A busy day... two Green Festival meetings and a funeral.
I got up just after 9 and had a quick breakfast and then got a load of potato sacks out of the garage where I put them to dry out, as a Freecycle person has requested 20 for his spuds.
Then raced down to town on the bike, trailer rattling and bouncing behind me, with me dressed in my best black long trousers and Jimi Hendrix black teeshirt, in the pouring rain to the York Green Festival meets City of York Council Environmental Health meeting.
This went reasonably well... despite us not having all the answers. Fortunately Jem from JSS Audio was there and he did have some answers... after all he is a professional! I agreed to be the person who will cycle round all the sensitive areas nearby and assess the sound levels. I will have to keep records, so that if we do have complaints, we can demonstrate that we did everything possible to reduce the likelihood of noise nuisance. We have some technical fixes too, but fortunately that's nothing to do with me.
I had to go at 11am as I had decided to go to the funeral of John Morris, a friend of my good friend Jonathan. I met John Morris about 5 times, and found him an interesting, humorous and friendly guy, more unique than the average person and with a fascinating home full of books.
The funeral was at the Crematorium, and I got there with about 5 minutes to spare and Jonathan beckoned me over. There were a few familiar faces, Debbie from over the road, John and Shirley Bibby, some other York folks. The service was really good. I was fascinated to hear more about John, his times spent at Ampleforth School, his love of botany, antiquarian books, and his unusual lifestyle. His wife, daughter and three friends spoke, and the celebrant was good too. I haven't been to many funerals but this was a good one. Sad, but good. A good send off.
Cycled home in thoughtful mood... funerals always make me realise how short life is, and remind me to continue packing as much into it as I can, as I could be dead tomorrow, next month, next year... or might last 10, 30 or even 50 years more! The moral is we rarely know when the end is nigh, so live every day as if it is your last...
I cannot remember what I did in the couple of hours between the funeral and my next meeting.. probably some compost management (I know I changed my clothes!) and I had lunch, but at 4ish I headed off to Rowntree Park to meet John the park keeper, who will be on duty on Sunday 6th. I wanted to brief him about the Festival, and find out about various power and resources issues. The news was good, and I came home via Country Fresh happy, and bought some avocados and eggs, carrots and a head of broccoli.
When I got back, I had a visitor from around the corner, a lady called Gillian which she pronounces with a hard G, not a J. She told me that they were taking down a large fir tree, and they had stacked under it a pile of logs... and did I want them? I have never knowingly said no to logs, so I happily took the wheelbarrow round to pick them up. When I got the second load, I sat and chatted with them, and had a very jolly conversation. And the logs were great too... really dry hardwood.
Spent a long time chopping apples up for drying... and used one of the new logs to get them started. And heat washing up water...
Showing posts with label Environmental Health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Environmental Health. Show all posts
Friday, 28 August 2009
Tuesday, 2 December 2008
Tuesday 2nd December 08
Woke to find excited children because of snow on the ground, and Gill walked in with our youngest as cycling on ice is not fun.
She got in and went out to get her hair cut as she claims to feel like a haystack, despite my telling her I find her beautiful! She'll be just as pretty with a trim.
I was just getting ready to go to my lunchtime meeting in town when she came in, having slipped over on ice and feeling a bit bruised physically... but mentally much more embarrassed as she'd taken the tumble in full view of all the passengers on the Number 28 bus...
My meeting was a York Green Festival meets City of York Council, to review this year's event and look ahead to any future event. The meeting was with Dave Meigh, the licencee of Rowntree Park, Liz Topi, in charge of events/festivals, and Helen didntcatchhername from Environmental Protection. She'd been doing sound levels around the site on the day, and the meeting was mainly about that. After the event in 2007, the Council received a few noise complaints, so this year they had a duty to have someone on duty to measure the noise. There were just 3 complaints, but one complainant, in a living room in the first floor of a flat the other side of the river facing the main stage, was getting the full works. The complainant, watching a footy match on telly with windows closed and double glazing, could still easily hear every word from the songs... and the EHO decided it was a 'statutory nuisance' which they have a duty to prevent.
So the event next year must not repeat the same offence, or the EHO can order the music to stop and they can 'pull the plug' to stop the nuisance. We discussed possible solutions, which I see as three alternatives. First is to have much quieter music on that stage... the acoustic stuff which isn't nearly as amplified. Second is to have a new sort of speaker system which the Council bods call a 'sprinkler system' with the speakers surrounding the audience, and pointing down at them, so preventing the noise escaping, and the third is to have the event in another venue, and we discussed several. YGF will have to have a meeting to discuss this and other aspects of YGF08 and plan 09.
I got back home at 2.45... I met my friend Isobel inside Nationwide and we chatted outside for about half an hour... Gill went to collect our snow-bound child (she cycled down and walked back with him) and I split a pile of birch logs I chopped up a few weeks ago. Both stoves lit as it was bitter, making the whole house livable in. Gill made pizza dough and we had a good tea all together. A peaceful evening... a smattering of phone calls and the usual activities, washing up, doing my emails, watching a bit of telly, nothing too out of the ordinary.
