Wednesday 18th July 07

Took the boys to school, it's sports day today, and as the field is so wet, it's all happening inside.

When I got home I started to work on my column for Community Care, my fifth, this one on Ethical Holidaying. Then Giles from the Co-op rang and invited himself round to deliver the Co-op banners and some fair-trade chocolate, recycled tyres pencilcases and Co-op labelled water bottles.

He arrived within the hour, we chatted about the York Green Festival and I gave him the tour of the garden, he couldn't stay long.

Got back to doing my column, needed to do some research on carbon offsetting and various other things, like 'The Man In Seat 61' (http://www.seat61.com/) who can get you info about train travel through Europe and beyond. A short break for lunch and carried on, then went to get the kids, but our youngest went to play with a friend, so came back with just our 9 year old.

However before that, did my composting of fruit and bits from the playground bins, and visited the big bins area, which had over 20 bin bags of paper just put into the ordinary bins. I went to the office to complain, and noticed that the new Japanese Garden, being installed by a chap I know is a bit of a cowboy, whom I refer to as 'IRA Bob', as he is open about supporting the IRA, had got a pile of old tarry sleepers there, ready to go in as a border. Tar-dipped sleepers are not now reccommended for use in gardens or schools, as the tar finds it's way onto clothes and skin, and it is known to be (or contain) carcinogenic components, and they smell horrible. So I told the office about them too. I hope they aren't put in, I hope if sleepers are needed, that untreated ones are used.

So as soon as I got home I bombed into town, to get a repeat prescription and marmite, and go to Out Of This World for my compostables pickup.

Home with veggie sausages and burgers, cooked them on the woodstove whilst I cycled back to Heslington to pick up our 7 year old, who'd had a good time playing.

Tea was vegan throwouts, tomato stuff I cooked yesterday and some very old/tired maize, not sweetcorn as wasn't sweet, was starchy but filling, and ok with the tom stuff on top of it. Gill put hers in the compost it was so disgusting. Best to grow own, or buy fresh, not reclain from compost collections!

After tea I spent a while loading up a 'sit and wait' compost heap, and doing some shredding of hedge clippings. Then came in and did a word count on the Community Care article, and it was 39 over. So did some good precis work and editing, got it to 344, six under my limit. Sent it in, a day early! Then did emails, watched telly and chatted on Googletalk with K over in America. Bathwater will wait til tomorrow morning. I have a gig tomorrow, have to be shaved and non-smelly. Bed after 1am, as usual.