Not that late a start, woken by 'cooped-up child noise'. This is known as cabin fever by some, and indicates a need to get out of the house.
I had sent a message to Councillor James Alexander last night after I'd had a few fairly cryptic words spoken to me by Cllr. Dave Merrett about the balloon release... and I asked Cllr. Alexander if he had changed his plans to release the helium balloons? Today I got a reply... and YES! Councillor Alexander had changed his plans, and was going to keep the balloons tethered. A win.
Soon after midday, Sue came round to look through the SUMA catalogue, and spent about three hours looking through and making an order of 3 items, for £25.
I did a bout of chainsawing, chopping up 3 or 4 pallets, and then stacking dry logs and layers of pallet wood.
I went to buy a jar of coffee in the early evening, and found my bike back wheel had come off somehow, so I walked down to the Co-op with Sue, and when I came back (and she eventually went!) I sorted my bike out. It has a quick release wheel which had, well, quick released.
I had the last of the squash soup for tea and then cycled off to Green Drinks at the 3 Legged Mare. I was glad I went, as there was a new chap attending, called Kit, and if I hadn't had been there, he'd have wondered whether he was in the right place. Anyway, we had a good chat, and then Graham arrived, and then Melanie, so it was a worthwhile meet up.
I came back via a logpile and was glad to warm up.
Showing posts with label SUMA food co-op. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SUMA food co-op. Show all posts
Thursday, 9 December 2010
Wednesday, 6 October 2010
Tuesday 5th October 10
A day with a lot of walking... I did some deliveries in the morning, and then got a reminder phone call from Geoff about collecting his bag from the Seahorse and delivering it to the Credit Union, which I did, and then when I got home, John Horsley had put a message through the letterbox saying that a builder was wanting to give me some offcuts, so I cycled to where John said it was but the builder had gone home. So I delivered some more election leaflets, in Tang Hall.
Then at 6pm, my Election Agent Andy Chase came round and we did most of Badger Hill, til about 8pm, when I needed some tea. Pasta and broccoli, with other bits.
In the evening one of my facebook friends, Sarah, who runs Moors Wood Environment Centre, told me about a woodstove she's been to see today, and fallen in love with. For some time she had set her heart on a Clearview, but this stove, the Burley t3, looks even better. She'll probably have this installed by early next year. I want to see one!
Oh, and we had a SUMA delivery at about 10am which was earlier than we expected, and Melody came later in the day to pick up her stuff.
Then at 6pm, my Election Agent Andy Chase came round and we did most of Badger Hill, til about 8pm, when I needed some tea. Pasta and broccoli, with other bits.
In the evening one of my facebook friends, Sarah, who runs Moors Wood Environment Centre, told me about a woodstove she's been to see today, and fallen in love with. For some time she had set her heart on a Clearview, but this stove, the Burley t3, looks even better. She'll probably have this installed by early next year. I want to see one!
Oh, and we had a SUMA delivery at about 10am which was earlier than we expected, and Melody came later in the day to pick up her stuff.
Tuesday, 30 March 2010
Tuesday 30th March 10
A very smooth morning... excellent. Wonder why some mornings are filled with tears and difficulty, whereas others are really easy? Weird!
Anyway, a good day followed. Gill and I continued to sort out the upstairs rooms... I rehung a door which had been bashed off it's hinges, and Gill had refilled the screw holes with plastic wood and this seemed to hold the screws pretty well, and the door is back on.
Once I'd done this I spent some time in the garden getting some compost ready for delivering to a friend tomorrow... and when I came up to the house, the Suma delivery had just been and Gill was signing the cheque.
At 1pm I went to the Black Swan and met a new friend, Maxine, and had a coffee and a chat. I think she'll come to the next Green Drinks. I'm happy to promote sustainable lifestyle choices with individuals, groups, or to people I've never met, like through this blog or using journalists. And I love meeting new people.
From here I cycled on to Bishophill, to see Pauline and help her with her renewables. A few days ago, she was down to her last log to feed her smokefree Clearview Pioneer, but she did manage to get a few off another friend... enough to last til today, when I arrived with my bowsaw and chopped up assorted lengths of timber she's acquired over the past few weeks. And in return, I had a very nice cafetiere of coffee and a relatively short chat. But at 3 I had to go... via Country Fresh, picked up 3 boxes of recyclables and a bag of groceries.
When I got in, Gill had gone to school to pick up our youngest and I stayed in to wait for our eldest... but he didn't appear and came in quite late after going to drama club, which we were happy to hear about. A bit later, Sarah, whom I know through St Nicks came to pick up her share of the Suma stuff... and she was happy to have a tour of the composting demonstrations, which she found inspiring, I was glad to hear!
Rice-based tea, assorted phone conversations, lots of emailing, and rounded off the evening with an excellent film called The Flying Scotsman, about a rather quirky cyclist, Graeme Obree. A good day.
Anyway, a good day followed. Gill and I continued to sort out the upstairs rooms... I rehung a door which had been bashed off it's hinges, and Gill had refilled the screw holes with plastic wood and this seemed to hold the screws pretty well, and the door is back on.
Once I'd done this I spent some time in the garden getting some compost ready for delivering to a friend tomorrow... and when I came up to the house, the Suma delivery had just been and Gill was signing the cheque.
At 1pm I went to the Black Swan and met a new friend, Maxine, and had a coffee and a chat. I think she'll come to the next Green Drinks. I'm happy to promote sustainable lifestyle choices with individuals, groups, or to people I've never met, like through this blog or using journalists. And I love meeting new people.
From here I cycled on to Bishophill, to see Pauline and help her with her renewables. A few days ago, she was down to her last log to feed her smokefree Clearview Pioneer, but she did manage to get a few off another friend... enough to last til today, when I arrived with my bowsaw and chopped up assorted lengths of timber she's acquired over the past few weeks. And in return, I had a very nice cafetiere of coffee and a relatively short chat. But at 3 I had to go... via Country Fresh, picked up 3 boxes of recyclables and a bag of groceries.
When I got in, Gill had gone to school to pick up our youngest and I stayed in to wait for our eldest... but he didn't appear and came in quite late after going to drama club, which we were happy to hear about. A bit later, Sarah, whom I know through St Nicks came to pick up her share of the Suma stuff... and she was happy to have a tour of the composting demonstrations, which she found inspiring, I was glad to hear!
Rice-based tea, assorted phone conversations, lots of emailing, and rounded off the evening with an excellent film called The Flying Scotsman, about a rather quirky cyclist, Graeme Obree. A good day.
Friday, 26 March 2010
Friday 26th March 10
Upbeat day, although spent the morning on the computer catching up on yesterday's conference.
Then after lunch I took two medium sacks of seed compost down to St Nicks as Ivana had asked for some more. She also gave me the cheque for doing the Extreme Composting talk last week.
I cycled out of the back of the nature reserve to the Council depot, Hazel Court, with two broken toasters for their WEEE recycling. No hassles here this time.
Then down to my building society, to put that cheque in and transfer some money into out Co-op Suma account, as we're doing another order. And then to the bank to put that cheque in and one from a friend who participates in our food Co-op. I met my friend Jenny H and discussed a possible mediation session, but she might not be the best person for the situation which needs mediating.
From here I went to Country Fresh and got two carrier bags of fruit and veg, plus one sack and 4 boxes of lovely compostables. I got home just after our eldest son did, and he helped me unload the groceries. I then got busy in the garden... I pruned two of the small pear trees, removed honeysuckle from the James Grieve apple tree, pruned a shrub (can't remember it's name), cut down some brambles and dug out a compost heap into plastic sacks, to make space for turning another. I expect I'll do that on Sunday evening.
