Sunday 2nd October 11 Beverley Food Festival

Woken by my phone at 8am and went down to the breakfast room.  Sharon, I think her name was, wasn't expecting me, as somehow the message had come through that I didn't want breakfast.  I NEVER don't want breakfast.... it is the most important meal of the day for me!

Anyway, I had a bowl of cereal and some toast, beans, tomato and an egg fried hard, and three cups of coffee, and an orange juice.  I then went to my room, got changed, and went to the Market Square to find Helen, my handler today, to find out where she wanted me to be.  She had disappeared but her colleague Helena suggested working in front of a building which I've done my show in front of each time I've done the Beverley Food Festival.  However, it was no longer an empty cinema, but a Browns department store, and it looked like it was going to open later that day.  So I couldn't stay there.

I went and devilsticked outside the main marquee whilst the event was being opened, and then one of the Beverley Town council people suggested I work outside a Building Society which wouldn't be opening today, so I got set up there, and got a Council van moved as it was part blocking the view.

I was busy from then on in, continuous workshops and interaction and all sorts, 100% full-on.  At about midday I took a short break to go and buy a pie for lunch, and I also got two 750ml bottles of 'Gold from the Wold' Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Rapeseed Oil for £10.  But this only took 10 minutes, and another 5 minutes to eat the pie, with various children hanging around and watching for my last mouthful, to then home in and ask if they could have a go with the 4 wheel unicycle, or Deborah the Diabolo (Derek's blind sister) or juggling...... but I wanted a change so I did an hour and a half of balloon modelling, finishing at 1.55 to go and sit in the Market Cross building to do a composting workshop.  Only 4 people turned up to this.... but it was still worth doing.

So from 2.20 through til after 4pm I was busy with more circus and balloons, without a break, full-on again.  That's how I like it as the day goes really quickly!

I waited ages for the bus home.... including walking down to the railway station to see if it would be quicker to go that way, but it wasn't.  Beverley really needs a direct rail link with York, in my opinion!  Anyway, the bus came and I dozed on it all the way to York and collapsed when I got in.  A busy weekend.

Sunday 28th August 11, Galtres Festival

I did a 10 til 1 shift with Graham, Mel and their daughter Alyssa. This was a more difficult day as there was a huge amount of rubbish to sort through... but we did, and started filling our third cubic metre of compost bin.  The weather was kinder, with a breeze drying off the mud... but the rutted surface was still difficult to wheel the green bins to and fro, so more help was given by the big tractor with the bucket loader.  Made the job a bit easier... and more fun, as we rode in the bucket too!

Got then their rewards and I had a bit of free time to float around, sorry, trudge through the caking mud, before my show.  I didn't want to do my circus show again, wanted to do the balloons so I took my unicycle, in my costume, and a full bag of 100 balloons, and at about 4pm started to blow up as many as I could fit into the spokes of my wheel whilst sitting on the stage. 

I had a lot of fun with the awaiting audience, inviting them to have a go inflating a balloon.  One girl had the ability... I'd say about 1 in 200 people can do it, and randomly, sometimes it's a child.  This time it was a 10 year old girl. No-one else could do it, including grown-ups, whilst I blew up and tied one after another to prepare for the show and workshop. 

My balloon show works well with a finite number of people there at the beginning, who see how to twist the balloon into a dog shape (and a few other more complicated shapes) and then are invited to have a go.  However, with people arriving all the time, there is always the chance that a balloon will be given to someone who hasn't seen the beginning and hasn't a clue what to do!  This is what happened but I think I dealt with it reasonably well.

At the end there were a long line of kids who for one reason or another hadn't got a balloon, so I had another half hour of inflating and making models, until I'd done the full 100 balloons.  It was a successful entertainment session.

I had a dilemma for the evening.  I really wanted to see The Falling Spikes, in the Little Top venue.  However, they were on at 11pm. And I had a gig the next day, in Spofforth, which is 18 miles West of York, and not easy to get to by public transport.  To cycle there would take 2 hours, and if I was to get there to start at midday, and go by train and taxi, I'd need to be on the 10.11 train to Harrogate.

My dilemma was that my bike was not in good order.  I might have to walk back to York, which at 15 miles away, would be about 5 hours walk.  So, if I left after the Spikes, and had to walk, I'd get back at maybe 6am.  Not a good start for a busy day in Spofforth.  However, if I left at, say 9pm, and had to walk, I'd be back at 2am, much more manageable for a 10am lift-off.

So as I took down my tent, I deliberated over this dilemma, and began to err on the earlier return.  So I spent my last vouchers, and gave several away, and as The Levellers took to the main stage, I got my payment for the weekend's work and then cycled gently off into the darkness.  I like cycling in the dark.  My dynamo is easy to take off the front wheel and I had several long stretches with no other traffic... of course, when something else approached, I flicked it on, but off again as it passed me.  As I approached Sutton on Forest, I needed to do something to tighten up the wheel, but after that, I cycled steadily all the way back to York, taking about 1 hour 45 minutes to get home, getting in at the same time that the Spikes were due to take to the stage.

I spent some time getting things clean... Gill too helped with this, and got to bed at 2am.

Friday 3rd June 11

Another busy day, and boiling hot.... perfect for the Manchester World Naked Bike Ride, which I'm really sad I'm not going on.... The weather is forecast to be slightly cooler tomorrow for our York ride, but not cold or rainy...

