Sunday 18th December 11

My annual gig with the Black Sheep Brewery in Masham.  I always look forward to this gig, but not the travel, since I have to get a train to Northallerton, then a 14 mile taxi journey to Masham... and then the same journeys in reverse.  I would go by bus from Northallerton or Harrogate if it was in the summer, but winter timetables, on a Sunday, don't include Masham.  Hence a £50 taxi fare.

I had also tried this time to find out if any of my friends who like driving (and I don't know THAT many of them!) fancied going on a winter walk in the Dales, and could get me to Masham by 11.30 and take me away after 3.30... but no, too few of my friends drive! 

So, I left at 9.30 so I could get the 10.13 Northallerton train, which I got without any problem, and the taxi was waiting for me, the same driver who's taken me for the past few years, so it was good to catch up.

I was at the brewery by 11am and in costume and ready to entertain by 11.40, and visitors son started filtering in, and I got busy doing balloons and devilsticks. I didn't stop til just before 3 which is when I'd asked the taxi to come and pick me up, as I wanted to get the 3.30 train, as the next one was at 4.50, just a bit too late.  However, the driver got to Northallerton at 3.19 which meant I could get the 3.22 train, direct to York, instead of the 3.30 which involved a change at Darlington.  There were 4 lads from London on the train who took an interest in what I was doing and requested balloon models, so I obliged.... a bit of fun, hey?

This made the short journey go very quickly. I called in on Rich at Country Fresh on the way home and picked up some cheap sweet chestnuts.  I had a quiet evening after getting in, including watching Sacha Baron Cohen's film 'Bruno' which I didn't enjoy very much.  I liked his Ali G character much more.

Sunday 20th November 11

A good day, despite a tough gig.  I was roused at 8.45 and dragged myself up and got ready to go to work on the 10.40 train to Hull.  I chatted with a nice Manx couple, now living in York, she a Barrister and he a writer.  They were off to explore Beverley... I was getting off two stops later in Driffield.

There were no taxis at Driffield Station, so I asked a local and he said that there was a taxi firm in the centre, so I walked there only to find a notice on the window with a telephone number.  Glad I had my mobile phone!  I said to the taxi driver who answered that I'd be happy to meet at the train station... he said yes in 10 minutes and I walked back, and he was there waiting for me.

He took me to the other side of Beeford where I'd been invited by the grand-daughter of a 90 year old 'birthday girl' Mary, to entertain at her big family gathering. The venue was wonderful, a huge hall, and shortly after I arrived, and before I got changed, I was asked to press the camera shutter for a group photo or three... with everybody else in the photo, I was the only person available to do the photography.  The camera was on a tripod, which made it very easy.... Then I was provided with food, which was delicious. 

Then it was time for the entertainment.  There were relatively few children, and I always find it more difficult to do a good show if there's less than 15 or 20 audience members.  Also, several of the older children decided it was going to be 'bait the entertainer' day, and did their best to annoy me.  I pushed on with the show, which was enjoyed by some of the children and some grown ups... but it was a difficult gig, at one end of a noisy venue, and a distracted and very 'at home' (ie, NOT on 'best behaviour'!) audience.  I did the balloons too, again, I had been told at the start that I'd do this show immediately after the circus, but then a different person said could I wait until after the speeches, and I had to say that, no, actually, I was being picked up after the balloon show was scheduled to finish so I had to start very soon!  I really like it if the plan goes smoothly, and isn't changed during the event.  Anyway, I gave a balloon teddy bear to the lovely 90 year old, and got myself ready to go... got paid, and went to stand at the end of the drive where I hoped Joanne would pick me up. 

It was getting very foggy, but her sat nav thing directed her correctly and she picked me up, and drove me to Scarborough.  The best thing about this journey, apart from chatting with Joanne, of course, whom I'm very fond of, was some HUGE wind turbines looming up in the fog, and my surprise, although it seemed like there was no wind, they were spinning round and I fell in love with wind turbines all over again.

We picked Glenn up who was walking from work to home, and then I chatted with Joanne as Glenn created a delicious meal.  It was lovely to see them again and we had some good conversations.  Glenn took me to Seamer station where I got the train back to York, getting in late and feeling very tired, but happy.

