The Book Bus

One of the things you’ll notice the most in Malawi is children…everywhere. About 47% of the population is under the age of 15. Malawi is the 13th poorest country in the world with an average literacy rate of just 63%. Politically stable and conflict-free the country became a multi-party democracy in 1995. Free primary education for all children was established by the government, which improved attendance rates but class sizes increased dramatically. Classes sometimes number 100 pupils. Books are seriously lacking. This year vinspired Lake of Stars has been proud to work with the Book Bus; a charity which addresses all of these issues. Both volunteers and artists, including the Noisettes and Get Cape Wear Cape Fly took a trip on the Lake of Stars visit to see what the Book Bus was getting up to during the festival. 

What they do: The Book Bus believes that every child should have the opportunity to discover the hidden treasures that books contain. Their aim is to reveal the value of literacy by instilling a lifelong love of reading in young children. Using the spoken word, artwork, puppet-making and a host of other media, our volunteers bring to life the worlds within storybooks. The Book Bus provides a mobile service and actively promotes literacy to underprivileged communities in Malawi. There's no doubt that stories can make a difference to children's lives and with story tellers onboard, the Book Bus can help maintain the link between local society and its own stories as well as providing inspiration with new stories from afar. The bus is supported by a crew of enthusiastic volunteers, local teachers, story tellers, musicians and artists, all of whom were present on site providing activities.

We had a chat with Get Cape Wear Cape Fly to see what they thought about the day...

Why are you at the BookBus today?

We've come out to the bookbus today to see firsthand the work that the volunteers are doing with the project and what the response it gets from the local communities. It's absolutely blown us away how positive the whole experience has been. The kids from the village have all come down, voluntarily to pick up books, to read or to be read to. There seems to be a real spirit here that would be hard to find anywhere else.

What has been your favourite part?

Seeing how much the kids really want to learn to read and to know more about everything. It was amazing to see Andy (our drummer) reading with some kids on the bus. It was something as simple as a football annual and pointing out on a globe where the differant players are from. The children had a genuine interest and you could see the enjoyment in their faces . These kids want to learn and they want to better themselves whether it be from reading or from just meeting people and talking. It really was an event that brought alot of people from the village together and of course it was for such a positive thing for us too.

From your experiences today, how do you feel that vinspired Lake of Stars has helped increase awareness of the BookBus?

I think that the festival being where it is has really spread awareness about these kind of ongoing projects. The festival gives people the chance to really see the positive aspects of the charity/volunteer work that goes on. On a resort that I'm presuming holiday makers would normally hole up in for their stay, the festival has brought people here and encouraged them to go out and to see the village, meet the people and see how the little things we can do to help them can really really help to enhance the lives of others. It's definitely made us all think about how we approach our days. We've been thinking a lot about how positive and energetic the kids are here when by western standards, they seem to have very little. We want to try and continue to support these projects ourselves. 

For More Info on The Book Bus please click here.

The Book Bus

One of the things you’ll notice the most in Malawi is children…everywhere. About 47% of the population is under the age of 15. Malawi is the 13th poorest country in the world with an average literacy rate of just 63%. Politically stable and conflict-free the country became a multi-party democracy in 1995. Free primary education for all children was established by the government, which improved attendance rates but class sizes increased dramatically. Classes sometimes number 100 pupils. Books are seriously lacking. This year vinspired Lake of Stars has been proud to work with the Book Bus; a charity which addresses all of these issues. Both volunteers and artists, including the Noisettes and Get Cape Wear Cape Fly took a trip on the Lake of Stars visit to see what the Book Bus was getting up to during the festival. 

What they do: The Book Bus believes that every child should have the opportunity to discover the hidden treasures that books contain. Their aim is to reveal the value of literacy by instilling a lifelong love of reading in young children. Using the spoken word, artwork, puppet-making and a host of other media, our volunteers bring to life the worlds within storybooks. The Book Bus provides a mobile service and actively promotes literacy to underprivileged communities in Malawi. There's no doubt that stories can make a difference to children's lives and with story tellers onboard, the Book Bus can help maintain the link between local society and its own stories as well as providing inspiration with new stories from afar. The bus is supported by a crew of enthusiastic volunteers, local teachers, story tellers, musicians and artists, all of whom were present on site providing activities.

