Wednesday 16th November 11

Woken by shouting.... a bit of a to-do about whether or not to take some dried fruit to school. However, I got up and slowly got myself together and got the pears ready that I need to take to Scoop.

I set out just before 10 with the pears very carefully packed in a box with special moulded cardboard which would hopefully stop them bouncing around and getting damaged.  I'd agreed to help at the People and Planet allotment at 10.30 with my big riddle, as a compost heap needed digging out, so I carefully placed this on the trailer and the pear box on top of this, giving it extra cushioning and suspension!

The pears arrived at Scoop in perfect condition, and the lovely Phoebe took them off me and I zoomed off, pearless, to the lottie, and found two students there who were more than willing to help dig and riddle the entire heap. We removed loads of 'contraries', mostly bits of plastic, but also wire, spoons, glass and other rubbish.  A neighbouring lottie holder gave us some parsnips, which was kind.  Mature compost often seems to have lots of contraries in it... this is because it is very easy to accidentally put a bit of plastic or some cutlery into the compostables, and then when this rots down and reduces in volume by 90%, the numbers of contraries seem to be 10 times as numerous, and they're easier to see as the mature compost is uniform, and the contraries stick out.  However, this compost was especially bad and full of uncompostable bits.  We did a lot of hand-picking.

I got back home via Country Fresh and in time for lunch.

I had a fairly quiet and frustrating afternoon, trying to work out how I can cheaply get to Bristol, and I can't.  My visit might not happen, or might be put off til after Xmas.

I took David to the Friends Meeting House in the evening for a YAYAS meeting.  Tonight it was a fascinating look at the Magnesium Limestone area of Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire, and how mapping it shows where the different pre-Roman tribes were, and some information about how they lived.  Ian Roberts, from West Yorkshire Archaeological service, told us about crop marks, barrows, henges, chariot burials, brickwork field patterns, and how quarries are good for archaeologists!  We both enjoyed the talk, as it was new information for both of us.

Wednesday 19th October 11

Another good day, with an enjoyable visit to the Central Library, the University to the People and Planet 'Better World Cafe' and then more pear picking.

I'd been booked to do a York Rotters 'support the Council Officer' job, with my favourite Waste Minimisation Officer Sara Goodhead, who has been tasked to try to get as many Council premises to start composting as possible.  She wanted some help with getting the bin put in, so I agreed to meet her and two staff members at 11am today, at 'Explore'.  I got there first and she arrived 5 minutes later with a box containing a Green Johanna composter, which can officially take all sorts of food waste including meat and processed food.  She had to go and park her van and then we met up with a rather hassled staff member (the person we'd agreed to meet at 11 wasn't coming in til midday!) and Mick the Caretaker.  We went round the back to where the bins are, and there was a mossy passage which looked perfect for a compost bin.  I installed the bin, screwing it together as it is in sections, and between us we explained how it should be used and what could go into it.

During the afternoon I attended the University People and Planet 'Better World Cafe', presenting some info on York in Transition and St Nicks.

Wednesday 17th March 11

I got up early as Gill was taking our youngest to school in a taxi, and I got up to do some work with our eldest on elements, and then I had a confirmation from a facebook contact in Lahore, in Pakistan, that he wanted to have a Skype conversation this morning with me about how to present his forthcoming Master Composter course.  We'd discussed it previously and suggested that this morning might be convenient.

As I'm currently using Safe Mode on my laptop due to it not working in normal mode, it doesn't have sound, so I got my son to set Skype up on Gill's laptop, and I was able to have a conversation with Kurt and Nimra from Waste Busters and Sustainable Pakistan. Although I couldn't hear Nimra, just see her instant messages appearing, but I could chat with Kurt initially.  The Skype connection was not brilliant, and I'm not sure I got the group call thing worked out properly.... but we spent over an hour, and I hope that I'll have helped them with their Master Composter scheme. 

