A good day, hardworking. And an early start which I didn't appreciate much. But I needed to get the 9.15 train over to Huddersfield, to get the 10.15 bus to Golcar, to be at Colne Valley Garden Centre before 11 to start work.
My role today was to be part of the Green Fair that the Garden Centre had put on. We had agreed that I would do some Professor Fiddlesticks until 12.30, and then a talk on composting followed by lunch and then back to more Fiddlesticksing until 3pm. Sounded like a good mix.
The public transport worked exactly as planned, and there was a very cute little baby I kept on making giggle, which passed the time. I got to the venue with at least 15 minutes to spare. I was shown an area where I could work, in one of the undercover retail areas, and I asked to see the outdoor possibilities as it was quite a nice day weather-wise. The outdoor area was a bit further on than the greenhouses and covered area, and would have less 'footfall' so I opted for the under cover area, but asked if I could swap the facepainting area for mine, and I got a better 'stage' area. The face painter, Julie, seemed happy with this. I got changed and immediately there were families who wanted to try the devilsticks, or the 'four wheeled unicycle', diabolo or juggling.
So I had a pretty full-on time with hardly any breaks in the flow of children and their parents or grandparents, and I was surprised when Sami, my main handler, came in and told me it was almost 12.30. Time flies when you're busy.
There were just 3 people wanting info on composting. But this was good as I could deal with their concerns individually.
After this, Paddy, the Centre Manager, showed me the outdoor area again, which the company are developing. He told me about the difficulty they'd had with a 'bottle digger', as the garden centre is on an old landfill. However, they've built a pond and a kids play area, and have chickens, and are wondering about opening up the wood beyond as a nature trail or something. I suggested that they might want to come and see St Nicks as that is also on a landfill and is now a nature reserve, and a wonderful community resource. He asked me to email him with details.
I had a quick chat with two chaps from Gardinia Windows, who are a Huddersfield company who have just started fitting photovoltaic panels. They also had an ingenious display, a glass pyramid, with each side being a different sort of glass. Inside was a pair of lamps, ones which gave out a substantial amount of heat. One side was single glazed, and the glass was hot to the touch. Then there was a pane of standard double glazing, which was a bit cooler. I'm not sure what the third side was, but the fourth side was argon filled and the most energy efficient sort of double (maybe triple?) glazing, and it kept so much heat in it was quite cold to the touch. I thought this was a really good way of showing the difference between the various sorts of glazing available.
I then got on with what I'd been contracted to do, and entertained more families and chatted to Julie the facepainter, as it was a bit quieter. 3pm soon came and I over-ran slightly, but the manager paid me, I got changed, bought a Sempervivum (houseleak) which I liked the look of and went to get the bus. Julie chatted with me at the bus stop but she was heading down to the shops so she went there when I got onto the bus.
The transport back was once again trouble free and I got back to York at about 5.15.
A fairly nondescript evening followed, with washing up and getting bath water for our youngest, and a nice chat on facebook with Serena, one of the World Naked Bike Ride participants I've made friends with. Happy John.
My role today was to be part of the Green Fair that the Garden Centre had put on. We had agreed that I would do some Professor Fiddlesticks until 12.30, and then a talk on composting followed by lunch and then back to more Fiddlesticksing until 3pm. Sounded like a good mix.
The public transport worked exactly as planned, and there was a very cute little baby I kept on making giggle, which passed the time. I got to the venue with at least 15 minutes to spare. I was shown an area where I could work, in one of the undercover retail areas, and I asked to see the outdoor possibilities as it was quite a nice day weather-wise. The outdoor area was a bit further on than the greenhouses and covered area, and would have less 'footfall' so I opted for the under cover area, but asked if I could swap the facepainting area for mine, and I got a better 'stage' area. The face painter, Julie, seemed happy with this. I got changed and immediately there were families who wanted to try the devilsticks, or the 'four wheeled unicycle', diabolo or juggling.
So I had a pretty full-on time with hardly any breaks in the flow of children and their parents or grandparents, and I was surprised when Sami, my main handler, came in and told me it was almost 12.30. Time flies when you're busy.
There were just 3 people wanting info on composting. But this was good as I could deal with their concerns individually.
After this, Paddy, the Centre Manager, showed me the outdoor area again, which the company are developing. He told me about the difficulty they'd had with a 'bottle digger', as the garden centre is on an old landfill. However, they've built a pond and a kids play area, and have chickens, and are wondering about opening up the wood beyond as a nature trail or something. I suggested that they might want to come and see St Nicks as that is also on a landfill and is now a nature reserve, and a wonderful community resource. He asked me to email him with details.
I had a quick chat with two chaps from Gardinia Windows, who are a Huddersfield company who have just started fitting photovoltaic panels. They also had an ingenious display, a glass pyramid, with each side being a different sort of glass. Inside was a pair of lamps, ones which gave out a substantial amount of heat. One side was single glazed, and the glass was hot to the touch. Then there was a pane of standard double glazing, which was a bit cooler. I'm not sure what the third side was, but the fourth side was argon filled and the most energy efficient sort of double (maybe triple?) glazing, and it kept so much heat in it was quite cold to the touch. I thought this was a really good way of showing the difference between the various sorts of glazing available.
I then got on with what I'd been contracted to do, and entertained more families and chatted to Julie the facepainter, as it was a bit quieter. 3pm soon came and I over-ran slightly, but the manager paid me, I got changed, bought a Sempervivum (houseleak) which I liked the look of and went to get the bus. Julie chatted with me at the bus stop but she was heading down to the shops so she went there when I got onto the bus.
The transport back was once again trouble free and I got back to York at about 5.15.
A fairly nondescript evening followed, with washing up and getting bath water for our youngest, and a nice chat on facebook with Serena, one of the World Naked Bike Ride participants I've made friends with. Happy John.
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