Sunday 17th July 11, Little Green Gathering final day

The last day of the Little Green Gathering.

I was really looking forward to doing my talk on composting and I had a small handful of people eager to learn.  However, I was saddened that a young mum was there and her child was making lots of noise and being distracting, so she soon went as it wasn't fair on those who were trying to concentrate.  However, that wasn't fair on her!

I enjoyed lunch and the chats during it, and then Jenny and I went back to Ella and Peter's to see how things were.  Both were sober and Peter was a lot more coherent, and Jenny had quite a long conversation with Ella, and then did some ringing round Social Services and got their case registered and a social worker promising to ring back.

We explained to Ella that we would be leaving the area today or tomorrow, but we'd stay in touch and we took their phone number.  She was very grateful for our intervention.

From my perspective, this 'stuff' took up a lot of my weekend, time-wise and emotionally.  However, being 'Green' isn't all about caring for the environment, harping on about carbon and animal rights.  For me, and others, it's about people care, equality and fairness, and what had happened to Peter, although sad and possibly partly his 'fault', was not fair.  He had, in his time, paid a lot of tax and contributed to the country, and in his current state, deserves looking after.

We walked back to the site and very soon it was my last Fiddlesticks appearance, doing a balloon modelling show and workshop, which went really well and was a lot of fun.

Fairly soon after this was the 'report back session' to say how we thought it went, and this happened in the outdoor classroom, such a lovely building.  It was generally agreed to have been a success, despite the wet weather, and there was discussion about how to improve it if it happens again.  This isn't certain, as the main organiser, Tim, dedicated many months to making this one happen, and like many event organisers, is not paid for what he does.

Tim said that as a few people were staying over, after most people had left, that there was space in the hostel, the tepee or yurt, if anybody was fed up with camping.  So Serena and I went to look in the tepee, and that didn't look too great, but she took one look at the yurt with the stove and bagged it.  I decided to go in the hostel, and I took my tent down during a dry period.

We ate in the hostel, some baked potatoes which were going spare, with hommous and a spicy bean stew.  Very filling.

I spent some time in the yurt with Serena and her little boy before going up to the hostel for a really good night's sleep.

Saturday 16th July 11, Little Green Gathering, second day

Not that comfortable a night in the tent, as the position under the trees meant that large random drops of water fell on the tent and the taut material acted as a drum skin, and it was quite loud. 

After breakfast I attended a talk/discussion with Peter Doggett talking about music and politics, initially about the 'revolutionary' 60s, but the conversation also covered mind expanding drugs, punk and some more current themes including the recent stuff about Bono not paying his taxes in the way that some people would like to see him do.

The rain meant that I couldn't use the main stage for my show, so I set up in the Meeting Room and did a 10.30 til 12 slot, which again went well, more of a workshop this time though, as the youngsters who saw me last night were all there again!

At lunchtime I was approached by a woman called Jenny who's husband had overheard my story.  Jenny asked me if I was planning to go and see these people again, and if I was, would I like some support?  She felt that I shouldn't have to have that burden on my shoulders by myself.  I told her that yes, I'd been considering revisiting and yes, I'd be grateful of support.  So we walked round there together.  I told her what to expect, but when we got there and Ella invited us in, it was still a shock. 

Peter was still in the chair, all wet with urine, drunk and semiconscious, there were more flies and the stench was enough to make Jenny retch.  We got a key to open windows, and gently asked Peter if we could help.  He did want help, and Jenny went into 'nurse mode', despite not being a nurse.  She asked Ella if she had some dry clothing, and a nightshirt was found.  With some difficulty his dirty hospital shirt came off and a dry clean one was put on.  However, it took the best part of an hour to get him to agree to change his trousers and pants, and getting him to stand up... it was a nightmare.  Ella provided a bin bag to go on the chair (moisture barrier) and a dry towel to sit back down on.  The trousers and undergarments went in the bin.  The poor man had the beginnings of urine-burns or bedsores.  We couldn't wash him, just put dry pyjama bottoms on, and Jenny asked if the hospital had provided any incontinence wear.  No, nothing, so Ella was persuaded to find some pantie liners belonging to her daughter and Jenny explained that these would help soak up just a little bit of urine, so helping to reduce the re-wetting of the clothes and towel.

Ella showed us a photo frame with photos from just 10 or 12 years ago, with Peter and his young daughter (who we found out was now living with an aunt, because of her parents' alcoholism), and Peter was a handsome, healthy looking guy in his mid to late 40s, a company director.  This was perhaps the saddest thing for me, to see the deterioration into a nearly-dead shell of a person, only in his late 50s. Shocking.