So, first thing I was awoken by Gill saying she thought that there was a swarm of bees in our big pollarded willow.  She wanted to ask me what we should do about it.  I groggily went to have a look and was unsure whether they were honeybees or something else.  It certainly wasn't what I understand as a swarm.  Just a load of bees obviously going in and out of a cavity in the tree.

So I got up and rang a beekeeper who's number we have, and then went on the York beekeepers website and rang some of them.  A bit later, Tom, who has I think he said got 90 hives, came round with his grand-daughter and he identified the bees as bumblebees, not honeybees.  He said they'd be there til about August and then the males and queens would fly off and the colony would disperse.  But it's a really good thing to have as they are excellent pollinators.

I had a fairly busy day, including doing a bit of digging out of a cubic metre of compost in a NZ bin, transferring it to a builder's bag. I did get out on my bike, visiting a friend in town to have a conversation about a mutual contact who's been taking advantage of vulnerable women, and I've collected a few stories about him, and am hoping to do something about it.

It was a very hot day and I got quite sweaty so before I went to work, I had a really good hot shower, a totally solar shower.  Soon after 6 I got off to Naburn Village Hall for a charity fundraiser, where I was doing a balloon modelling entertainment.  The event was to raise funds for an orphanage in Uganda, and it was a lot of fun.  I may get time to write more about it, but I was also invited to write something for the Press website so I am going to get on with that.

Friday 22nd April 11

Not sure why I got up early but I was first downstairs and after breakfast, got busy in the garden.  I did an ENORMOUS pile of riddled compost with my Scheppach thingy.  I loaded my trailer with another 8 carrier bags of freshly riddled compost for my friend in Bishophill.  After a thick layer of sticks and peach stones, from the back end of the riddle, I put another layer of limp mooli and fenugreek, chopped green potatoes and wrinkled chillies on the current compost heap.

I came in for lunch at about 12.30.  Whilst eating lunch I started doing the risk assessment for this year's York World Naked Bike Ride, the aim of which is to show the police that it would be better if they offered us an escort like happens in Manchester and Sheffield.   Then got my knees cleaned up (I do a bit of kneeling whilst doing the compost riddling) and set off with the compost, my silly hat, a bag of small jam jars and a new bag of modelling balloons.... because today was the launch of Yorkshire Truly, headed up by Claire from Grace Preserves. I had offered to go and support this launch by doing some giveaway balloons.  Claire's business partner Karen was there, and they'd booked a face painter and a guitarist busker chap called Rod, I think.  So it was quite an occasion, and the visitors/customers seemed to enjoy the ambiance.

I had quite a busy time, sitting with the facepainter, and enjoying the music.  I stayed longer than planned as a friend who'd suggested a coffee at 3.30 didn't turn up.... but it was OK as I was having a good time.  So at about 4.30 I packed up and was given some unsold scones as a thank-you, and I cycled up to Bishophill to deliver the compost.  I was due to work for David at 6 but I was ready by 5.15, so I let myself in and met his carer and friend Pauline.  David was unsure what to do so I suggested that we could go to Rowntree Park, which he hadn't visited for several years.  On the way there, my old pal Julian overtook us on his bike and we chatted, which seemed to make the journey go even more quickly. 

In the park we watched a young woman doing poi, and then went to see the skate ramps area, the ex-bandstand area and then I took him over Millennium Bridge and back up the East side of the river.  We had an ice cream and watched the boats, and then popped into City Screen for a quick coffee, and back to his flat where I heated up his meal, and left at 7.45.

So a very satisfying day, I was really glad David enjoyed his Rowntree Park trip, and he asked if we could do it again sometime.  Suits me.... I am happy pushing the wheelchair and enjoy David's company.

When I got in I had a use-it-up meal and spent some time doing assorted fruit for drying.

Wednesday 20th April 11

A work-full day...  Yesterday Anne  from S.N.A.P.P.Y. called me as they'd been let down by another activity provider, and asked if I could come in during the morning.  This fitted well with my booking for Knavesmire Kids Club in the afternoon. 

So, at about 10am I set out with my bag of sticks, the big unicycle and a full set of balloon show stuff, heading for The Groves where they have their base. I went in costume, and when I arrived I was shown that the chairs etc had been set out in the playground, outside in the sunshine, which isn't great for balloons.  But never mind, I got busy blowing up balloons and slipping them in the spokes to hold them.  Then when I was ready, and all the audience were assembled, I introduced myself with a bit of devilsticking and then started demonstrating various balloons, including a rocket balloon, which was popular.  As all the people there had moderate to severe disabilities, I wasn't expecting them to be able to do much of the balloon modelling themselves, but some did manage it to some extent.  Most of the youngsters had one-to-one care, so the carers did some balloon bending.  It all went very well, although the nature of some of the behaviour made it quite difficult... for instance, one lad picked up my unicycle and ran with it and threw it.  Fortunately it is designed to take a fair amount of knocks!  So, I finished by 11.30 and Anne took me to the office to give me a cheque.  I cycled home via St Nicks, to ask about it being a venue for Tracey Smith's visit on Saturday, but it will be closed.  I also told Catherine at York Rotters that I wasn't really able to help with most of the Compost Awareness Week stuff, as I'm just about fully booked.

