Saturday 2nd October 10

A work day... but a different sort of work to my usual stuff.  I'd been booked by the Pickering Civic Society to help with their Eco Day, and talk about low carbon living and carbon footprints and the Credit Union.

So I got up soon after 7am and got myself to the station for just after 8, and waited for the bus which was timetabled to arrive at 8.22.  I met a gent who's a York Rotter and chatted with him in the queue, but when I got on the bus there was a single space on the front seat on the top deck, which was good.  I chatted to a nice woman from Leeds, Adele, who works at Jimmy's in the shop and was very pleasant.

I met Judy from the Civic Society when I was walking through Pickering, she was putting up notices about today's event.  I walked on to the Civic Hall where there were stalls from the Energy Saving Trust, including a driving simulator which gave a score about how energy efficient the driver was, a local school which is beginning to grow foodplants, compost and undertake other sustainability measures.  There was a permaculture stall and John Brown the Recycling Officer.  There were a couple of beekeepers, and Susan had brought some tree seedlings and insect hibernacula... plastic pipes and bottles with hollow plant stems, corrugated cardboard and straw in them, to provide overwinter shelter for insects such as lacewings and ladybirds.  There were also hot drinks and biscuits available.

My role was to chat to visitors and help the day flow.  I was able to talk with dozens of people about carbon footprints, diet, transport, peak oil, composting and quite a few other related subjects.  I also gave out quite a few Jack Edwards Pea Beans, in their pods.  I think Susan and Judy were happy with what I did.  I had a sandwich and a coffee for lunch when it quietened down but was busy from 10am til 2.45, when I said my goodbyes and walked back to the bus stop and soon the bus took me back to Malton, and a change of bus to get back to York.

I was glad to get on my bike and go home, via Country Fresh who loaded me up with compostable resources.

So, a good day, and although I'm not sure, I think there will be a cheque in the post.