Tuesday 26th July 11

A busy day, got a fair amount done.  I got up fairly early and managed to get my head around the difficult email.... a compromise, I sent a simple message with hardly any detail, saying that if it was OK, I wouldn't need to send a more detailed one.

I then had a phone conversation with a Council person, re a grant I applied for to put on an energy saving event.  With my York in Transition hat on, I've been given £500 to spend on a one-day event to promote energy efficiency and domestic renewables.  I agreed to go to the Council Offices to sign the paperwork at midday.  I got wrapped up in the washing machine stuff with Gill, and then realised, at 11.43, hat I had to be at the office at 12... so i quickly got washed and dressed and on my bike and powered down to St Leonard's, getting there at 12.02. Not bad!  However, In waited another 10 minutes for the Council official to appear... so I needn't have rushed.

So I signed for this and I'll have the cheque in about a month. I need to find a venue and a date and stallholders and do publicity.....

I then went to my building society and withdrew a wad of notes to pay a good proportion of our Council Tax... and went straight back to the Council offices to pay that in.  From here I popped into Millers Yard to say hello to Dylan... and met a new resident of York, a hair-braider called Tamsin.  We talked about street entertainment and red tape.

Then home via Freshways... 2 sacks of compostables here. Came home to find Gill sorting out the conservatory, as she's convinced there's something in there, and it might have been responsible for causing the washing machine to stop working.  I helped her for a while, pulling the washing machine out and taking rubbish to the dustbin and compostables down the garden.

I then spent a bit of time organising my September visit to Basingstoke.  I'm going to travel down to near London on the Thursday and stay with a friend until Saturday, when I'll then travel to Basingstoke and do a Fiddlesticks and John the Composter gig, and come back to York after that.  When talking to the client, I'd found ticket prices which added up to about £70 for the three journeys.  However, today, I had a good poke around the East Coast website, and got the three tickets for £58... including one which was advertised at £10 but when I actually bought it, turned out to be just £9. So I was well pleased with that!

Gill couldn't see any nibbling on the electrical flex, and wondered if the damage had been done in the void between the back of the house and a freestanding wall, a gap which I'd boarded up and filled with insulation, and had been invaded by a rat or rats several years ago.  But she had a brainwave.... maybe the problem was the socket box... so she got the extension flex and plugged the washing machine into that, and Voila! It worked!  So as the wash was doing, and we were chatting about our not now needing a new washing machine, I removed the wooden shuttering and insulation.

Gill rang Justin, our electrical and plumbing angel, and by chance he was doing some tiling just down the road.  He said he'd be with us in an hour to see the problem.  He came, looked around, and said he'd bring a bricklayer to fill the void with bricks, and would see about fixing the electrics... tomorrow!  What service!  He's not cheap, but he is reliable and really nice!

I then spent ages on the phone trying to get to the Tax Credits renewal people.  I eventually got to them and told them our net earned income... which last year was the lowest ever for Professor Fiddlesticks.  The problem is partly that I still have the expensive directory advertising which now isn't bringing in as much work. 

So after this mainly sedentary day, I spent a bit of time in the garden and dealt with some compost and some weeding.

I had a small tea and at 7.30, set out for the Green Party fundraiser at City Screen.  This was very enjoyable, as loads of my friends were there. One person was there whom I've been playing Scrabble on facebook with for ages, but never met.  So I was very happy to meet Carol, who was sitting with her two friends and my friends Jane and David.  When the music started, Jane and David had a dance and some others joined in.  I particularly enjoyed the band 'BlueSaloon' which played funky blues numbers, and had a female guest singer for a couple of numbers, which was good.  My fiend Keith Jackman was the drummer for both bands.  I was very pleased to see him working... well, mainly hear him as where I was sitting I couldn't see him very well.

So, some nice music, good chats, a couple of pints of sweet cider, and I enjoyed the evening quite a bit.

Got home between 11.30 and midnight, lit the stove to get washing up water and continue drying off the fruit leather.  A late night, 3am bedtime.

Sunday 24th July 11

I woke to find that the wasp stings had started to turn into tiny spots or pimples, where the wasp had actually stung me.  This revealed that I had two stings in my groin... so I was stung 7 times.  The red patches around the stings are still sore and a bit itchy.

However, another work day, with a gig for the City of York Council at Burton Stone Community Centre,  a 'Family Fun Day' from 11am til 3pm.

So I reorganised my equipment into the trailer box and set off at about 10.30, in costume as it's easier than changing there.  I cycled along the Sustrans cycle path all the way to Wigginton Road/Crichton Ave, and then over the railway and to the Community Centre, it took about 15 minutes.

There was slight confusion about where I was going to work... I was down to do a show inside at 1pm, and there wasn't really a good place for me to work outside but I found one so I could be busy all day, which is my preference... the day goes more quickly if I'm busy, and the client gets better value for money.  I certainly didn't want to be hanging around til 1pm!  So I did a good 90 minutes of workshop, then moved inside to set up, but had to wait for some dancers to do their thing, so I watched them whilst eating my sandwiches.

The show I did went OK but the audience was obviously unused to live entertainment and there was a lot of to-ing and fro-ing, but some core audience stayed for the hour and there was enough participation to make my usual show possible.  Afterwards I did some balloon models in exchange for youngsters trying out the unicycle toys... the balloon were a reward for doing the four-wheeled unicycle, really.  The last hour was therefore quite easy, with a stream of children trying the various unicycles and me making balloons for them.  I finished on the dot of 3pm, and zoomed home.

I quickly got changed and unloaded, and immediately set off for Country Fresh, as I knew Rich would have stuff for me... he did, about 4 boxes which I condensed into 3.  I got some veggies too, potatoes and onions and a couple of avocados.

There were about 10 bags of spinach leaf in with the compostables, so I washed the lot and picked out some good leaves to add to my tea, and cooked them to have with the last of the nutloaf and a potato salad.

I managed a half hour outside before coming in and trying to write an email that I've been trying to write for weeks.  Sometimes it is so difficult to know how much or how little to say.  I guess this is why I've been putting it off.

I got a phone call from my Green friend in Basingstoke about a potential gig there, and had to research train times and prices.

Friday 6th May 11

Another busy day, mainly at the count and then a train journey.

The counting of votes was due to take place today, and what is now 'Energise' but I and everyone else in York calls Oaklands Sports Centre.  The entrance ticket said 9.30 but there were so many people wanting to get in, and having to get their round-the -neck tags saying 'Candidate' or 'Counting Agent' or 'Guest', that the count didn't really get going until nearly 10am.

The first job was to separate the Referendum grey coloured papers from the white Council Election papers, and this wasn't really a process which allowed any of the party workers to get any information.  This happens at the next stage, where individual ballot boxes, which are numbered, have their ballot papers counted and put in bundles of 50, and this number tallied with the number of people who came into the polling station to vote.  At this stage, it is possible to do a count of the numbers of ticks or crosses on the ballot paper and see what the voting patterns were in specific geographical areas, as each ballot box serves a part of the ward.  This is easiest in areas with just one Councillor, ie one vote.  However, it gets more difficult where there are two or three Councillors and you are allowed up to that number of votes.  So in Hull Road Ward, where there are two Councillors, there were two crosses on most ballots, and it was less easy to see what the outcome of the poll would be.  

So, although some of our party activists were busy scribbling down as many of the details they could during this initial count, I couldn't follow it and there wasn't a party activist giving instructions about what to do.  So I just watched the person counting and counted as well, to check they were getting it right!  I really didn't need to do this as each bundle of 50 is recounted by another person and initialled by them as well.  The referendum ballots were counted too, and bundled up into 50s, and this second lot of counting extended the whole business considerably.  At about 10am, Kirsten England, the Chief Executive of the City of York Council said she thought they'd be able to finish the job in a couple of hours, but the first result wasn't announced til 4pm!