So, home for a while, lunch, and then at about 1.30, set off for South Bank with all my gear for a full playscheme set.  I did my one hour show and workshop, then a session of free play workshop, followed by a balloon workshop.  Three hours, no breaks, was tough, but successful.

I got back at 5.40, Gill gave me tea which was a simple pasta dish, and at 6.15 I bombed into town as I was due to work for David at 6.30.  He was pleased to see me, and I suggested a walk (well, him in the wheelchair, me pushing!) in Museum Gardens, which he agreed to.  This was most enjoyable, with the evening sunlight coming through the copper beech trees, and after a slow circuit, we headed to the library, where the cafe was just closing, and then on to the Theatre Royal, where a very slow lift allowed us access to the cafe, where we had a coffee and cake.  Didn't spend long here, and went on to walk through Dean's Gardens and then back to Coffee Yard via Goodramgate.  I then got him his tea, washed up, chatted and at 8.30, went.

I stopped off at a skip for wood on the way home, and Freshways, and got in well after 9pm.  A long day.

Tuesday 19th October 10

Woken at 6am by banging, shouting and screaming.  I groggily tried to help with the situation .

I was woken again at 9 by a phone call from a nurse or public health professional called Jenny, who is presenting something about bacteria and the importance of washing hands to a reception class tomorrow, and is looking for some balloon models to represent the different sorts of bacteria.  She said she'd like to come and see me on the way into town, so I got up and washed and dressed and breakfasted... she arrived 45 minutes later and brought with her a sheet of paper with some cartoon images of different bacteria.  I agreed I'd have a go and she said she'd be back at 4pm.

Just before she left, there was a delivery from Cozmic Balloons, £85 worth of mixed colours Qualatex 260s, some clear 260s and a bag of Bee Bodies.  What a co-incidence!

I went to buy bread and medicines for the house full of ill people.

I decided to do the sculptures after lunch, and think about what to do in the meantime..

However, after lunch Gill asked me to get some bits and bobs of shopping and I thought I'd put in a cheque in and get a cheque out, and I went into town via Sainsbury's.  However, when I got to the building society I discovered I'd left my pass book at home.  Duh me.  I decided to call in on Alligator to pick up their unwanted resources, and they had just had a delivery of wonderful looking purple cauliflowers, so I brought one of those home...   Via Country Fresh, who had 3 boxes for me.  Lots of composting to do!

I got in sometime after 3 and immediately got busy with the balloons.  I made some Bee Bodies into an apple shape but hid the stalk in the middle, to make a series of roughly globular Bacillus.  I inflated 3 caterpillar balloons with sad or angry faces, and tied their knots all together and then twisted all 3 together so it looked like a load of rod-shaped cells, the top 3 with the faces on.  I tried to do a virus with some heart balloons all tied together and a pair of legs, but it wasn't that successful.  I also did another couple, I've forgotten the name of the bacterium but I used three 260s twisted together into lots of small bubbles and twisted these all together into a load of cells all together.  Jenny arrived at 4 and was happy with all of them apart from the virus-type things, and suggested that I use a caterpillar balloon and give it four legs, and this was really good!  She paid me £10 for doing these... a fun challenge!

After which I decided to chop up the pallets I'd rescued yesterday, and I brought some bits of old pallet up the garden and a plastic bucket which has 'kicked the bucket' and needed to be binned.

In the evening I jarred up a load of dried apple rings and chopped up 15 large juicy pears and balanced them on the racks for drying.  I watched a good HG Wells adaptation 'The First Men in The Moon' which I enjoyed, as when I was a teen I loved HG Wells books, but then watched a second film which portrayed his life 'HG Wells: War With The World' which I really enjoyed, as I felt some kinship with him.  Gill and I both watched this and she looked him up in her Cambridge Guide to Literature; it was a very stimulating programme.  Later still, one of my friends contacted me, needed to talk, as someone she knows and cares about was seemingly preparing to kill themselves, and my friend needed to talk about it, and I'm not sure if I was able to help or give any advice, but I'm glad I was available for this person.  What a sad situation. 

Wednesday 29th September 10 Walk it, Bike it, Bus it, York's Car Free Day 2010

The weather was looking dismal and I was feeling tired, but I'd committed to helping with today's event.

So I got up soon after 7 and left the house at 8 to meet with other volunteers at 8.15 at the Postern Gate Hotel on Piccadilly.  I was the first there.  Julia was the second.  She is from Switzerland and is in York to do a PhD on neuro imaging... fascinating stuff!  Then Jenny arrived, and Kaj, from Finland, and Guy, our own FoE stalwart.  Three of us went to Bootham Bar and gave out leaflets about the Car Free Day; the leaflets had information about the extra two traffic-free streets today, Micklegate and Fossgate, and the entertainment that was timetabled, plus the attractions which were admitting car-free travellers at a reduced rate or for free.  It rained constantly, and our leaflets got wet, but lots of people took them.  Quite a few people said they didn't know about the day, but two told me they had noticed less motor traffic on the roads.

