Wednesday 25th August 10

I had a nice lazy morning but got going after lunch as I'd been booked to perform at the Woodlands MS Respite Care Centre Garden Fete. That was from 3 til 6, so my usual lunch hour from 1 til 2 wasn't affected, and I leisurely got stuff together and left the house at 2.50pm.

At the bottom of the drive there was a group of people gathering to protest the planned closure of the Respite Care Centres by the MS Society, who claim they are not cost effective and patients could be looked after in their own homes for less money than it costs to put them up at the centre, which gives everyone concerned a change of scene. Patients become guests and meet other people with the same condition, and family members back home have a rest from care-giving for a week or two. It is a very good solution for a difficult problem, despite being expensive.

So I went up to Woodlands and got myself organised there, but was asked by a protester to come and join them for a few minutes to have a group photo taken. So I actually started work at about 3.10... but worked solidly all the way through til 6. I started with a show for the children, and had about 20 of them watching and taking part, after which they all disappeared to do some races or something, so I went and sat at different tables and chatted with the guests and their family members or carers, and made balloon models with the usual silly humour. The kids came back in dribs and drabs and I did a few workshops whilst still doing balloons. It was a good day for me, and the other entertainment was good too; a cover-version duo, various stalls, ice cream van, BBQ and bouncy castle. I hope they raised some money!

I bought a veggie burger and salad right at the end, and walked home with that plus my unicycles and juggle-kit. Gill had bought a pizza as the boys had a fussy friend to visit who doesn't eat vegetables (although he did this time eat one potato and one forkful of broccoli) so I had a couple of slices of this with the burger and salads.

Immediately after tea I had a visit from someone I know from LETS, also a Freecycler, who had asked for some wood to make a compost bin out of. I have, over the past few years, collected some treated wood out of skips which I choose not to burn. So Marion and her fella came round and took a pile of assorted tannalised boards off my hands, for which I'm very grateful.

I picked another load of pears after this, right up at the top of the tree... I'm glad Gill wasn't around as she'd have had a fit seeing me right at the top of the ladder, all by myself. It is very high, 30 feet/10 metres. But I am careful how I place it, and do value my life. I'm not a daredevil!

In the evening I watched Richard Dawkins' take on religion and I have to say, once again, he is spot on. Science cannot prove there is no God, but it is always looking for proof which corroborates other proven information, and for me, is a far better way to base a life on than blind faith. I'm still happy being agnostic though, as I cannot be 100% sure there isn't a creator, and so many of the people I know have some version of spirituality, I would feel churlish to dismiss it completely. I wonder how many of my Christian and Muslim friends watched the programme?

Gill and I looked through a good book called 'Pears' by Jim Arbury and Sally Pinhey, and we reckon our huge pear tree is a Jargonelle. I emailed an expert who might be able to confirm this. I'll also message my friend Barry Potter and see if he knows about pear varieties.

I spend quite a bit of time on facebook, and last thing tonight I came accross this video, about plastic bags. It is well worth a watch, it is funny but has an important message.

Wednesday 18th August 10

Quite a slow start to the day, I came down before 9 and did the washing up as there was lots to do from yesterday's cooking, and we'd run out of bran flake cereal so Gill went into Mumbles to get that plus some other bits, and I had breakfast at 10 when she came back.

Then I read NewScientist and dozed until middayish when I went to explore the Langlands Bay road, and then I retraced my steps with a folding chair to go and pick some blackberries. They were mostly a bit higher than I could reach without the chair, and I got a colander full. Back at 1 for lunch and at about 2pm I suggested to the troops that we might actually want to go and find Langlands Bay as it had a nice beach.

There was a hell of a kerfuffle about getting out but I was firm and we did eventually all get going to Langlands. When we got there, actually Rotherslade Bay, we had a lovely time... balancing rocks, digging a sandhole and building a sandcastle, paddling, lots of sunny fun. I just wish I hadn't been forced to play a game of brinkmanship or risk in order to get the children out of the house.

So, we were on the beach til 5pm and I picked more blackberries on the way back.

A nice tea... courgette and beans from Uncle George, broccoli, pasta shells and cheese sauce.

Enjoyed watching Richard Dawkins offering his view on faith schools. I'm totally in agreement with him. Children need protecting from indoctrination and I was shocked to see the science teacher in one school not being able to explain evolution, and the children all saying that their holy book was a good source of scientific information. I have no problem with adults choosing to believe whatever they want, but I'd like churches and schools to have less of a connection. Churches and faith organisations do have an important part to play in society, and I have friends of several faiths and belief systems, and I don't think organisations such as the Credit Union would have got started without the support of people with a strong faith, some of whom were, I'm sure, doing the volunteering as an act of worship and 'good works'. For which I'm grateful, as I basically don't care what people believe, I'm more concerned about what people DO!!!

Gill and I then had a game of magnetic travel Scrabble. Gill won by 2 points, overtaking me right at the end. Very satisfying for her.