So, after the numbers of ballots were tallied with the people who turned up to vote, the Council seat ballots from each ward were sorted into those papers where the voter had voted for both or all three of the same party, and mixed or single votes.  The 'block votes' were then counted and checked, and each candidate had their votes noted.  Then the mixed and single votes papers were dealt with, by a pair of counters, one reading out the names on the ballot, one by one, and the other with a tally sheet with all the candidates' names on and rows of very small boxes to the right of their names for putting a tiny line through or a cross in, rows of 10 and columns of 5, so each big box when full would add up to 50 votes.  This part of the operation was very important to watch, especially with one of the counters, who by chance happened to be a Council officer whom I really don't get on with as they've been rude, unhelpful and unprofessional with me in the past.  Several people noticed that this person was making mistakes, and complained, so when done, this operation was checked by  another group of counters.  All this took MUCH longer than initially planned, or desired.

However, the results started coming in, and one of the most exciting was in Acomb Ward, where the Lib Dem leader of the council, whom I think is a dinosaur who ought to have been put out to grass long ago, and his second in command, whom I think has been weak politically but is a nice guy whom I'm fond of, lost their seats.  The cheer from the gathered opposition was huge, my cheer was only for the passing of Steve Galloway, not Andrew Waller.  When the Hull Road Ward results came in, I wasn't elected either.  That's politics. 

The other interesting result was that in another ward to the west of York, Anna Semlyen was voted in.  She's been a Green supporter for a long time but was incensed by the unilateral decision by Steve Galloway to say no to a city-wide 20 mile an hour limit in built-up areas, and joined the Labour Party, and has been elected.  I now predict a few years of exciting politics.... I predict that Anna will 'make waves' and put a lot of energy into what she wants to do; I hope she remembers that she's representing the citizens in her ward and a good Councillor gets to know the area (if they don't live there, which she doesn't) and the people there.  I wish her, and the other new Councillors, and the re-elected ones, a good four years, and hope they can move the City of York to a more sustainable, lower carbon, fairer, more equal society.  One day I hope to get elected, in MY ward, for the party I've agreed with for all my adult life, and be a really hard-working Councillor.  Maybe next time?  It is, as always, up to the local voters.

As soon as our results were announced, I got my stuff and cycled briskly off, as at 6.24 I had to be on a train to Bristol.  I got back at 5 and Sue was talking to Gill on the doorstep, having collected an 'emergency' bag of dried fruit for her latest long drive.  I hadn't got any time to chat as I had less than hour to get myself ready and packed and off to the station.  This I of course I managed to do.

The train left on time and all the way to Birmingham I started working though over 100 unread emails from one of the lists I subscribe to, and once read, I deleted most of them.  However, there were still about 60 left, which I thought I might get through between Birmingham and Bristol.  But, no, I met a really nice chap on the platform waiting for the Bristol train, which was 40 minutes late, and we talked about Credit Unions, high street loan companies, how to conduct successful relationships, and much much more.  He got off at Parkway and I at Temple Meads 5 minutes later.  My friend Loony was waiting for me, and as the train was late, we'd missed the bus so we had to get a taxi.  She's got a new flat recently and is having a housewarming  party tomorrow, which is one reason why she's invited me down, to provide some entertainment.

Thursday 10th March 11

Up early as had to be at Mill House on North Street for 10am, and as it was very windy, I set off in good time as when it's windy... and blowing from the direction you're travelling in, it really slows you down.  But when I reached town, I saw I had 15 minutes to spare, and then I saw a skip with assorted pots and planters in it, so I rescued some of them, and got to the meeting with 5 minutes to spare.

The meeting was with the Council's Event's Officer, Liz Topi, the Police, Licencing and Highways, and was to discuss the forthcoming York World Naked Cycle Ride.  What the organisers would like is for the ride to go ahead with a Police escort, to 'cork' junctions and allow the group of 100 or so riders to stay as one group, rather than being split at traffic lights and other junctions, and risk getting motorists in the middle of the cyclists, which we feel is unsafe.  However, in York, the Police have decided that they are not responsible for managing traffic, and this is left to the Council.  So, if we wanted to be an official event with a Council Traffic Order, and junctions controlling, this would apparently cost thousands of pounds.  If we requested the Police do it, they too would charge for the service, if they were allowed to do it.

So, we are going to go ahead with the less safe situation of the riders obeying the rules of the road, but getting split up in the process, and having to stop on the highway to regroup.  Far from ideal.  In Manchester and Sheffield, the Police look after the riders and ensure motorists don't get tangled up with the cyclists.  We had lots more discussion, about a risk assessment, insurance, a change of route to avoid the Carnival, which Liz says will have 800 children there and she doesn't want the cyclists to 'upset' them.  But the organisers' main concern is that the ride goes ahead and is safe and fun for all, and makes the point about our vulnerability on today's car-infested roads. 

Right towards the end of the meeting there was a fire alarm, so we concluded the meeting outside.

I cycled home and wrote up the notes from the meeting and emailed them to all concerned.

I got an email from Chloe at Edible York confirming that they'd like another 15 sacks of compost for the Barbican raised beds.  To be collected on Sunday.  I'm very pleased to get such a big order, and even more so that the beds will be used to grow food.

I did a bit of moving stuff around; sawdust down the garden, compost up the garden, vegetables down the garden.... logs down to the woodshed. 

I came in at about 6... Gill had made some celery and sweet potato soup, so I had that and went out to Central Hall at the University to see Greg Dyke talking about the Yes campaign to reform our voting system.  This was good, and I'll be voting Yes to introduce AV, which is a first step towards Proportional Representation, my preferred method of electing representatives.

I chatted with Charles afterwards, and collected all the burst balloons, and then on the way home... found a pile of logs! 

Thursday 24th February 11

A very full day, enjoyable too.  I got up  early as I needed to get 10 sacks of compost ready for today's delivery, and be back in the house in time for Sue visiting; she had booked to come and look through our Suma catalogue and sort out an order.  She arrived at 10 with her cousin Robert, who's come to stay with her from Devon, where he spends a lot of time sailing.  It was good to meet him; he was curious about the fruit drying and our lifestyle, and we chatted whilst Sue sorted out her order, which always takes her ages  (almost two hours) despite being only 3 items!  But it was a friendly visit and I'm fond of Sue as she's more unique than most, is quite 'off the wall' and unusual.... and anyway, I've known her for the best part of 20 years and I'm fond of her.

She got finished just in time as I got a message from Sam from Sheffield.  She'd contacted me yesterday saying she was coming over to York with Emily and assorted offspring, to visit the National Railway Museum... and would I like to meet up with them.  They were in Wakefield at midday and would be at York Station by half past.  I loaded up my trailer with 5 sacks and dropped them off at St Lawrence's School, and sped off down to the station, where the 5 of them appeared about 5 minutes later.  I persuaded them to walk into York to have a quick look around before they went to the NRM.  They met Purple Man and saw Barley Hall, and we ended up at El Piano for a few drinks; I had my usual vegan hot chocolate.  It was lovely to see Sam and Emily again, this time in happier circumstances.... last time was at Mozaz' funeral, or rather the wake.

We parted company after this, they went to look at the Minster I think, and I put some cash and a cheque into the Co-op Bank, and came home.  I got in at 2.15pm, just enough time to have a sandwich and then load the trailer with the second 5 sacks of compost, plus a sack of sawdust for their compost bins as a free extra.  Laura Potts met me at the gate and took me down to where the school have their raised beds and compost bins, and I met Grace, a teacher there.  They were delighted with the compost, and paid me what I'd suggested, in cash, and asked for an emailed receipt.  Then they showed me the school field, some of which is about to be converted into an orchard, and today they were digging the holes.  I'm so delighted that this is a primary school which is actually addressing the issues, is DOING something.  When I was involved with Green Thumbs at Lord Deramores, we discussed planting a row of trees along the line of School Lane, but there wasn't enough enthusiasm to make it happen.  There still isn't an orchard planted at Lord Deramores, and I must have a look sometime at their compost bins, to see what's happening there.

I came home with an unwanted Christmas tree, and stopped off at the house which is having a conversion and took some more spare waste wood offcuts.

Gill and the boys were heading off to Heslington for Melody's birthday party.  I dealt with two Fiddlesticks enquiries, one a garden centre having a green fun day, so I explained about my other 'John the Composter' hat, and I'm hoping she'll get back to me with a booking.