Then I went to Millers Yard and picked up the sacks of squashed halved oranges, and came home.  I had just 10 minutes at home, time for a coffee, and I cycled back to go to Micklegate, with my balloons.  I'd been booked to do circus skills, but there was no way I could do that in the rain. But balloons can be modelled in almost any weather.  Trouble was, there were not that many people walking down the road, and only a tiny percentage of them were suitable candidates for balloon animals.  But, I must have given out a dozen or so.  It rained continuously, although mainly drizzle rather than 'proper' rain.  Some good conversations with Kaj, who is a linguist and loves accents and language.  I left at 11.30 and visited Fossgate where I was pleased to find the traders had put stalls out into the street and it was a lot more vibrant, despite being damp.  I came home and had lunch and some quiet time, cracking nuts and doing the washing up.  But soon after 3pm I went back to Fossgate with my bag of balloons and stood with a school sustainable travel person under a gazebo, darting out to give out balloon animals to parents with small children (using the device 'Excuse me, but do you know anyone who likes balloon animals?').  I enjoyed listening to a guitar player called Richard Harrison, and then later a pair of young sisters playing the Sax and Clarinet, the Frankland Sisters, aged 12 and 14. They were very good, and played things like 'Singing in the Rain' and 'Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud'.

It began to rain very heavily and at about 5pm I came home.  Very wet, very exhausted, feeling deflated and in need of bed rest.  However I didn't manage to get the early night that I would have liked.  I made my own tea... 3 slices of the huge Tromboncino squash, half an onion, some nuts all fried up on the stove top, then I added a sliced huge 'beef' tomato straight off the plant, and some pasta left over from yesterday, and some old Edam cheese which the children now claim not to like.  I spent some time on facebook, and got a message from a friend who told me that a scan had found a tumour on their liver, which kind of put my low mood and tiredness into perspective.  I went to bed at 9ish, intending to get up a bit later and do stuff, but I slept right through.

Friday 13th August 10

Another lazy day, kids on the computer and although I started off with a walk, looking for the missing ear-ring, I didn't find it. I also had a day mostly on the laptop. Gill and her niece went to town and I looked after the kids. Danky came home earlier today than yesterday.

He and Sophie went out to a works 'do' and I did a balloon modelling workshop with my two and the two youngest of their children. There was a huge fireworks display which was part of the Shrewsbury Flower Festival, which we watched from their house.

So, probably the most relaxing day so far of the holiday.

Saturday 24th July 10

Up too early for my liking, left the house at 8am and was on the 8.38 to Malton... which got there just after 9am. My work today was a 5 hour session in the new WHSmith in Wheelgate in Malton, just 4 minutes walk from the station. So I got started early, before my 9.45 official start, and although I went to the venue in my removable aircast, I took it off for the gig and wore both my colourful Fiddlesticks boots.

I had been booked to do balloon models but I took my juggle-kit too, which proved handy as there was a fair amount of interest in juggling, balancing peacock feathers and trying out flower sticks. I did about 120 balloon models, had 20 minutes for lunch and was busy for the full 5 hours.

There was a nice face painter called Becky who arrived after I got set up, and she did some really lovely face painting... and arms and hands....

I left soon after 3pm and got to the station just after the 15.10 to York, so I had the best part of an hour to read my NewScientist, this was most welcome.

However on the 16.10 home I nearly fell asleep as the tough day began to hit me but once I was on my bike again I was OK, and I got to Country Fresh just before Richard closed the shop, and I was able to thank him for the fantastic gig The Falling Spikes did on Thursday. He told me that the band had really got off on the audience reaction and thought it had been their best gig ever.

I spent some time sorting out the compostables so they fitted in my trailer alongside the bag of juggling stuff, and was soon home and spent an hour relaxing and eating tea, the last of the bulgar wheat and home grown squash, with a small portion of cauliflower cheese and pasta.

But then I thought I ought to load up the stuff I brought home today so I spent til nearly 10pm in the garden, dealing with the two tumblers and then doing some nettle-pulling in the pond area. This part of the garden seems to have a lot of rubbish in the soil, bits of glass and pottery, and I found a well-preserved clay pipe, just the mouth-end of the stem missing, and the bowl perfect.

Later Gill and I watched Catch Me If You Can which was a very entertaining film.

Friday 2nd July 10

I was supposed to have a relaxing day and a lie-in..... but Gill came storming upstairs at 8.30, desperate to get our youngest off to school as she was late, and she'd had the bright idea to get him on his scooter and that would speed things up. But she couldn't work out how to open the steering stem into a right-angle to the foot platform. I did it instantly, whilst half asleep, but it woke me up.... so as Gill was doing the school run, I came down and did the washing up before breakfast.

I didn't do much until lunchtime, and after lunch I had a shower, with Gill holding the shower curtain and a towel so my plaster didn't get wet, which was good. Nice to wash my hair.

Gill went to school and I got ready to go to work; St Wilfred's Roman Catholic Primary School on Monkgate, their Summer Fundraising Fair. I'd already warned them that I wouldn't be able to unicycle around... but I had a very successful afternoon of juggling workshops, a bit of diabolo and devilstick, letting children try the unicycle toys, and giving away LOADS of balloon models. The event finished at 7.30 and I managed to do my last model at 7.45.

I got paid... because I couldn't do the full range of my tricks, I was offered (and accepted) a reduced fee, and I got changed and set off for Blossom St, where behind the Reel Cinema there is the Crescent Working Men's Club, the venue for the party to finish off the CarFree Cities Conference. Despite the discomfort and pain I was in, I had a lovely time and chatted to quite a few friends old and new, loved Rory Motion's set, he always makes me cry with laughter, and listened to all of Hot Fudge's set, and enjoyed most of the tunes and all of watching people dance.