Then it was nearly time to go to the Feed the 1000 event at Vanbrugh College at the University of York.  I'd been an initial link in this event, as Bryony Pete from Love Food Hate Waste had contacted the University with the idea and been rebuffed.  She'd then approached the recycling team at the Council, and they suggested that I might be able to help.  I introduced Bryony to the wonderful People and Planet group, and that opened doors.  None of the People and Planet crew had heard much until at the beginning of the week, there was information about the event today.  So, there was waste food, rejected by supermarkets and manufacturers, and a team of cooks making it into meals, and a 'TV Chef' doing cooking demonstrations about how to use up leftovers, and the Love Food Hate Waste stall with information.  I arrived and found Bryony, who was chopping onions, and congratulated her on the fantastic event.  I later found out they'd fed 2000 students; I wonder what the final figure will be?

But I didn't get any food as I'm not a student.  I didn't mind.  I really like sandwiches for lunch, so I cycled home again and had my usual peanut butter and marmite, plus a hommous and thrown-away red pepper.

Just in time to go to St Nicks for a York Rotters management meeting, which was as usual really good.  However, I first helped put together a new wormery which needed two people to do it.  I contributed most to the ongoing discussion about producing a video or videos, and by the end of the meeting, I had a couple of jobs I had to do. These included emailing several seed companies to get quotes for promotional seed packets, and sending Catherine info about carbon footprints and composting.  I was pleased to see Jo (the second-most enthusiastic composter in York!) come into the centre and the conversation which ensued resulted in my promising to take in some leafmould tomorrow, for some kind of display or workshop.

I came back home and spoke to Pauline on the phone; she'd requested some emergency logs to tide her over til her next delivery next week, and she was available from 5pm til 6pm.  I volunteered to go and see her just before 6, and then go round to Clement's Hall with her and twiddle my thumbs for a bit before the People and Planet meal at El Piano at 7.30.  She was very glad of he 2 sacks of logs and a small bag of coal.  We walked round to the 'recycled building' as she calls Clements Hall, and she worked in the office whilst we chatted and I read Resource magazine.

At about 7pm I cycled down to town and went to El Piano, and waited for the lovely P+P people... we had a £10 meal, which was a lot of tapas selections.  Good conversations, laughs, food.  Very enjoyable.

And back home.... couldn't resist a visit to a supermarket skip and got some goodies which will be consumed over the next couple of weeks.

Another full and interesting day.  I emailed about 10 seed companies last thing and look forward to their replies.

Friday 25th February 11

Another good day.... not quite as busy as yesterday though, thankfully.

My first appointment was at midday at the People and Planet allotment on Low Moor, as part of their Green Week. Phoebe wanted me to do a composting talk and demonstration, so I was only too happy to oblige. As she wanted me to do a workshop, I took one of the most recent sacks of 'resources' (about 30kg) and a box (less than 10kg) and bunged those in my trailer, with a knife, secateurs and the Compost Mate.  I got there soon after midday and waited for 15 minutes for the students to come down.  There were four that I knew (and may have heard my talk before) and four Chinese students who I'd not met and who knew nothing about the subject.   I started off with photosynthesis and carbon being fixed from the air, then respiration with that carbon being released by bacteria, fungi and animals.  I covered all the basics, about natural decomposition, landfills versus incineration versus recycling, the benefits of composting food and plant waste, and a bit about the carbon rich vs nitrogen rich ingredients.  I felt this 20 minute talk went well, and was keen to get busy with the 3 heaps, two were mostly finished material, the other was a large unruly pile of brambles and earthy sods and root balls, mostly left from the previous occupant.

We (me and two Chinese girls) moved all the nearly finished stuff into one bay, leaving one bay free to take the stuff from the top of the unruly pile, which we chopped with secateurs, and layered with fruit and veg material.  The bottom of the mature pile will be able to be put through a riddle, and I'll sort that job out with Phoebe soon.  I'm not sure how long I spent there, but I wanted to go and check out a strip of unused land just off Fulford Road where some trees have been taken down and they are just dumped there.  I've been watching this since before Christmas, so I investigated it and found a pile of dumped large Sycamore logs, a trailer load of which I liberated and very slowly cycled home, as I had at least 100kg, including a huge lump on my pannier rack.