At about 5pm I got myself ready for the Stockholm Environment Institute Annual Seminar, 'Equality and Ecological Responsibility in an Age of Austerity'.  This was at the Science Learning Centre at the University of York.  I met lots of friends there; I feel very lucky that we have this resource on our doorstep and so many brilliant and expert people in our midst.  The seminar was chaired by Liz Barclay, a very recognisable voice from Radio 4, and had presentations form Professor Kate Pickett, an epidemiologist and co-author of 'The Spirit Level', and Jonathan Porritt, who is perhaps best known for his involvement with FoE and chairing the Sustainable Development Commission, as well as The Forum For The Future.

Professor Pickett's presentation revolved around these slides, which basically show that in societies where there is a big gap between the rich and poor, lots of things are worse.... child wellbeing, reduced levels of trust, working hours are longer, less foreign aid is given, people recycle less.... all sorts of interesting correlations.  So a more equal society is better for everybody, because over a certain income, people don't get any happier.  Unequal societies have higher carbon emissions too, even higher levels of biodiversity loss!  This is a fascinating area of study, and Jonathan Porritt followed up with his take on the importance of dealing with both environmental sustainability AND social justice, or 'fairness' as it might be less confrontationally put.  His talk covered issues such as fuel poverty and doctors prescribing therapeutic interventions, such as retrofitting houses with improvements, or prescribing environmental 'voluntary work', like the BTCV Green Gym, as these often have much better outcomes than prescribing drugs, and are far more cost effective in solving social problems.

The discussion at the end was interesting... I asked about whether they saw Transition Towns as a viable way forward, and later on there was an exchange about how higher taxation had been demonised by the right, but actually it was a good thing as it was a way of sharing, or investing in everybody.  Places with high taxation are not less happy or less prosperous.

I had a chat with Jonathan Porritt afterwards and told him about my interest in green funerals.  He hadn't heard of Promession so I gave him a Novaterium business card and invited him to check it out.  I also chatted with several SEI people and explored whether there might be a way I could do some work with the Institute.

I got home at about 9pm, exhausted but determined to do my blog.  I love sharing what I get up to. 

I was amused/uplifted to get a link to this video which shows protesters invading the York Council chamber to protest at the cuts, and associated media reports including The Press and the BBC. One of the protesters explained why she'd done it, on her facebook page:

I've tried letter writing, I've sat in on lots of smaller cold boring meetings leading up to this, I emailed every councillor (most didn't even reply), I've got more signatures on my petition than the council got responses to their budget consultation, I've been the official service user rep on the future planning of Mental Health services in York, and it's got nowhere - just councillors patronising & ignoring me, and *laughing* and talking about party politics whilst discussing cuts that are going to cost lives. This might be the noisy visible bit, but it's the result of a lot of quiet, polite, patient hard work being thrown back in my face.

So those protesters get my respect and thanks for making a stand. 

Thursday 14th October 10 Hull Road Ward By-Election

I was up early and ready to go and stand in a polling station. But, I didn't actually get out til after 9, and they'd been open since 7am...  So, I went to vote, walked down with my friend Debbie, and then I stayed there and did the 'door smiler' role, not taking numbers as the Green Party isn't targeting this ward and therefore isn't trying to get every last Green supporter out.  But Labour and Lib Dem were working really hard, door knocking and there was even a leaflet saying 'today's the day, please get out and vote'. I popped in on the Tang Hall Lane polling station to thank the staff there, as it's a quite boring day and I think they do a great job... and as it's a thankless task, I like to buck the trend.

I came home for an early lunch and then loaded the trailer with a job-lot of squashed soya milk cartons and went to see Ginnie who was at the polling station at St Nicks.  They had been very quiet, apparently just 7 voters in over 2 hours.  It was obvious there would be a low turnout.

I cycled on to Hazel Court- there's a back way out of St Nicks which I use to go to and from James St occasionally, and I put my cartons in the recycling container with minimal hassle... one of the chaps there said I could use the 'pedestrians' recycling bins down at the entrance, but I told him that bikes were now allowed up at the top as Yorwaste had seen sense and realised that even car drivers walked around at the top, so cyclists weren't a special case re 'Health and Safety', and the 'no cyclists' sign had been removed.  I told him I really wanted to use the top, like any other normal person in a vehicle.

Then I went on into town.  I put in a Fiddlesticks cheque and had one made out for the  City of York Council for Council Tax.  Went to the bank and got cash out, to make up the balance for the Council.  I was able to pay it all in at 9 St Leonard's and I met my old friend Trish who was doing something similar.  We're now paid up til next spring.  From here I went to the station to buy some train tickets for a gig in Bristol I've been invited to do, in November.

And then home, via the Abundance raised bed, where there were three black sacks of annual plants which had been weeded out.  Unfortunately, some of the perennials and biennial plants had been moved, not sure why, and were looking very sorry for themselves.  Biennials should be left where they have grown in their first year, as disturbing the roots at this time of year means they won't thrive next year, and there's a good chance they will die over winter.  I picked up a box of compostables at Country Fresh and two sacks at Freshways.

I than had an hour or so at home before I was due to go to Vanbrugh College and speak at the 'Activist Cafe' event.  York Rotters had been invited but said they couldn't go, so I said I'd do it instead.  I was due on at 5pm.  I explained about the situation of my having been instrumental in starting York Rotters but currently unable to represent them in front of groups of people, so I was talking to them as just John the Composter, but that this gave me more freedom to mention compost toilets and how to compost cooked food on an ordinary compost heap, subjects completely banned as a York Rotter.  So the talk went well and there were some good questions at the end.  I overshot my 30 minute slot by nearly 10 minutes, but they were fired up to start a campaign to persuade the University to start composting the food waste from the canteens and residential blocks.

I came home via a new logpile and had tea, a baked sweet potato and a thin nutloaf thing Gill had created.  I'd found two Parasol musrooms in the woods on Windmill Lane, and I fried these in olive oil on the woodstove, and they were a good flavoured garnish on the nutloaf...  At 9pm I set out for the count at Archbishop Holgates School, popping in to say thank you to the bored polling station staff there.  Soon after 10pm the ballot boxes arrived and my agent Andy Chase, and two election buddies (not sure that this is their official title!) Ginnie and Andy D'Agorne arrived, and the count got underway.

It was in three sections.  First the number of ballots cast were counted.  1468 out of a total possible of 7992, meaning a rubbish turnout of 18.3%.  Shame on the voters of Hull Road Ward for so much apathy.

Then the ballot papers were sorted into the different candidates voted for.  It was absolutely clear that the Labour chap, Mick Hoban, was going to win.  I went to chat with him and it turned out he works for the Forestry Commission and seemed like a really nice guy.  He said he had admired my logpiles and we chatted about assorted wildlife, and pollarding and coppicing, and a potential project he had thought about quite near here.  My guess is that we'll meet again and talk trees some more. 

Finally, the ballots for each candidate were counted into piles of 50.  I was relieved to see I'd got more than the racist BNP.  There were 3 spoilt ballots which all candidates had to agree were not filled in properly.  The results were as follows:

BNP 42 votes, 2.9%
Green 84 votes 5.7%
Dim Leb 183 votes 12.5%
Tory 296 votes 20.1%
Labour 860 votes 58.6%

So, as expected, the Greens were behind the 3 main parties and ahead of the fascists.  I was pleased with this.

I came home at 11.30 and had a bottle of perry as a little celebration.  I sent out an email to the Green Party to thank those who had helped, and documeted the day.

Wednesday 6th October 10

Not too early a start but I soon realised I had an appointment at the RSPCA animal home at 11 to deliver compost to Julia, who's doing a garden there.  So I got 4 sacks of very mature compost plus a sack of leafmould, and cycled it round there.  Julia was waiting for me and she took me to see where she's making raised beds, and showed me her compost bins which she's using to compost animal bedding.  On the way out I asked the person in the office what they suggested I do with any squirrels I caught in my live trap.  They said they wouldn't be able to accept them.

I didn't spend long there but as I left I noticed some clear plastic sacks of garden waste had been dumped in the undergrowth, so I emptied them out (it was all biodegradable) and took the sacks with me... they'll come in useful for something composty...