Monday 29th August 11, Spofforth Gala

Quite an early start.  I got more things... mainly myself, cleaned up, and then went to get my bike, but when I saw that, I decided not to even risk cycling to the station!  So I got a taxi to the station and got the 10.11 to Harrogate.  At Harrogate I got a taxi to Spofforth.  I decided I'd get a taxi more easily from Harrogate than Knaresborough, despite Knaresborough being closer to Spofforth.  Anyway, we had a nice chat, and I got to Spofforth before 11.30, very good timing. 

This gave me space to have a quick wander round the stalls.  I got Gill a present... a box set of watercolours.  I avoided buying some tiramisu which looked very delicious. Then I got changed and on the way out was delighted to see a house martin nest in the porch of the village hall.

I got started just before midday, unicycling round, interacting with people, being foolish but clever.  At 2.30 I did a one-hour show, which went well,after which I did a few balloon models and oversaw workshops.  My taxi came at 4.50 and took me to Knaresborough... more good conversations with the driver.

When I got in to York, I walked to David's... and was accosted by Mark Wallis, who used to be Mr Yellow.  He's selling a large walking globe... did I want it?  I don't think so... transporting it is just one issue!

I got changed at David's and we went for a coffee and met up with a friend of his called Elizabeth, whom I rather liked too.

I walked back towards home with all my gear... and luckily there was a number 10 bus which took me up Hull Road for under £2.

I was exhausted but happy.  Helluvaday!

Saturday 30th July 11, Holiday day one!

Well a good but pretty manic pulling together of all the bits and bobs related to going on holiday.  The children were ready by just after 10am but Gill was still getting ready when the taxi came at 11am. 

I suppose it didn't help that I really wanted to make sure that when we got back, the walnuts were still on the tree and hadn't been removed by the squirrels.  We haven't seen any squirrels in the garden this year but they could come at any time and it wouldn't take them long to strip the tree.  So yesterday I purchased 30 pence worth of hot chili powder from Tullivers, and this morning mixed a teaspoon of this with a teaspoon of Vaseline.  I mixed this on a tin lid and then put a smudge on every walnut I could reach, about 200 of them.  There are others higher up the tree but they'll have to chance it.  Squirrels apparently don't like chili, and I spotted a chili spray in Barnitts yesterday which is supposed to repel them.  I hope my cheaper, home made version does the job.

Anyway, a taxi to the station and we got the 11.45 to St Austell.  We enjoyed the journey as we were all at a table and had quite a few laughs.  I chatted with a nice guy between Bristol and Exeter who was keen on composting and even keener on knowing about Promession, which really fired his imagination.  It was a pity he had to go so soon!

We then chatted with a local couple who live close to Mevagissey and admired the wonderful Cornwall countryside, particularly the places where the line goes right next to the sea, and over some wonderful bridges, including one by Brunel at Saltash.  But we were soon at St Austell, on time, and none the worse for the 6 3/4 hour journey.  Gill had ordered a 'Carls taxi' last night when in York, and the driver was there waiting for us.  We thought that a taxi would be best as we didn't know quite where the bus would drop us, and we did have quite a bit of luggage, which we wouldn't appreciate dragging around trying to find the house.

I'd memorised the Googlemap of the village so I was able to direct Carl, the driver, with 100% accuracy, to the cottage, which is on a very steep hill called Cliff Street.  We explained that we were going to go back to St Austell on Friday by bus, and then get the train to Truro and then the bus from there to St Just in Roseland, and he said, wow, that'll take ages and be quite expensive... why don't you take a taxi, it'll only take half an hour and cost £35.  Well this sounded like a much better option, despite our love of taking timetabled public transport.  So we booked him to come and take us to St Just in Roseland at 2pm on Friday.

Carl had to reverse back up the hill and he ran over a plastic clip on one of the rucksacks, which sent our youngest son into fits of laughter as it shattered into lots of pieces.  All in all this was a very good natured and jolly trip down, really easy, and cheap, costing £77.40 for the four of us to go from York to St Austell, plus £17 for the two taxis door to door.

After we'd explored the cottage a bit we all went on a walk down to the harbour, and popped in to the Aquarium which has some impressive fish and other marine life, and came back via a fish and chip emporium which we found fries in veg oil, so we had a tray of chips each. 

