What a wonderful day. Although I was woken by teenage shouting, and I came downstairs at 8, the day got better. Gill took the boys to school on the bus and I had breakfast and my usual diet of facebook and emails. Gill came back and I spent some time with Gill before she went out to the Dentist.
I had to stay in as I was expecting the Yellow Pages chap; I'd said to him last week that I needed to spend less on advertising as I was earning less as during a recession, people spend less on entertainment than when there's more spare cash around. So he came and sorted out a package with me which he said would double the amount of work I was getting, but would cost more. He said it would more than pay for itself. I said I needed to check it over with Gill, and was unable to sign for that package there and then, and I wasn't happy that although I said I needed to spend less, he'd actually given me a more expensive package.
Anyway, he came back today and spent some time re-doing my advertising so it was reduced in size and cost less, and I signed for it. The chap was interested to see the garden so I quickly took him down... I think he was a bit mithered about his posh shoes getting a bit of mud on them! Nice enough guy though.
Anyway, I then could think about planning the rest of my day. I needed to take my bike into Cycle Heaven again, as the dynamo stopped working, or rather didn't work when I got on it at Ginnie's yesterday night. I needed to be at CVS for 3pm as Melody had asked me to be there to accept an award for YorkLETS. And then I needed to be at the Scoop Shop at Wentworth College at 6pm. I decided to have lunch and take my bike into Cycle Heaven and leave it there whilst I was at Priory Street.
Over lunch I got 3 phone calls, all Fiddlesticks bookings. One was from a woman at a Mosque in Batley, wanting to book me for a show this Sunday for Eid. She also invited me for lunch. Then I got a December booking for a nursery party in Meltham, near Huddersfield. Finally, a chap whom I'd met on a train rang me and said he wanted to book me for a private workshop with him and his girlfriend, learning basic balloon modelling. He too was in Huddersfield. Oh, and Rob from Robin Hood's Bay rang and I confirmed that I was able to go up with the family for their Victorian Christmas event, in exchange for 3 nights B+B in a hotel. So a flurry of pre-Christmas bookings which is good.
I went out at about 2.15 to take my bike to Cycle Heaven, so Ash could try to solve the 'spooky dynamo' problem. I walked up to Priory St and waited for Melody at CVS, and at 3 went to find her in the big room, which was hosting the Annual General Meeting. One of the items on the Agenda was the Colin Stroud Award. Colin was the Chief Executive at CVS for 23 years until last year when he stepped down, and the staff wanted to do something to acknowledge his input and dedication. So they decided to have a weekly or monthly collection of a few coins from all the staff, and then present this money to a worthy cause at the AGM. YorkLETS had been suggested as a worthy recipient and it was chosen to receive £500 to spend on anything it wanted to! Amazing! The chair introduced the award and Colin said a bit about YorkLETS, and then handed me the cheque and shook my hand. I thanked the meeting, and said I was especially moved by this as the money didn't come from a big donor giving out £500 here, £10,000 there, but was from the staff and others connected with CVS, and in my eyes, was all the more valuable because of this.
I walked back to Cycle Heaven after this, picking up several aluminium cans to take to the metal merchants when I eventually go. Ash had found the source of the problem: a wire had worked itself free of some insulation and was shorting on the frame. The dynamo was fixed!
And I needed it as my next trip out was to the University at 5.45, to be at the Scoop (Student Co-op) meeting at 6, with a sample tray of pears and dried apple and dried pears. The meeting was to decide how best to sell this produce, and the price. After quite a bit of discussion, a price of £1.70/kg of fresh pears was agreed, and 70p/100g for the dried fruit, and Scoop will add 5p to that to help them cover breakages, leakages and food that they're unable to sell (for instance if it goes out of date). These prices were based on a bit of research I'd done in Country Fresh and Alligator, and my desire to give the students the best price possible. At the end of the meeting, all the remaining pears and dried fruit was sold, and I'll take a load in next Wednesday morning. I'm really pleased with this as there's no way I can eat all the pears myself... even if family members join in!
Which for tea, they did! I had some soup, garlic bread and veggie sausages followed by a fruit art explosion made by our eldest. We all had a bowl of carved orange slices, pear, ginger biscuit and chocolate drops. Nice!