I cycled back towards town, and passed the Minster Vets in Salisbury Road, and decided to find out if they had a policy on squirrels.  After some discussion, the answer was they would have to kill it or 'put it down' as this is euphemistically called, and charge me £24 for doing so.  A very unsatisfactory situation. This issue of 'pest animals' is a real ethical dilemma for me.  I think I need to write a note about ethical dilemmas.(now done!)

I came back via Country Fresh, and after lunch went to do a load of leafleting in the Tang Hall area.

In the evening I attended a 20s Plenty for York meeting at Anna's, and was glad to meet a York Press reporter who's keen to cover the campaign. I have a few actions against my name.  Our main focus is to persuade people to fill in the consultation, despite it being very poorly worded. The information about the consultation is here, but a pdf of the YourCity is here, with the 20 mph consultation on page 4. The council also provide this information. I'm backing the 20's Plenty for 3 main reasons: lower speeds mean if there is a collision, there is a reduced likelihood of injury or death; reduced speeds mean less acceleration and braking, and therefore reduced fuel use; lower speeds mean quieter roads. Additionally, lower speeds may encourage people currently scared of cycling to get back on their bikes and cycle to work, school or the shops.

I came home via Country Fresh again and brought a broken pallet back.  Not a lot of wood in it, but it would have ended up in a skip if I hadn't have brought it back. It will make good kindling.

Friday 6th August 10

Woke at 9.30 and got up feeling refreshed and happy.

However in the back of my mind was the fact that today was the deadline for getting the Hull Road Ward Funding bids in... and I didn't want to miss it, nor face Anna's despair for not doing it, so I rang the Council and someone from the Neighbourhood Unit said yes, the forms would be in reception waiting for me.

So I got there just before midday and filled in all three forms. The first was easy... a suggestion that the Ward needs a public notice board. The second was an 'under £500' suggestion, and I put that York in Transition would like fruit and nut trees planted in the ward... the places decided by local people, and the number of trees dependent on the cost of digging the holes and installing tree guards and stakes, etc. I did suggest that the holes could be dug by volunteers but I somehow doubt that will be realistic. We'll see! The final application, to the 'over £500' pot, was something I made up on the spot... I hadn't thought about it in advance. I suggested a one-day home energy event, in the ward, with stalls from renewable energy providers, insulation companies, the Energy Efficiency Advice Centre, groups promoting public transport, cycling and walking, and community groups offering related things... I estimated the cost of the venue to be £300, publicity £300 and refreshments £50... and I asked for £590 grant, the rest to be found from stall holders fees and donations for refreshments. Again, this would be a Transition event.

All this took an hour and a half. The applications will be considered and then the best ones which fit certain criteria will go forward to the Ward Committee and local people will allocate the budget to the schemes they like... and not to the ones they don't!!! So I won't know the outcome of this process until February 2011. The money won't be available until April and will need to be spent between April 2011 and March 2012. This is the first time I've put in suggestions.

I came away from the Council reception quite frazzled but glad I'd done it. I put a cheque into my Fiddlesticks account and came home via Country Fresh and picked up a box, a bag, another box, and then from Freshways, another bag. Lots of lovely composting to do!

When I got back, at 3pm, I had lunch, and then later, went into the garden to deal with the medium-sized Compostumbler... I emptied it into a dalek and immediately refilled it with shredded hedge, lilac and holly plus a large load of chopped veg and fruit, mouldy sliced bread and cardboard takeaway food cartons with biodegradable plastic windows...

I came in to help Gill do tea, peeling some thrown away but perfectly usable sweet potatoes, and a large handful of freshly picked pea beans. So we had pasta salad, rice salad, sweet potato chips... but the pea beans got left in their pan of cold water, uncooked, so they'll be for tomorrow's tea.

Later I helped Gill with some washing (I went to get it off the washing line and helped hang it up next to the stove) and did some washing up. I really enjoyed a programme on BBC4 on Blondie, which was one of my favourite bands as I was growing up. I was one of millions of teenage boys with a Debbie Harry poster on my bedroom wall..... I still think she's hot!

Friday 27th November 09

A good day!

Did quite a bit in the garden and building a logpile on the left of the front door, looking out, visited Richard at Country Fresh and met a nice law student called Gita, who knew of me as 'Compost John' from discussions at the Students' allotment.

Spent quite a bit of time sorting out the stuff from there, loading up the big Compostumbler with shredded hedge and greengrocers' unsold goodies.

I had an early tea... an aubergine thrown out for no good reason, and some slices of 'nutolene' that Gill found in the loft, in tins from a Suma order years ago. They are dated best before sometime in 2008 but as far as I'm concerned, it's OK, and 5 hours later, I'm not dead. I sliced this and fried it on the stove, and made two 'burger' things with Foccacia rolls that Gilly bought, with broccoli, baked beans and some home-made coleslaw.

Then I went out to 'The Climate Connection' meeting organised by York and Ryedale Friends of the Earth at the Friends Meeting House in town. This was a meeting to give information about the path towards the vital Copenhagen talks next week, and a chance for York people to hear what some local decision makers think about it, and ask them questions.

My friend Kate Lock chaired, and the panel were Andreas Heinemeyer from the Stockholm Environment Institute, Andrew Waller who is the leader of the City of York Council, Hugh Bayley our MP, and Mike Childs from FoE. The format was that they each had a chance to say what they wanted and then faced a couple of questions before the next panellist came on. Then all four of them faced a 'Question Time' type situation.

Andreas presented his take on climate change, which as a scientist had plenty of facts and figures, but as a father, had a soft side too. I've seen him present this before and he's one of the best, very accessible and easy to listen to.

Andrew Waller had a slide show showing some of the ways which York is responding to the issues. He had just come back from the Leeds City Region Housing Strategy and learning that York is to have it's own 'Urban Eco Settlement' where the British Sugar site was. He had slides of the Eco Depot, built with straw and with an innovative automatic ventilation system, and the Clifton Moor Eco Business Centre built by The Helmsley Group. I didn't know that York has a Passivhaus, (here's a good pdf from Leeds Metropolitan University on the development) but I did know about Elm Tree Mews in New Earswick, six homes heated by one ground source heat pump and with other built-in innovations. He mentioned the Joseph Rowntree Housing Association's other eco-experiment (to-be) at Derwenthorpe, near Osbaldwick and a 1930's semi they've bought and are retrofitting to high ecological standards. Andrew then turned to the carbon emissions from Council activities and property, which they have promised to reduce by 25% by 2013 using a carbon management system. This includes a new school which is heated with wood pellets, and a campaign to get shops to keep their doors shut in cold weather, keeping the warmth in (but hopefully not the customers out!)

Hugh Bayley was on good form and he too was pleased about the 'Eco-District' to be built on the brown-field British Sugar site. I didn't make any more notes about what Hugh said, nor any from Mike Childs apart from he was talking about leadership and the power that ordinary people have to lobby our leaders. The Climate Change Act only got through because of the thousands of us pushing the Government into it.

The Question Time bit of the meeting was excellent, with a first question on population and another on economic growth. I asked if any of the panel had measured their carbon footprint and which calculator they'd used. Mike said he had done his but had forgotten what the figure was, and that he 'was doing enough'; Andreas said he'd done lots of them and they all came up with different figures, but as he refused to fly, he was pleasantly surprised how low it was, Hugh admitted it was something he was going to have to do, to be able to say whether he manages his personal 10:10 pledge, and Andrew also didn't give a figure. Kate was the only one who knew her CO2e footprint had dropped from 16 tonnes to 12 over the 2 years she was writing her book. I suggested that people try The Carbon Account as it was so easy and visual. It actually doesn't matter which one you use... what's important is that people measure it now, make changes, and use the same calculator again to see the changes. Kate added some information about the Green Streets Challenge which she is involved with (door knocking!) and there were further questions about the Local Transport Plan and a complicated one about outcomes and policy.

All together it was a packed evening, with lots of information and I really enjoyed it.

I didn't hang around for too long, and was home by 10pm. I read Gill my notes and then typed up my blog whilst listening to music on BBC 2 and then Channel 4.

