Saturday 23rd October 10

I had a lie-in which was really welcome, and because of this, I didn't get up to Hartrigg Oaks for the midday lunch with my friends from AVP, some of whom had already had a Facilitators meeting.  I'm a volunteer with AVP North East and East Midlands... my only official role is the Health and Safety person.  This afternoon's meeting was 1.30 til 4, and I got there just in time.  I was really pleased to see so many people around the table, a baker's dozen of us.  There were attendees from Lincoln, Sheffield, Harrogate, Scarborough and of course, quite a few of us from York, and one from Manchester.  NEEM members are responsible for putting on, overseeing or managing AVP workshops in Doncaster, York, and Newcastle, and there are plans for more. Our Facilitators work all over the UK and several people in the room are active within various parts of AVP Britain.

One of the things we discussed was the possibility that we should employ someone to manage the group... several other AVP regions have a paid manager and our region has now got the level of support and activity to merit a paid worker.  I volunteered to help prepare an initial proposal to start the process, and I'll be working with a chap I don't know at all, Colin, from Wakefield.  I'm looking forward to that.  I also volunteered to look at publicity and social networking with Cecile, whom I've also not worked with before.

The meeting finished on the dot of 4pm and I stayed a while to sort out the meetings I need to attend.  On the way home I collected some sticks from a hedge in New Earswick, and then on the cycle path near Haxby Road there was a pile of freshly dumped Elder logs, so they just managed to fit on the pannier rack.

I was pleased to get back and have a coffee, but at about 5.45pm I went outside to do a bit of log stacking and then chainsawing... not a lot, less than an hour, but the front garden is looking a bit full, so it needs sorting.

I came in before 7 and as there was too much Strictly Cum Dancing on the telly, I went upstairs and listened to Tracey Smith doing her weekly radio show on Apple AM. I like her sense of humour, also her interests overlap with mine... for instance, she visited a landfill site recently and is thinking of doing a programme about it.

I had my evening meal at 9pm and had a fairly relaxing evening, although there was a mountain of washing up and I got through some of it.

Saturday 22nd May 10

An incredibly busy day, despite a medium lie in and almost unbearable heat.

I have work tomorrow so I went to put my shaver on charge, but Gill has reorganised the bedroom and the flex to plug it in has gone missing. She spent quite a bit of the day sorting through things trying to find it. It might be that I just have more facial hair than I prefer when I do tomorrow's gig. She's felt frustrated for much of the day.

So whilst Gill was doing things inside, I was busy with foodplants in the garden. I planted 9 beans and 2 cauliflowers and a butternut squash in one of the raised beds. I filled another load of planters and put in a variety of stuff I already had, but then mid-afternoon I cycled over to Brunswick Organic Nursery in Bishopthorpe and spent Gill's two £10 vouchers she got from York Rotters for making a cake or cakes. I got 4 tomatoes, 6 squash, a melon (I've never grown melon before), some basil, 6 purple sprouting broccoli, 6 calabrese and 8 sweetcorn.

I cycled home carefully and slowly and didn't bounce the plants too much. I planted the melon in a tub in the conservatory. I put several beans by the side of the shared path, where they can grow up against my log piles, which won't be used over the summer so they'll make a good support, well I hope so. Gill thinks our neighbour won't be happy about it but I think he won't mind. They aren't in the way.

I had tea upstairs in the bedroom as the family were all wallowing in Dr Who. I had a basic grain and veg dish with crispy-fried Oyster mushrooms. Lovely. I listened to a bit of Tracey Smith's DJ-ing on her Hospital Radio show on Apple AM, and when that finished, I half dozed and half played Scrabble on facebook.

Then I got up and had a solar powered shower... the panel has got the cylinder up to 85 degrees Celsius today, and the shower was lovely and used no gas. Great!

Later, I watched Michael Moore's film on Capitalism in America. Watch this and you'll understand why I do not support the Capitalist status quo. It is a system which generates a huge gap between the rich and poor, squanders resources, peddles false dreams such as stuff makes you happy, more stuff makes you more happy, and it is just wrong. I'm not a Communist wanting everybody to be equal, as Communism didn't work well either. I want a Co-operative Democratic Green revolution.