Wednesday 11th March 09

I took our youngest down to school and when I got back, Gill was nearly ready to go to her art class. I did a big pile of washing up and made some mushroom and leek soup, from fresh leeks and a bag of very out of date and unidentifiable Chinese or Japanese dried mushrooms, which I'd soaked overnight in cold water. I fried the chopped leek and cut up the 'shrooms into this and added some water and a stock cube, and a bit later, once I'd whizzed it to reasonable smoothness, some red lentils to add a bit of thickness. I've no idea what it'll taste like but the mushrooms needed using as they've been hanging around for ages, sealed in their packet, but taking up room. So, tomorrow night's tea will be that, for me... I doubt the boys will have any, but I'll offer it in case! I've been surprised by their ability to enjoy some mature tastes, on occasions.

I popped round to the bread shop and got a big pile of 'Yesterbake' loaves and rolls, and came back to have an avocado sandwich (one which was thrown away as it had a damaged side... this I cut off for composting, leaving t'other half for a mayo and granary deliciousness...) and at half 12 I jumped back on the bike and zoomed over to the home of an AVP facilitator who was hosting the biannual AVP NEEM meeting. AVP is an organisation I've been involved with since 1995, when I found myself having occasional difficult conflict situations which led to me not respecting myself, and at that time a new group had just been set up in York called Alternatives to Violence Project, and they ran workshops on how to resolve conflicts in a creative and non-violent way. The first weekend course I went on was a revelation... I'd never learned anything like it before and I went away feeling like I could deal better with provocation and things which made me angry, and had previously led to me being verbally and physically aggressive and violent.

Anyway, I joined the organisers and started helping to put on more workshops. I did a further three, all 'level twos' where the participants explore a particular subject in detail. I remember them well despite them being many years back. My first level 2 was 'Anger in the parent-child relationship', which was excellent as I was then still angry about the way my parents had treated me (I've more or less got over this now!) and the pivotal point was when I took part in a role play with me being me and someone else being my father. That was when I realised I could only change myself, not anyone else. The second level 2 was quite odd for me, as it was decided at the beginning of the session by the participants, by consensus. The group chose 'Blame and Forgiveness'. I wasn't very thrilled by this topic, as it didn't seem to relate to me much. However, the weekend showed me that many other people are very much affected by both blaming others and blaming themselves, also forgiving others and forgiving themselves. I realised that I didn't think like many other people and didn't use these concepts... I tended to use the idea of 'responsibility' which, for me, encapsulate all the blame/forgiveness areas. But it was a good workshop, and after a gap of a few years I went on another level 2, on 'self development' which by that time I was exploring in other ways too, not just through AVP.

So, 14 years on and I'm still committed to what AVP is doing. In York we hold 4 community workshops each year, in Doncaster we've a partnership with MIND and run 6 a year. We also run them in prisons and occasionally with other groups. AVP Britain reorganised a while ago and now AVP York is part of AVP North East and East Midlands, or NEEM. We had a good meeting, with representatives from Whitby, Sheffield, York and Manchester (a member of one of the AVPB bodies). I always enjoy these meetings and it was productive, with another interesting partnership on the near horizon (with a hostel for the homeless) and news of prisoners from an open prison attending a community workshop, which is good. This meeting ran from about 1pm til just before 5, and I was pleased to meet a new person, just recently trained up as a facilitator, and a facilitator who heard me enthusing about AVP a few years ago and got involved... I didn't know til today it was my talk to her group which caused her to become involved. That makes me happy!

Home via George Hudson St where I got rid of an invoice which I should have done weeks ago... but, better late than never!

Boys playing video games when I got in so I went in the front room where it was quieter.

Tea was nice... more mashed root mix, home made 'baked beans' and toasted cheese on a roll (thanks Richard... better to feed me than feed chickens!!!)

Popped out at midnight once I'd done another batch of washing up to get the neighbours fence which she offered me, and today asked me to take away. I did it quietly.

Tuesday 4th September 07

A day like many others, did some housework and managing kids in the morning, at midday had lunch, and then set off to Holgate to go to an AVP meeting at Celia's house. The newly reorganised Alternatives to Violence Project North East and East Midlands (AVP NEEM) is still finding it's feet and working our who does what and how we run the group, so we had a two and a half hour meeting.

Popped in on Out Of This World to pick up their recyclables, then stopped off at Martins compost heaven and picked up a couple of sacks/boxes from them, arriving back home at 5.30pm.

Sat 21st April 07

Got up early to complete yesterday's blog and get ready for a long day chairing an important meeting of 'AVP NEEM' the North East and East Midlands branch of Alternatives to Violence Project, a UK organisation (AVP Britain) which organises workshops on conflict resolution, in prisons and for the wider community. I owe a lot to AVP as I could have got into big trouble for my lack of self contol during my 20's, when I did an AVP workshop and learnt about what my triggers were, how violence starts and where it ends up and how to manage that energy and emotion creatively and sustainably. I believe that AVP is part of 'social sustainability' as it promotes social cohesion and helps hot-heads, bullies, those bullied or abused deal with their problem. It enables people to learn how to communicate in a non-violent way. It has helped me with my environmental activism, NVDA (non violent direct action), family life, my work as an entertainer and many of my inter-personal relationships.