Gill created a noodles-based tea, with mushrooms, cashew nuts and asparagus. It was delicious. She'd made a microwaved cake for pudding which wasn't her best, according to her, but I enjoyed it...
Later I rang my Auntie in Norfolk and we chatted for nearly an hour. I also enjoyed watching Professor Brian Cox on the Jonathan Ross show, quite entertaining...
Then after lunch I took two medium sacks of seed compost down to St Nicks as Ivana had asked for some more. She also gave me the cheque for doing the Extreme Composting talk last week.
I cycled out of the back of the nature reserve to the Council depot, Hazel Court, with two broken toasters for their WEEE recycling. No hassles here this time.
Then down to my building society, to put that cheque in and transfer some money into out Co-op Suma account, as we're doing another order. And then to the bank to put that cheque in and one from a friend who participates in our food Co-op. I met my friend Jenny H and discussed a possible mediation session, but she might not be the best person for the situation which needs mediating.
From here I went to Country Fresh and got two carrier bags of fruit and veg, plus one sack and 4 boxes of lovely compostables. I got home just after our eldest son did, and he helped me unload the groceries. I then got busy in the garden... I pruned two of the small pear trees, removed honeysuckle from the James Grieve apple tree, pruned a shrub (can't remember it's name), cut down some brambles and dug out a compost heap into plastic sacks, to make space for turning another. I expect I'll do that on Sunday evening.
Gill created a noodles-based tea, with mushrooms, cashew nuts and asparagus. It was delicious. She'd made a microwaved cake for pudding which wasn't her best, according to her, but I enjoyed it...
Later I rang my Auntie in Norfolk and we chatted for nearly an hour. I also enjoyed watching Professor Brian Cox on the Jonathan Ross show, quite entertaining...
Wednesday, 8 July 2009
Wednesday 8th July 09
I got up reasonably early but had a pretty nothingy morning in many ways. I did a load of washing up and some paperwork, some ringing up and sorting things out, but nothing particularly interesting. I did pop down to town to pay in a cheque and give in the SUMA catalogue to Anita, but she wasn't in so no coffee and chat there.
The highlights of the day were getting a Fiddlesticks booking in Cliffe next week and getting a lovely message from a guy on facebook thanking me for my composting advice on the page 'Organic Gardening 101', where I host a Discussion thread called 'Any Composting Questions Answered Here'. He said that since he'd been composting and top-dressing his garden with the compost, the productivity had gone through the roof, and he held me responsible! What a lovely message to get!
Gill had a much busier day than me... cycling down to school and back in the morning, then down to Melrosegate to book a hair cut, and back, and then down to have the hair cut and back to me looking even lovelier than before, then down to school to pick up our youngest, and back, and then at 4, down to school to attend the parents evening , and back. Then in the evening she came out with me down to the Tramways club to the Yorkshire Film Archive event.
I had a quieter afternoon, just a bit of logging and a cycle down to Country Fresh to pick up veggies and compostables, and to Freshways where I picked up a sackful and was given 3 mangoes for my time!
But the evening was excellent... we'd arranged for Simon to babysit so we could go out together to a fundraising event for York and Ryedale Friends of the Earth where there was a series of films 'with a green twist' presented by the Yorkshire Film Archive. So we cycled down to the Tramways Club on Mill Street and paid our £4 each, and Gill bought some raffle tickets. The films were introduced by a chap who obviously works for the film archive, with quite a bit of humour. Gill had told Simon and the boys that she would be back by 9pm so she left after the first half, and therefore missed my favourite film, one called Home Grown, about the Northern Green Gathering when it was just getting established at Ackworth near Pontefract. I was pleased to see my friends Dave and Dhara in the film.
I was back home by 10pm. I lit the stove to dry some washing and weird fruit gotten from Freshways. I'll have to do a Google search to work out what kind of fruit it is.
The highlights of the day were getting a Fiddlesticks booking in Cliffe next week and getting a lovely message from a guy on facebook thanking me for my composting advice on the page 'Organic Gardening 101', where I host a Discussion thread called 'Any Composting Questions Answered Here'. He said that since he'd been composting and top-dressing his garden with the compost, the productivity had gone through the roof, and he held me responsible! What a lovely message to get!
Gill had a much busier day than me... cycling down to school and back in the morning, then down to Melrosegate to book a hair cut, and back, and then down to have the hair cut and back to me looking even lovelier than before, then down to school to pick up our youngest, and back, and then at 4, down to school to attend the parents evening , and back. Then in the evening she came out with me down to the Tramways club to the Yorkshire Film Archive event.
I had a quieter afternoon, just a bit of logging and a cycle down to Country Fresh to pick up veggies and compostables, and to Freshways where I picked up a sackful and was given 3 mangoes for my time!
But the evening was excellent... we'd arranged for Simon to babysit so we could go out together to a fundraising event for York and Ryedale Friends of the Earth where there was a series of films 'with a green twist' presented by the Yorkshire Film Archive. So we cycled down to the Tramways Club on Mill Street and paid our £4 each, and Gill bought some raffle tickets. The films were introduced by a chap who obviously works for the film archive, with quite a bit of humour. Gill had told Simon and the boys that she would be back by 9pm so she left after the first half, and therefore missed my favourite film, one called Home Grown, about the Northern Green Gathering when it was just getting established at Ackworth near Pontefract. I was pleased to see my friends Dave and Dhara in the film.
I was back home by 10pm. I lit the stove to dry some washing and weird fruit gotten from Freshways. I'll have to do a Google search to work out what kind of fruit it is.
Tuesday, 28 April 2009
Tuesday 28th April 09
A rainy day, and we were expecting a Suma order so we stayed in... the delivery was much later than usual and arrived after 1pm. Despite the rain, I did a good wood stack outside the front door.
I also did some weeding as some weeds come out more easily if the soil is wet, and did some compost heap management, piling several sack's worth of assorted veg on the current pile, with a good layer of woodchips from a stumpgrinding operation at Woodlands last year.
We had leek and potato soup with some garlic bread... Gill's home-made bread... and the last slices of yesterday's nutloaf.
At 7pm I cycled down to the Museum Gardens to attend the meeting of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society in the Tempest Anderson Hall, a lecture by Dr John Barrett from the Stockholm Environment Institute at the University of York. I've been to quite a few of John's lectures and they're always good, this one was called 'The Carbon Footprint Of Everything We Consume' and although I knew quite a bit of it already, I learned new things about 'consumption based emissions' and 'greenhouse development rights', and things which will hopefully come to pass at the Copenhagen Climate Talks in December. I have quite a bit of research to do...
I asked a question at the end about carbon calculators and John suggested two I could try, the WWF calculator and he B&Q One Planet Living calculator, both of which were developed by SEI, with the B&Q one in association with Bioregional.
I have been meaning to join YPS for some time, so tonight I did. I was then able to go to the small gathering in the Gatehouse for a few chats and glass of wine.
Zipped home in order to see Newsnight which I had hoped would have the Ethical Man meets Joe Jenkins, author of The Humanure Handbook, 'the book which changed my life', but unfortunately he wasn't featured, he was left on the cutting room floor as it were. Relegated to a mention on the blog. How sad! How disappointing! Missed opportunity BBC!
But, on searching the blog for the mention, I find that there is a vid of the piece they didn't broadcast. Seeing this made me happy. Another 13 seconds of (nameless!) fame... just over 2 minutes in, and how nice to see my hero Joe. Cool. (not Joe Cool, Joe Jenkins...)
Gill and I watched a film 'Wimbledon' which was quite good.