When back at the cottage we got our sleeping arrangements sorted, the boys in twin beds upstairs and us on the sofabed downstairs.  A fairly early night!

Saturday 21st August 10

Gill and I got up early to finish packing, do the recycling... we'd only produced a carrier bag of landfillable rubbish, four glass bottles, 2 glass jars, a few plastic bottles, several cereal boxes full of compostables, dealt with guerilla-style, and half a dozen drinks cartons which I brought home to put in the recycling here.

We'd ordered a taxi for 9.15 and the driver told us all about her house and grounds, which sounded interesting. The journey into Swansea cost £13.

The train was at 9.55 and the journey up to Shrewsbury, a quicker route via Cardiff and Abergavenny was still very interesting and pretty in places. However, we were glad we'd taken the four hour trip on the Heart of Wales line on the journey south, as that was really lovely.

We got into Manchester for about 2.10pm and then had a bit of a wait for our train to York. I chatted to a nice chap who was a driver of the Virgin Pendolino trains.

A non-eventful trip back to York, apart from managing to delete about 450 sent messages and inbox stuff. Altogether this holiday I've re-organised my computer substantially and deleted well over 500 messages and over 100 pictures and files.

I took the heaviest rucksack and several other bags and put them in my bike trailer, which I'd left at the station. Enjoyed the cycle home, popping in on Country Fresh to say hi to Rich.

When I got in, I found Melody (presumably) had not just watered our tomato plants but also tidied up a bit... how embarrassing but how lovely. A Yorky reward will be hers!

When the others came in (they gave up waiting for the bus and got a taxi) I visited Country Fresh again, and Rich had left me several boxes of desirable compostables. In a skip on the way back I found some copper pipe, lead pipe and a lump of wood. Nice!

I did a bit of compost bin filling and set the squirrel trap, as there was evidence of nut theft from the red hazelnut tree.

Dealt with 300 emails! Cut/pasted blog posts, written whilst on holiday on Wordpad. Lit the stove. Washed up.

Saturday 15th August 09

Took the train to Bridlington.

Sunday 12th July 09, Disability Awareness Day

Awoken by a phone call to my hotel room at 8, got up and went to the pub next door for breakfast, where I had a hearty bowl of muesli followed by fruit and croissants, also made myself a marmite sandwich for lunch which fitted neatly into the bran flakes box.

Last night's taxi man had offered to come and collect me so I had asked the hotel to ring him and collect me at 9.30, as the Disability Awareness Day venue, Walton Hall Gardens, was 2 or 3 miles away, just a tad too far to walk whilst carrying all my clobber.

Another £8 spent, but hey, I get receipts so I just file them as expenses... He dropped me at the bottom of the lane as it was completely traffic jammed up, but it is only 5 minutes walk to the entrance and another 5 minutes walk to the arts marquee where I usually have my spot. But this time I'd been given a spot of my own, between a stall giving information about stroke and one providing help and support to disabled parents. I spent some time here but did a lot of unicycling round with devilsticks spinning and a bag of modelling balloons in my pocket ready to dish out as soon as the circumstances suggested that was appropriate. Towards the end of the day I did some circus workshops and had an especially fulfilling time with a 22 year old girl with ADHD who showed considerable promise with the devilsticks, and was not backward in coming forward. I like people like that.

I worked solidly til just after 4 when I decided I'd had enough so packed up and went to catch the bus down to the centre of Warrington to get the train. I rang Gill who had got in from Hebden Bridge and Ali to tell her what time I was due into Sheffield. The train was a bit late but it wasn't a problem as the train person had told me the wrong time that it arrived into Sheffield, which with the delay turned out to be correct....

Ali was there to meet me and we went for La Tasca for something to eat, as Ali had got another of the half-price coupons she is good at finding on the internet. A delicious meal, and only £15 each. Bought some wine and pear ciders on the way to her place and had a good chat with Ali and one of her favourite PAs for nearly an hour when we got back.

Sunday 21st December 08, Winter Solstice

A work day... so, up quite early to get ready to get to the station for the 10.22 to Northallerton, getting some cash out first as I was so low on the readies a day or two ago that I had to ask my son to lend me £20 (he's brilliant at not spending and is saving up for a Nintendo Wii).