I had a nice evening after this doing more fruit, watching telly and chatting.
I had to stay in as I was expecting the Yellow Pages chap; I'd said to him last week that I needed to spend less on advertising as I was earning less as during a recession, people spend less on entertainment than when there's more spare cash around. So he came and sorted out a package with me which he said would double the amount of work I was getting, but would cost more. He said it would more than pay for itself. I said I needed to check it over with Gill, and was unable to sign for that package there and then, and I wasn't happy that although I said I needed to spend less, he'd actually given me a more expensive package.
Anyway, he came back today and spent some time re-doing my advertising so it was reduced in size and cost less, and I signed for it. The chap was interested to see the garden so I quickly took him down... I think he was a bit mithered about his posh shoes getting a bit of mud on them! Nice enough guy though.
Anyway, I then could think about planning the rest of my day. I needed to take my bike into Cycle Heaven again, as the dynamo stopped working, or rather didn't work when I got on it at Ginnie's yesterday night. I needed to be at CVS for 3pm as Melody had asked me to be there to accept an award for YorkLETS. And then I needed to be at the Scoop Shop at Wentworth College at 6pm. I decided to have lunch and take my bike into Cycle Heaven and leave it there whilst I was at Priory Street.
Over lunch I got 3 phone calls, all Fiddlesticks bookings. One was from a woman at a Mosque in Batley, wanting to book me for a show this Sunday for Eid. She also invited me for lunch. Then I got a December booking for a nursery party in Meltham, near Huddersfield. Finally, a chap whom I'd met on a train rang me and said he wanted to book me for a private workshop with him and his girlfriend, learning basic balloon modelling. He too was in Huddersfield. Oh, and Rob from Robin Hood's Bay rang and I confirmed that I was able to go up with the family for their Victorian Christmas event, in exchange for 3 nights B+B in a hotel. So a flurry of pre-Christmas bookings which is good.
I went out at about 2.15 to take my bike to Cycle Heaven, so Ash could try to solve the 'spooky dynamo' problem. I walked up to Priory St and waited for Melody at CVS, and at 3 went to find her in the big room, which was hosting the Annual General Meeting. One of the items on the Agenda was the Colin Stroud Award. Colin was the Chief Executive at CVS for 23 years until last year when he stepped down, and the staff wanted to do something to acknowledge his input and dedication. So they decided to have a weekly or monthly collection of a few coins from all the staff, and then present this money to a worthy cause at the AGM. YorkLETS had been suggested as a worthy recipient and it was chosen to receive £500 to spend on anything it wanted to! Amazing! The chair introduced the award and Colin said a bit about YorkLETS, and then handed me the cheque and shook my hand. I thanked the meeting, and said I was especially moved by this as the money didn't come from a big donor giving out £500 here, £10,000 there, but was from the staff and others connected with CVS, and in my eyes, was all the more valuable because of this.
I walked back to Cycle Heaven after this, picking up several aluminium cans to take to the metal merchants when I eventually go. Ash had found the source of the problem: a wire had worked itself free of some insulation and was shorting on the frame. The dynamo was fixed!
And I needed it as my next trip out was to the University at 5.45, to be at the Scoop (Student Co-op) meeting at 6, with a sample tray of pears and dried apple and dried pears. The meeting was to decide how best to sell this produce, and the price. After quite a bit of discussion, a price of £1.70/kg of fresh pears was agreed, and 70p/100g for the dried fruit, and Scoop will add 5p to that to help them cover breakages, leakages and food that they're unable to sell (for instance if it goes out of date). These prices were based on a bit of research I'd done in Country Fresh and Alligator, and my desire to give the students the best price possible. At the end of the meeting, all the remaining pears and dried fruit was sold, and I'll take a load in next Wednesday morning. I'm really pleased with this as there's no way I can eat all the pears myself... even if family members join in!
Which for tea, they did! I had some soup, garlic bread and veggie sausages followed by a fruit art explosion made by our eldest. We all had a bowl of carved orange slices, pear, ginger biscuit and chocolate drops. Nice!
I had a nice evening after this doing more fruit, watching telly and chatting.
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