She got in and went out to get her hair cut as she claims to feel like a haystack, despite my telling her I find her beautiful! She'll be just as pretty with a trim.
I was just getting ready to go to my lunchtime meeting in town when she came in, having slipped over on ice and feeling a bit bruised physically... but mentally much more embarrassed as she'd taken the tumble in full view of all the passengers on the Number 28 bus...
My meeting was a York Green Festival meets City of York Council, to review this year's event and look ahead to any future event. The meeting was with Dave Meigh, the licencee of Rowntree Park, Liz Topi, in charge of events/festivals, and Helen didntcatchhername from Environmental Protection. She'd been doing sound levels around the site on the day, and the meeting was mainly about that. After the event in 2007, the Council received a few noise complaints, so this year they had a duty to have someone on duty to measure the noise. There were just 3 complaints, but one complainant, in a living room in the first floor of a flat the other side of the river facing the main stage, was getting the full works. The complainant, watching a footy match on telly with windows closed and double glazing, could still easily hear every word from the songs... and the EHO decided it was a 'statutory nuisance' which they have a duty to prevent.
So the event next year must not repeat the same offence, or the EHO can order the music to stop and they can 'pull the plug' to stop the nuisance. We discussed possible solutions, which I see as three alternatives. First is to have much quieter music on that stage... the acoustic stuff which isn't nearly as amplified. Second is to have a new sort of speaker system which the Council bods call a 'sprinkler system' with the speakers surrounding the audience, and pointing down at them, so preventing the noise escaping, and the third is to have the event in another venue, and we discussed several. YGF will have to have a meeting to discuss this and other aspects of YGF08 and plan 09.
I got back home at 2.45... I met my friend Isobel inside Nationwide and we chatted outside for about half an hour... Gill went to collect our snow-bound child (she cycled down and walked back with him) and I split a pile of birch logs I chopped up a few weeks ago. Both stoves lit as it was bitter, making the whole house livable in. Gill made pizza dough and we had a good tea all together. A peaceful evening... a smattering of phone calls and the usual activities, washing up, doing my emails, watching a bit of telly, nothing too out of the ordinary.
Thursday, 5 June 2008
Wednesday 4th June 08
Both went down to school with the boys and had a meeting with the head. This was regarding an incident at school yesterday. The teachers and head were very sympathetic and understanding and have come up with some possible solutions.
The rest of the day was quite quiet, and I picked the boys up at hometime.
After school went to Huddersfield to meet up with a group of people all members of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (of which I'm a member too) to do a talk on 'my version of green', or selected topics re climate change, ethical lifestyles etc etc.
I started by telling them why I did an Environmental Health degree and about finding out about Agenda 21 in the last term, and putting on a talk about LA21 in the last week I was at Leeds Met, and then helping to get York LA21 going and us successfully lobbying City of York Council to employ an LA21 officer. I then told them why I didn't become an EHO... discovering circus skills and going self employed, and my involvement with LETS which led to me getting York Credit Union going.
I then very enthusiastically explained about my involvement with composting and my starting York Rotters, and how my compost toilet led to me working with BBC Newsnight's 'Ethical Man' and how this led to my getting a column and blog in a magazine. Then I said about last year's start-up of CRAG, the Green Festival, and this spring's Oxfam low-carbon-footprint competition with subsequent visit to Hilary Benn and other MPs.
Of course I was able to put lots of extra facts and lifestyle info into this framework, and in the Q and A session afterwards I talked about compost toilets (again!), Energy Performance Certificates, greening your building and a bit more about successful composting and Master Compost groups. The whole thing took nearly an hour. I enjoyed it very much.
I was given a cheque to cover my travelling expenses plus a bit extra, and taken back to the railway station. I got into the house at about 9.30, just in time to see the latest chunk of 'Ideal' on BBC3 which was very funny. After this I prepared a load of cherry tomatoes and red onions (both thrown out by the wholesaler... the onions are sprouting - for me this shows they are alive but it means that some people won't buy them because they're not quite as firm as dormant onions... the tomatoes were in 9 punnets, each punnet having one or two mouldy tomatoes but 7 or 8 good ones!) and made soup on the woodstove, whilst half watching something on the telly with Gill and doing emails and chatting on the computer with two of my friends all at once. I like this kind of productive evening, I find it very difficult to concentrate on just one thing at once, and much prefer to be bobbing around, doing this and that, shifting my concentration from one thing to another. However it can be difficult for some of the people I know who have a different way of 'working best' and are able (or prefer) to concentrate on one thing at a time. But hey, this makes for a diverse world and this is how I like it!
The rest of the day was quite quiet, and I picked the boys up at hometime.
After school went to Huddersfield to meet up with a group of people all members of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (of which I'm a member too) to do a talk on 'my version of green', or selected topics re climate change, ethical lifestyles etc etc.
I started by telling them why I did an Environmental Health degree and about finding out about Agenda 21 in the last term, and putting on a talk about LA21 in the last week I was at Leeds Met, and then helping to get York LA21 going and us successfully lobbying City of York Council to employ an LA21 officer. I then told them why I didn't become an EHO... discovering circus skills and going self employed, and my involvement with LETS which led to me getting York Credit Union going.