When I got in, I made lunch (it was after 2.30) and I got a phone call from my friend Carolyn, who has a friend who would like a bit of help on a fairly regular basis.  She didn't know if I was looking for this kind of work, but she wanted to find out.... and if I was interested, she'd organise a meeting between the gentleman, who's a wheelchair user in York, and me, to see if we got on.  So a bit later, she rang back and I'll be going to meet him on Monday.  This work could come in extremely handy, specifically the money earned!

Then I got a phone call from Christine, a parent at the Steiner School who does some of the gardening there.  I'd rang her this morning as we'd tentatively arranged to meet this afternoon... but this morning there was no reply.  But she was ready to go down, so I said, OK, let's meet at 4pm.

I cycled down via the Sycamore logpile and picked up a second large load, and 10 minutes later, Chris arrived and she gave me a guided tour of the school grounds.  There are two main jobs... keeping bushes trimmed and tidy, and sorting out the compost bins.  There are two large wooden New Zealand bins, overflowing with twiggy bits, and two or three plastic dalek bins with mainly fruit in.  I plan to mix this stuff up and make a good compost.  I look forward to doing a fairly regular stint and to making a difference.

I cycled home and did a bit of stacking and splitting, and came in after 6... Gill had made some tomato soup and fried some boiled potatoes, a simple but filling meal.  Later I made up my muesli and popped out at midnight to collect 3 pallets from a builder who said I could take them.

Tuesday 1st February 11

Up early as Gill took our little one to school and I had to be up for Justin to come and do the second day of sorting out the electrics.  He did a few more tests with the power off, and then a load with the power live.  One of the problems was apparently our outside lights, which are connected either with hifi speaker cable, or something called 'festoon cable' which is used to string temporary lights up, and the lamps just screw directly into the cable.  Ideally we'd need this replacing with proper cable, but we can't afford to do this so Justin has disconnected the most dangerous bits, such as the garage 'spur' and given us a certificate for the bits which are safe.

I worked with our eldest on a project about the Romans, and I think I've suggested something he likes the idea of.  So I helped him develop that, chivvied him along.  Justin got to the loft where there was a socket which had been damaged by an impact, so he was going to drive up to B+Q to buy another, but I suggested that I went instead, and he said that would be a better use of his time.  So I bombed up there on my bike and spent £1.48 on a new 'back box' which was the part which was broken.

At 1pm I had lunch and at 2 I rolled up to St Nicks for a meeting with John and Edward, to review the new arrangements with my volunteering as a Rotter.  The meeting was short as all is going well.  I had a productive chat with Catherine about the compost training I'm presenting on the 12th February, and then I had 3 things to discuss with Ivana.  I was cycling away by about 3, and as arranged, popped in on Maria to discuss the science lessons she's giving our home-schooler.  She loves doing it, and can take him up to GCSE in Chemistry and probably physics.  In return.... and I'm so pleased with this, she's asked me to dig out her compost heap. I'll bag it up and then either I or she will spread it on her front garden.  Woo hoo!

I got back to an empty house as Justin had finished and Gill had gone to pick up our youngest and had taken our eldest with her.  I was able to go on the net for the first time today, as for the rest of the day, the power had been on and off, so I hadn't bothered.

Once done, I did a bit of sawdust riddling... I now have about 6 sacks of riddled sawdust, a mix of recently produced white/yellow particles and the stuff underneath, on top of the tarp, which has started to decompose and is dark coloured.  This is ideal compost-toilet cover,and is good for any compost heap which has a lot of nitrogen-rich materials, such as grass cuttings, fruit, veg or manure.  I wonder if I could sell it?

