Wednesday 9th December 09

Up early, not sure why, but felt the need to get moving and busy.

So I did a load of work in the garden and washed up and then at midday, my visitor Hannah arrived. She found me through a freegan website and is doing her dissertation on reducing consumption as part of her Geography degree in Leeds. She hasn't actually got a title for her dissertation yet, but that will probably crystallise soon, after talking to lots of people about their opinions.

She recorded our conversation and then we had lunch, and a walk down the garden to see the fruit trees and composting.

Then we cycled down to St Nicks... she'd brought her bike over on the train, and we spent a bit of time there and then on to town along the cycle path. I stopped at Oxfam and bought a big can of Fair Trade coffee, and then popped into my GP as I had decided to have the Swine Flu jab I was offered a few weeks ago. I only had to wait about 15 minutes and I had it.

And home, along the cycle track again, picked up some good sized willow logs and came home.

I checked the temperature on the gauge on the solar panel tank, and it was 16.1 degrees Celsius. This is quite a bit warmer than the outside temperature and the incoming water, although I don't actually know the external temperature; I'll have to sort that out. So, with limited winter sunshine, the water in the tank was warmer, and would take less gas to warm it up to a useful temperature coming out of the tap.

Gill used the last of the tomato soup to make a stew thing and it was good. I went out to Green Drinks at the Black Swan at about 7.45 and met up with Neil, then Guy, then Dave, and just as I was leaving, Ivana.

A quiet evening back at home... I took off one of the wheels of my trailer and fixed a puncture.