Thursday 5th November 09

An earlyish start as the builders came at 8.30am and started putting up the noisy scaffold tower. I got up and made them tea and coffee, and asked about the TV aerial which is attached to the chimney which is coming down. I was prepared to go and buy a new bracket/fixing, but realised that I'd need a new pole or pole extension... and might also need a cable extension, so I decided to ring round various areal people and see if a professional can do it.

After several phone calls, I found someone who can sort it tomorrow.

Then I had to get rid of a pile of compostables from the kitchen, and whilst I was doing this, collected a load of composting worms which conveniently put themselves in the bin lids... perfect fro harvesting and relocating into my new 'worm cafe' which is already filling up.

Then I cleaned myself up, had a wash and found a clean York Rotters tee shirt. I was due in town for midday for 5 hours of volunteering at the Parliament St and St Sampson's Square 'Big Green Market', where York Rotters and the Council's Waste Minimisation Team have a stall.

As I walked through the market stalls, I wondered why it was called a Big Green Market as the majority of the stalls were not what I'd call green.. Venison burgers and dead duck pate, trinkets from the other side of the world, lots of stuff to buy which had a huge embodied carbon footprint.

But then again, I'm a purist. I found the Rotters stall and locked up my bike nearby and got myself launched into the unsuspecting public, using the usual ruse 'Would you like to tell me about your compost heap?' when someone looks at our cut-out dalek with the perspex sheet in, behind which are examples of assorted compostables. These include a rubber glove and a cardboard box with coloured printing, plus some plastic fruit and veg, flowers, scrunched and shredded paper, some fabric, wool and other bits and bobs. This format is immensely successful... because punters expect you to try to offer them something ('do you want one of these?') but my question is the other way round. But it's a hook. They bite, mainly saying 'yes, my heap is '... and occasionally 'I haven't got one'. This then has a response 'What do you do with your banana skins and apple cores?' Those with compost bins are about half 'working well' and a quarter 'too dry' and a quarter 'too wet', each answer can elicit a question about what do they put in the bin. Anyway, I'm in my element during these kind of events, I really love them, my enthusiasm knowing no bounds.

After each meeting I logged the information about whether they were a 'non composter' or 'existing composter' and whether they were from York or out of York. It's important to record how many people we are engaging.

I went for a wander around for my lunch break at half past one, and got a pastie and a sandwich, and bought a 'turks turban' squash for a pound which will be delicious roasted in the next few days.

During the afternoon I met a young lady I met before on the train coming back from Sheffield Green Fair (she recognised me) and I chatted with her and her partner, who have moved to York... and I think I'll be meeting them again. Also floating around were Kate Lock, on the Oxfam stall, my old friend Mary Brandon, older friends Sue Lister and John Whitworth, Rakesh and quite a few others. Jo turned up, to be the next most enthusiastic Rotter, Candy came too. It was a good session.

I finished just before 5pm and went to the Oxfam shop on Goodramgate for coffee, and popped into Kyi-Po for a vegan mayonnaise but they didn't have the one I wanted. Then onto Sainsburys for a general groceries shop, including goats milk as the nearest Co-op is having problems with keeping enough stock, and have been running out of it. Somerfield never used to! I treated myself to a treat(!)... a few months ago my cafetiere glass got broken, and as I do now and again like 'real' ground coffee, I bought myself another one, for £9. But Gill had also asked me to try to get some sparklers for the boys. Sainsburys had run out. So I popped into the Co-op on the way home but they didn't have any. Quite by chance, Lynn was in there and overheard my request, and she said that she had some spare!

When I got home, Gill reported that some lads had come asking for some logs and she said to come back later when I was at home after the Rotters stall. So I bombed round to Lynns with a bag of dried fruit in swap for 20 sparklers, and cycled back just in time to catch the lads again (students?) who wanted a small bonfire in their back garden. I let them have two half sacks of kindling and about 15 or 20 split logs. They offered me £3.90 in loose change. Seemed reasonable!

Then as I was finishing that transaction, a lady cycled up and introduced herself as the person who had left a couple of messages on the answerphone as she has some apple logs she wants to get rid of and an apple trunk still standing which she wants cutting down. I agreed to go and do this for her next week.

By this time I needed to go in and warm up. I made my own tea... some finely chopped chicken of the woods which Simon found growing on a pile of woodchips near where he works, which he'd shared with me, with 'trombone' courgette/squash, green pepper and the last of our own tomatoes, with rems of nutloaf, with a baked bean and cheese sauce. Terrific! Delicious! The best meal since... well I don't know, but it was very very tasty. Cheers Simon. And I only had half of the mushroom he gave me!

Some nice chats with family before the boys went to bed and I settled down to some email deletion as my inbox is again full. Whoops.

An enjoyable day. Tiring, but I was still up til 2am doing assorted things round the kitchen and on the laptop...

Tuesday 13th October 09

Up at a civilised time... 8.30am. I had breakfast and did emails and waited in for a chap from Harris builders who said they were coming round at 10am to collect the contract for our solar hot water system. Gill went out to go to Priory St for something, and I waited... and waited... wanting to go out into the garden and do more hedge. At 10.50 I rang the company and left a message saying I wasn't happy with being told I'd be visited at 10am and was waiting in... and I am too busy to be messed around. I got an apologetic message back saying the chap had been held up in Harrogate (so why didn't he ring me?) and would be here at 1pm.

I went into the garden and dug up more hedge. Just before 1pm I came in for lunch and awaited the builder. He actually came at 1.45. I suppose I'll have to get used to 'builder time'. The York Press had already arrived and I was delighted to see that they had published an article about the Charity Fancy Dress Ball, including David's photo.

I had a bit of time in the garden but towards 3pm I got my bike ready to go and get our youngest, as Gill had had a 'ladies who lunch' meeting in town and was only just getting the bus back home (she rang me to check I was collecting him) I arrived a bit early, despite collecting my first two sacks of autumn leaves on Windmill Lane. I had an extra plastic sack so when I got to school I couldn't help but check the playground bins. The school is STILL not recycling the huge volumes of fruit the children throw away. In just 5 minutes I filled a plastic sack with half-eaten apples, banana skins, raisin packets, paper towels. I weighed it with my spring balance when I got home... 17 and a half kilos. I also retrieved 12 uneaten apples, two uneaten bananas, one unopened orange, one uneaten peach and a bag of grapes, uneaten. These were all thrown away and NOT RECYCLED. I will wash these and eat them myself. I also checked the big bins and these were full of mixed waste including plenty of recyclable material such as metal cans and cardboard and paper. The dedicated paper bin was overflowing but had some non-paper items in it. This means it will probably be rejected and will go to landfill.

Shame on you Lord Deramore's School. I started trying to get you to compost your fruit for schools waste in 2001. And 8 years later, you have removed the bins you grudgingly let me install, have lost several parts of my bins, making them useless, and are now putting about 8Kg/day easily biodegradable fruit waste into landfill. Shameful. I am SO ANGRY.

I am also very angry with the City of York Council for letting this crap situation continue. I let them know I don't know how long ago, and was promised that there would be some changes and that Lord Deramores School would be dragged in to the 21st Century and be taught how to behave in an appropriate manner when you are a school teaching children who will have to cope with catastrophic climate change caused precisely by the kind of ignorance and lack of care that the school is demonstrating. I am FURIOUS. I even spent many hours helping to start and then volunteering with Green Thumbs, primarily to facilitate a composting area or project... and now Green Thumbs isn't happening and the children aren't learning about gardening. I think they should give the money back to the Co-op who would re-allocate it to a worthy project.

What more can I do? I want to embarrass them into action. I want them prosecuted. I need to tell them and the world what I think of their attitude. Schools exist to prepare the next generation to get by in the world. They teach various skills. They should set a good example. This school is showing the children that they just don't care. This is quite plainly wrong.

I cycled home with my load of leaves to make into leafmould, sack of compostable fruit stuff and the bag of nice fruit which I'll have over the next few days with my muesli.

I then spent another two hours getting hedge out, cutting off the tops and shredding the thinner twigs for composting, cutting up the larger sticks for drying and recycling into heat, and putting the roots (35 today) into a plastic sack so another Freecycler can have them and plant a new hedge. I came in at 6pm and had a nice plate of Bulgar wheat with roast veg, watercress, carrot-sticks, baked beans and a cheese straw. Not bad!