I also did some weeding as some weeds come out more easily if the soil is wet, and did some compost heap management, piling several sack's worth of assorted veg on the current pile, with a good layer of woodchips from a stumpgrinding operation at Woodlands last year.
We had leek and potato soup with some garlic bread... Gill's home-made bread... and the last slices of yesterday's nutloaf.
At 7pm I cycled down to the Museum Gardens to attend the meeting of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society in the Tempest Anderson Hall, a lecture by Dr John Barrett from the Stockholm Environment Institute at the University of York. I've been to quite a few of John's lectures and they're always good, this one was called 'The Carbon Footprint Of Everything We Consume' and although I knew quite a bit of it already, I learned new things about 'consumption based emissions' and 'greenhouse development rights', and things which will hopefully come to pass at the Copenhagen Climate Talks in December. I have quite a bit of research to do...
I asked a question at the end about carbon calculators and John suggested two I could try, the WWF calculator and he B&Q One Planet Living calculator, both of which were developed by SEI, with the B&Q one in association with Bioregional.
I have been meaning to join YPS for some time, so tonight I did. I was then able to go to the small gathering in the Gatehouse for a few chats and glass of wine.
Zipped home in order to see Newsnight which I had hoped would have the Ethical Man meets Joe Jenkins, author of The Humanure Handbook, 'the book which changed my life', but unfortunately he wasn't featured, he was left on the cutting room floor as it were. Relegated to a mention on the blog. How sad! How disappointing! Missed opportunity BBC!
But, on searching the blog for the mention, I find that there is a vid of the piece they didn't broadcast. Seeing this made me happy. Another 13 seconds of (nameless!) fame... just over 2 minutes in, and how nice to see my hero Joe. Cool. (not Joe Cool, Joe Jenkins...)
Gill and I watched a film 'Wimbledon' which was quite good.
Thursday, 5 February 2009
Wednesday 4th February 09
A good day although during the day I didn't get much done apart from housework and such like. I took our youngest into school... he didn't cycle as it was icy, he sat on my luggage rack with his cycle helmet on, hanging onto me. He says it's quite comfortable! Well, more so than sitting side-saddle on the crossbar...
So, before we knew it, it was time to go and get him again... the day went really quickly except from a visit from Simon to collect his SUMA stuff, always nice to see him.
Once our little one was home, I went up to see Wendy and her son, who's friends with our eldest, and quit by chance, they are selling an exercise bike at the same time as our eldest wants one! He no longer cycles to school as it's near enough to walk, and sometimes he has excess energy so he suggested that he get an exercise bike to use to use this. He had walked up to his friends house to see the machine. It seemed to be very posh... with electronic read-out of kilometres cycled, calories burnt, speed, pulse rate (measured by contacts on the handlebars) and even different sorts of rides, with uphill sections or ups and downs! New, I think it cost about £100, and Wendy was happy to see it go... for £5!!! I tried to offer her more but she wouldn't take it!
I left the boys playing and went to the veg shop and then on to Freshways to do my regular pick-ups, and home, and then back to Wendy's to pick up our static cyclist and the machine which fitted conveniently on my trailer. When we got it back, it caused some excitement... especially the burning off calories bit! It gives a readout about your fitness levels as well!
Tea was a carrot soup I'd made, with sandwiches, after which I went to the York Green Party AGM, which was well attended. Our guest speaker was Jacquie Warren the relatively new Sustainability Officer at the City of York Council, and then we agreed a new constitution which acknowledges our local supporters as well as paid-up national members. I managed to not volunteer for anything which was good as I'm involved with too much as it is! A good meeting.
Home before 10pm.
So, before we knew it, it was time to go and get him again... the day went really quickly except from a visit from Simon to collect his SUMA stuff, always nice to see him.
Once our little one was home, I went up to see Wendy and her son, who's friends with our eldest, and quit by chance, they are selling an exercise bike at the same time as our eldest wants one! He no longer cycles to school as it's near enough to walk, and sometimes he has excess energy so he suggested that he get an exercise bike to use to use this. He had walked up to his friends house to see the machine. It seemed to be very posh... with electronic read-out of kilometres cycled, calories burnt, speed, pulse rate (measured by contacts on the handlebars) and even different sorts of rides, with uphill sections or ups and downs! New, I think it cost about £100, and Wendy was happy to see it go... for £5!!! I tried to offer her more but she wouldn't take it!
I left the boys playing and went to the veg shop and then on to Freshways to do my regular pick-ups, and home, and then back to Wendy's to pick up our static cyclist and the machine which fitted conveniently on my trailer. When we got it back, it caused some excitement... especially the burning off calories bit! It gives a readout about your fitness levels as well!
Tea was a carrot soup I'd made, with sandwiches, after which I went to the York Green Party AGM, which was well attended. Our guest speaker was Jacquie Warren the relatively new Sustainability Officer at the City of York Council, and then we agreed a new constitution which acknowledges our local supporters as well as paid-up national members. I managed to not volunteer for anything which was good as I'm involved with too much as it is! A good meeting.
Home before 10pm.
Tuesday, 3 February 2009
Tuesday 3rd February 09
Our youngest had a disturbed and feverish night and Gill decide to keep him off school. I had breakfast and at 9.40, cycled down to the Jorvik Centre to meet Chris, who's in charge of the Viking Festival and has asked me to perform on the opening night, on 17th February. We discussed costume, the fire show and what I would do for the audience mingling/participation bit of he event.
Home via Country Fresh and had a nice chat with Shirley, and collected several kilos of apricots which are past their best.
Came home and within the hour the SUMA lorry arrived and I helped the driver unload the soya milk, washing liquid, nuts, seeds and other bits that we and our friends have ordered. Gill did the paperwork, ticking items off the list and doing the cheque.
Home via Country Fresh and had a nice chat with Shirley, and collected several kilos of apricots which are past their best.
Came home and within the hour the SUMA lorry arrived and I helped the driver unload the soya milk, washing liquid, nuts, seeds and other bits that we and our friends have ordered. Gill did the paperwork, ticking items off the list and doing the cheque.
Then had some lunch and after that did a bit of work in the garden, cutting back yet more brambles and some dead wild dog roses and using this woody stuff as an aerating layer in the current compost heap. I measured the temperature of the heap... 43 degrees celcius and the ambient temperature just above freezing. So, it's a warm heap trying to be a hot heap!
After tea (pasta) I took my laptop round to Ben as the screen has been intermittently poorly, and he offered to take it apart and see if it has loose a connection or something... He does this for a job-lot of dried fruit. Brilliant bartering! Later he brought it back and showed me how to defragment the disc and is going to get me some extra memory for a tenner.
Alison came round and collected her SUMA stuff and I watched a bit of TV, and made notes, which will help me with my book... when I regain my creativity and enthusiasm for it!
Monday 2nd February 09
As there was lots of snow this morning, Gill walked our youngest to school as cycling might have been difficult. I was therefore lucky to have a lie-in, after breakfast, and after ringing SUMA with our order which I would have inputted via the website last night, except Gill's lost the password... I read NewScientist and dozed. And then slept. Til midday... catching up on all the late nights I have and hard-working weekends... It is a rare treat to have such a lazy morning.
However, had a more active afternoon, doing housework, and at 3 cycled down to school with our sledge in the trailer. Our youngest was delighted to see me with it and I attached it to the trailer and cycled round the playground pulling him, and through some of the Science Park, but the more well-used roads were clear of snow so he sat on my luggage rack and the sledge went in my trailer. I wonder if it'll get used tomorrow? More snow is forecast.
