Tuesday 15th February 11

I got up early to leave the house at 8, so I could get the 8.27 to Sheffield.  But I had lost my bag with diaries etc in, but I didn't panic, and just set off at ten past.  I raced to the station, got there in about 10 minutes and got my ticket and easily got the 8.27. 

I met Ali at 9,30 at Sheffield Station; she'd taken her daughter to school and her son to work, and then picked me up. 

I did assorted jobs, including cleaning out her Can Of Worms stacking wormery, which had lost it's population over the winter, through lack of food and being frozen.  I restocked it with worms I got out of the base of her compost bin, which mainly has rabbit bedding in it... but some was reasonably composted down and I filled a small plastic sack with the stuff out of the base.  There were plenty of worms, lots of babies just 5 to 10 mm long.  I put a load of bedding into the wormery and some food waste too.  Hopefully it will sustain if fed regularly. 

Ali took me for lunch at a pub she regularly goes to, and we had some good conversations.  She is very sensible and wise; I should take her advice.

Later I cut the beech hedge with a powerful electric hedge trimmer.  I enjoyed using this, although it was heavy and made my arms ache, and I got a huge pile of trimmings off it, which I raked up and left in a pile as in Sheffield they don't have a green bin garden compostables collection like there is in York.  There might be a 'green sack' collection, though.  However, there were no available sacks....

Helena, one of Ali's PAs, cooked a Quorn and vegetable-based shepherd's pie and an apple crumble, and I was invited to stay for tea, which was really nice, and I left for the bus into Sheffield at about 7pm.  I chatted to a chap on the bus who had been attacked by a mob with a crowbar about 10 years previously, and left disabled and unable to work.  He got off and an old chap got on and desperately wanted to talk to me; he was about to celebrate his 80th birthday and he wanted to know if I supported United or Wednesday, whether I gambled, and much more besides!  I got off at the station and I only had 10 minutes to wait for the 7.54 train.

I got home just after 9pm, and all was well at home.  I reloaded the log baskets, did some washing up, peeled some old bananas for drying, and caught up with over 50 emails.  Gill had found my missing bag left at St Nicks and had collected it for me.  What a darling!

Wednesday 12th January 11

Up early as Ali's daughter had to go to school and I was sleeping in the living room, and Ali's PA arrived at 7.30am to get the little girl up.  So I woke to CBBC.

But Ali and I had to get going quite early too.  We had our first PA/Carer and Playworker interview to conduct at 9.45, at the Friends Meeting House in the centre of Sheffield.  One of her existing PAs came with us and we divided up the questions between us.

We interviewed 3 applicants before lunch and went to Blue Moon to eat.  We had a fourth after lunch.  Four really good and different applicants, all of them able to be offered work under Ali's Direct Payments scheme.  This means she and her daughter (who also has care needs) are assessed and allocated a budget which they can spend on care more or less how they want.  But this also means that Ali is responsible for advertising for and recruiting carers, and today was the end of the latest round of that process.

So it was a fruitful day and I came home tired but happy that Ali had got more carers, and her daughter has a playworker who will help her with her needs.  I was happy with a cheque for the hours I'd worked.  And some logs from the journey home. 

And then in the evening I had a good chat with a friend using the new Googletalk voice messaging service, which is a bit like Skype, but perhaps not quite as good quality sound.

Saturday 11th September 10

Although I went to bed at a comparatively early 1.30am, I got up at 5.50 in order to leave the house at 6.35 and get to the station to get a ticket to Preston, and get the 7.06 train all the way there.  As I was settling in to my seat, Robin just got into the train as the doors were closing, he'd got the train down from Darlington.  So I didn't get a peaceful time... Robin is an enthusiastic talker and we had a year to catch up on!

So we were soon in Preston, and we got a taxi to where we thought the venue was, but it wasn't and we got taken down to another part of the campus.  I got changed quickly and proceeded to do a lot of devilsticking and a bit of unicycling in the area where new students were arriving with their parents, luggage, sometimes siblings.  This Freshers Weekend is a regular event at UCLAN... except that this year it's just the Saturday. 

I enjoyed the various bands and musicians, devilsticked to the music, made balloon animals for some of the staff and existing students and Student Union people, as well as the children tagging along with their older brother or sister starting Uni this weekend.  I had a lot of fun greeting the 6 or 10 year old and welcoming them to University, asking them what they were going to be studying, and more silliness.  I had quite a long lunch, 45 minutes, in a room out of the way, before embarking on my second 2 and a half hour slot of zany, clever, silly, colourful, quick-witted and quick moving entertainment.