I didn't stay to listen to DJ GreyGold's set and cycled home slowly, getting in at 12.15. Very tired, but watched Glastonbury on the TV and caught up with emails, facebook and blog.

Thursday 4th February 10

A very interesting and busy day.

I took our youngest to school, a very easy morning, thank goodness.

Chatted to the St John's Grounds Maintenance team chaps who were about to feed a lot of pruned vegetation into their shredder, and they were VERY happy for me to take the large Christmas tree trunk on my trailer, and said they'd sort out any other big sticks and branches for me, and leave them for me to collect. Nice chaps!

So, home with a big load of waste tree trunk. I then had a short time to get several sacks of mature compost from the bottom of the garden in the wheelbarrow up to the top, as a bit later today I'm expecting visitors from Hull to pick some up. I found 6 sacks of 10 to 20kg and one sack of perhaps 30kg.

I then came in and cleaned up, as at 11 I was expecting our first visitor, Chris from Ploughcroft, who I asked to give us a quote for putting a solar photovoltaic system on our roof. This company had given a competitive quote to Anna Semlyen, and I'd been inspired to see what it would cost us, bearing in mind the grant of £2400 and the forthcoming 'feed-in tariff' which will guarantee a financial return for 20 years.

Chris arrived soon after 11 and told us our roof was perfect for the photovoltaic panels, as it is South-facing, and the hot water panel is off to one side of the roof, leaving enough space for the electricity-producing ones. He calculated that we could get 6 panels on, which would generate 1200w whenever it was daylight. He told us that the feed-in tariff had been set somewhat above the expected figure, and was at 41.3pence per kwh. This system would cost in the region of £6500, but the grant would bring this down to within our reach at just over £4000, and would bring in a steady income from the electricity generated. He will send a detailed quote soon, and the company's electrician would visit early next week to check our electrics.

I liked Chris, we talked about quite a few green issues, social issues, personal politics, etc, and I would be happy to have his system. We'd have to borrow to pay them, would then pay back some of the loan (the Credit Union doesn't give penalties for early payback) when we got the grant, and we'd use about £2000 of our savings.

Chris left soon after midday and within half an hour, Jayne and Derek arrived from Hull. They contacted me through Vyouz, the virtual skip site. They wanted to give me some waste wood, and take away a sack of wood ash (this was free) and give me something for the large load of compost. They came in and had a cup of tea each, and we chatted about the stove, their allotment and lottie shop, and then we went down the garden to see where the compost makes itself. When we got back up to the top of the garden again, we loaded up their boot, and they offered £16 for perhaps about 90kg of compost. I was happy with this. Nice people, hope they enjoy using it!

I then had lunch, and chatted to Gill. Then I got a phone call... it was Chris from Ploughcroft. He said that he'd got bad news for me... he'd just heard that the Government had stopped the photovoltaics grant, as of last night. This was about 7 weeks before they were due to do this. This was a blow. With the added cost of £2400 to our final bill, we probably won't be able to put these panels on our roof... but we'll continue with finding out about the different installers and systems available.

Gill ironed my Fiddlesticks clothes and I got ready to go out to work... off to the Bishopthorpe Beavers, about 20 minutes cycle away. I'd done my circus show for them before Christmas and tonight it was balloons. I got changed and stuck inflated balloons between my unicycle spokes, I'd brought it along specially to hold them. The boys were delighted to see me and we had a brilliant hour, loads of fun.

At 7, I got changed back into 'civvies' and cycled back to my side of town, picking up a long branch on the way. I was due at St Nicks for a York in Transition meeting and I chaired, as well as participating. We had an enormous list of things we could be doing so we went through the list and kind of weeded some of them out, things we haven't got the time or personnel to do.

Home just before 10pm and all was well, I went onto the computer and dealt with emails and other stuff. At about 1.45am there were a series of short power cuts which made nearby house alarms go off and our fridge make a funny noise. Oh dear.

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 11th July 09, Hebden Fringe

Slept well at Mark and Jennifer's but got up quite early as the boys had been up since daybreak... excitement I suppose. Both Mark and Jennifer had a busy day ahead, Jennifer to collect their cat from an orthopaedic veterinary hospital and the other to go to a meeting connected with work, probably a Green Party meeting knowing Mark.

I wanted to get into town at a reasonable time to do balloons in the central square, and Gill went out with all the boys to see their treehouse, and wasn't back by the time I was ready to go, so I left and walked down into town... but five minutes out I realised I had forgotten my bag of devilsticks and diabolos etc (duh!) so I trudged back up the hill and got this extra bag.

I set up right in the central part of the town, a pedestrianised square surrounded by shops and cafes, and blew up 3 balloons and stuck them in one of my bags, sticking up, and got on with some 'practice' devilsticking, which of course attracted attention. When plenty of people had started watching, I did a free first balloon animal for one of the most attentive and engaging children, after which lots more came forward and the next hour was busy with giving away balloon animals, which was exactly what I wanted as my part of the public part of the Hebden Festival.

I got enough donations to pay for my lunch and tea, so bought a pastie and little quiche for immediate consumption and a folded spinach pizza called a calzone for my tea later, wherever that was. At just after half twelve I packed up and wobbled off to the Central Street School where I'd done my show last night and was due to do my Fun Physics Show today followed by a free-play workshop. By 1pm I was ready to start but not many people had turned up but ten minutes later I had quite a good crowd.