At half 6 I headed off to the Millennium Bridge, as Councillor Andy D'Agorne had invited me to see the new lighting possibilities there. When the bridge was built, it did have some good lighting but then vandals discovered they could easily destroy the lights, and also, repairs and replacements meant the bridge had to be closed. So, the Council have teamed up with Philips Lighting, and this evening were looking at a variety of lighting solutions. To cut running costs and reduce the frequency of replacing them, the bridge will have LED (light emitting diode) technology. This will allow very dynamic colour changes, for special occasions, or white light for normal use. When Philips re-did the lighting on a bridge in, I think, Newcastle, the cost of lighting the structure dropped from several tens of thousands of pounds a year to just £4k, if I remember the quote correctly. There were some interesting conversations about renewable electricity and some of the lighting choices. The reduction in overall energy use is the greenest thing about the project.

I had to leave at 7.20 as I was due at a York in Transition meeting at The Stables.

This was a good meeting, with a visitor from Spofforth and a small bunch of the committed Transitioneers. It was a relaxed but productive meeting, one which leaves me with a few jobs to do... including working on the supporters leaflet. I had a chat with Di afterwards, and agreed to visit her in a couple of weeks to plan a first meeting of the Huntington and New Earswick Transition Initiative. I decided not to go to the pub afterwards as I was tired.

Home soon after 10pm. Despite tiredness, stayed up til 2am writing and watching the last episode of Electric Dreams on BBC4.

Friday 28th August 09

A busy day... two Green Festival meetings and a funeral.

I got up just after 9 and had a quick breakfast and then got a load of potato sacks out of the garage where I put them to dry out, as a Freecycle person has requested 20 for his spuds.

Then raced down to town on the bike, trailer rattling and bouncing behind me, with me dressed in my best black long trousers and Jimi Hendrix black teeshirt, in the pouring rain to the York Green Festival meets City of York Council Environmental Health meeting.

This went reasonably well... despite us not having all the answers. Fortunately Jem from JSS Audio was there and he did have some answers... after all he is a professional! I agreed to be the person who will cycle round all the sensitive areas nearby and assess the sound levels. I will have to keep records, so that if we do have complaints, we can demonstrate that we did everything possible to reduce the likelihood of noise nuisance. We have some technical fixes too, but fortunately that's nothing to do with me.

I had to go at 11am as I had decided to go to the funeral of John Morris, a friend of my good friend Jonathan. I met John Morris about 5 times, and found him an interesting, humorous and friendly guy, more unique than the average person and with a fascinating home full of books.

The funeral was at the Crematorium, and I got there with about 5 minutes to spare and Jonathan beckoned me over. There were a few familiar faces, Debbie from over the road, John and Shirley Bibby, some other York folks. The service was really good. I was fascinated to hear more about John, his times spent at Ampleforth School, his love of botany, antiquarian books, and his unusual lifestyle. His wife, daughter and three friends spoke, and the celebrant was good too. I haven't been to many funerals but this was a good one. Sad, but good. A good send off.

Cycled home in thoughtful mood... funerals always make me realise how short life is, and remind me to continue packing as much into it as I can, as I could be dead tomorrow, next month, next year... or might last 10, 30 or even 50 years more! The moral is we rarely know when the end is nigh, so live every day as if it is your last...

I cannot remember what I did in the couple of hours between the funeral and my next meeting.. probably some compost management (I know I changed my clothes!) and I had lunch, but at 4ish I headed off to Rowntree Park to meet John the park keeper, who will be on duty on Sunday 6th. I wanted to brief him about the Festival, and find out about various power and resources issues. The news was good, and I came home via Country Fresh happy, and bought some avocados and eggs, carrots and a head of broccoli.

When I got back, I had a visitor from around the corner, a lady called Gillian which she pronounces with a hard G, not a J. She told me that they were taking down a large fir tree, and they had stacked under it a pile of logs... and did I want them? I have never knowingly said no to logs, so I happily took the wheelbarrow round to pick them up. When I got the second load, I sat and chatted with them, and had a very jolly conversation. And the logs were great too... really dry hardwood.

Spent a long time chopping apples up for drying... and used one of the new logs to get them started. And heat washing up water...

Tuesday 24th March 09

Up early as Gill wanted me to light the stove as the children were cold and she had to get their breakfasts and do three packed lunches. She left with our youngest as he's on a school trip on and around the River Ouse, and she's going with the group.

I really wanted to go back to bed but didn't, as had to go into town to give in a cheque, visit the bank re the LETS account, to see if I've filled in the paperwork correctly, and various other places. It was a bit of a frustrating morning, as the bank doesn't 'do' anything connected with business banking or voluntary groups, yet I waited about 30 minutes to be told this, and I was unable to speak to anyone at the council re expenses connected with the Hull Road Ward Planning Panel. But whilst I was waiting to hear this, I filled in a request for permits to use my trailer at the Hazel Court James Street recycling site, where, apparently, bicycles are not allowed for 'Health and Safety reasons'. I look forward to the response; if it is 'you cannot go there as we don't allow pedestrians up at the top', I'm going to ask why, therefore, car drivers are allowed to get out of their vehicles and take materials from one skip to another, as pedestrians? I want to be allowed to use the site 'at my own risk', the same as I use roads 'at my own risk' and pedestrian crossings 'at my own risk' etc etc. I want to be treated like anybody else depositing drinks cartons or scrap iron for recycling, ie, basically ignored and left to get on with it. I would, however, accept them walking in front of my bike with a red flag to warn other people of the dangers I pose, or to protect me from being endangered. We'll see. I expect a campaign coming on!

I got home at midday and did more washing up and had lunch.

A quiet and productive afternoon, went all too quickly, but got quite a lot done, including a phone call with the Co-op Bank, revealing that I need to get signatures from the new signatories in another part of the form. SO complicated just to get some new people able to sign the cheque book!

Gill and our youngest came back; he was completely knackered as they'd walked miles, literally. Our eldest came back bearing his school report which was very good, with above average effort in most subjects. We really rubbed it in how pleased we were with his effort.

I went to the York Rotters Social at 7pm... the 'end of year celebration and thank you' party. Initially there were just 7 of us but as the evening went on, a few more came. Catherine our paid co-ordinator had provided some food and drinks, and organised a quiz, based on World Records... things like 'what was the height of the tallest costumed character to run in a marathon?' We were given a multiple choice, and the answer was apparently 4.2metres, a nurse character in 2007 I think! Some of the questions generated some comments, chat and laughter, and our team came second with 6 correct out of 20. Catherine had organised prizes for all participants, and two lucky people got a Compost Mate turning tool. I chose a Bubblehouse stacking Desk-Top Wormery which I'm pleased with, despite it being a bit twee! It will probably be a good teaching aid for me, as taking my Can O Worms (with extra tray) anywhere would be really difficult with a bike trailer! This, however, is small and compact, but demonstrates the concept of stacking wormeries which allow the worms to work up through the composting material.

So, a good event, met several new people and had some fun, and came away with new kit, which will undoubtedly come in useful. I think our Master Composter scheme is excellent... well funded and managed, a team of trained and supported volunteers who attend lots of different events, helping people start composting, helping existing composters compost more. I have found friendship and a deep satisfaction in promoting one part of a low carbon lifestyle. I am proud to be a York Rotter, the original York Rotter!

Saturday 14th March 09

Quite an early start when I'd have really liked a later one... as up til after 2am last night following the Climate Change Plan meeting. But, I got up before 8 and used my new beard trimmer for the first time so I was perhaps a bit more presentable, and maybe a bit less like Pete Postlethwaite who is looking really quite unkempt in some of the recent pictures of him.

I headed off soon after 8.30 to The Guildhall to the Development Control seminar which was led by Councillor Richard Moore, who sits on one of the Council's planning committees. This training was for members of Parish Councils, Planning Panels and other interested members of the public, so that responses to Planning Applications are more relevant and focused, and respondents understand some of the complexities of the planning process.