I managed to write most of a letter on the train back to my friend Kate in Leeds who's sent me a nice 'Christmas Wishes' note; she doesn't have a computer and therefore regular easy communication takes a little bit more effort.

So, Northallerton came quickly and I waited just a couple of minutes for the Coopers Dales & AAA Taxi to come (excellent service in the Bedale and Northallerton area 01609 772295) who took me to Masham and (gently) dumped me in the car park of the Black Sheep Brewery.

I was in plenty of time to have a coffee and chats to my employer Sue D, then get changed and ready to be my usual boisterous colourful self, twiddling my stick (careful, John!) and making balloon models for excited children and plenty of giggling adults too. With children I just play it 'straight' and am funny just by being dressed up and clever doing what I do, but with adults I have a range of suggestive comments and puns which only grown-ups 'get' and this atmosphere, with the ale flowing, is the perfect environment for that kind of humour, so I had a lovely day (well three and a half hours with a 10 minute break actually).

Father Christmas was his usual popular self and everybody had a good time, with good food, even better beer and appropriate entertainment. A kind gentleman who comes every year bought me a pint, which I accepted towards the end of the event once I'd stopped juggling, as even a few mouthfuls of alcoholic drink slows my reactions enough for me to become noticeably rubbish at devilsticking, as it requires needs lightening reactions and, for me, complete abstinence from alcohol.

I was surprised how quickly the end came as I was enjoying myself so much, and got changed and paid, and as I got to the car park the taxi drew up to deliver me safely back to Northallerton. I met an interesting old couple in the station waiting room, who were heading off to the Black Forest for a week. They responded to my frank approach to conversation with some very private and personal information about their marriage, which was really interesting. They said if the rest of their holiday was as interesting as their 20 minutes in Northallerton Station waiting room, they'd have had a good holiday! I do love being me! (most of the time anyway...)

I came home via Country Fresh, arriving just in time to collect a box of recyclables which went onto my bike rack, and was home by 5.15. Gill had had a good day with the boys, with no difficulties (she'd let them spend most of the day on the computer) and a relatively peaceful evening ensued.

Sunday 14th December 08

An early start this morning as working in Bradford.

I'd bought my tickets yesterday so arrived at the station with just 5 minutes to spare, and got the 8.40 to Leeds. I was due to get the 9.32 to Bradford Forster Square and be collected there at 10ish, but that train had been cancelled. I immediately went to the Leeds Station Office and asked if there was another train to Bradford, and was advised the 9.23 to Bradford Interchange, and I tried to ring my contact at the gig, but she wasn't picking up...

Went to get the 9.23 but it wouldn't start! The driver rang the Station Office to see if another train could be held for 2 mins to allow the passengers to get that but it went, just as I got to that platform.... so I decided to visit the Station Office once more, try to ring my contact again, and see what to do then. Fortunately, she picked up this time and told me the road name for the venue, and I went to get a taxi from outside Leeds Station, and helped the taxi driver put the road name into his TomTom guide thingy which he proceeded to ignore until he reached the centre of Bradford, when it directed us to the venue pretty well. This extra journey cost me £20, which I will try to claim back from the rail people (I'm not expecting this to work, but if you don't try, you don't get, so it's worth a polite letter!)

So, work today was at the Abundant Life Ministries, a Christian church based in an enormous warehouse and other buildings nearby. They have a congregation of two thousand or so, and plenty of activities for children and teenagers. It reminded me of some of the huge American churches in it's scale and approach. My role was to provide the Christmas party entertainment... a one-hour show for the 4 year olds to young teens, followed by a half hour show with the 1 to 3 year olds in a different venue. These both went well and everybody seemed to enjoy themselves... including me, as usual! I was given a lift back to the Interchange and got a train to Leeds and then one back to York, getting home just before 3pm.

Had a quick coffee and then finished off building the logpile to the right of the door, looking out.

The boys were engrossed in Spore and Gill, who's quite a bit better, went to the shops briefly.

Tea was soup followed by remains of pizza for me with baked beans and mushrooms, the boys had soup and cheese toasties with beans and mushrooms.