The show went like a dream... warm-up acts from the audience first, then the 'obligatory mathematical bit' where I lob a single juggling ball up and ask if they spotted the mathematics, and soon get them to understand the parabolic curve and all say the word 'parabola' together, then devilsticks which is a good way to include friction, fulcrum, pendulums and frequency (you have to see the show to see how these are connected!). Following this is balancing, starting with a stick balanced on my nose and then peacock feathers balanced on volunteers hands, and this leads to a explanation of air resistance and friction again. Derek the naughty diabolo did his usual tricks and misbehaviour but explained gyroscopes much better than I ever could, and then we just had fun with the unicycles at the end. I do enjoy myself such a lot!

There was a chap doing some filming for the Fringe and he interviewed me outside before the workshop started, and by 2.30 the workshop's participants had arrived and I did a catching and throwing game followed by a quick run through of all the quick tips connected to the skills I teach. Then on to the free-play workshop which was pretty easy for me, although still had to keep my eyes out for stuff not going well and people getting stuck. Another full-on hour, finishing at 3.45.

Jan then paid me, and I was pleased with the fee, as it hadn't been fixed beforehand as it partly depended on the numbers of audience/participants, and as these had been quite low, I wasn't expecting as much as I got.

A walk though the park where there was another bit of the festival going on, and to the station where at four thirty something the Blackpool train came and I continued my journey to Warrington. I got to Preston and changed to the Euston train, and was soon at Bank Quay where a nice Warringtonian taxi driver took me to the hotel where I was spending the night. As I got into the hotel the rain started so I decided not to go for a walk and explore the local area, and I had my calzone and some fruit and dozed. But later, I got up and watched an excellent film on Virgin 1, which was on the hotel's Freeview package, called 'Inside I'm Dancing' which I loved. I would say it is easily in my top-ten favourite films.

I went to sleep very soon after this.

Saturday 23rd May 09, Transition Network Conference (day two)

Up much earlier than usual because of the shrill and squeaky and very enthusiastic voice of Anna's 6 year old daughter, who is adorable, very expressive and even more excited to see me again. We last met when I came down to do her fifth birthday party, which she has lots of memories of! So, I'm not John to her, but Fiddlesticks. Anna was going to have got up at 6am and go for a bike ride, but didn't so we all had breakfast together, and then at something after , Edward and I trundled off to the bus and one came within 10 minutes, dropping us off outside the Battersea Arts Centre about half an hour later.

So we were there in good time to have a coffee and listen to the announcements at 9.20, and then it was straight into the first workshops of the day. I had chosen 'How communities can take control of their food systems' with Julie Brown from Growing Communities, based in Hackney. This is a social enterprise employing 18 people part time, providing a veg/fruit box/bag scheme to about 530 households. It is fully organic and 93% of the customers come to the pick-up points on foot or by bike. The boxes/bags are delivered to several pick-up points by an old electric milk float called Maisie, which (who?) is painted up like a cow. The box scheme uses local green salads grown in market gardens ('Hackney Salad') and is just starting an experimental scheme using salads grown in a vicarage back garden! This links in to their Key Principles, which link it in to the wider perspective of sustainability. They have developed a manifesto and food zone diagram which looks at where geographically and distance-wise the food in the boxes is produced. This has figures for what is actually in the box scheme now (divided into veg and fruit) and a target contribution. For instance, at the moment, they would like 17.5% of produce to come from zone 2, peri-urban land, but currently none does. They would like 20% of their produce to come from the rest of the UK, but currently just about 3% does.

There was some discussion about where the UK gets its food from and a short workshop looking at what we, as small groups, thought the problems were, what the barriers to change were and what some of the solutions were. All in all a very useful and interesting example, inspiring.

This over-ran a bit, leaving little time for coffee and cake, and the coffee had run out so it was more or less straight into the second set of Open Space conversations. The matrix was up on the wall and I was intrigued by four of them, Population, Avoiding Burnout, How To Engage People Other Than The Usual Suspects and How To Deal With Denial. I only managed two, most of the time on the Population table, and a short time with Burnout. I didn't take note with either of these, but suffice to say the conversations were interesting, wide-ranging and enjoyable.

Lunch was preceded by a lot of queueing, but when I eventually got to eat, it was lovely.

Then was the highlight of the day for me, I think, the 'Transition Movie' which was made in an unusual way, perhaps even more unusual than Age of Stupid's 'Crowdfunding'. The film-maker, Emma Goude, had a very limited budget to start off with and wondered how she could get around the World to see all the exciting Transition projects on just a few quid. She had the bright idea (or someone did!) of getting different projects to film themselves and send her the tapes and discs. When Rob Hopkins, co-founder of the Transition model, heard this, he said 'Oh great, a Wiki-Film', which is what it has become, except Emma spent a month loading up stuff from 70 tapes and DVDs that were sent to her, plus 55 of her own tapes, and then 2 months sorting it out and cutting it into a meaningful story. The film is not finished yet but it is fantastic, and got a standing ovation. One of the reasons for showing the film here was to get feedback, and plenty was offered. This may improve the resultant product, released sometime in the Autumn.