I built a logpile outside the front door... we're getting through loads of wood, with both stoves going for most of the time to keep the house warm. Then cycled round to my GP's and after that, Sainsbury's to get mayonnaise and nice bread, Edam cheese and paracetamol.
Gill had cooked up a stir-fry with savoy cabbage and a pie, which was nice, and soon after this I gathered my paperwork together and cycled down to the monthly LETS meeting. No-one had been appointed chair so I got an agenda together and facilitated the meeting... and we were finished in an hour. The main topic was the funding application to see if we can go 'on the web' which will make administration so much easier, and members will be able to put their own info on the website.
Home by 9.30 and a peaceful couple of hours deleting emails... binned nearly 1000 out of my inbox, and now I can get emails again, as my provider had told me my inbox was full. MUST keep on top of this! It's a nightmare getting so many interesting emails each day!
However, had a more active afternoon, doing housework, and at 3 cycled down to school with our sledge in the trailer. Our youngest was delighted to see me with it and I attached it to the trailer and cycled round the playground pulling him, and through some of the Science Park, but the more well-used roads were clear of snow so he sat on my luggage rack and the sledge went in my trailer. I wonder if it'll get used tomorrow? More snow is forecast.
I built a logpile outside the front door... we're getting through loads of wood, with both stoves going for most of the time to keep the house warm. Then cycled round to my GP's and after that, Sainsbury's to get mayonnaise and nice bread, Edam cheese and paracetamol.
Gill had cooked up a stir-fry with savoy cabbage and a pie, which was nice, and soon after this I gathered my paperwork together and cycled down to the monthly LETS meeting. No-one had been appointed chair so I got an agenda together and facilitated the meeting... and we were finished in an hour. The main topic was the funding application to see if we can go 'on the web' which will make administration so much easier, and members will be able to put their own info on the website.
Home by 9.30 and a peaceful couple of hours deleting emails... binned nearly 1000 out of my inbox, and now I can get emails again, as my provider had told me my inbox was full. MUST keep on top of this! It's a nightmare getting so many interesting emails each day!
Friday, 30 January 2009
Friday 30th January 09
A smooth morning... apparently the child who had to finish his homework got up at 5am to do it and was ready to go to school early! I left soon after with the other, and got to school on time as usual. On the way home I found some clumps of Flammulina, winter mushroom or velvet shank, so brought those back to add to the evening meal.
Gill and I had a tidying morning and sorted out the SUMA order. I quickly cycled down to the bank to pay in a cheque from one of the SUMA food co-op members and transfer some money into our SUMA account so we can pay for the order when it's delivered. After lunch I went to see David the photographer to look at the pics he's sorted out from the gig a few weeks ago. Some lovely shots of the audience enjoying themselves, but not that many good ones of me, mainly because of a non-uniform background confusing the images.
I picked up some stuff from Country Fresh and brought it home, going straight off to school to do the composting there and pick up our little one. He'd had a good day and was whistling loudly on the way home.
We got home at almost the same time as our eldest, who came back with a new friend who's not been here before. So a pretty happy bunch of children, very nice! Whilst the older two were on the computer, I played on the Wii at my son's request... he's much better than me so I let the team down somewhat and he then asked me to get off the team as he'd do better by himself!
But, it was a very nice Friday evening... we all ate together although the boys had baked potatoes and omelette and Gill and I had stir-fried veg (including the enokitake mushrooms I picked earlier and some reject sprouts which I had to peel/prepare quite carefully to get to the edible bits) with noodles... and I had some of the pickled walnuts from last summer. Very vinegary.
In the evening, checked out the trailers for a forthcoming film The Age Of Stupid, which looks really interesting. It's based on a surviving human (Pete Postlethwaite) in 2055 looking back and wondering why we didn't DO SOMETHING about the impending climate crisis which was obvious to anyone who understood basic science and could foresee the consequences of continued consumption of carbon fuel. The film comes out in March and promises to have more of an impact than An Inconvenient Truth. I look forward to it.
I also did a load more fruit drying, washing up and general household stuff whilst Gill snoozed... she's a 'lark' and I'm an 'owl' but we still find time to be awake together and enjoy each other's company...
Gill and I had a tidying morning and sorted out the SUMA order. I quickly cycled down to the bank to pay in a cheque from one of the SUMA food co-op members and transfer some money into our SUMA account so we can pay for the order when it's delivered. After lunch I went to see David the photographer to look at the pics he's sorted out from the gig a few weeks ago. Some lovely shots of the audience enjoying themselves, but not that many good ones of me, mainly because of a non-uniform background confusing the images.
I picked up some stuff from Country Fresh and brought it home, going straight off to school to do the composting there and pick up our little one. He'd had a good day and was whistling loudly on the way home.
We got home at almost the same time as our eldest, who came back with a new friend who's not been here before. So a pretty happy bunch of children, very nice! Whilst the older two were on the computer, I played on the Wii at my son's request... he's much better than me so I let the team down somewhat and he then asked me to get off the team as he'd do better by himself!
But, it was a very nice Friday evening... we all ate together although the boys had baked potatoes and omelette and Gill and I had stir-fried veg (including the enokitake mushrooms I picked earlier and some reject sprouts which I had to peel/prepare quite carefully to get to the edible bits) with noodles... and I had some of the pickled walnuts from last summer. Very vinegary.
In the evening, checked out the trailers for a forthcoming film The Age Of Stupid, which looks really interesting. It's based on a surviving human (Pete Postlethwaite) in 2055 looking back and wondering why we didn't DO SOMETHING about the impending climate crisis which was obvious to anyone who understood basic science and could foresee the consequences of continued consumption of carbon fuel. The film comes out in March and promises to have more of an impact than An Inconvenient Truth. I look forward to it.
I also did a load more fruit drying, washing up and general household stuff whilst Gill snoozed... she's a 'lark' and I'm an 'owl' but we still find time to be awake together and enjoy each other's company...
Tuesday, 9 December 2008
Tuesday 9th December 08
All the others unwell today, both boys off school again and Gill's caught the bug and is achy and tired. I was reasonably OK health-wise although tired because of a late night playing on the computer and then sleeping on the futon downstairs. Our youngest slept in our bed and was sick first thing... lovely!
So a quiet day... I popped out for medicines, as our little one has a blister on his tongue and we needed more kids paracetamol.
At lunchtime our SUMA order arrived and I checked all the goodies off and paid the delivery chap and then sorted the pile into Anita's, Simon/Melody's and ours.
During the afternoon I completed the latest dry logpile outside the front door and chainsawed
and split some logs which I'd brought home a couple of days ago. Melody cycled up with her son and filled all four of their panniers, and later Anita came round in the car with Bruno, who wanted to see our stoves, and collected their big pile of stuff.
A simple tea of pasta and broccoli, boys very subdued and behaving extremely well, probably no energy for anything too enthusiastic! I sorted out a store cupboard and found some very out of date flour, rescued from I don't know where, and now a home for psocids and their arachnid predators, so I disposed of them. Don't like waste. Need better rotation, even if stuff is rescued!
Had a good long chat with Ali during the evening, on the phone. I think she has free evening calls or something...
So a quiet day... I popped out for medicines, as our little one has a blister on his tongue and we needed more kids paracetamol.
At lunchtime our SUMA order arrived and I checked all the goodies off and paid the delivery chap and then sorted the pile into Anita's, Simon/Melody's and ours.
During the afternoon I completed the latest dry logpile outside the front door and chainsawed
and split some logs which I'd brought home a couple of days ago. Melody cycled up with her son and filled all four of their panniers, and later Anita came round in the car with Bruno, who wanted to see our stoves, and collected their big pile of stuff.