The boys went to bed without a hitch and I sliced apples and filled another rack for drying, then washed and graded 5 bags of grapes, blanched them and put them on a non-stick tray on top of one of the lids of the cans of water on the stove, so that within maybe three days, they'll be raisins.

Tuesday 12th August 08

A fairly early start... getting ready to go to Whitby to join the family for our holiday.

Took a taxi to Stonebow to get the 10.30 bus.. arrived in Whitby at 12.30ish, met by Gill and the boys.

They took me to the lovely cottage which was just off Flowergate, and had a wonderful view of Whitby and the church overlooking the harbour.

Went for a walk around and had a game of Scrabble in the evening with Gill once the boys were in bed.

Monday 26th May 08

A lovely relaxing late morning! Boys completely engrossed in their computer games etc and so we grown-ups just chatted, had breakfast together and lounged around.

A late lunch, about 2pm, and soon it was time to get ready to go... we walked down through town with Ulrich and his boys, and got to the station with plenty of time. The train was a bit late but we sat in the waiting room, Ulrich taking photos.

Our train came and the people sitting in our booked seats moved without any bother, and we all sat together around the table and had a relatively pleasant journey home. There was only a little grumpiness and boredom but Gill and I dealt with it well, played 'I spy' and passed the time happily. Got a taxi back home and got in at 8.

Sunday 10th June 07

Sunday, and a fairly leisurely morning with breakfast in bed, time with Gill and time in the garden where I planted some beans in the relatively unused circle bed at the bottom, plus another layer of compostables on one of the sit n waits. Then at about lunchtime I had a bath to prepare for today's gig, leaving on the 1.33 train to Doncaster where I'll change trains and get the Bridlington train to Cottingham.

But it didn't work out like that. Once I'd locked my bike up and unloaded my unicycle and bag o bits n bobs and got tickets, I saw the train I was due to get was running 10 mins late and I only have 10 mins turnaround time in Doncaster, meaning that it will be a bit tight. I asked about this at the info stall and they said that nowadays trains wouldn't wait for connecting services. They were curious about the unicycle and how I got on it, and I showed them. Anyway, got the train and whilst on this asked which platform the Bridlington train left from so I wouldn't have to stop and ask or look at info boards. So when got to Doncaster, ran to platform 8 only to see the Brid train leaving. I swore and ran to the station entrance where there was a taxi waiting... and asked the driver how much it would cost to go to Cottingham. He radioed in to his base and came back to me with a quote of £65 so I said go for it. This would mean that I would do the gig but not make much profit, but this would be far better than giving up and going home and letting them down. Whilst heading out of Doncaster, discussed with the driver whether to go to Hull, or to Cottingham, and I used his phone to try to contact my client but her phone was just taking messages. So, because of the 90mph driving and the ability of my driver, I got to Cottingham station 5 mins before the train arrived, with a cost on the clock of £68.80... I gave him £70 and thanked him profusely.

The birthday girl's Dad picked me up and was glad that I'd made it.

The party went as expected, a short circus demo with a go with feather balancing and then a full session of balloon modelling, which we all enjoyed, and then when I was taken back to the station I was given a cheque which was a bit more than I'd expected, which helped cover the train fare. My train came on time and I had a pleasent ride back to Doncaster, and then managed to get an earlier connection than expected and got to York soon after 7pm.

Popped into Out Of Date World and brought a sack of potatoes home, which were sprouting and therefore unsaleable. Also some tofu/veg sticks which had the box damaged but ok apart from that... had them for tea.

After watching Big Brother for a short relaxational while, I went to Martin's Country Fresh (this at about 10pm) and picked up two bags of veg bits, and took then to the lottie for composting there as I'm running out of space at home! On the way to the lottie, met my friend Y2 as I will call her to protect her identity, and we had a very frank talk, as usual, about our life experiences and what worried us and what we did with our lives. I suggested that some voluntary work at St Nicks might help her to sort herself out and help her self esteem, as doing something like that can help you feel as if you are doing something positive and helpful. We walked to the lottie and she watched me do the layer of veg on the current heap, and we walked back to Hes Rd and spent at least 30 mins chatting there...

Back home later than planned but no probs.