I had soup for tea, with a pile of pasta shells and broad beans in it.  Lovely, and exceedingly simple.  At about 6pm I sped off on the bike again to Langwith College to the People and Planet meeting.  I wanted to see how the Waste Food Feast meeting went today, but it seemed that maybe it didn't happen today.  However, we did some planning for the Go Green week, which I'm going to do some stuff in.  Should be good.  I was reminded that Phoebe sent me a document about composting at the University which I said I'd comment on, so that was my work for this evening once I'd got home.  I did however get distracted by a very good programme about explosives.

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.

Tuesday 2nd November 10

A busy day ahead, with 3 meetings scheduled for the afternoon/evening.  But Gill and I had a fairly busy morning too, dealing with yet another situation which has arisen.  Life does not run smoothly for long.

However, a solution is on the horizon and I was able to spend a happy hour or so bagging up last year's leafmould, which has sat  in a chicken-wire cage undisturbed for the past year.  After a year of slow mouldering, I put it handful by handful into plastic sacks and leave it for another year.  This initial sorting allows me to remove twigs and sticks which I put in the Compostumbler with a job lot of putrescible food waste.  I also removed quite a bit of street litter... plastic mainly, and there were absolutely LOADS of pebbles, gravel, and small stones, some of which I was able to remove but the rest will have to be riddled out.  I don't know where these came from, but since I collect sacks of leaves from all over the place, it's obvious that someone has swept up leaves from a gravelly area.  Bit of a nuisance.  I filled 6 sacks before lunch at 1pm.

I had the usual pile of sandwiches and headed out for my 2pm appointment, hopefully a conclusion to my year of not being an active York Rotter.  John at St Nicks had drawn up a document which he emailed me this morning,  Basically this is a set of rules I have to abide by if I'm to continue as a Rotter, including only wearing my York Rotters teeshirt at official engagements, and whilst representing the organisation, I'm not allowed to discuss the composting of dead bodies (including roadkill) or composting condoms (which are biodegradable if made from natural latex) or to talk about or make jokes about sex.  But the really good thing is that Pat, one of the St Nicks management team, is going to be my 'buddy' whilst I'm working on stalls as a Rotter. I'm happy with this.  I signed the document as I really want to get back to doing what I love, and working with members of the public, engaging them with home composting education.  The other good thing which has happened because of the complaints from some oversensitive volunteers is that there has been some diversity training, so, hopefully, Aspergery people like me, ADHD-ers (we have one undiagnosed ADHD-er on the team) and other 'neuro-diverse' people may be better understood and perhaps tolerated.

Neuro-typical people (that's about 80 to 90% of the population) do find it difficult to understand what it is like to be neuro-diverse, ie autistic, depressive, Tourettes syndrome, Dyslexic, etc etc.  It is difficult to understand ourselves sometimes.  I can't explain why I am happy to have the same sandwich every day, at the same time every day, or why I find it difficult to 'read between the lines' of a conversation, or why I tend to be direct and very honest.  So if I don't understand, it must be almost impossible for anyone else to get it.  But learning about some of these traits is a start, and I think that more organisations ought to offer this sort of training.

So, by 3pm, John and Edward and I had talked around the subject enough and we'd all signed the document, and we'll review things in 3 months.  I cycled home, picked up a beautiful but road-murdered male Mallard duck, had a coffee and at 3.40, headed into town to go to the Environment Forum at the Guildhall.  We discussed a range of subjects, including the York New City Vision written by Professor Alan Simpson (59 page pdf document here) and the Forum response to the Allerton Waste Recovery/Incinerator plans.  Perhaps the most important thing we did was to choose our new Chair, due to the resignation of Jonathan Tyler, who held the reins for several years very successfully.  We accepted Kate Lock as our new Chair.  She is ideal for this post, as she's passionate about sustainability, and York, is a good communicator, both verbally and in writing, and is not aligned to any political party or connected centrally to any one organisation.  So, independent, able and keen.