A simple tea of pasta and broccoli, boys very subdued and behaving extremely well, probably no energy for anything too enthusiastic! I sorted out a store cupboard and found some very out of date flour, rescued from I don't know where, and now a home for psocids and their arachnid predators, so I disposed of them. Don't like waste. Need better rotation, even if stuff is rescued!
Had a good long chat with Ali during the evening, on the phone. I think she has free evening calls or something...
Thursday, 4 December 2008
Thursday 4th December 08
Gilly walked down to school with our youngest, in the snow. Then she went into town on the bus to try to get something dry-cleaned, but town was empty and the dry cleaners was closed. So a wasted trip... and she waited at the bus stop for ages to come home, but there'd been some kind of accident West of York and there were no buses coming through, so she walked home and arrived cold and with really wet feet.
I however had a lazy morning, with just a bit of washing up to do and filling the logbaskets. Read some NewScientist and played Facebook Scrabble until Gill came in at nearly midday.
After lunch I cycled into town to pay some bills and get some cheques out... one for another 3 year's NewScientist subscription, my Equity dues and my Chartered Institute of Environmental Health dues.
Got home on the dot of 3pm and got ready to go to Green Thumbs at school, where Julia had printed off the Assembly text I wrote, and we discussed various ideas with the children. Julia and I read through it out loud and most of the children seemed to like it. We also learned the song written by the 6 year old about Mission Nutrition, with the little girl's mum teaching us the choruses first and then the two verses. It's easy to sing, sounds lovely.
I came home via a logpile and brought another trailer's worth home.
We all had tea together, pasta and veg with yessterday's soup as a sauce for those of us who like sauce. Soon after this I got on my bike again and cycled down to the Merchant Adventurers Hall where the Blood Donation service was holding a session, I'd booked myself in for 7.10 and was processed and out by 8.15... quite quick, and as usual, painless.
Then went to visit Anita to collect the SUMA catalogue and her cheque. I met her friend Bruno whom I got on well with, discussing business waste recycling (he owns a shop) and 70s/80s music (he's a DJ) and Anita gave me a humourous book on parenting. I wonder if it might help us?
Home via another logpile (I know all the tree-surgeons' dumping grounds in York!) but the icy cycle paths made the cycling quite exciting (read dangerous!). Home to an 'on tenterhooks' situation, once again sparked off by someone having to do homework and ending up letting fists fly. Completely unneccessary, very difficult to know what to do about it and leaving us completely mystified why this happens. But both boys got a kiss goodnight from me, and then Gill and I settled down to our usual 'post kids bedtime' routine of washing up and relaxing.
I however had a lazy morning, with just a bit of washing up to do and filling the logbaskets. Read some NewScientist and played Facebook Scrabble until Gill came in at nearly midday.
After lunch I cycled into town to pay some bills and get some cheques out... one for another 3 year's NewScientist subscription, my Equity dues and my Chartered Institute of Environmental Health dues.
Got home on the dot of 3pm and got ready to go to Green Thumbs at school, where Julia had printed off the Assembly text I wrote, and we discussed various ideas with the children. Julia and I read through it out loud and most of the children seemed to like it. We also learned the song written by the 6 year old about Mission Nutrition, with the little girl's mum teaching us the choruses first and then the two verses. It's easy to sing, sounds lovely.
I came home via a logpile and brought another trailer's worth home.
We all had tea together, pasta and veg with yessterday's soup as a sauce for those of us who like sauce. Soon after this I got on my bike again and cycled down to the Merchant Adventurers Hall where the Blood Donation service was holding a session, I'd booked myself in for 7.10 and was processed and out by 8.15... quite quick, and as usual, painless.
Then went to visit Anita to collect the SUMA catalogue and her cheque. I met her friend Bruno whom I got on well with, discussing business waste recycling (he owns a shop) and 70s/80s music (he's a DJ) and Anita gave me a humourous book on parenting. I wonder if it might help us?
Home via another logpile (I know all the tree-surgeons' dumping grounds in York!) but the icy cycle paths made the cycling quite exciting (read dangerous!). Home to an 'on tenterhooks' situation, once again sparked off by someone having to do homework and ending up letting fists fly. Completely unneccessary, very difficult to know what to do about it and leaving us completely mystified why this happens. But both boys got a kiss goodnight from me, and then Gill and I settled down to our usual 'post kids bedtime' routine of washing up and relaxing.
Tuesday, 2 December 2008
Monday 1st December 08
I took our youngest to school, with him making the decisions when to turn right (there are two right turns on the way into school, one off the Hull Road at the traffic-lighted junction with Windmill Lane and the other at the far end of Windmill Lane) and I'm impressed with his road sense and his hand signals.
Pottered around at home and then whipped off my Community Care blog about non-diagnosis and walking, and just before 11 cycled round to see Anita to share my news with her and give her the SUMA book, as she's an occasional contributor to the Food Coop. Stayed there for a couple of hours, also enjoyed the company of her current au pair, a 21 year-old chap from Brixton, hoping to make it 'large' in the music biz. Back for lunch, used up the last of the bread and went to get some more. Gill was having a rest-day but got up before I went to collect our little-un again.
Gill made a pie for tea, using yesterday's meal leftovers, a few extra tomatoes and a pastry lid... with broccoli and some little salad potatoes I'd rescued from a sack of allegedly compostables and prepared earlier.
After tea I went out to the LETS meeting which was only 3 of us, and I chaired and took minutes. David and I stayed behind for a while and chatted which was nice. Then, as agreed with Gill (who used to be a nurse) I took myself along to the Hospital as I gave myself a small burn on the stove door last night, by accident, and this evening Gill spotted a 'track' leading from it towards my armpit which indicates the first stage of septicemia or blood poisoning. However, the medics who eventually saw me said that it wasn't serious enough yet to give me antibiotics, and if it got worse I could go in again and see them, or it might get better by itself. Got back (with a log in the trailer found on the cycle track!) at 1am, having read another NewScientist... I think I'm back in sync with the right week again, for the first time in a year or so!
Pottered around at home and then whipped off my Community Care blog about non-diagnosis and walking, and just before 11 cycled round to see Anita to share my news with her and give her the SUMA book, as she's an occasional contributor to the Food Coop. Stayed there for a couple of hours, also enjoyed the company of her current au pair, a 21 year-old chap from Brixton, hoping to make it 'large' in the music biz. Back for lunch, used up the last of the bread and went to get some more. Gill was having a rest-day but got up before I went to collect our little-un again.
Gill made a pie for tea, using yesterday's meal leftovers, a few extra tomatoes and a pastry lid... with broccoli and some little salad potatoes I'd rescued from a sack of allegedly compostables and prepared earlier.
After tea I went out to the LETS meeting which was only 3 of us, and I chaired and took minutes. David and I stayed behind for a while and chatted which was nice. Then, as agreed with Gill (who used to be a nurse) I took myself along to the Hospital as I gave myself a small burn on the stove door last night, by accident, and this evening Gill spotted a 'track' leading from it towards my armpit which indicates the first stage of septicemia or blood poisoning. However, the medics who eventually saw me said that it wasn't serious enough yet to give me antibiotics, and if it got worse I could go in again and see them, or it might get better by itself. Got back (with a log in the trailer found on the cycle track!) at 1am, having read another NewScientist... I think I'm back in sync with the right week again, for the first time in a year or so!