We had a chat with Get Cape Wear Cape Fly to see what they thought about the day...

Why are you at the BookBus today?

We've come out to the bookbus today to see firsthand the work that the volunteers are doing with the project and what the response it gets from the local communities. It's absolutely blown us away how positive the whole experience has been. The kids from the village have all come down, voluntarily to pick up books, to read or to be read to. There seems to be a real spirit here that would be hard to find anywhere else.

What has been your favourite part?

Seeing how much the kids really want to learn to read and to know more about everything. It was amazing to see Andy (our drummer) reading with some kids on the bus. It was something as simple as a football annual and pointing out on a globe where the differant players are from. The children had a genuine interest and you could see the enjoyment in their faces . These kids want to learn and they want to better themselves whether it be from reading or from just meeting people and talking. It really was an event that brought alot of people from the village together and of course it was for such a positive thing for us too.

From your experiences today, how do you feel that vinspired Lake of Stars has helped increase awareness of the BookBus?

I think that the festival being where it is has really spread awareness about these kind of ongoing projects. The festival gives people the chance to really see the positive aspects of the charity/volunteer work that goes on. On a resort that I'm presuming holiday makers would normally hole up in for their stay, the festival has brought people here and encouraged them to go out and to see the village, meet the people and see how the little things we can do to help them can really really help to enhance the lives of others. It's definitely made us all think about how we approach our days. We've been thinking a lot about how positive and energetic the kids are here when by western standards, they seem to have very little. We want to try and continue to support these projects ourselves. 

For More Info on The Book Bus please click here.

Christmas Lake of Stars Rich Mix Gig: Let it Snow

The year is drawing to a close so it’s time to reflect on the past twelve months we’ve had at Rich Mix, bringing you fresh, innovative music with a kick of Malawian spirit. To recap; we’ve championed explosive acts such as Tinashe and Afrikan Boy, both clearly making their mark on the British music scene this year, and set to be vinspired Lake of Stars associates for a long time to come.

Tomorrow as we peel away the first day on our advent calendars and begin to gorge ourselves on their sweet goodness, we usher in the start of the festive season. On the 1st December it becomes acceptable to turn up your speakers to Mariah Carey’s dulcet melodies and don the controversial Christmas jumper your Mum knitted for you last Christmas. To celebrate this magical time of our lives in true Lake of Stars fashion, tomorrow night we host our LAST event of the year which sees the ‘Warm heart of Africa’ brought to the snowy streets of Shoreditch. Thawing our frosty souls are Stina and the Soldiers and Holden, offering lilting vocals and warm melodic folk chords as we cosy up against the bleak outdoors.

Of course Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without lots of pressies! So we have organised a variety of different treats for every one of you lovely people attending the night!

Holden have given us an exclusive live track! FREE to download here. From when the band made a mini tour to the The Isles of Scilly.

In The Yard - Live Session by HOLDENofficial


Mulled Wine and Mince Pies will be in abundance tomorrow courtesy of Rich Mix! And you will be able to get a mince pie free when you buy a glass of mulled wine – RESULT!



Christmas Cards and Gifts – Our good friends Ganet’s Adventure School and Mayamiko will have stalls on the night selling goodies for good causes. Ganet’s will be selling Christmas cards whilst Mayamiko will be selling a selection of amazing African print clothing. So bring some money to get some ideal gifts early!



Also going on is the unveiling of video footage from the festival on the plasma screen. You’ll feel yourself warming up and settling in to the beach-side atmosphere with a giant slide show of captivating images from Lake of Stars this October. With Nat King Cole’s soothing vocals drifting through the stereo and the snow-flakes eddying outside the office window, it’s been tough trying to restrain our hearts from overflowing with festive goodwill. So why not unleash your inner Christmas Elf and warm up after work with mulled wine and mince pies before facing the frosty rigmarole that, in simpler times, used to be your commute home.

Let’s set the festive season off with a bang! Join us down at the Rich Mix in Shoreditch from 7pm tomorrow night and we guarantee that you will have that warm fuzzy feeling all the way home.