I got away (in costume) just before 4pm, and scurried down to the station on foot, as I wanted to get the 4.10 train.  I got there and it was cancelled, so got the 4.23 instead.  Once my ticked had been checked, I got changed in the carriage toilet, and then dozed til Manchester... New Scientist sending me to sleep.

At Manchester I went to Cafe Nero and met up with Laura, who was with Ian, and Janie, who had her friend Jonathan there.  It was good to see both my friends and these new friends.  A bit later, Laura took me to the Arndale Food place, where she had noodles and bones and I had a baked potato.

Then back to the station, and I got on the 8 something and was back in York soon after 10pm, after a noisy journey and sympathy from/with my neighbour, Sally, a student of 3D wallpaper!

Later still, had a long type-chat with Ali, whom I haven't chatted with for ages.  Really good to catch up.

Saturday 26th June 10, Sheffield Green Fair

Up early as I needed to be out of the house at 9am, to get on the 9.28 to Sheffield so I could be in good time for the start of the Sheffield Green Fair at St Mary's, a church more or less in the middle of Sheffield. I left the house feeling low as there was grumpiness and rudeness all around, but the ride to the station and then nearly an hour of reading NewScientist cheered me up, and by the time I got to the venue, I was happy. I expect this is partly because I love what I do, and this is one of the best gigs of the year; I'm amongst friends and people who share similar political views to me.

I got changed and was ready to roll before 11, which is when it officially opened. I was pleased to see my sister Anna on the Sheffield Freegle stall (very similar to Freecycle) and Douglas, who was as usual, looking dapper and lovely with a well-trimmed beard. I did some unicycling round, but the ground is pretty uneven and I came off a couple of times. I suppose this ought to have been a bit of a warning... because at about 12.30, I had just done a unicycle round the site and I arrived back at my performance area, which is right next to the church and is flagged with gravestones and they are sloping and not very even. I hopped off but somehow I went over on my ankle, there was an audible crack and searing pain. I fell on the ground and within about 5 seconds I was experiencing the most excruciating pain I've had for a long time, if not ever. I felt myself beginning to slip out of consciousness with it... everything started going white and I went dizzy, and had to go and sit down, then lie down on some table-like gravestones where people had been sitting watching me. Some people came to my aid, including a first aid person who I think was a Doctor... she prodded my ankle a bit and decided that I probably hadn't broken it, 'just' sprained. The loud crack would have been a tendon snapping.

I've done this twice before, same ankle. The first time was in Devonshire Green in Sheffield, about 10 years ago, and I, yes, hopped off my unicycle and misjudged the landing and went over on it. I was convinced that I'd broken it. I went to Sheffield hospital where X rays showed my Navicular bone was in two pieces, so they put it in a cast, gave me the X-ray images and sent me back to York, saying to present myself to York hospital on the Monday. The surgeon there took one look at my foot and the X-rays and told me I had an 'accessory Navicular', not a fracture, and the pot was cut off. My sprained ankle slowly got better. The next time, I was in Bradford and walking along to a Permaculture place, and I slipped off the kerb and turned my ankle, and fell into the road. So I have a known weakness there.

So, I was given ice in paper towels and someone gave me paracetamol and Ibuprofen, and a few minutes later I went inside out of the sun and had some lunch with Anna my sister and Ali and her daughter. After this, I decided that I ought to continue working to the best of my ability so I got a chair and blew up some balloons, stuck them in my uni spokes and before long had kids all around clamouring for balloon models. I did this for an hour and then my friend Tannis turned up. She's from Canada and she found me through my blog, she was interested in the composting, and some of the community development that I do. So we'd chatted on facebook and I was glad to meet her. We went for a coffee, and then it was time for me to prepare for my Balloon Workshop by blowing up a whole wheel full of modelling balloons. That show was at 4pm and it went really well.

I went to get paid after this, and as I hobbled back, I turned on my ankle again.... more uneven ground and a yelp of pain. But I was determined not to let this stop me doing what I'd planned, which was to walk back to the station and have a drink with Tannis, so we did walk, very slowly, to the station, where we met Andy (Sheffield World Naked Bike Ride) and Keith, and we all four had a really nice hour and a half, pint and a half, chat and a half.... mainly suggesting places that Tannis should not miss visiting whilst in the UK.