Tuesday, 11 November 2008
Tuesday 11th November 08
Woke feeling substantially better than yesterday, got up and got busy, lit the stove and put hot water on the washing up, and got a phone call from my CRAGger buddy Robin... St Nicks had offered me a big sack of sticks last week but I'd been unable to collect them, so they'd offered them to Robin, who also didn't want them (lack of space for storing) so he brought them round to me in his trailer on his way back from B and Q, where he was looking for a way to make his woodstove-fired central heating system 'Building Regs compliant' ie, gravity driven, not pump driven. He said he'd worked out how to do it, using 'only' £200 worth of copper pipe! But having a Dunsley Yorkshire woodstove, which burns smoke free and is therefore allowed in smoke control areas, AND which heats radiators, is such a beneficial thing, that it's worth getting the plumbing right.
Robin stayed for nearly an hour, chatting and drinking tea and admiring our Clearview Vision 500 working well. Just before lunch the SUMA order came, just stuff for us and one other family (sorry, 'member of the Cossham Food Co-op'!) such as laundry liquid, soya milk, muesli base, olive oil and Bulgar wheat.
Enjoyed having lunch with Gill, she then went out to take some grown-out-of shoes to the charity shop and I did emails and blog in front of the hot stove, looking out at the cold and windy weather.
I took a cycle trailer load of flour, Fentimans Cola and assorted nuts down to our friends and came back with our youngest, who'd had a good day.
I sorted out the big sack of sticks delivered by Robin, and our eldest came home. He'd forgotten to go to a meeting of invitees to a University-based computer game try-out, based on identifying plants I think, and when he realised, he was absolutely mortified, and spent at least an hour beating himself up about it. We really need to get him a mobile phone, so he can let us know when he's going to be late, and so we can remind him to attend things he needs to go to which are outside of his routine, which is how he forgot this event. We were really sad for him, he was looking forward to it SO much. I'm going to try to see if it can be re-arranged in some way for him, not through the school, but direct with the University.
I had an early tea (Bulgar wheat etc) and got ready for work. My gig this evening was with the Dunnington Brownies, a lovely group of 20 or so 7 to 10 year old girls (and one boy!) plus 5 adults... I did a shortened version of my show, then a throwing/catching/memory game, and then a one hour free-play workshop. A second one next week, when some of them will earn their 'Circus Performer Badge'.
Home soon after 8.30, quite exhausted, so had a pint of perry and sank into the sofa and watched an interesting Horizon programme on mental illness. A quiet evening.
Robin stayed for nearly an hour, chatting and drinking tea and admiring our Clearview Vision 500 working well. Just before lunch the SUMA order came, just stuff for us and one other family (sorry, 'member of the Cossham Food Co-op'!) such as laundry liquid, soya milk, muesli base, olive oil and Bulgar wheat.
Enjoyed having lunch with Gill, she then went out to take some grown-out-of shoes to the charity shop and I did emails and blog in front of the hot stove, looking out at the cold and windy weather.
I took a cycle trailer load of flour, Fentimans Cola and assorted nuts down to our friends and came back with our youngest, who'd had a good day.
I sorted out the big sack of sticks delivered by Robin, and our eldest came home. He'd forgotten to go to a meeting of invitees to a University-based computer game try-out, based on identifying plants I think, and when he realised, he was absolutely mortified, and spent at least an hour beating himself up about it. We really need to get him a mobile phone, so he can let us know when he's going to be late, and so we can remind him to attend things he needs to go to which are outside of his routine, which is how he forgot this event. We were really sad for him, he was looking forward to it SO much. I'm going to try to see if it can be re-arranged in some way for him, not through the school, but direct with the University.
I had an early tea (Bulgar wheat etc) and got ready for work. My gig this evening was with the Dunnington Brownies, a lovely group of 20 or so 7 to 10 year old girls (and one boy!) plus 5 adults... I did a shortened version of my show, then a throwing/catching/memory game, and then a one hour free-play workshop. A second one next week, when some of them will earn their 'Circus Performer Badge'.
Home soon after 8.30, quite exhausted, so had a pint of perry and sank into the sofa and watched an interesting Horizon programme on mental illness. A quiet evening.
Sunday, 9 November 2008
Sunday 9th November 08
A good morning, went out to Hazel Court, the Council's waste and recycling depot, with a cycle-trailer load of drinks cartons, scrap iron, some throw-away electrical goods I've taken out of skips in order that they get recycled. Came back via Freshways, the new supermarket on the corner of Melrosegate and Hull Road, and made friends with Raj the manager.
Home to a pile of washing up, then a sit down with a coffee to watch Countryfile, which I watched whilst taking husks off pumpkin seeds. It'll be a long job, as I've got so SO many! But if I do a few dozen a day, I'll be finished by next Autumn!
It rained after lunch so I did some stuff inside but later I went to the allotment with some cardboard to use as a mulch, and I started cutting back the marauding brambles and chopping them into short lengths for composting. I stayed there til nearly dark and did quite a bit of work... probably not enough yet to not get chucked off... so I'll try to get on top of it this week, at least make an effort...
Gill had cooked spaghetti and veg for tea. I had that and then had to load up my bike trailer to go and visit someone. This was a result of an unusual request yesterday over the phone, and for once I'm going to hold back for a few weeks so the surprise is not compromised. I'll be able to tell all by the end of the month. But it is quite funny/odd/amazing.
Spent perhaps an hour there and came back across the Stray and was pleased to get home as it was still raining a bit. And...
I had developed a runny nose which is snot dice. Therefore a quiet evening in, being very friendly with my hanky. But did enjoy watching Stephen Fry and Graham Norton (not together!) with Gill. Gill dozed off to sleep and I spent time on my laptop, but when she woke at 1ish, just as I was about to go to bed, we remembered the SUMA order, which we can now do online, so I got my computer back on and I worked my way around the new SUMA website and placed an order, which will arrive, we hope, on Tuesday. Bed very late, after 2.30am.
Home to a pile of washing up, then a sit down with a coffee to watch Countryfile, which I watched whilst taking husks off pumpkin seeds. It'll be a long job, as I've got so SO many! But if I do a few dozen a day, I'll be finished by next Autumn!
It rained after lunch so I did some stuff inside but later I went to the allotment with some cardboard to use as a mulch, and I started cutting back the marauding brambles and chopping them into short lengths for composting. I stayed there til nearly dark and did quite a bit of work... probably not enough yet to not get chucked off... so I'll try to get on top of it this week, at least make an effort...
Gill had cooked spaghetti and veg for tea. I had that and then had to load up my bike trailer to go and visit someone. This was a result of an unusual request yesterday over the phone, and for once I'm going to hold back for a few weeks so the surprise is not compromised. I'll be able to tell all by the end of the month. But it is quite funny/odd/amazing.
Spent perhaps an hour there and came back across the Stray and was pleased to get home as it was still raining a bit. And...
I had developed a runny nose which is snot dice. Therefore a quiet evening in, being very friendly with my hanky. But did enjoy watching Stephen Fry and Graham Norton (not together!) with Gill. Gill dozed off to sleep and I spent time on my laptop, but when she woke at 1ish, just as I was about to go to bed, we remembered the SUMA order, which we can now do online, so I got my computer back on and I worked my way around the new SUMA website and placed an order, which will arrive, we hope, on Tuesday. Bed very late, after 2.30am.
Saturday, 8 November 2008
Saturday 8th November 08
Was lucky to have to have a bit of a lie-in, before lighting the stove so I could have a bath as I'm working today. But as the water was getting up to bath temperature, I went to put a couple of sack's worth of compostables into the Compostumbler. One sack was just watermelons, about 7 of them.... so cut them into chunks and added them with several cardboard boxes. Emptied some collected juices (from a ex-loft water-header tank under the Compostumbler) onto the leafmold pile, to help that rot down, although it seems not to need much help as it's very hot in the middle.