Jenny also talked to Ella about what would be needed to look after Peter, but that care probably wouldn't be easily available until Monday.  I was so grateful that Jenny had come with me, as I wouldn't have been able to do this myself.  We walked back, having promised Ella that we'd come and see them tomorrow, both shellshocked and upset.  Jenny couldn't work out why the hospital would discharge someone with no incontinence provision or wheelchair, as he was incapable of standing up on his own, let alone walking steadily.

The ambulance people had done nothing as this apparently wasn't a medical problem but a social one.  Well as far as I'm concerned, this 'social' problem was rapidly becoming a medical one, and regardless of how these people ended up in this state , they deserve care.

Serena arrived back on site and we spent some of the afternoon together, before my next Fiddlesticks show, at 5.30, which was the first time Serena had seen me at work.  This was followed by a nice vegan BBQ and then an excellent gig from Seize The Day, who are perfect for green festivals and camps.  I really enjoyed them, despite chasing round after Serena's child who wanted to play and climb all over the outdoor classroom building.  Serena was I think quite tired after her gig last night, and rather a lot of driving.

I had a more comfortable night, maybe because I was much more tired so I just slept through the rain and stupid bouncy airbed.

Friday 15th July 11 Little Green Gathering Day One

Had a pretty bad night in the tent due to being cold and not that comfortable on the air bed.  However, I was tired and fell asleep early, but woke at intervals, cold, until I put my fleece on, which gave me added insulation.  But then at exactly 4am, a very loud and weird cock crowed, and woke me again.

However, I had enough energy to respond positively to the request to help put up the main stage.  This was a bit of a jigsaw, and at one stage of the process, we had to undo a load of the marquee scaffolding and redo it.  But the team effort worked, and the little stage was built.

Mid afternoon, Serena went to London to see one of her musical idols, Melanie. She'll be back on site tomorrow.

The Little Green Gathering officially started at 3pm, so soon after this I registered and was given a leaf badge to wear, to identify LGG people, as members of the public also use the facilities.

I did my first show, on the main stage at 5pm, and it went really well with a small but keen audience.

At 7pm it was the first mealtime and as I approached the cafe, there was a woman who seemed to be propping herself up against the building, as if she was disabled or had a painful ankle or knee or something.  I offered her my arm and said would you like some help.  She accepted graciously and I walked her into the building.  I asked her which local Green Party she was from... she wasn't a Green Party member.  I asked her if she was with the Little Green Gathering, and no she wasn't, she just wanted some food. She readily confessed that she was drunk and was an alcoholic.  I said I'd see if I could sort out some food.  I asked Tim and he said yes, ask for a donation, and he suggested £5.  I got the food for the woman, whom I'll call Ella.  The cook said she'd been hassled by Ella earlier and was not happy with her begging food, but I said that she was willing to give a donation and after that I'd ask her to go.

Ella gave me a £10 note so I went to get change from Tim but she didn't want that, and said keep it, money is not a problem.  She ate and I went to get my meal.  After she had eaten, Tim ushered her outside, but she came back in and was drunkenly interacting with people, so Tim said to me, 'You brought her in, please can you get rid of her?'  So I gently took her outside and explained that it was a private event and that it might be best if she went home.  We talked about her alcoholism, and I said I understood as I had a friend in a very similar situation.  She was quite emotional, and moved by my compassion and sympathy.  Some people think that alcoholism is a deliberate situation that people have an option of just stopping, whereas I see it as a mental illness which people accidentally find themselves in, and once in it, it can be extremely difficult to extract oneself from it.  I suggested getting a taxi home but she told me she only lived a few minutes away, so I asked her if she wanted to be walked home.

She was very grateful and accepted.  She took me out of the Sustainability Centre and along to a very wealthy estate, with huge detached houses and manicured lawns, and her house was similar.  She had asked me to come in whilst we were walking to the estate, and I'd said that I'd walk her to the front door and then come back.  She told me her husband was an alcoholic too.  When we got to the house she again invited me in and I said I'd prefer to go back, but she was very insistent so I relented and went in with her, she wanted me to meet her husband. 

She took me through to a living room where her husband 'Peter' was slumped in an armchair, unconscious, his trousers soaked in urine, and the chair, and the carpet around it too.  He had a hospital gown on, and his face was covered in a crusty substance.  The smell was disgusting, and there was a couple of flies showing a lot of interest in him. It was a shocking and sickening sight.

Ella started trying to rouse him, thumping him on the chest, but I told her not to thump him.  He did come round though, and I managed to get some information out of them.  Apparently Peter had come out of hospital a few days back but had sat in this chair since.  This was a situation I couldn't just walk away from.  I asked if they had any friends or family nearby.  They hadn't.  Ella gave me her daughter's mobile phone number and I rang that but her phone was off.

So I was a bit stuck.  I found the number for NHS Direct, but was told there was a four-hour wait... and I didn't fancy hanging around for that.  I asked about the hospital visit, and found the hospital number, but they wouldn't tell me anything about his stay as it was confidential, and I was put through to A+E.  They too didn't think that Peter's situation was worthy of being brought into A+E, but I said I couldn't really just turn my back on the situation.  They said ring 999 for an ambulance. I reluctantly did, and explained that it wasn't an emergency but something had to be done...

When they arrived I explained why I was there and what the situation seemed to be.  They went into action and during this Peter said that he had been diagnosed with cancer 5 years ago and had 2 months to live.  However he hadn't had any chemotherapy or radiotherapy or medication, which seemed odd.

The ambulance chap suggested that I probably couldn't do anything else now and so I said my goodbyes and walked back, feeling shellshocked and tearful.  When I got back to the LGG I went to the live music on the main stage and told a few people about what I'd experienced and witnessed, and started to get back into the relative normality of the camp/festival atmosphere.

The rain got more persistent so I retired to the Hostel common room, and enjoyed live music there and chatted with Katie, a lively activist from London, whom I liked a lot.

Thursday 14th July 11

A busy morning getting ready to go to Hampshire for the Little Green Gathering, where Professor Fiddlesticks and John the Composter are appearing.

I'll be back on Monday, and therefore there'll be a rare gap in the daily updates here.


I had a bit of a pile of compostables to put on a heap so I went down the garden in my dressing gown to do that, and as it was such a nice warm day, discarded the gown and worked naked in the privacy of our own garden for maybe an hour. I was taking stuff out of sacks and chopping it up with the big knife I've had had since I worked in an abattoir when I was 20, and taking plastic wrappers off, and making sure that there were plenty of layers of woodchips and shredded hedge in between the layers of putrescible carrot and melon.  I really enjoy the peace and quiet down the garden, and the way the robins come and check out what I'm doing, and if I get apples or grapes, that I can throw these a short distance away and blackbirds will come and feast on them.  This feels very close to nature and it is wonderful.  And of course, I'm processing stuff which would have gone to landfill otherwise, and turning it into a valuable resource which is good for the planet and its biosphere.   I don't often go naked in the garden, this was only the second time this year, but I like the feel of the air and sun on my skin, it's very sensual... not sexual or erotic though, as some people who haven't tried 'naturism' might think.

I came back in at 10 and got my rucksack sorted, chose enough circus stuff to do shows and freeplay workshops and a balloon activity on the final day, plus tent and airbed and sleeping bag, and an LED lamp Gill got as she worries about my using a candle in a jar as lighting.

I had a bath and hair wash, and then at about 1 I set off on the bike with my rather heavy rucksack, my juggle-kit bag, my unicycle and my diary and reading matter bag down to town, put in a pile of cheques to my building society and headed to the station.

I got the 1.55 to London and had a trouble-free and easy trip to Kings Cross, then the tube to Leicester Square and on to Waterloo, where I got an earlier train than expected, and sat in the First Class of the Petersfield train as my equipment was in the lobby of that carriage and the First Class had plenty of space.

I got to Petersfield at about 5.30 and waited for Serena to pick me up.  I got a call to say her little car had overheated in a traffic jam and she'd be late.  I didn't mind; I went to the nearby Tesco and got some bread and hommous, and a couple of bottles of perry, and had sandwiches sitting in the bus stop.  I had a nice conversation with an unusual woman who was travelling through the country using just her free pensioner bus pass.

Serena turned up, with her 2 year old son who I met on this year's World Naked Bike Ride.... not a naked rider though, too young to make that decision!

I only just managed to squeeze into the car and the satnav took us to the village of East Meon and on to The Sustainability Centre.

This is an ex-military site, with some ugly buildings and lots and lots of beautiful trees, some open glades, and a view of the sea in the far distance.  There's a small woodworking site, making green oak wooden frames and chestnut shingles for roofs. There's a natural burial site in amongst the woodland. They have a hostel where people can stay and self-cater, or school groups can stay to explore the area, or learn about sustainability.  There are some lived-in yurts and a couple of
tepees and yurts which can be hired to stay in.  And there's a wonderful outdoor classroom, built by Ben Law.  And a project called Rural Crafts which has people with learning difficulties doing gardening, and a cafe which anyone can visit.... it's a wonderful place!

We looked for someone on site to ask where to camp, and I rang the phone number I'd been given when I booked the extra days camping.  There was no answer.  We had a wander around and met some of the people who lived on site, in one of the yurts.  They showed us some camping areas, but because I snore I didn't want to inflict my noise on anyone else so I found a place in the woods and put my tent up there.

Later a few LGG people showed up and we agreed to help put the main stage up in the morning.

Monday 13th June 11

Up early as our youngest was off on a school camping trip, and I wanted to see him off.  Actually he woke me with his laughing and singing.  The Steiner School is really good for him.  Things at home are so much better.

So Gill went in the taxi with him and I had breakfast with our eldest.  I read a message on facebook from Tim, the local Vicar, that there was a tree being taken down in Hull Road Park, so a bit later I cycled round and picked up a trailer-full of logs.

I did some work in the garden, but after lunch, Gill and our eldest went into town and I made 5 tubs of gunko pea and red pepper pate.  The beans I'd soaked and boiled a few days ago... I rinsed them and brought them to the boil again for 10 minutes, chopped up 5 waste red peppers, half an onion, 3 thrown away garlic cloves, a bit of bouillon and some soy sauce, oh and two spoonfuls of cooked quinoa.  This was all tipped into the blender goblet and whizzed up.  This made up 5 tubs of bean pate, so saving over £5 on hommous costs!

I sorted out my extra night of camping at the Little Green Gathering in July.  It starts on Friday 15th July but I'm travelling down on the Thursday, so I'm not hurrying on the Friday, as it's quite a long journey down to Hampshire.  I'll be helping to put up the stage on Friday morning, and contributing several Fiddlesticks appearances and an Advanced Composting talk.  There will be quite a few people going whom I'm really looking forward to seeing.

I was due to go to work at about 5pm, so Gill made up a pasta salad from yesterday's unwanted pasta and veg, and I cycled down to David's.  He fancied a walk using his walking frame so we trundled around the block, stopping to chat to Purple Man before going back to David's... and I got the wheelchair and he asked to be taken to the Library, where he looked for audio-books and leaflets, and we had a coffee.  I took him home via the Minster, where we met Paul Jennison the autoharp player, and chatted with him outside the Minster.

Then back home whee I cooked David's tea, already plated up by his previous PA, and I had my tub of pasta, made him a cup of tea and went by 7.20.  I headed straight for the Seahorse Hotel for the York in Transition meeting on 'Cosy Homes', a new project we're starting to try to increase the energy efficiency of rented properties.

That went on til 10 after which I came home and had a lot of writing to do, bed way after 2am.

Wednesday 4th May 11

Woken by my eldest who had knocked something onto the floor in the kitchen and it had smashed, so I gingerly found the broom and swept it up into a tidy pile which allowed breakfast activities to continue safely.

After I'd had my breakfast I dealt with a range of paperwork and admin type things, and at about midday, went to see if Debbie would be able to help do the eve-of-poll Green Party leaflet round which we often do together. She wasn't well so I did the round myself.  It only took an hour but then I had a long chat with my physicist friend Adrian about political matters.

After lunch I went round to Debbie's again and asked if she'd got her broken key replaced.  She hadn't as she's been unwell for a few days, so I offered to get the key replaced, if I could.  I went to town to the station to pick up the tickets I bought over the net, one set to go to Bristol this weekend and another set to go down to the Little Green Gathering in July. This is the first time I've got tickets out of a machine.

From here I went to the Credit Union to pick up a cheque to pay for this term at the Steiner School, and I cycled there and paid it in, plus cash to make up the full amount.

I then cycled back with our youngest and once home, popped round to the fix it shop on Lilac Avenue, who do keys.  They were able to put the two halves of the broken key in their machine and cut a new one.  I went back to Debbie's and it fitted, and she was delighted.

As I returned from her, John Bibby was about to unload another job-lot of wood.... some oak fencing, some tree roots, and other bits of tree.  A big messy pile.  It will need a lot of sorting out.  However, it is free heating and would have been burned in a bonfire, or taken to a landfill site, so I'm relatively happy to have it.

I spent an hour doing the smallest bits, cutting twigs from branches and breaking up small lengths of fence plank.  There are some much sturdier timbers to contend with, next week when I have more time.

Gill made a simple pasta tea and then at 6.45 I set out, on foot, with our eldest son, to town to attend the Cafe Scientifique meeting at City Screen, which tonight was all about food and flavours, with a Professor from the University of Hull called John Bradley.  He started with a bit about how the tongue senses tastes and how the olfactory epithelium deals with aromas and fragrances. Because these signals end up in the Hippocampus, there is a connection between emotions and smell, memory and smell, and it's even been found that people with a reduced sense of smell are more prone to depression.  He explained about herbs and spices and volatile molecules, and then the exciting subject of chirality, the way that some molecules are left handed and the same molecule can be right handed.  This has some profound effects on odour molecules... limonene smells like lemons with one enantiomer (shape of molecule) and of oranges with the mirror-image enantiomer. However, another molecule smells like passion fruit with one and like burning rubber with it's mirror image.  Fascinating.  He then finished with a look at combining flavours, such as carrot and coriander (although I prefer carrot and tarragon), caramelised cauliflower and cocoa, banana and parsley.

Following a question and discussion session, we walked home, getting in at about 10pm... a really lovely and interesting night out, with good conversation with my son, especially on the way back.

Lit the stove when I got in and did some more dried fruit and washing up.