But towards 8pm I had to peel off and go and get the train home, and I found cycling not a problem, so was home at about 9pm. Gill gave me a bag of frozen peas to put onto the affected area to help reduce the swelling, but said that I really ought to go and get it X-rayed. But Graeme off facebook reminded me that casualty on Saturday night should be avoided, and a Sunday morning trip would be more sensible.

So I sat and enjoyed Glastonbury on BBC3 and put my foot up to help the swelling go down. The bruise is beginning to show, it looks disgusting.

Wednesday 7th April 10

A busy and productive day... mainly paperwork type stuff.

I cycled down to town in the afternoon via St Nicks where I picked up the box of seeds left over from the seed swap, which are destined to be donated to the YUMI international community garden on Friday, and in town I got out a pile of cheques, two for advertising (Thomson Directories and Yell), £75 of balloons from Cozmic Balloons and a very exciting one, for RSA Membership as I've been nominated to apply for fellowship of the RSA. This means, if accepted, I will be able to 'label' myself as 'John Cossham FRSA'! I also transferred cash to our current account to pay our annual electricity bill with Good Energy... this is £250 for power (5 units/day) and £60 for the daily admin charge, making our annual bill £310.

I also wrote a press release about the seed handover, and popped into the York Press office to chat to a journalist about it, and request a photographer. I spent quite a bit of time making sure all the people mentioned in the document were happy with what was said, about them and their organisations.

At 5pm I bombed down to the station to get the train to Sheffield, as I've been booked by Ali. I took the laptop and managed to get a few emails deleted from my inbox... but not many as the journey is only 50 minutes!

Thursday 1st April 10

Gill woke me just before 10 by telling me it was midday.... and then said 'April Fool'. She came to bed and then I got up and had breakfast. I went up just before midday and said, right I'm going to go and get our youngest now (fooling her that it was 3pm!) and we had another good laugh.

I spent most of the morning enjoying April Fool jokes posted on facebook... there were loads. I easily spotted the Garden Organic peas with faces one, the student living in the library one, the excellent 'Google translate for animals'(love the videos with this one!), making string out of Runner Beans, and my favourite, the AA Jet Pack one, which also has very well done videos. However, the April Fool by the Council for British Archeology had me thinking for a few minutes and therefore was the best, as it did have me fooled for a short time. I enjoyed them all. One of my friends posted something about Reiki, and I thought that was one too....

I enjoyed Anita Sancha's animation for The Big Green Idea, and the new campaign from Yorkshire Water, Edna and Mary 'Ow Much? . I also had a phone conversation with someone from this campaign, about all the ways I reduce my water use, and I said I would do something on this blog to explain what I do. I'll do that soon, in the 'Pages' section, top right.

Anyway, I came off the computer and got on with helping Gill move something heavy and then I did some stuff outside, and then at 3 I did actually go down to school to pick up our youngest.

I was extremely happy to see that Lord Deramore's School have finally bitten the bullet and got some compost bins installed!!!! Only 6 years or so after I suggested it might be a good idea, and tried to encourage them to do it!!!! The volunteer parent who was putting something into one of them didn't really welcome my offer of a suggestion that it would be better if the bin wasn't balanced on top of the soil surface, and my offering to put it down slightly into the soil, by digging a little channel for the 'foot' to sit in. This makes it slightly more rat resistant and also more stable. I guess that I'll just have to leave them to find out, by trial and error. Or I might indulge in some 'guerrilla composting' and bed the bins down for them. I did go back to my old ways and rescued some fruit bits and bobs from the bins, and put a load into the new compost bin... I just cannot help myself. The two bins there will be joined by one more, but this won't be enough for the 8kg/day the school produces. Also, they are positioned in a North-facing area, and will never get any direct sunlight, so decomposition will be slower than when mine were installed in full sun. But, again, they'll learn, I'm sure. They might even ask me what my advice is... I wonder? I doubt it somehow, I'm pretty sure they are completely pissed off with me.

I cycled my little one home and did a bit more outside work, before cycling down to La Tasca for 5.30pm, to meet Ali, her daughter and PA, who have spent the day in York, and invited me to share a meal with them. It was lovely... lots of different Tapas, and I had a bottle of cider. I did a little errand after the meal; cycled round to the station and collected Ali's suitcase from left luggage, and took it to her hotel room. I was really pleased to see my friends' daughter Emily Rhodes Bernays working there... I last spoke to her when she was a little girl and was one of the biggest Professor Fiddlesticks fans. She is now a beautiful young confident woman... what a difference 10 years makes!

