Saturday 13th June 09

Excellent day... cycled to Cliffe near Selby to perform at their Primary School Summer Fair. I left after a bath (boo, had to use gas to heat the water, but at least Gill used the water too!) at about 10.45, and headed for the Naburn part of the Route 65 York-Selby Cycle Track, and headed south to Riccall and Barlby, where I joined the A19 for a short distance before turning East along the A63. Googlemaps had put the school on the York Road North of the A63, just south of the railway line, but in fact it is the other side of the main road on Main St... but I found it easily enough.

I took just an hour and a quarter to get there, which left me plenty of time to have my sandwiches and get changed. It was a hot but breezy day and the event was good... lots going on, and I had a pretty constant stream of participants, both children and adults. 4pm came soon enough, I was paid and I got away by 4.15.

I cycled North, through Cliffe Common, Skipwith Common, Escrick and onto the not-very-nice A19 racetrack back into Fulford and York. My journey time, again, an hour and a quarter.

I got in at 5.30... and I'd arranged to meet Dean and Danielle on the allotment at 6, as I have not been able to make time to keep it tidy, half of it has gone to them. I don't begrudge this at all... my life is so busy with work, family, volunteering etc, that I cannot keep up with a whole allotment. I hope to do better with a half plot. So I unloaded and got my fork and secateurs and shot off to the lottie, just in time to meet D+D and their two friends and their little boy. I showed them the few permanent plantings in their half of the lottie, gave them the compost bin I constructed and the contents of a compost heap. They went, and I planted another row of potatoes, which have been patiently chitting and waiting for an appropriate environment in which to grow.

I couldn't spend long there as Gill was off out to the Minster to see (and hear) Melody's 18 year old daughter Natalie sing in the Chapter House, an octagonal bit of the Minster which has amazing acoustics. The choir was so good, Gill said, that it made the hairs stand up on her neck, and they used the unique shape of the building to their advantage, giving a kind of surround-sound effect.

I put the boys to bed, lots of hugs and perfect behaviour, until Mum came back when they both came downstairs again! A bit later, had a phone call with Ali concerning an ethical dilemma. I think that talking it through helped her come to a conclusion.

So a good day... productive, healthy, earned money, made people happy, helped a friend and emitted not-a-lot of carbon.