I cycled up to New Earswick to Hartrigg Oaks where the meeting was due to be held, and as usual, was a few minutes early and waited for the others to arrive. When a few had come, I asked one person how Harry was, he lives at Hartrigg Oaks and used to be the Treasurer of AVP York but he has gone blind and is now in the care-home part of the Oaks, so I asked if I could visit him. He has begun to develop dementure but he did work out where he knew me from and we had a nice chat, just 10 mins, but it cheered him up, he said.

By this time the other five AVP NEEM (Alternatives to Violence Project North East and East Midlands) representatives had arrived so my chairing abilities were put into operation and we had a 2 hour session in the morning, lunch, and several hours in the afternoon. The structure of the organisation has changed and AVP Britain now has 7 members which are regions. We have a lot of organising to do and it was a full meeting.

I managed to pull it to a close at 4.30 and bomb off to Heslington Road where Richard was just shutting up the shop, he gave me 2 sacks of 'ready to compost' stuff and two trays of kiwis which weren't selling and were surplus to requirements so I got 2 trays... sounds like a kiwi leather to be created.

Anna my sister rang soon after I got in and said she was near to York, and arrived 10 mins later in time for tea, then they all watched Dr Who, which I don't like, and immediately after that the taxi I'd booked came and my boys and their Aunty went to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat at the Grand Opera House.

Gill and I played scrabble and watched telly. Got a phone call during the interval saying they were ok and enjoying it. They got home at 10.30pm which is the latest they've ever been up.
Both happy though, although the youngest very tired.

22 Feb 07

A busy day today, with a 'freecycle' meet-up, a 'Professor Fiddlesticks' gig and 2 social visits.

A few weeks ago, during the gales, a sheet of expanded polystyrene blew into our garden. It was too big to be called litter, so it didn't get tidied and put in the bin, it got put in the conservatory and we wondered what to do with it. Last week I was delighted to read on my 'Freecycle' email digest that someone wanted a sheet of polystyrene, so I offered it to him. Freecycle is great. You find your local Freecycle group on the net and sign up with your email address, and wait for the first emails. I wanted to get a block of up to 25 emails at once, and the messages are from people offering all kinds of things for free, and a few wanting free things. The aims are to stop items going into landfill which could be reused. All sorts of things are offered, from kitchen cabinets to childrens books, old computers suitable only for spares to as-yet-unwrapped (but unwanted) bathroom toiletries, and everything inbetween, and then some things you didn't think of!

So far I haven't recieved anything I've asked for, as other people are invariably online as the message is posted, but I've helped out several people with their wants... wood for repairing something, an electric toaster, and now the polystyrene sheet. The happy recipient said he could collect it by car on Wednesday, so I emailed back and suggested that I could deliver by bike on my way to my gig today. So at midday I met him at the Fox and handed over the polystyrene. He wanted it to place under a heated propagator for germinating seeds, to reduce heat being conducted away through the staging in his greenhouse.

I cycled on to the school I was working in, a lunchtime circus skills workshop with some slightly special-needs youngsters. This is the third in a series, today was focussing on 3 ball juggling. I earn my living as 'Professor Fiddlesticks' (www.kidspartysurvivalguide.com/fiddlesticks), an entertainer performing circus skills workshops and shows, and teaching balloon modelling. I've been doing this since 1992 and still love it! The youngsters all had a go with juggling and some suprised themselves by learning the basics. One lad was keen to show me his yoyo tricks, others are diabolo-mad. My favourite is devilsticks, it really grabs my attention and I love doing it. Seemingly I perform it well enough for others to enjoy watching me, and I'm a good teacher, patient and good at explaining 'how to'. Infact my science background and my ability to explain stuff means I have developed a show called 'Professor Fiddlesticks Fun Physics' which has key stage 1 and ks2 science in a fun interactive format. I'd like more gigs presenting this.

After my 45 minutes full-on circus teach-in, I visited my lovely old lady-friend Jean. She was 90 years old a week or two ago, and she resides in a care home. We have been friends for over 10 years and she's very unconventional and free-thinking. We can talk about anything, no subjects off-limits. She doesn't get a lot of physical contact anymore, so I always give her a foot massage which she finds very relaxing. Next week I'm going to visit and she'll dictate a couple of letters to people who sent her letters for her birthday. She got so many cards, quite a few were from people she couldn't remember or work out where she had met them. But in 90 years you must collect quite a few contacts, and by that age it must be easy to forget some of them!

So I had two hours with Jean and then nearly an hour with my good friend Pauline. She is a 'low carbon lifestyle' person, and is keen on her Clearview stove and her Freecycled kitchen. I met Pauline through a project which helped me when I was younger and angrier, AVP, Alternatives to Violence Project. They put on workshops to help people understand the conflicts in their life, and to help them resolve them creatively. It certainly helped me, as now I am able (most of the time!) to deal with my anger and to recognise my triggers. AVP puts on workshops in prisons and in the community, and I am still involved, helping to run 'AVP North-East And East Midlands', which is a member of AVP Britain. AVP runs worldwide and has helped so many people. One of the jobs I do is to phone up participants a month or two after the workshop and conduct some followup, to find if they found it useful. Most people say it has changed their lives and they have used what they've learnt in everyday situations. Pauline was the coordinator at one time. Then we worked together on the Local Agenda 21 group... but that's another blog!

Home to a big bowl of pumpkin, butternut and leek soup, cooked on the woodstove. Delicious!