So, at 9 I was at the Guildhall and it was good to see George the 'front of house' chap who's been there ever since I can remember, and was ushered upstairs to The Smoke Room (now unimaginatively renamed 'Room 4') which overlooks the River Ouse. One coffee and several chats later, we were ushered into the main Council Chamber, where I unintentionally sat in Cllr Dave Taylor's seat. The course covered what is and isn't 'development', and which legislation and guidance covers the processes. We learned about 'Permitted Development', which does not need planning permission, and the different classes of land or building use, and the different types of planning applications. We were told the difference between Development Control and Building Control. Then we looked at how the application is submitted, who can be consulted, the levels of determination, which means whether an officer can decide, or the Area Sub Committee, or the full Planning Committee, or even another authority such as the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, the Highways Agency or the Ministry of Defence. Decisions must be made on Material Considerations, and things which aren't Material Considerations must be ignored. Then we looked at how City of York Council runs its Committee meetings and how public involvement is provided. Finally we found out about the different types of decision made, appeals and 'Section 106' Agreements which in some cases can be seen as 'planning gain', such as a house builder providing a play area for residents to use. In one local example, all of the first residents from a group of new houses were provided with a 6 month bus pass so that they had the opportunity to get used to using public transport.

Then we had some real life cases which the Council has had to decide over the past year or two. Some of them were far from clear cut, and we were asked to vote whether or not to approve the application. I only got two out of the five correct, but sometimes the Committee doesn't agree, and it has been known for almost half of them vote to reject with the others voting to approve.

This finished at 12.30 and I went straight to the National Railway Museum to go to the Science Week event, and the York Rotters stall at this. I was pleased to see Robin and Jo, and of course our enthusiastic paid worker Catherine. I had my sandwiches and then started speaking to members of the public, asking them, when they were looking at our displays, if they wanted any help with their compost heap? If they replied that they had a heap, I asked them if they'd like to tell me about it. This then leads to me being able to ask if they put cardboard and paper on the pile, and the conversation continues. I often ask experienced composters if they put cooked food on the heap (and we have a plate with fake food on it!) and this allows the subjects of wormeries and Bokashi bins to be discussed.

John the Rotter talking to a member of the public.

Gill and the boys appeared and Gill had her camera, which is why these photos are on the blog.

Members of the York Rotters team at the National Railway Museum.

I left when it all quietened down towards 4pm, and came home via Country Fresh where Martin offered me just one compact box of recyclables, and I got home some time before the rest of the family who were on the bus. I lit the stove and had done one batch of washing up by the time they got in.

A happy evening, with me looking forward to tomorrow's big Premiere all over the UK... I'll be attending the York Premiere of AGE OF STUPID, at Vue, Clifton Moor, at 5pm.

See you there!

Saturday 31st January 09

Was awoken by boys fighting right outside the bedroom door. I ignored it and after a few minutes the rumpus stopped. My tip... if you want a quiet life, don't have children. Although having children can be very satisfying, lovely, exciting, fulfilling and more, it may cause your life to include a lot of noise, disturbance, heartache, questions about why you decided to do it... perhaps having one is different, perhaps some children are easy to live with, but at the moment, living with two boys is, from time to time, horrible. I do continue to love them to bits, and yes, I see some of my own behaviour in them....

This early fight or loud argument preceded a very peaceful and harmonious day! Breakfast was fine, I got ready soon after and left in my cold-weather costume (red dungarees and outlandish skiing hat) at 9.30 and was in St Sampson's Square to start the City of York Council's Residents' Festival off at 10am. David the photographer arrived and as there was no audience at first, I did some unicycling and stuff for him... but when my activities caused people to stop and watch, I interacted with them and ignored David, although he continued to snap away.

I finished just before 11 and invited people to come and watch the Punch and Judy, and I reloaded my stuff on the trailer and cycled home. Within an hour, my younger brother Tom arrived, with Kate his wife and their three children... lovely! We all had the tomato soup I'd started making on Thursday, which Gill had finished seasoning and whizzing this morning. That with bread and hummus was delicious.

Sometime after 2pm everybody went out to get on the bus and go and visit the Castle Museum, Gill and Katie's favourite. I had another 45 minutes in the house, did some washing up and left the house at 3.30 for my 4pm performance. This show went really well... a big crowd, up for entertainment, with quite a few staying all the way through right from the beginning, which was good, as street-crowds are notoriously transient. There was loads of interaction and laughter and I enjoyed myself immensely. I came away once again thinking how lucky I am doing a job which I enjoy so much.

Got away at about 5.15 and came home fast... the family were already back and all the children were happy... my eldest playing with Tom's youngest, and the other three immersed in Asterix comic books and similar. Within the hour Tom and Katy took their tribe back to Sheffield and we continued to have a very harmonious and peaceful evening.

At times like this, I'm very happy to be a father. This may seem inconsistent, but I think it's pretty normal to have feelings which change dependent on the circumstances you are experiencing at the time! Someone can feel cold and uncomfortable whilst putting a load of bikes away in the shed after a family cycle ride, and within minutes of getting in and putting another log on the stove, feel cosy and defrosted. Same with parenting... sometimes it's hell, sometimes it's lovely and rewarding... all in the same day, sometimes within the hour! I have no regrets and am coping with the difficulties by remembering the good bits.

For me, blogging helps too as I've written a diary since I was a teenager and find it very cathartic to get it all (not all!) down on paper (not paper!) and share some of what's going on. This approach upsets some of my more distant family members as they think that I shouldn't mention my children. I don't understand this, when other blogs (go press the 'next blog' button at the top of the page a few times!) do more than mention children... they have photos of them and names and all sorts of detail, and I feel that is intrusive, more so than my descriptions of family life.... I am careful not to go into too much detail and am trying to not 'betray confidence' although this is difficult as I am naturally open and honest, and don't understand some people's obsession with privacy. My immediate family know that I write about them and sometimes I read the post to them.

Anyway, I enjoyed today and was really happy to see my brother and his family. More work tomorrow, forecast is very cold with snow-showers. Could be a challenge!

Wednesday 2nd July 08

Gill took our youngest to school and our year 6 10 year-old was due in his secondary school at 10ish for a fun day, so he walked up there with a friend.

Gilly and I had a relaxed morning which was refreshing, and then continued doing the mound of housework. I did some cropping in the garden, our walnut tree has fruited very well this year so I took off all but one nut per bunch, and will pickle the pruned-out immature walnuts. I've never had pickled walnuts but Gill likes them and Gill's mum loved them, they were a great treat. I'll have to make needle-pricks in them and put them in brine before letting them dry and putting them in vinegar.

Whilst picking these, I noticed one of my large logs (actually an innocculated cherry trunk) had fruited with my favourite mushroom, 'chicken of the woods' which is a really meaty and solid fungus which is almost indistinguishable from firm chicken flesh... except more ethical, lower carbon and less cruel! I cut the huge and heavy fruiting body off and washed it and pared off the woodlouse poo which was semi-incorporated in the top surface. Once prepared, I cut it into cubes and fried it in olive oil, and had this as a garnish on the rice and veg which Gill cooked for us for tea.

I went to Country Fresh and picked up another large load, including at least 20 cucumbers in plastic sheaths which I had to spend some time cutting off before composting the unwanted fruit. It seems weird that I am carefully nurturing my cucumber plants and watching the cucs grow bigger day-by-day, whilst the commercial system just throws away dozens of unsold ones...

Also did some weeding of regrowing nettle roots, invasive ground elder and brambles, and made another layer on the bay-window-radiator compost heap. There's no chance of them growing as it gets so hot! I had a magazine delivered this morning which I subscribe to, Kitchen Garden. Last month, there was an article about coping with mares tail, and the author, Sandra, whom I know as she's from York, had put 'on no account compost them', which I disagree with as I have composted lots, from two neighbours' gardens. So I had written in to the magazine to explain how to successfully compost mares tail, nettle and ground elder, and even Japanese Knotweed. My letter was published, but without my name as I said that I knew Sandra and I guess the editor didn't want me to embarrass her or something...

Anyway, the trick is to do it hot, dry or wet. Hot heaps are best... shred the offending material with lots of other stuff and turn it so it all heats up as it breaks down. Nothing survives the 60 to 70 degrees celcius temperatures generated. The dry method involves drying the roots etc off on a patio or path, and when completely crunchy, put them on the heap. This however, does not kill seeds, which can grow in the finished compost. The wet method is good, if a bit smelly. The materials are placed in a bucket of rainwater and left immersed to go gooey for several weeks. This slop can then be poured on your heap, or the liquid used for watering plants, as it's full of nutrients, and the stringy plant materials composted.