And back to La Tasca, and Ali came with me to the Black Swan for a meeting of York Abundance, which is an offshoot of Edible York, which itself formed following a York In Transition 'Food Open Space' event. This was only the second meeting of Abundance. The idea is to find existing fruit trees and to ensure that any spare fruit is put to good use, and goes to local people who need it most. It was a fairly unstructured meeting but very productive. An abundance of bright ideas. Ali and I both contributed positively, and I managed not to volunteer, well done John.

I went back to Ali's hotel with her and spent a bit of time talking before cycling back home, where Gill was enjoying Sliding Doors on the TV. She'd had a good evening too.

Wednesday 13th January 10

Woke fairly late after a late night last night and got busy with sorting out the yam tubercles to send to the two yam fans... and after lunch went to get those posted off.

Then I composed a letter to my agent concerning the difficulty we've had and at about 3pm I cycled it down to his house, going via Country Fresh to pick up recyclables.

Later I got ready to go to the station to visit Ali.

So a paperwork-heavy day, interspersed with washing up and stuff around the house.

When in Sheffield I was collected from the station and we all, Ali, her daughter and carer, went to Blue Moon for a meal, which was, as usual, delicious.

Wednesday 16th December 09

I got up reasonably early and spent quite a bit of time catching up with my blog, writing out my notes and memories from my day in Sandwell last Friday, and then at midday helped Ali a bit with her film... she wanted someone to recite a poem whilst she recorded it, to use as part of the soundtrack. We got it on the 10th take... it was perfect, but for some reason her Dictaphone didn't record more than 4 seconds on that attempt. The 11th was successful!

At 2.40 we set off to pick up her daughter from school, and then went to Sainsbury's for some of her Xmas shopping and we had tea there, in the cafe. We got home just in time to gather all her University work up and she went off to there and I got the 6.21 back to York. I met an interesting Russian molecular biologist heading back to Edinburgh, after she'd had a PhD interview in Nottingham. So we talked about stem cells amongst other things. The journey flew by!

And back home by 7.30... and Will and David arrived at 8 to have a game of 'Co-operative Scrabble' where the individual players' scores are not recorded, just the running sum total. Between us we got 624 which Will said was good. A friendly evening.

Friday 13th November 09

Up early and to the station for the 8.30 train to Sheffield. Met several friends on the train; Andy spent some time explaining about his work on interfaces and architecture. I was left reasonably baffled. I did understand some of what he said. Melody and her daughter were off to Birmingham to an audition, as Natalie is a singer and has the potential to go far.... possibly further than Birmingham.

I got the first tram up towards where Ali lives and walked the last mile instead of waiting for 20 minutes to get the tram to then walk half a mile.

We had a good day together, went to pick up her little daughter from school who was very over excited to see me as she'd requested a diabolo workshop. This didn't go particularly well as she has a disability in one arm/hand caused by Cerebral Palsy, which meant she couldn't hold one of the diabolo sticks. But she has such a strong character that I think she'll find a way to overcome it, perhaps by strapping one stick to the non-functioning arm, or by using some type of belt or corset which will enable her to hold the stick still. Ali spoke on the phone to the local Green Top Circus and they have a trainer who is a specialist with young children and people with disabilities. I'm looking forward to hearing what happens! There are several circus and performance tricks available to people with only one functioning hand, and I'm going to get her a yoyo and maybe a set of yoyo balls, and there are other things too. I'll have a think and an ask around.

We went out for tea at a local pub, and a bit later I got the tram back to the station, the train back to York and my bike back home.

Thursday 22nd October 09

A lie-in. Awoke with a phone call, then got up and got my huge ladder to start removing the Wisteria which is trying to eat the house. I need to do this to allow the builders to replace the fascia boards and to get access to the roof to put the solar panels on, and defunct chimney off.

This took most of the day. I got the shredder out too, and shredded all the stuff I took off, making 5 sacks of shredded Wisteria for composting.

