Thursday 8th May 08

I took the children to school and then spent over 2 hours finishing preparing the compost I took in on Monday (going through it by hand and removing plastic etc for the bin, and uncomposted sticks etc for reinclusion into a current heap) and then shovelling a large pile of soil onto the sheet next to it, mixing them up and shovelling it into 5 large plastic pots that Julia bought so we can plant up our veggies.

Home at 11.35 and there was a message from BBC Radio Northampton asking me to participate in a phone-in regarding the huge amount of food waste which is thrown in bins every day (there's a report out from WRAP which analysed 2000 bins and they have extrapolated those results to suggest daily figures for things like unopened yoghurts and whole chickens just thrown away, see http://www.wrap.org.uk/wrap_corporate/news/wasted_food_now.html and 'Love Food Hate Waste http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/) so they're ringing me at 1.15 to go on the radio, live, re composting.

But it wasn't food waste composting which they were interested in,it was my compost toilet! Daft buggers, always looking for the weird and wacky... Never mind, it's part of the cycle....

So a funny afternoon thinking about the media's preoccupation with the unusual, rather than asking me about food waste composting, which would have been much more useful to their listeners. At 2.50, David came with some LETS paperwork which I was meant to get photocopied and get delivered, and he left his wallet on the table. I went to school to do the Green Thumbs Gang and the pots were still in the after school club area, which is supposed to be for their sole use from 3 til 6, so a Dad went to get one of them, and I helped him get another, and we suffered some abuse from the people running the after school club, very unprofessional and over the top. I was quite upset as they used this language in the presence of children and I think they were being bad role models. I may very well write a letter of complaint... a polite one, but stating that this aggression and use of language was inappropriate.

Anyway, we got 3 of the huge pots of soil into position and the children planted one up with Cara maincrop potatoes and one with Marco garlic. We had a chat about beans and I gave them each a bean to plant, my favourite 'Jack Edwards Climbing Pea Bean' which I grow every year. They planted the beans and some flower seeds, then we went to look at the little greenhouse and last week's seeds... the broccoli and spinach was through, but not the parsnips or spring onions...

Home and soon off to town to go to Mail Boxes Etc where I get my photocopying done. Whilst in there someone came in and overheard me mentioning the Radio interview, and asked me several composting questions.... another excellent opportunity to spread the word... and then my friend Catherine H came in, and she's working in 'Education for Sustainable Development' (ESD) and I offered my services as an exciting presenter in her school. There'd be no payment, but the youngsters would have a chance to work the rotaseive and hear about composting...

Home via David's to give his wallet back but he'd gone out after cancelling his cards, he'd not bothered to ring us up and ask if he'd left it here! He'd shared his distress with his downstairs neighbour and so I left it with her. Later I got a message thanking me for finding it and returning it.....

Tea and soon it was time to go to the York Eco Action meet up at the Black Swan. A well-attended meeting, I wrote an impromptu agenda and facilitated the meeting. Everybody seemed happy with this.

At about 10, closed the meeting and cycled off to see another friend whom I don't know that well, and we soon found ourselves having a very deep talk. This person told me that they were contemplating comitting suicide as life was very tough, had been for 20 or more years and it didn't look like it would ever get better. I was a good listener and offered some possible solutions and I hope that I will be able to find a counsellor/advocate for this person, to help with one of their problems. Because I am very open, some people find it easy to be open with me, and I have some very interesting conversations and relationships. This talk had me in tears as the thought of this person killing themselves was so very sad. I was told when it was time for me to go that talking to me had helped. I offered to be a sounding board whenever I was wanted; I also offered the person the opportunity to visit me and Gill. Now to try to find someone who might be able to help... not too sure where to find a counsellor/advocate person but I'll try.

Home by midnight, a chat with Gilly and then a good chat with K over the water, who has got her compost bins up and running and suprised me by agreeing to recycle her urine on the heap. I didn't think she was the type! Assumptions can be so wrong....

Very late to bed, well after 2am...