I went to town in the afternoon to give in the planning panel paperwork and talk to a couple of Council officers about various issues, pay in my Sheffield Green Fair cheque and buy a replacement blender/liquidiser, which I'd seen in Barnitts. Got one for half price, a good one which ought to last longer than the two £20 jobbies we've gone through in the past few years. We do a lot of food preparation so a good liquidiser is important. The one I got has a juicer thing which fits in the goblet, so during the evening I peeled about 15 oranges (also thrown out, probably because of skin blemishes) and put them in the juicer, made just over a litre of juice. Lovely!

Wednesday 25th June 08

Gill got me up at 8 so I could take the boys into school and soon after I got back she went to Leeds as she had an appointment there. I finally got the time and space to do my Community Care blog, this time on 'Transition Initiatives', after which I went into town and did a little round-trip including, at 1pm, an appointment with Jacqui Warren, York's new Sustainability Officer. Spent 45 minutes with her and came home via Sainsburys and Country Fresh, getting home in good time to go to school.

CENSORED

CENSORED before coming home with my two and one other boy... who all went down the garden to play whilst I prepared tea... pasta and broccoli with a slice of quiche from yesterday. Gill had got in and gone to bed, feeling grotty, so I looked after the kids for most of the evening.

I had seen the comment left on yesterday's blog post by Annabel about parenting skills, and I raised the issue with my son who had initially refused to consider going to Ripon on Sunday. I told him I'd asked for help over the internet and had got some advice, and that if he wanted me to read it to him, I would, but that he would be going to Ripon with me on Sunday. He was happy not to hear the message read out, and agreed to come to Ripon, so thank you Annabel for encouraging me to try again!

Wednesday 30th April 08

Quite a serene start to the day, I took the boys in as Gill wasn't feeling up to it and then went on to visit Anna's pile of vegetation... I cut a load of sticks out of it and came home with them, and will do a load of shreddable materials next... possibly taking them to the James St depot for the green waste skip...

Home in time to fill in our feedback form about the 'Strengthening Families' programme, which is being assessed by Warwick University. Then off to the Heworth Family Centre for the final meeting of the parenting course, where we gave feedback to Richard from Icarus, who will do a report about the various families and parenting courses which have been trialled in York over the past year and a bit, and then City of York Council will know which approaches work and which give value for money...

Then at midday we all headed over to Meltons Too on Walmgate for a meal. I went via the Council offices on St Leonards Place to give in the planning application responses from last night, and still got to the restaurant before any of the car-borne people...

Lovely meal, I had leek and potato soup, a little on the salty side, with bread, which was also salty (perhaps it's because we don't add salt to anything?) and then a baked mushrooms with cheese sauce and breadcrumbs dish, and tiramasu... what a treat, very filling and delicious!
We had certificates presented and a card given, it was good to chat away and exchange stories.

Raced home well after 2 to go to the veg shop and get back so I could pick up the kids!

I got soaked on the way to school and came home with three little chaps, two of them eager to go to Martial Arts.... Gill took them there but it had been cancelled, at least no-one else had turned up so they came back and I phoned our friend Maria to say not to pick up her son and ours from there but to come straight here.... and when she came, we had a good chat whilst I peeled pears to dry them... school had thrown away about 15 small pears (no idea why!) so I am making use of them and doing a pile of pear halves.

After tea... not a huge lot as I was still full from lunch... I did a load of emailing and got two messages on this blog in my inbox on 27th and 28th Feb 07 asking me about where Clearview Stoves can be purchased/installed from... So, a message to Alan the Lumberjack and Lindsay, who know Pauline, you should contact 'The Stove Gallery' (also known as Pete the Sweep) which is at:
41-43 High Street,
Starbeck near Harrogate,
tel 01423 887799
e: http://www.thestovegallery.com/
They have quite a few stoves on show, including the wonderful Clearview range, and provide friendly and professional installation, servicing and advice. They recommended getting our chimneys lined with insulated concrete, and we used 'Chimneycrete': http://www.chimneycrete.com/frontpage.htm and are very happy with the performance of both flues.

Despite recommending Clearview Stoves and The Stove Gallery to literally dozens of people, I have never been offered a discount and I could never say that they are cheap.... but I trust their knowledge and ability so continue to use them. And Clearview Stoves are widely recognised as being the best smokefree stoves available: http://www.clearviewstoves.com/index.htm
We have two Clearviews, a Vision 500 flat-top which gives up to 8kw of heat, and a Pioneer 400 flat-top which gives up to 5kw. These give us enough heating and cooking to make our other fuel bills tiny... an annual gas bill of about £50 and our annual electricity bill is about £230, paid to Good Energy Ltd http://www.good-energy.co.uk/ who supply 100% renewable electricity.

Tuesday 16th October 07, Master Composter Seminar

An early start, went for a walk before breakfast and found a lovely orchard with rows of unpicked apple trees. Nearby found loads of mistletoe in, I think, willow or poplar. My first close-up viewing of Mistletoe.

A good breakfast and was picked up at 9am by Catherine, and we drove towards Stourport to take part in the Master Composter Seminar organised by Garden Organic. It was held at the Bishops Wood Environment Centre, a lovely building demonstrating sustainable construction methods and materials, sited within an extensive patch of land which we had a short tour of at lunchtime.

The Master Composter model started in America, I recently found out, and was first demonstrated by Cambridgeshire County Council working with the Henry Doubleday Research Association (HDRA), now rebranded as 'Garden Organic'. The basic idea is to train up a load of volunteers in the art of home composting and let them loose in their community, to promote home composting as a great way to reduce waste and create fertility in the garden.

I read about this project in the HDRA magazine and immediately thought, what a brilliant idea, and took the concept to St Nicholas Fields Environment Centre, and York Rotters was born. Our project got DEFRA funding for a year of employing a part-time worker, and then we got funding from City of York Council, and we're on the second year of that, and our second worker, Catherine.

So today's 10am til 4.30pm 'do' was to review the current situation of UK Master Composter Schemes, to provide new schemes with information and encouragement, to explore 'tools' to widen their impact and to find ways to measure that impact. There were over 30 people present, representing X Master Composter schemes.

The first presentation was a short one from WRAP chap Carl Nichols. WRAP is in it's 4th year of supporting Master Composter schemes, which are nearly all run by local councils, or are in partnership with them.

Weds 12th September 07

A slow start to the day, but got up and doing stuff by 10.30. I did some paperwork, sending off a postal order and doing some sorting. I found a letter from the City of York Council telling me about a payment for work I did with the Gifted and Talented Summer School, but no evidence of a cheque, which I'd asked for on the invoice.

So I rang the Financial Services department, and they told me it had been paid by BACS. I was annoyed, as several times before I've had problems with BACS and never want to use it again. I feel comfortable with cash or a cheque, and I always request one of these methods in my confirmation letters and invoices. But the Council still had my account details, and tried to pay me via BACS, so I rang my Building Society, and had to wait for two runs through an automated menu before someone answered my call, and they said they had no record of a payment. They said that it might have 'bounced' in which case they would have no record of it. So I rang the Finance Office again, and they had no record of it being bounced. I rang the Building Society again, and got put in a queue as my account was a type which couldn't be dealt with by the first person I spoke to this time (it was ok before!) and after 15 mins in a queue, I spoke to a person in Sheffield who needed 3 tries to get my account number correct, she then said she couldn't deal with it as my account was deemed to be a business account, and put me through to someone I knew in the York Office, after another 10 mins wait. What a bind!

It turns out that the BACS thing was made payable to a slightly different version of my name, and it should bounce back to the Council, and they should make out a cheque and put it in the post! What a palaver. I asked the Council to remove my account details so they cannot try the BACS trick again!

This took til lunchtime. After lunch I did more 'paperwork', on the computer, actually, paperless work, happily! Wrote a piece for the LETS newsletter about the Freecycle/LETS social in June, and had a good chat with my friend over the pond on Googletalk.