At 5 I stopped and got myself ready to go to work. I'd been booked to go to Bishopthorpe Beavers and do my show. They are like CubScouts but smaller! So, maybe 20 six and seven year old boys who loved my show and participated fully. I made it quite science-heavy but also with maximum fun, including the gag I do with the Indian club and banging it on my head which makes my eyes go wonky. Oh I do love my job! And I get paid to have such fun! Amazing!

Home by 8pm, had tea (Gill had made rice tonight) and then enjoyed Question Time with the idiotic Nick Griffin who showed himself up as many people had hoped he would. I think appearing on this programme has actually been a good thing, as people have been able to see what a vile piece of work he is.

I had a good chat with Ali on the phone at midnight, and then did the washing up, bed after 2am, as usual.

Monday 13th July 09

Slept well if not for very long, and had some of the worst muesli for breakfast I've had for quite a while. Next time I visit Ali I'll buy her some cereals!

I did some sorting out of Ali's bokashi bins and wormery whilst she got up and ready to go down to University. I went with her and had lunch (thanks Ali!) and then got the tram to the station and within 20 minutes the Edinburgh train came and I put all my unicycles and bags of circus stuff in the cycle store area, and chatted to a really nice bloke called Paul, who was on his way to Newcastle so he could take the train to the West side of the country and cycle 'Coast to Coast' for charity. He'd just become a grandfather and was raising money for the unit where his tiny baby grandchild had spent it's first few weeks. We had a lovely chat and the journey went quickly.

Back home by 3pm, did the washing up (straight in there!) and took compostables down to one of the bins... then went down to Country Fresh and collected 2 sacks and a box to keep my heaps hot! I emptied the Compostumbler and reloaded it. I picked some loganberries. Gill did pasta for tea. I made a tomato sauce using small tomatoes thrown away by Country Fresh.

Whilst eating tea I received a phone call from a recent client. I've never had a phone call like it. Someone had overheard some of my Fiddlesticks balloon modelling banter and had complained. Now although I'm a children's entertainer, some of my humour is aimed over the heads of the children and is meant for the Mums, Dads, Grandads, Nanas and other adults. Most of this risque or slightly lewd humour is just suggestive, innuendo and has always been greeted with hilarity. I'll give you a couple of examples. If an adult woman asks for a balloon rabbit, I quickly rustle one up and then as I hand it over, I sometimes ask if she'd like extra batteries for it. If I'm making a dog, I occasionally hold the tail in the wrong position for a half second, as the adult watches, and say, 'it's important to get the tail in the right place' before moving it round to sticking out of the rear of the animal rather than pointing forwards between it's legs and under it's tummy. Again, this is for the adults and the child generally doesn't see and of course doesn't understand the chuckles. My handler for the gig was contacting me as the complainant had to be taken seriously and my response also had to be taken into consideration. I talked him through my innuendo-laden jokes (I have four including the two above) and explained how I decided whether these were appropriate in the situation, as well as saying that I was sorry that someone had been upset by my humour. Apparently it wasn't the recipient of the balloon or the comments, but someone who had overheard it. The board of the organisation will be meeting soon, and my handler will get back to me with their response. I offered to do my next gig for them with the suggestive humour removed, if this is what they wanted.

I then spent quite a long time sorting out my computer, deleting emails and replying to some and more e-communication necessity. Lots to do on the computer this evening.

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.

Saturday 27th June 09 Sheffield Green Fair

Woke late... Ali had said there was no chance of oversleeping as her daughter is always up early, but today she slept in til 9.20, went in to see her Mummy, Mum realised the time and told her to go and wake me up and the overnight PA, Kaisa.

I had a fast bowl of cereal and got myself ready for work, and Ali got herself together in record time... went to get the bus soon after 10 and got to the Green Fair venue really quickly, at about 10.30... so woke up late and got there early!

Had a quick mooch around and just before 11 went to get my Fiddlesticks clothes on, and by 11 was up on the unicycle and livening the place up a bit!

I had a busy day... lots of fairly unstructured circus workshops, reacting to the audience's needs and requests, and one particular chap stood out, a pre-teen who I'm proud to give a plug to; Kyle P. who started the day as a non-unicyclist and finished the day being able to unicycle about 10 metres. Brilliant! I think he should get along to Green Top Circus and learn more, he'll go far if he continues practising with the dedication he put into the unicycle today.

Was glad to meet my sister and brother in law too, and Anna had some good chats with Ali, which I was glad about. Douglas watched quite a bit of one of my workshops but I think he fell asleep a couple of times, it was that exciting!