The final chunk of the day for me at the Conference was a workshop or seminar run by David Wasdell, called Climate Change Goes Critical, and it was basically his work on the various feedback loops which exist and drive climate change. A well-known accelerating feedback in acoustics is where sound put into a microphone comes out of the speakers and goes back into the mic and a scream or screech occurs. On the planet, there are several similar occurrences connected with temperature. One 'easy to understand' one concerns methane, which is a powerful greenhouse gas. When the permafrost melts as it warms up, it releases trapped methane and frozen material starts to decay, both releasing methane. This accelerates the warming, releasing more methane, and a heating 'scream' begins to happen. This used to be known as a positive feedback, but in this scenario, it is far from positive!

This information is certainly worth trying to get your head around, as it indicates the depth of the problem we have, and the speed at which it is happening. One of the more recent complications is that we now realise that these different feedback loops do not happen in isolation, they feed each other, and this is why some of the measured changes are happening more quickly than anticipated. I recommend visiting the Apollo-Gaia project website, and spending some time watching the video resources. There is also a DVD of his lecture available, and a book which is almost as up-to-date. These are called 'Planet Earth, We Have A Problem'.

I was really keen to hear if he favoured any particular remediation or technology to 'solve the problem', but he shot me down saying you wouldn't ask a guru for straight answers, as the answers are withing the people around you... He said he wasn't an expert on technology, just feedback loops and 'non-linear systems'.

I knew I couldn't take much more info, especially as I knew there was an excited 6 year old (and possibly her friend) waiting for some entertainment back in Peckham, so I had a quick chat to Edward and headed to the bus. Good chats with another buzzed-out Transitioneer, and soon back with Peckham Anna. I'd bought her a copy of Wasdell's book as a present, just the sort of thing she gobbles up, uses, lends to friends, etc etc!

My entertainment services were much needed, which helped me temporarily forget the climate nightmare which faces us, the unimaginably steep hill we have to climb together if we're to overcome this situation we find ourselves in. These two little girls didn't have a care in the world, until the visitor burst her balloon, and her little world fell in on itself.... I did manage to make her a new one, eventually, when her Dad came and she regained some of her composure.

Anna rang up and ordered a take-away curry. I went to collect it, with her little daughter bouncing along beside me. However, bouncing back resulted in her falling over and grazing both knees and screaming oh so loudly...

But the Curry was nice, and once the little one was in bed, we watched the DVD which came with the book, which was good apart from it had a scratch on it which spoiled the middle of the film...

Edward came in just after we finished that, he'd had an excellent evening with the discussion and 'Transition Everywhere' talk, with some of the leading characters in the movement.

We all chatted til nearly midnight... I then did my blog-record of this conference, finishing at 2.04am.... head for bed!

Sunday 12th April 09

A very lazy morning reading NewScientist and a good book Ali lent me, keeping out of the way of all the children who were running around like maniacs... nothing to do with chocolate overdosing of course?

Helped Linda in the garden, digging up a dying Rosemary bush and replacing it with a lovely-looking small tree or shrub which I could not identify. The children were persuaded to go on a slug and snail hunt. These were put in a bucket with something to hide under, ready for relocation.

Gill was having a migraine, poor thing, so stayed in bed all day, and Linda looked after her when the rest of us went out for a walk with Sophie, Dankie and all the children. We drove, in two cars, to Mousehold Heath, an area of woodland and heathland which has seen lots of gravel extraction, and therefore has lots of hillocks and dips, great to run around, and we found a rope swing and had fun on that. Other members of the group started making a den with sticks and branches, and after energetic rope-swing activity, everybody joined in with this. We climbed trees and threw sticks, I pushed over a large rotten silver birch tree. The snails were released, and we heard woodpeckers drumming. I collected litter in the snails' bucket and some polybags I found. (33 pieces of recyclable can/bottle type litter, plus lots of throw-away stuff) After all this activity we had an ice cream and borrowed some young adults' football and had a kick around. Most of the children had a fabulous time and we all enjoyed this place. What a pity Gill couldn't see it and join in.

After tea, I did a balloon show and workshop for the children which they mostly enjoyed and I was delighted to see how good some of them were at making a bird model! We got the sleeping arrangements organised sensibly and I had a much better night's sleep.

Thursday 26th March 09

Off to Sheffield to see Age of Stupid at the Showroom, and to see Franny Armstrong, the film-maker, introduce it and answer questions afterwards.

I had quite a busy morning at home but got a train just after midday, then a tram in Sheffield up to near where Ali lives, and then a 10 minute walk to her house. Arrived at 2 and spent some of the afternoon with her before going to a meeting that she chairs... a nursery which has loads of kids... I think 60 children under 4 years old... I didn't attend the meeting, I did some balloon animals for the few children who were still around, but when they went I sat in on the last 10 minutes.

At nearly 6 we went on to the Showroom where there was a queue for the Age of Stupid special screening, sold out as Franny Armstrong was due to introduce the film and answer questions afterwards. As we were queueing for a mocha, I spotted Franny, I was glad she'd made it, as earlier I'd received a mass email saying it was touch and go whether she'd be able to get up to Sheffield.

The film is brilliant... this was the second time I'd seen it and I got more out of it this time... some bits I'd missed the first time, and also the linking theme of oil which connects all the stories was much clearer. But I still cried and cried at one point near the end, when the years roll forward to 2055. I think it's the music actually, it's so, well, emotional!