Then had a shave, bath and hairwash to get spruced up for my Knaresborough gig. Gill made sandwiches and ironed my costume, I loaded up my bike trailer and got to the station by 12.45 to get tickets and onto the 13.11 train. I was met in Knaresborough and driven the mile or so to the Community Centre where I was entertaining at a 9 year old's party: a one hour circus show and workshop, followed by a freeplay workshop where they could try out any of the skills I'd brought with me. The 18 boys and one girl all had a great time, as did the Dad, he said on the way back to the station. Very pleasing.
Home soon after 6pm. Gill said that Dexter had just rang, inviting me to a preview of an art show at the Chapel at the York Cemetery which is on all of tomorrow I think. He had been invited to provide some atmospheric lighting, and wanted me to come and see the collection. So I had some tea and went out again! Dexter's lighting was in fact a couple of tables of coloured glass, and clear glass containers (bottles and jars rescued from old landfill sites mainly!) containing coloured water, and lots of candles and night-lights making them look very pretty. This was just outside the doors of the Chapel, making it quite inviting. Inside it was well lit with a selection of display boards with various artworks attached. The organiser, Graeme Martin, was displaying some curious mutated toys and plastic objects mounted in frames, plus a huge (well, maybe 70cm high!) Trojan Horse made out of waste wood, surrounded by tiny plastic toy soldiers, with a weird message which I cannot remember. There were a few paintings in a 'naive' style which had some resonance with me as they were connected to carbon emissions and capitalism, and some work from my old friend Fiona who's been into Dragons ever since I've known her, over 20 years now... She does drawings of mythical monsters, mainly Oriental dragons, and also embroidered fire-screens with landscapes and dragons. I had a good chat with Catherine Scriven who makes paper and original art, especially digital photos, very creative. I also met a 'punter' called Pete, who I probably met many moons ago at the John Bull pub, knocked down a long time ago, replaced by a car showroom. Pete was telling me about his being involved in the starting of SUMA and how the current management had 'rewritten history' and conveniently forgotten how the company actually started, and his work making kites and other fabric items.
I had a lovely time but came back home by 9pm and helped put the children to bed.
Had a nice Skype chat with Ali.
Then had a shave, bath and hairwash to get spruced up for my Knaresborough gig. Gill made sandwiches and ironed my costume, I loaded up my bike trailer and got to the station by 12.45 to get tickets and onto the 13.11 train. I was met in Knaresborough and driven the mile or so to the Community Centre where I was entertaining at a 9 year old's party: a one hour circus show and workshop, followed by a freeplay workshop where they could try out any of the skills I'd brought with me. The 18 boys and one girl all had a great time, as did the Dad, he said on the way back to the station. Very pleasing.
Home soon after 6pm. Gill said that Dexter had just rang, inviting me to a preview of an art show at the Chapel at the York Cemetery which is on all of tomorrow I think. He had been invited to provide some atmospheric lighting, and wanted me to come and see the collection. So I had some tea and went out again! Dexter's lighting was in fact a couple of tables of coloured glass, and clear glass containers (bottles and jars rescued from old landfill sites mainly!) containing coloured water, and lots of candles and night-lights making them look very pretty. This was just outside the doors of the Chapel, making it quite inviting. Inside it was well lit with a selection of display boards with various artworks attached. The organiser, Graeme Martin, was displaying some curious mutated toys and plastic objects mounted in frames, plus a huge (well, maybe 70cm high!) Trojan Horse made out of waste wood, surrounded by tiny plastic toy soldiers, with a weird message which I cannot remember. There were a few paintings in a 'naive' style which had some resonance with me as they were connected to carbon emissions and capitalism, and some work from my old friend Fiona who's been into Dragons ever since I've known her, over 20 years now... She does drawings of mythical monsters, mainly Oriental dragons, and also embroidered fire-screens with landscapes and dragons. I had a good chat with Catherine Scriven who makes paper and original art, especially digital photos, very creative. I also met a 'punter' called Pete, who I probably met many moons ago at the John Bull pub, knocked down a long time ago, replaced by a car showroom. Pete was telling me about his being involved in the starting of SUMA and how the current management had 'rewritten history' and conveniently forgotten how the company actually started, and his work making kites and other fabric items.
I had a lovely time but came back home by 9pm and helped put the children to bed.
Had a nice Skype chat with Ali.
Tuesday, 5 August 2008
Tuesday 5th August 08
A busy day, lots of visitors and calls.
I had a provisional booking from a stately home for Christmas entertainment through my agent, and a visit from a chap from Listers electrical to size-up our gaff to give us a quote for solar hot water. The company started 30 years ago doing solar systems but they were only getting 15 orders a year so they switched to doing electricals. But recently they've decided to get back into solar hot water, and have got quite a few orders. In the current 'climate' with rising fuel bills, solar hot water systems make a lot of sense. So we look forward to a quote.
I had a visit from Martin the York Green Festival treasurer, for me to sign 5 cheques. Two he took with him to send to their recipients, two were collected by Bob.. one was for him as he'd spent on posters and the other was for Baz for various small items. There was one for me to refund the insurance I paid for weeks ago.
Then the SUMA order arrived, most of it for Phil B who is taking it to France where he goes to visit a community. Later, Phil came to pick it up.
I cycled fast into town in the rain to pay in my cheque, and came back via Country Fresh to do a last pick up before my little break. I am justabout out of space here so I took it to St Nicks to use their composting systems, and layered it with some woody cuttings left by a local resident.
One of my friends rang last night in a distressed state and asked me to visit so I did, but the issues had sorted themselves out so I came away as was very busy.
We had pizza for tea... we rarely have 'ready meals' but we got a coupon from our membership of the Co-op which had to be spent on ready meals, so got that as a treat. It wasn't as good as Gill's pizzas though.
Before 7 I cycled to St Nicks to unload the compostables and prepare for the York in Transition meeting, where we planned to show the film 'The Power of Community' which shows how Cuba coped with 'Peak Oil' in the 90's when the Soviet Union broke up and exports/imports dropped considerably... including oil. It's an excellent film... but the disc we were using stopped playing halfway but that left plenty of time to have some discussions. Was pleased to meet my friend Shan again... but failed to persuade her to buy a compost bin!
Home to pack to go to the Northern Green Gathering tomorrow, where I'm doing the composting as usual! I'm going with my eldest son, which should be good as when we're together without the other family members we get on really well.
Had a reasonably short chat on Skype, but did my blog at the same time.
I had a provisional booking from a stately home for Christmas entertainment through my agent, and a visit from a chap from Listers electrical to size-up our gaff to give us a quote for solar hot water. The company started 30 years ago doing solar systems but they were only getting 15 orders a year so they switched to doing electricals. But recently they've decided to get back into solar hot water, and have got quite a few orders. In the current 'climate' with rising fuel bills, solar hot water systems make a lot of sense. So we look forward to a quote.
I had a visit from Martin the York Green Festival treasurer, for me to sign 5 cheques. Two he took with him to send to their recipients, two were collected by Bob.. one was for him as he'd spent on posters and the other was for Baz for various small items. There was one for me to refund the insurance I paid for weeks ago.
Then the SUMA order arrived, most of it for Phil B who is taking it to France where he goes to visit a community. Later, Phil came to pick it up.
I cycled fast into town in the rain to pay in my cheque, and came back via Country Fresh to do a last pick up before my little break. I am justabout out of space here so I took it to St Nicks to use their composting systems, and layered it with some woody cuttings left by a local resident.
One of my friends rang last night in a distressed state and asked me to visit so I did, but the issues had sorted themselves out so I came away as was very busy.