At 1.30 I had been timetabled to go and speak on the main outdoor stage about low carbon living, so I had 10 minutes in which to explain about measuring carbon footprints and what makes up the biggest chunks of it, and therefore which bits to try to cut...

Ali volunteered on the gate and somewhere else for a couple of hours. Kaisa and 'Littleboo' arrived and my biggest fan spent a lot of the rest of the day with me, her disability not stopping her trying as many of the activities as possible. She's even found a way to hold the devilstick handstick in her hand which doesn't do as it's told... I'm really impressed by her desire to just get on with it!

Soon my last timetabled slot arrived, a 3.45 balloon modelling show/workshop inside St Mary's Church, this was well attended and loads of fun.

At 5, the finish time, I found my handler and got paid, and all four of us trundled down to the station where a Newcastle-bound train was waiting and I managed to get on it just as the doors were closing. There was a jolly and drunk chap Tony whom I chatted to, he was very amused by the Professor Fiddlesticks name.

I got home via Country Fresh, soon after 8pm. Had a mellow evening playing Scrabble with Gill and enjoying Glastonbury on TV. I beat her by just one point.

Friday 19th June 09

Got up at a more normal time but Gill returned soon after taking out little one off to school... he cycles on the road with me, but on the pavement with Gill (I do not understand this) and as he was on the pavement, he crashed into a wall and banged his tummy on his handlebar stem and was quite traumatised and upset. So he didn't go to school today. I would have been a lot stricter, but Gill and I do have parenting differences and these days I usually back down instead of argue that my opinion is more valid or better.

I visited Country Fresh and picked up some fruit/veg shopping plus a good load of compostables.

A day or two ago, Ali had suggested that she might come to York today, so she got a train and arrived sometime after midday. I met her and her PA Kaisa off the train and spent the day as a tourist in York. We took a trip on one of the YorkBoats, two of which are wheelchair accessible, via a pontoon at Kings Staith. Kaisa didn't come on this, and had an hour free time (though still being paid!) but then came with us to a coffee shop which had WiFi, as Ali had some Uni work she had to send off, and hadn't had time back at home to do this. Then we went to find a place where we could meet again for tea (Slug and Lettuce) and Kaisa went again and Ali and I went to have a look at Artfulness on Goodramgate, but there was no access ramp available so we couldn't get in. The owner of the shop was very vague and not at all apologetic, and we had a similar response to the situation at Kyi-Po, the vegan shop where Ali would have bought some stuff, had it been easy to get in. I find this situation embarrassing and it makes me angry that shop owners don't think of wheelchair users who wish to get in 'under their own steam' as it were, and make a wooden ramp or have one made. Don't they realise that places with good access get more visits from the increasing numbers of people using wheelchairs (ageing population) and the shop makes more money? Duh! Is it rocket science? No, it's a £20 wooden ramp. And the lack of thought to provide a ramp is discrimination, and verging on illegal.

So we went to another shop which was lucky to have level access, and Ali bought herself something there. We met Jonathan and Charlotte in Kings Square, and chatted until it was time to go to the Slug and lettuce, where we ate for half price as Ali had found a coupon online, and printed it off. Filling and good company. I get on well with Kaisa too, despite her lack of English meaning some things go over her head or need explaining.

Then back to the station where they got the 8.30 train, and I was back home by 9, full and tired from lots of walking.

Wednesday 10th June 09

Excellent day, although got off to a slower start than I would have liked.

Gill went to art and I did the washing up before cycling down to the station so I could go over to Sheffield to see Ali. I took some climbing bean seedlings, a squash and a yam, for her raised beds. The train was a bit late and then there was quite a wait at the tram stop, so didn't get to her until after midday. But hey, that's life!

Had a lovely afternoon with her and at 3 went to collect 'littleboo' from school and she was, as usual, ecstatic to see me... and then when home, helped me plant the beans and other things. Hope the cats don't dig them up with their pooing activities. I buried a load of cat poo under the squash plant as extra fertiliser!

Ali had received an invite to go and see Carol Ann Duffy, the new Poet Laureate, perform a reading, and this is one reason I'd come over, to help Ali get there. We had decided to go on the tram, but the rain started coming down quite heavily so we changed our transport options to her car.... which turned out to be a good thing, as if we had of gone by tram, we would have been completely stuck. The rain came down, hail, thunder and lightening, continual cloud burst for some length of time, resulting in flash-floods all over central Sheffield, tram lines closed and traffic jams everywhere. We spent an hour and a half getting to where we wanted to be... we had intended to go and eat first but this time was used up with the chaos caused by closed roads.