I enjoyed the Q+A, although one question, asked by a young teen or child, about what Franny herself does to be climate friendly, was answered in a bit of a tough way, as many people have asked her, in one way or another, whether she's a hypocrite? I don't think this young person was actually asking that complex a question, they just wanted to hear that she was vegetarian, charged up her laptop with solar panels and didn't drive, or fly on holiday (although being a film-maker means that she has flown and will be travelling by air to the US next month).

Afterwards, we went to the local groups discussion, hosted by Transition Sheffield and Sheffield Against Climate Change. Before I went to get my train home, we went to Subway for a sandwich and I then got the 10 15ish train to Leeds, had a 25 minute wait in Leeds and arrived in York soon after midnight.

A super day! Rerally good to see Ali, and AoS again, and glad to share this with Ali, who enjoyed it too, if 'enjoyed' is the right term!

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.

Saturday 30th August 08

Awoken by a phone call from a friend who's lonely at the weekend since his family has broken up, so I told him about York Green Festival tomorrow and he'll come down sometime in the afternoon. Then there was another phone call from a Fiddlesticks enquirer... and another phone call after that! It's so busy that it's almost like we have a Freefone number!

However the boys went out to play so Gill and I had a bit of time together after which I cycled round to the bread shop and then cut one of the hedges at the bottom of the garden. Over lunch we watched an old Time Team on More 4, and I did emails.

During the afternoon I did a huge pile of pruning.. holly, laurel, privet hedge, and shredding... almost a cubic metre of the stuff...

At about 5pm, cycled down to Rowntree Park to help put up marquees, with Baz and David, Bob and Richard, and advice from Liz who was tipsy (Baz's friend). The solar cinema was being put up with assistance from Sarah and I left at nearly 7pm.

Back home for a small tea and a cold shower as was extremely hot and sweaty... not suitable material for a party, which is where I was off to next. Will was having a 'wellness party' following too much time unwell, and it was an excellent party, with quite a few folks I knew and some I didn't. Drinks, food, music, then some games, and then I did a little balloon show which was fun for all concerned.

Home at about midnight.

Saturday 17th May 08

A lovely morning... I had a bit of a lie-in til 9 and then a happy family time downstairs, including silly jokes, some bundling (play-wrestling) and NO TEARS! Most enjoyable. I extracted myself from the rough and tumble before it got too rough and went to have a bath, as I've got a gig this afternoon.

Good bath, came out clean enough for a cycle ride out to Sutton on Derwent and a wedding, where I'd been booked to just do the balloon models... and all went very smoothly and easily, including meeting a lovely friendly child who'd met me twice before and was obviously a fan, which was nice. So the session went quickly and I got paid and I cycled off back home, getting in at about 6.

I made tea... a pile of Basmati rice with tumeric and dried red pepper... the stuff which didn't go through the seive when making sweet paprika, and a stir fry of onion, celery, olives, mushrooms and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and red wine, served with a blob of tomato and basil relish given to us by Debbie, who didn't like it.

After tea I had a short time in the garden and before going to the party I'd been invited to, went to do my emails and ended up going on Facebook to answer a couple of composting queries on the group called 'Organic Gardening 101', where I host a topic called 'Any Composting Questions Answered', which I really enjoy doing.

Then to the party... I thought it was Rich's birthday but it wasn't, it was Jenny's housewarming, and there were loads of folks ther that I knew and loads I didn't but got to know. I took my balloons and several people had a go at making models... it added quite a bit of fun to the party.

I had a really good time but left at about half past midnight as I have work on Sunday....

Sunday 6th April 08

A good day as it started slowly and gently, I had a bath before lunch and popped down to Country Fresh before getting loaded up to go and work.

I cycled off to the MonkBar Hotel via Foss Islands Road, and blocking my way on the cycle path was an overly large 4x4 Range Rover.. so large that the driver couldn't place the damn thing on the lane she was supposed to be in, but spread all over the cycle lane. So I came to a halt behind the thing and gave it a couple of good hefty bangs with my gloved palm to alert the idiot driver to where she was on the road, and the fact that she was blocking me. I then carefully pulled my trailer (with one wheel on the pavement) alongside the car and she wound down her window and started to abuse me. I'm afraid I swore back at her, at which she threatened to call the police! I told her to go ahead and do that, as I knew I'd done nothing wrong, well nothing illegal anyway!

A little later, she was in another traffic jam near the MonkBar Hotel and she saw me go into the carpark. I did not communicate with her here. I got unloaded and got ready to do my balloon show first. During my balloon show, one of the naming ceremony organisers said that there were a couple of police officers waiting in the hotel lobby to see me. So I finished my show and went to speak to them... all they wanted was my name and address and telephone number, so that if the monster car driver wanted to prosecute me, they'd come and get a statement. I briefly told them what had happened and they said that they were both cyclists and agreed that some car drivers were really bad, didn't think that cyclists should be on the road, and were generally sympathetic with my situation.

I then had something to eat, and did my circus show which was difficult as there were only 15 kids and over 100 adults, but I ploughed through it and it was well received.

When I came out, after a cider which was offered to me, it was snowing. I got wet and cold on the way home, but as there were no Range Rover drivers to block cycle paths, all was well!

Spent 2 hours answering composting questions on the CRAG website and on Facebook, a group called Organic Gardening 101.