We had pizza for tea... we rarely have 'ready meals' but we got a coupon from our membership of the Co-op which had to be spent on ready meals, so got that as a treat. It wasn't as good as Gill's pizzas though.
Before 7 I cycled to St Nicks to unload the compostables and prepare for the York in Transition meeting, where we planned to show the film 'The Power of Community' which shows how Cuba coped with 'Peak Oil' in the 90's when the Soviet Union broke up and exports/imports dropped considerably... including oil. It's an excellent film... but the disc we were using stopped playing halfway but that left plenty of time to have some discussions. Was pleased to meet my friend Shan again... but failed to persuade her to buy a compost bin!
Home to pack to go to the Northern Green Gathering tomorrow, where I'm doing the composting as usual! I'm going with my eldest son, which should be good as when we're together without the other family members we get on really well.
Had a reasonably short chat on Skype, but did my blog at the same time.
Thursday, 31 July 2008
Thursday 31st July 08
Quite a good day.... my eldest went to his last day at Able, Gifted and Talented, this time at the University. I went to town to do some paper shuffling at the bank, as we are doing a SUMA order tomorrow. We have to pay the delivery person on the day, so any cheques we get have to be paid into the account beforehand.
A busy afternoon too, and in the evening the Friends of St Nicholas Fields AGM, which was preceeded by an intro to York in Transition by Barry and Edward which was good, once again seeing the stuff presented in another format.
Found that Scrabulous on Facebook is now back on... for non-US folks at least. This is good!
A busy afternoon too, and in the evening the Friends of St Nicholas Fields AGM, which was preceeded by an intro to York in Transition by Barry and Edward which was good, once again seeing the stuff presented in another format.
Found that Scrabulous on Facebook is now back on... for non-US folks at least. This is good!
Sunday, 23 December 2007
Sunday 23rd December 07
A nice little lie-in and then went to deliver the SUMA stuff to one of the people who participates in Holgate, and then went into town to meet Gill and the kids at the fountain in Parliament St. I then took the kids to look for a little something for Gill and she went to find stuff for them.
We met just over an hour later, I then cycled home and she took the boys back on the bus.
I did a little bit of garden work and then went down to see Rashda who has offered me a large pile of garden prunings, some of which are woody and will do for fuel, the rest of which are green and twiggy and will do for shredding and will be good for balancing all the fruit and veg which is currently going in the Compostumbler. Rashda invited me in to see her house, which was very posh, and gave me a delicious Pakistani savoury pancake, which meant I didn't feel like having much tea as it was very filling, almost a meal in itself.
When I got home there'd been a phone call from Anita, one of the other SUMA participants, with an apology that she cannot drive round to pick up her pile of stuff, as she has been 'rear-ended' or 'involved in a shunt' and has suffered a back injury, also the car is out of action. I loaded up the trailer and cycled round to her, and had a good little chat too as well as giving her the order.
Got back home and had a small pile of bulgar wheat and veg with some pickled onions I made last year from waste onions and found in the back of a cupboard recently...
A relaxing evening then ensued. Stoves going, fruit drying, did the washing up and some more preparation of assorted veg and fruit.
We met just over an hour later, I then cycled home and she took the boys back on the bus.
I did a little bit of garden work and then went down to see Rashda who has offered me a large pile of garden prunings, some of which are woody and will do for fuel, the rest of which are green and twiggy and will do for shredding and will be good for balancing all the fruit and veg which is currently going in the Compostumbler. Rashda invited me in to see her house, which was very posh, and gave me a delicious Pakistani savoury pancake, which meant I didn't feel like having much tea as it was very filling, almost a meal in itself.
When I got home there'd been a phone call from Anita, one of the other SUMA participants, with an apology that she cannot drive round to pick up her pile of stuff, as she has been 'rear-ended' or 'involved in a shunt' and has suffered a back injury, also the car is out of action. I loaded up the trailer and cycled round to her, and had a good little chat too as well as giving her the order.
Got back home and had a small pile of bulgar wheat and veg with some pickled onions I made last year from waste onions and found in the back of a cupboard recently...
A relaxing evening then ensued. Stoves going, fruit drying, did the washing up and some more preparation of assorted veg and fruit.
Tuesday, 18 December 2007
Tuesday 18th December 07
I took the boys into school as Gill is collecting them this afternoon, as I plan to be at the allotment then. Gill went into town once I'd got back, and I got out my logsplitter and split some of the huge rounds which came from the Woodlands treefelling. These slices of tree trunk, up to 60cm diameter, were extremely tough, this wood does not want to split lengthways as easily as some. A couple of the rounds just wouldn't split, even with the hydraulic machine. I tried to do one and it eventually split on the last attempt, and the huge circle of wood, perhaps 30+kg, toppled off the splitter and fell on my hip, which hurt a lot just for a few minutes. However managed to split quite a lot up.
At 11ish I came in for a rest and a cuppa, and downloaded emails. Whenever I put the computer on, I get a pop-up message from Googlemail inviting me to download the new version of Googletalk. I have done this on several occasions, and the message still keeps on popping up. I emailed Google about this and got a reply today, telling me what to do. So I spent some time playing with the computer, trying to sort stuff out, and ended up doing a complete scan which revealed some website tracking programs, which I deleted. I hope the jiggering around with assorted buttons might have sorted the problem. Time will tell.
I had lunch whilst the computer was doing it's thing, and Gill came back from her trip into town, and then the SUMA lorry came with our order... and the stuff for the three other people on our Food Co-op. I unloaded and Gill did the paperwork. Jolly banter with the lorry driver.
Then I went to the lottie... I've had a letter from the allotment management saying mine is untidy and needs to be tidied up or it will be taken away from me.... so I spent several hours cutting back brambles into tiny chunks 1cm to 10 cm long, for composting. Got three dustbins full of these small lengths of blackberry plant, and half a dustbin of dug-up dandylions or other rosetted long-rooted weed. A more putrescible layer between the woody layers of bramble stalk. Continued here til dark, then came back home where the boys were in a good mood and wanted to have a rough and tumble. Good fun, no tears.
Tea was delicious... carrot soup and Gill's fantastic quiche. Played with the boys, we did a 'picture consequences' and then a 'story consequences' which was excellent.
At 11ish I came in for a rest and a cuppa, and downloaded emails. Whenever I put the computer on, I get a pop-up message from Googlemail inviting me to download the new version of Googletalk. I have done this on several occasions, and the message still keeps on popping up. I emailed Google about this and got a reply today, telling me what to do. So I spent some time playing with the computer, trying to sort stuff out, and ended up doing a complete scan which revealed some website tracking programs, which I deleted. I hope the jiggering around with assorted buttons might have sorted the problem. Time will tell.
I had lunch whilst the computer was doing it's thing, and Gill came back from her trip into town, and then the SUMA lorry came with our order... and the stuff for the three other people on our Food Co-op. I unloaded and Gill did the paperwork. Jolly banter with the lorry driver.
Then I went to the lottie... I've had a letter from the allotment management saying mine is untidy and needs to be tidied up or it will be taken away from me.... so I spent several hours cutting back brambles into tiny chunks 1cm to 10 cm long, for composting. Got three dustbins full of these small lengths of blackberry plant, and half a dustbin of dug-up dandylions or other rosetted long-rooted weed. A more putrescible layer between the woody layers of bramble stalk. Continued here til dark, then came back home where the boys were in a good mood and wanted to have a rough and tumble. Good fun, no tears.
Tea was delicious... carrot soup and Gill's fantastic quiche. Played with the boys, we did a 'picture consequences' and then a 'story consequences' which was excellent.
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