But we got to the church where Carol Ann Duffy was due to speak. She'd taken the train over from Manchester but the floods had prevented her from getting any further than Dore, where she got a bus into town. I loved the poems she read, well, most of them, and her humorous commentaries. She started with a selection of her poems from her book 'The World's Wife' including 'Mrs. Midas', 'Mrs. Tiresias', 'Mrs. Aesop', 'Mrs. Faust' and 'Anne Hathaway', which is I think n the GCSE syllabus. Then she did some more personal stuff, 'A Child Asleep' and a series from Rapture, 'Text', 'Tea', 'Row', 'Syntax' 'Art', 'The Love Poem', and finally 'Prayer' and Premonition, a new poem about her Mother who died a few years ago, and she's only just got to a stage in her life that she can write about her. (see this page for biographical information and a selection of poems read by the author..)

After this we went to a nearby 'stuff yer face for a tenner' and did just that, after which Ali took me to the station. Lots of cancelled and late trains. I eventually got one to Leeds, which got in at midnight, and waited for the 12.34 to York which got in at 1.15. Fortunately a nice young lady was happy to chat, and she, Ruth, told me about her cybernetics degree at Reading Uni, and about her laptop, and I told her about some of my writing and entertaining activities. It made the journey go quicker for both of us.

Home just before 2am, damp but full of buzzy thoughts. Quite a day!

Wednesday 6th May 09

Woke at 7.30 and soon got up to help get things ready for a quick getaway for Ali to take her daughter to school and me to get the tram and train back to York. I got the 8.54 and was back home by just after 10, enough time to get washed and scrubbed up ready for my Fiddlesticks gig today.

I took the 11.38 train to Malton and walked up to Norton to meet Tony, who's an NLP practitioner. This was an interesting gig as I don't often teach one-to-one and not often adults. And he wasn't learning the skills because he had a particular interest in circus skills, but he wanted to use them in his NLP work. Neuro Linguistic Programming is used by people to (usually) achieve more in their business or personal lives. It is based on modelling what successful people do, and those things are identified and can be used by others who wish to improve something, overcome something, or learn something new. Tony also told me about a number of other things he's studied...so it was very interesting.

I caught the 3.10 train back to York, and popped in to Country Fresh, but Richard was off and so Martin the shop owner (Richard's brother) gave me the compostables, two sacks and a box.

Good to see my family. All was well and happy. Decided not to go out to the Cafe Scientifique, but spent the evening preparing fruit and chatting on Facebook.

Tuesday 5th May 09

Cycled into town as I had a dental appointment, a check-up and spring clean... I was very pleased as I like making my dentist happy... and I did today as my teeth are much cleaner than they used to be and my gums don't bleed anymore. It is also much nicer for me as there's much less scraping and ultrasounding. I'm obviously doing the right thing!

After this I went to the railway station to get tickets for the trip to London later this month and for my gig tomorrow in Malton. Then went to Building Society to pay cheques in and get a cheque and cash out, and then came home via Freshways who had one sack of compostables for me and a box of green potatoes.

Did a bit more paperwork and washing up then headed into the garden. When I came in I had a message from Ali saying she really needed some help this evening and could I come over?

Gill was fine about me going over to do some 'emergency PA work', due to Ali being unwell and having a hole in her care package at the moment, as Sarah has just left to go and live in Leeds.

I agreed to get there by 8pm , so got the 6 something to Sheffield, and the tram up to Ali's. On the train I chatted to a lovely old chap form Stratford upon Avon who was a keen train enthusiast and as now retired, travels all over the place, often with his 'our kid' brother, and he had assorted stories and anecdotes about his mini-breaks.

I was able to help a bit, I don't know how useful I actually was but I guess it would have been much more difficult for Ali to get her little daughter (who also has a disability) ready in the morning. I slept on a sleeping bag on the couch, not as uncomfortable as it might have looked!

Wednesday 29th April 09

Got up and had a bath, the usual bathwater off the top of the stove trick, and washed my hair which had bits of garden in it. Then soon after 9 headed off down to town to get the 9.44 to Leeds, as Ali had invited me over.

We had an interesting day, first at a meeting then at her home where she's sorted out her garden, compost bin, wormery, bokashi bins, raised beds and more. I was impressed with her new low energy bulbs, replacing wasteful high-heat producing halogen spotlights. She also has an eco-kettle which has a reservoir of water and you press a button which lets just exactly the right amount of water into the boiling chamber. This means you don't have to boil too much, then let it cool down, wasting that initial energy.

At 3 we went to collect Ali's daughter from school, and she was very thrilled to see me and took me to see the chickens. I liked that school's allotment. Excellent!

For the next couple of hours I was used as a climbing frame and I was glad to have pizza and salad for tea.

At 7, Ali had to go to town to collect something so she dropped me off at my brother's house, and it was lovely to see him and his family. I spent a couple of hours there, drinking beer, playing table tennis, viewing the garden, chatting to the kids.

I then got the 9.54 train back home and was back in York by 11pm, home soon after... with a load of compostables from Country Fresh... you cannot stop a Rotter! Gill had had a very peaceful evening and was pleased to see me.

Thursday 9th April 09

A bit of a lie-in, which was nice, and spent quite a lot of the morning sorting out a double booking which I've unfortunately got us into. We now have re-organised our summer holiday so it doesn't clash with something else!

Spent much of the day sorting out more logs in the front, and compostables in the back, and brought a load of finished compost up to the front of the house so Ali could collect it for her raised beds.

Gill went into town and all was quiet and chilled in the house.

When she came back, I visited Country Fresh to deliver four bags of specially mixed seed compost, made from some loam, leafmould, a bit of compost and some fine sand. I collected a fairly small amount of compostables.

Ali came at about 5.30, her daughter very excited to be here and see the boys... they let her play on the computer and were lovely with her. Ali took 3 sacks of riddled compost and about 5 sacks of mature, finished but unriddled compost. That ought to sort out her garden!

Gill made a cauliflower cheese with macaroni and baked squash... really tasty. Tried to give our eldest a haircut with my new shaver, but his hair was too long and wiry for the beard trimmer, so Gill did a haircut first with her hairdressing scissors... then the trimmer! All the hair went for composting...

After tea I spent another hour trying to get through the backlog of green potatoes, which need chopping up and putting in one of the tumblers... A very peaceful contemplative experience. In just before 10, but had to go out again to deliver something to Simon. Busy busy busy...

Sunday 29th March 09

Woken ridiculously early by an enthusiastic 5 year old, who always wakes at 6am.

During the morning I did some balloon models for her and my first successful balloon flower, for Ali. Sarah was amazed at the 'dogs dinner' model, where I put a small marble-sized balloon inside a dog. I can also do this with someone's watch, and call it a 'watch dog'.....

I watched Countryfile at 11 and then we went to a garden centre to get some things for Ali's forthcoming raised bed garden project. She got various seeds, seed potatoes and bags to grow them in, seed trays with propagator lids, biodegradable pots and some peat-free general compost. She has ordered some huge pots and will find some good local topsoil. Also a compost bin, water butt and wormery. I've offered her some rich compost to mix with the soil. Nice one Ali!

Back for a late lunch and potted up some herb seeds and the potatoes. I got away at 4 to get the 4.20 tram and the 4.50 train. Chatted to a very nice chap called Alan who works at Ampleforth College, involved in Transition, and might meet him at the Kirkbymoorside 'Springboarding Day' on April 25th, their name for the 'Unleashing' that is the more usual name in Transition for the launch event. Back into York just before 6, collecting some compostables from both shops on the way home. When I'd unloaded, I cycled over to Fulford to collect our eldest who'd had a fun day all day with his friends, lots of pretending to kill people with sticks, sorry, Excalibur, and shooting people with pretend guns etc etc... and no adults trying to direct them into more wholesome activities! He'd had a lovely time, and was happy to see me, good chats on the way home and had supper and was in bed by 9pm... presumably completely worn out!

I had to amend my Community Care blog written yesterday as when Ali and I looked at it, we found that when the link to Danny's myspace page was clicked, it opened up in the same window, replacing the blog window with the poem written out. So, no easy way of reading the poem and listening to Danny reading it... I'll have to learn how to open something up in a new window...

A relaxing evening, spent on the laptop, enjoyed a chat to a new Facebook friend who writes an interesting blog http://hippiechickdiaries.com/ which I like. Like her too!