Saturday 16 April 2011

Friday 15th April 11

Another good day; woke fairly early and watched the delivery of building materials for next door's 'orangery' from a flat-bed lorry with a sort of hydraulic crane-grab thingy.

Gill was getting ready to go out to go to the Harrogate Spring Flower Show with her sister Jane, so she left just after 10.30 to get the bus down to the station.  I went in the garden to sort out the pots from the conservatory, and found a newly emerged beefly, which was rather interesting with it's proboscis sticking straight out and it was vibrating it's wings to warm up.  I showed the boys and our youngest did a really good drawing of it, from memory.... which looked just like the picture that our eldest subsequently found in the Oxford Book of Insects.

I got busy down the garden, putting about 10 large pots of last year's growing media through the riddle, and carefully removing the Chinese Yams which have started growing, which I'll replant.  I love the way they curl around the base of the pot!  I was disturbed by a commotion above a nearby tree... a heron was sitting in the top, and being mobbed by several crows.  Lots of noise as they divebombed it.  The heron eventually flew off.

I made the boys some lunch and one of their friends came round.  I got the wheelbarrow and took split logs to my dry storage area down the garden.  I bagged up 3 carrier bags of potting compost for Owen, who'd asked for a delivery.

At about half past four I set off for town, to deliver the compost and go to David's, for a 5-7 shift.  Owen was pleased with the compost, and I got to David's dead-on 5pm.  He was delighted to see me, and asked to be taken to Marks and Sparks as he wanted to buy a jumper.  Unfortunately they didn't have the sort he was looking for, but we did meet Neal Guppy, one of his old friends and a well-known York person.

Then we headed for City Screen and David had a coffee and I bought myself a grilled blue cheese on walnut bread plus chips with some sort of mayo.  I felt it was an unhealthy treat, and it filled me up.

Took David back and got him something to eat, and we chatted about the York Arts Centre (where he was a Trustee) and various other things.  I finished on the dot of 7pm, and cycled over to the Friends Meeting House for Tobi Kellner's presentation of the Zero Carbon Britain 2030 report.

This was really good, although disappointing how few people had turned up, considering the importance of the subject.  This report shows how by 2030 we on this island can be energy independent, and zero net greenhouse gas emissions. 

This finished at about 9.30 and I cycled over to Clement's Hall to the Bejazzled dance event, where I'd agreed to sit on the door from 10 til 11.30.  This allowed Jane, the organiser, to have a bit of a dance and enjoy herself.  I chatted to several people, including a gent called Peter who's just taken an office in the building and was interested in my services as a gardener.

I came away at 11.40 and bombed home, good to see Gill and hear about the Flower Show which she'd enjoyed a lot.

No comments: