Tuesday 9th November 10

Well, a mixed day... a noisy start, I came down to help get the boys off to school, which did eventually happen. Gill and I had some quiet time together before going out to a meeting, which took til lunchtime.

Then we had lunch and immediately after lunch, I had another meeting, this one with Paul from BT Retail, about an advertising package which would allow me to have a website with key words which would be flagged up with Google, Yahoo and Bing, and I'd have a 'pay per click' type account.  I quite liked this offer, although I can't afford it right now and will wait until my BT advertising comes up for renewal.  Currently I'm in the paper directory and have the mini-website, although I haven't done anything with the website as I haven't had time.

After Paul went, I got an email from a City of York Waste Minimisation Officer asking about my contacts within the University.  This is because someone from Love Food Hate Waste is wanting to organise, or facilitate, a series of Waste Food Feasts, to feed 1000 people.  I contacted Briony Pete and she told me about an event she co-ordinated in Hull.  She wants to get other Universities but hasn't had any luck with York so far.  I told her I'd see what I could do with my People and Planet contacts.

I spent a very short bit of time in the garden; too cold, windy, wet.  But I did unload several sacks of leaves into my leafmould pile, and brought in a load of cooking apples which are all over our orchard.

I finished making the broccoli and sweet potato soup, and that's what we had for tea, it was delicious.

Then soon after 6 I headed off to Tang Hall Library to attend the Hull Road Ward Planning Panel, which was short and sweet, just two applications to look at.  Then a short cycle to Langwith College at the University to attend the People and Planet meeting, to hear the updates on their composting campaign and to ask them about their initial thoughts on the Waste Food Feast idea.  They are an amazing bunch of people, and were enthusiastic about the Feast.  I'll invite Briony to come and talk to the group.

Came home via a logpile, and came in quickly as it was very cold.  A cosy warm evening inside, more pear preparation, lots of reading, writing, washing up.

Sunday 27th September 09

Far too early a start today... had to be in town by 9am. Urgh.

But, if there's one thing I'm good at, it's punctuality. So I got there on the bongs of 9am (I heard a church chiming in case you don't quite understand what kind of bong I'm talking about!) and got the York Rotters stuff together... various leaflets, and tied the marquee side back with some string begged from the butcher next to us. The Council waste minimisation people were there too, doing the Love Food Hate Waste bit of the stall.

I had a very full-on time... really enjoyed it, despite a bit of a quiet start, it was fun to smile at people and say, "Would you like to tell me about your compost heap?", and only one person said 'No' and walked away! I had a short time off at about 12.30 and found a stall selling Foccacia bread rolls with feta cheese and salad... it was a bit expensive but I got a receipt as I think York Rotters will pay me back... but it really doesn't matter as I had such a fun day. I particularly enjoyed working with 'MeJulie' who is a Council accountant but into waste reduction and recycling, and I met at John Morris' funeral. She was very friendly and chatty. Jo turned up just before 2pm and I was able to go after my 5 hour shift.

I popped into Country Fresh on the way back and Rich had more compostables for me... whoopee! Every day I go there is like a birthday!

Things were all quiet and calm at home so I had a few minutes with a coffee and the laptop, and then popped round to the house round the corner where one of the tenants Simon said I could have as many apples and pears as I wanted. Simon wasn't in but another tenant was, and he said 'go ahead', so I went back home to get some wooden fruit trays/boxes and my giant ladders, which reach up to 9 metres leaning against something or 6 metres freestanding in an A shape, with a ladder sticking out of the top, like a Greek lower-case Lambda.

I started with the lovely but rock-hard 'winter pears' which need to sit quietly for a few weeks and ripen, when they go very juicy and sweet and aromatic and soft and are perhaps my favourite fruit of all time. The tree is very tall and I wasn't able to pick them all, but did get about 3 boxes full. Then I picked loads of apples, which are eaters (not cookers!) and are delicious too, and ready to eat now. I also picked the small Victoria plum tree, so that Simon could have what he wanted from what I picked. When Simon came back, I was up the apple tree again and I came down and showed him what I'd picked. He had just a few of each variety but said that I could have everything else.

I came back for tea, Gill had made a lovely veg stew with broad beans, celery, potato, mushroom, butternut squash, Brussels sprouts and quite a few more ingredients, with a goats cheese cobbler - a scone topping. A delish nosh...

I did one more trip up the apple tree after this, but when it got too dark I brought the ladders back.

I popped round to Woodlands to pick up some logs, and met Debbie who asked if she could have some apples so I walked back with her with my first trailer load of logs, and gave her a dozen apples. Collected a second load of logs and came back home to put my bike away and relax.

What a busy day! Glad to have so much quality fruit to keep us going through the winter. Thank you Simon and the absentee landlord for not being interested in your bountiful fruit trees...

Saturday 26th September 09

A busy and tiring day, but fulfilling.

I got up early enough to be on my bike and going down to town before 10 to be a York Rotter at the Food Festival, from 10 til midday. There were assorted Council bods there already, doing the Love Food Hate Waste info and giveaways. I immediately launched into my Rotter mode and enthusiastically engaged with as many people as possible.

Town was busy and in the two hours I chatted to about 25 people about home composting and sometimes other subjects. Very enjoyable.

I came home via Country Fresh to pick up compostables and had some good chats with Rich before zooming back for lunch, a quick email session and then got changed and bike loaded with Fiddlesticks gear to go up the Hull Road to a four-year-old's party, booked less than a week ago. I'd suggested that as they'd already got a bouncy castle arranged, that a shorter circus skills show would be best, with reduced workshop content, followed by a balloon model giveaway rather than a workshop.

So this format worked well... most of the partygoers were four, two were twelve years old (I think) and there were plenty of adults too, which was good. Everything went as planned, and I was given a veggieburger when all the children had received their balloon animals, and a slice of delicious cake. I had to ask about the cake. It was unlike anything I'd had before... and I was introduced to the cake-baker, the Jamaican Grandma. I asked about the recipe and she said she never used a recipe. She used butter and sugar, blended with a bit of milk, and assorted essences, vanilla pods etc, and some raisins and currants soaked in wine for several months, gravy browning (!) and bicarbonate of soda, and a whole bag of flour. Oh, and some rum, white rum. The secret, though, was to add a few slops of rum to the cake as soon as it came out of the oven. So, and interesting and delicious creation.

I stayed on at the party well after the 4pm supposed finish time as I wanted to make sure that as children left, they had an intact balloon model... and of course there was fizzy pop to drink and the Jamaican Grandma to chat to...

But was home by 5pm and I got changed and did a load of chainsawing. Gill had made a sort of ... veggieburger for tea! I didn't watch the stuff that our boys were engrossed in (some Merlin fantasy stuff I think, and saw an awfully rubbish ITV programme on the other telly which was dire). I switched off and did a lot of Scrabble on facebook, and several interesting conversations with new facebook friends, including a gent who works for the US Environmental Protection Agency and was interested in my uber-low carbon lifestyle. Interesting stuff.

A quiet evening, bit of washing up, lots of computery stuff. (Gill finds this last line funny, can't think why!)

Tuesday 17th March 09

Gill woke me up at 9.45... she'd got the children off to school and was just about to get back into bed... and I told her I'd got to be at Monk's Cross by 10.30! I had told her last night, but she was snoozing then!

So, I shovelled down a bowl of brain flakes and muesli and Gill made a sandwich for me, and I set off at 10.05, washed, hair brushed, fed, presentable. I got to Sainsbury's at Monk's Cross just as Luna had finished setting out the Love Food Hate Waste info table. We had rice/pasta bag-clips, to stop foodstuffs spilling out whilst being stored and to stop wee beasties getting in (weevils, psocids etc) and fridge thermometers so fridges aren't running too cold (waste of energy) or too warm (won't keep food wholesome as long), recipes to help people use up spare food, a portion control activity so folks don't cook too much pasta or rice, and, of course, info on composting, wormeries and bokashi. We had a competition called 'spin the carrot' and when this ended up pointing at a section (reduce, reuse, recycle) and a particular foodstuff (bread, fruit/veg/ pasta/rice) punters had to answer how they would, for instance, reduce bread waste, if they were able to come up with an answer, they were entered into a competition to win a compost bin or wormery.



I spent til 4pm here, I did have a short lunch break but this is work I really enjoy doing, despite it being voluntary. We spoke to 90 people, did 21 'spin the carrot' competitions, and gave away loads of leaflets, bag clips, fridge thermometers and more. The national research shows the average person throws away a third of the food they buy, but it was interesting to hear that nearly everybody we spoke to said they wasted hardly anything. I think many people have a warped perception of their own lives!

Good chats with Luna, between customers. She's nearly finished this job, and has got a new one with the Co-op with their paper recycling education scheme.

I came home via the cycle track and brought two large branches/tree trunks home, one in the trailer and one strapped to the bike frame.

I chainsawed these up when I got home. Our youngest had a friend round and at 5.30 he needed walking home so I did this, and at his house he showed me a Roman coin he found in his garden recently... I was well impressed, it has a very visible head and legible writing on the other side. Either it's a recently dropped fake OR it's one of the best Roman coins I've ever seen. I suggested to him that he take it to the Yorkshire Museum for an assessment.

Gill made a nice rice and veg tea, with bought felafels and olives.

Not too bad an evening. Did a fair amount of Facebooking.... various stuff including handing over my Facebook page NOT STUPID to the NOT STUPID people! I got there first... they all had a day off yesterday... I started the page on Sunday night as a response to the launch of the NOT STUPID campaign after the premiere of Age of Stupid. There is a list of cinemas where it is opening on 20th March on this page.