We finished at 5.55 and I zoomed off to my third meeting, at Langwith College up at the University.  I got there before 6.15, and soon found the People and Planet group, who had asked me to go and help them with one of their campaigns to get more composting happening at the University.  When we split up into groups, I was able to present a short analysis of the issues: first looking at promoting composting off campus, to students living in rented and shared homes.  Then the possibilities of recycling on-campus biodegradable waste: composting on site with bespoke composting machines such as the Big Hanna, Rocket or Ridan, (there are other solutions too) or composting/anaerobic digestion off site, such as the Future Energy Yorkshire site near Selby (which has some collaboration with the University) or indeed, the Allerton plant, if and when it is built. Obviously, I favour on-site solutions, as there's no driving tonnes of stuff around, and the material doesn't even become waste.  I also explored, briefly, the reasons that the University should be recycling it's biodegradables. These include the People and Planet University Green League, reduced landfill/transport costs, reduced carbon emissions and setting a good example to students!

We finished at 7.30 and I picked up 2 logs on the way back, and enjoyed a pile of rice and veg with chutneys for tea.  The evening was full of fruit prep, writing, a bit of Scrabble, lots of washing up... bed after 2am.

Thursday 28th October 10

A good day, up fairly early and cycled out towards Stamford Bridge to see Julie, who is interested in going greener and I think I may have persuaded her to get a compost bin.  Spent an hour or so with her and on the way back I found some honey fungus growing on a tree stump.  I collected a few of these and a bit closer into York, picked up some branches which will make good kindling.

When I got in I had a good session of stacking outside the front door, and then a late lunch.  A low key afternoon, mainly within the house, washing up and dealing with pumpkin seeds and fruit.  I had the honey fungus for tea along with an assortment of other bits and pieces.

I popped along to Dylan T's house to sort out his recycling problem (their green bin, supposed to be used for green waste, is full of bottles and cans and mixed waste) and met Tiger, a keen cyclist whom I get good vibes from, and then I visited a friend who is battling alcoholism.  They also use their green bin for cider cans... it was completely full, and we calculated that there was about £100 worth of cider there... or the empty cans which used to contain the cider.  I had some deep conversations with this person, they voluntarily let me confiscate 5 cans left in the house, which I'll pay for not with cash (which would get converted into alcohol) but by getting some fresh fruit and veg tomorrow.  I'm trying to be a good friend. I really don't want to lose this person, but I think it is quite likely that their addiction will kill them.

In the evening I waited in to see my Fiddlesticks photo projected onto a Warsaw building, part of an advertising campaign by Aviva, called Be The Big Picture... I participated as the company said that they would give £2 per photo to Save the Children.  So at 9.23 BST my family watched for the approx 3 seconds it was up... after which I went out to the York University People and Planet Bonfire on the Allotment.  I had some lovely conversations, met some good people, some of whom I'm friends with already, some I interact with mainly through facebook, and some new people too.  I rolled in at 1.45am....

Sunday 25th April 10

Woke at 10. I got myself ready to go to the Low Moor Allotment Association AGM, which was at midday. I left home at about 11.25 and went to see Richard at Country Fresh, got some veggies and a big bag of cabbage leaves and sprouting onions.

Then I went round to the allotments, and as I was still too early for the meeting, I popped in on the People and Planet allotment where Dora greeted me loudly and warmly as 'Compost John', and yes, I was bearing a gift for their heap... all the cabbage leaves, etc.

I told them about the AGM and she and Zak came with me to the meeting which was outside as it was a lovely day.

A good meeting, left me feeling positive and buoyed up. I cycled past my old plot on the way back and it has been rotavated! The new allotmenteers look like they mean business!

I visited Debbie on the way back and chatted for 10 minutes, and got in for 2pm, for lunch and Gardener's Question Time on Radio 4.

Then I got busy in the conservatory... I planted LOADS of seeds... courgette, pumpkin, squash, yams (in the cups rescued from the Ceilidh, punctured at the base with a hot wire) and sweetcorn plus one or two other things. Lots more to do though...

Then it was tea time, I had the last pastie and the cauliflower/pasta bake which Gill threw together, followed by a slice of cake.

Then it was yet another meeting... down at Anna's, the York in Transition 'events' meeting, which was quite well attended and very upbeat.

I got in just after 10pm and wasn't sleepy til 3am.