ceiling with delicacies and fine wines, some exclusive to their shop. A fantastic selection of cheese and meat goes without saying, and the goods from the V&C in-house bakery are the superlative of Italian baking. An institution.

Win Cairn O' Mohr wine in our raffle

Someone very lucky will be walking away with bottles of Cairn O' Mohr fruit wine. Thank you Judith & Ron!

Local ingredients from the fertile Carse of Gowrie are used at the Cairn O'Mohr winery in Errol, Perthshire, to make a range of country wines.

Oxjamboree can confirm that these are an excellent addition to any wine cellar (or shelf). And several make a very fine long drink when mixed with some fizzy water, ice and fresh berries...

Another raffle donation, and equally meaty.

Thank you to John Saunderson Family Butcher of Tollcross who have kindly donated a voucher to spend on meat in their shop on Leven Street!

Saunderson's have been in Tollcross since 1958 and have perfected the arts of butchery (winning numerous awards) in addition to making their own haggis, black pudding, and scotch and steak pies. The range of home-made sausages and burgers is pretty extensive too: hot chorizo burgers, MMm! A little bird tells us that their beef olives are also excellent.

Not only are the products at Saunderson's a cut above (ho ho), but their old-fashioned tiled shop is one of the most lovely in Edinburgh. And their list of suppliers is a roll call of quality local producers.

Feeling hungry? We are. And beginning to think Oxjamboree organisers should be allowed to enter the raffle too.

Hoorah! We have received our first raffle prize donation...

...and it's a good 'un. Sarah and Donald Macpherson from Well Hung and Tender, award-winning producers of fabulous Aberdeen Angus beef from the Scottish Borders, have generously donated a gift voucher to spend in their store on North Castle Street, or on their stall at Edinburgh Farmers Market on Castle terrace. Their delicious, meaty goods range from burgers and mince to steaks and roasting joints. Their website is packed with great recipes and tips on how to cook your beef to perfection. They have online store too - if you spend more than £75 you get free delivery! Visit their website or email Donald and Sarah if you'd like any more information on their beef.

WANTED: delicious raffle prizes

We are looking for kind people that would like to donate some prizes for our 'Butchers, Bakers, Brewers & Candlemakers' raffle.

In particular we are looking for local producers and suppliers of food and drinks! Perhaps this is you? Or maybe you know someone who would like to donate and showcase their products to a room full of hungry raffle-ers?

Just get in touch with us at oxjamboree@gmail.com if you think you can help.

News of prizes already pledged soon.

Tickets

...will be available soon at the bargain price of £5

Bands confirmed!

We're busy putting together the finer points of our fête at The Lot. This seems to mean a significant amount of time spent talking about cakes. But we are really pleased to confirm that the following lovely and talented people are playing:

Allaidh Modhan
Funked-up folk is what it says on the tin and who could disagree? Allaidh Modhan have played all over the world and have kindly agreed to add our Oxjamboree to their list of dates - can't wait!
Originally an Aberdeenshire based ceilidh band, formed in 2002, Allaidh Modhan now call Edinburgh home. The current set-up is an accomplished acoustic five piece playing with a variety of guest fiddlers. In 2006 they recorded their first album, The Astonishing Flying Ring. No longer just a ceilidh band Allaidh Modhan now host a weekly session and play in and around Edinburgh and Glasgow...and as far afield as Oman.
Website: http://www.modhan.com/
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/allaidhmodhan

Alevare Duo
Alison and Rhiannon play tango, classical and traditional music on the flute and guitar. Cakes, Ale, and the sounds of Alevare = perfect relaxed Saturday night.
Rhiannon Sinclair (flute) and Alison Storm (guitar) formed the Alevare Duo in 2004, during their final year at the Ian Tomlin School of Music, Napier University. Since then they have performed together regularly. The duo enjoy playing a varied repertoire, which includes Argentine tangos, traditional Scottish favourites, and classical works by composers such as Faure, Ravel and Granados. Both lovers of the work of the great tango composer Astor Piazzolla, the duo’s name refers to the opening gesture of the tango.
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/alevareduo

Fletcher
Not so much duelling guitars as a fiery electro-acoustic cocktail. We think Ben and Finn will sound great in the high ceilinged hall at The Lot.
Fletcher are an alternative rock electric/acoustic guitar duo based in Edinburgh. Their sound is an original mix of of acoustic finger picking with blistering and atmospheric lead guitar licks. Les Paul and Tanglewood acoustic are paired in a stripped back and a uniquely intense sound. Ben and Finn have been playing together as a two piece since 2007. Many shows around Edinburgh have followed, including a marathon Open Mic night week and have appearances as feature act at both Out of the Bedroom and the Listening Room.
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/fletcheruk