I then very enthusiastically explained about my involvement with composting and my starting York Rotters, and how my compost toilet led to me working with BBC Newsnight's 'Ethical Man' and how this led to my getting a column and blog in a magazine. Then I said about last year's start-up of CRAG, the Green Festival, and this spring's Oxfam low-carbon-footprint competition with subsequent visit to Hilary Benn and other MPs.
Of course I was able to put lots of extra facts and lifestyle info into this framework, and in the Q and A session afterwards I talked about compost toilets (again!), Energy Performance Certificates, greening your building and a bit more about successful composting and Master Compost groups. The whole thing took nearly an hour. I enjoyed it very much.
I was given a cheque to cover my travelling expenses plus a bit extra, and taken back to the railway station. I got into the house at about 9.30, just in time to see the latest chunk of 'Ideal' on BBC3 which was very funny. After this I prepared a load of cherry tomatoes and red onions (both thrown out by the wholesaler... the onions are sprouting - for me this shows they are alive but it means that some people won't buy them because they're not quite as firm as dormant onions... the tomatoes were in 9 punnets, each punnet having one or two mouldy tomatoes but 7 or 8 good ones!) and made soup on the woodstove, whilst half watching something on the telly with Gill and doing emails and chatting on the computer with two of my friends all at once. I like this kind of productive evening, I find it very difficult to concentrate on just one thing at once, and much prefer to be bobbing around, doing this and that, shifting my concentration from one thing to another. However it can be difficult for some of the people I know who have a different way of 'working best' and are able (or prefer) to concentrate on one thing at a time. But hey, this makes for a diverse world and this is how I like it!
Thursday, 27 March 2008
Thursday 27th March 08
A good day as Gill's niece Helen came over from Leeds and she's one of our favourite family members. Whilst she was chatting to us, I made soup for this evening out of spring onions, a leek top and an onion (all rejects) and a bought potato and three carrots. I fried the alliums first then added the roots, put in boiling water and herbs, balsamic vinegar and bouillon and cooked it up on the woodstove for several hours. This turned into the best stew/soup I have ever made, it was fantastic!
I cycled round to the bread shop and was reminded that I had found a foreign object in a bread-roll last week, so decided to ring them when I got in and take it in to save them a car-journey out here. No point in them driving here when I can cycle it there!
Later, I did some work in the garden, and after lunch, cycled the bread-roll with a nail in it down to the Environmental Health people at St Leonards Place. I found this last Friday and as the Council folks were on holiday, I popped it in the freezer. So I gave it in and signed a statement prepared by the student EH Professinal (not 'Officers' anymore!) and then visited Dylan at Millers Yard, Macdonalds Furniture Store in Fossgate to get a coatstand, as requested by Gill (had to collect this from James Street warehouse) and then on to what used to be Martin's Country Fresh on Heslington Road, which this morning has been rebranded 'Country Fresh', so that it can be Martin's, Richard's, or even Shirley's Country Fresh.
I picked up several sacks and boxes there, and had a friendly chat with a bricklayer from Leeds called Phil, who was very positive about what I was doing. I hope he visits, I gave him my details, as I think he's a potential 'Green Convert'!!!
The folks were away when I got in so I went down the garden and dug out a sit n wait compost heap, completely filling a builders one-tonne bag, and then rebuilt a new pallet bin, off the ground to discourage rodents. It is on a pallet, raised off the ground, and has four pallets wired together as sides. I broke up the old container and used some of the wooden slats to fill the holes in the base pallet. I'll refill the bin tomorrow.
The two lovely ladies and three boys (our youngest had a friend to play) came back from town where they'd walked down to the walls, walked a section and then got a bus back. Soon after this, Helen had to go. I hope we see her again soon.
Had the fantastic soup for tea, watched a bit of telly whilst doing computery stuff during the evening. My spirits were raised to see the chaos at the new 'Terminal 5' at Heathrow. On the lunchtime news there was film of a 'flashmob' anti airports protest which looked really good, but on the evening news there was nothing about this, just the fact that the whole place had got clogged up with the luggage machinery not working and the staff not being able to cope... and therefore quite a few flights were cancelled. The really good thing was that it was mainly 'short-haul' flights. The lazy greedy bastards who use these should have gone by train instead (much lower carbon emissions). So this kind of chaos makes my happy.
I cycled round to the bread shop and was reminded that I had found a foreign object in a bread-roll last week, so decided to ring them when I got in and take it in to save them a car-journey out here. No point in them driving here when I can cycle it there!
Later, I did some work in the garden, and after lunch, cycled the bread-roll with a nail in it down to the Environmental Health people at St Leonards Place. I found this last Friday and as the Council folks were on holiday, I popped it in the freezer. So I gave it in and signed a statement prepared by the student EH Professinal (not 'Officers' anymore!) and then visited Dylan at Millers Yard, Macdonalds Furniture Store in Fossgate to get a coatstand, as requested by Gill (had to collect this from James Street warehouse) and then on to what used to be Martin's Country Fresh on Heslington Road, which this morning has been rebranded 'Country Fresh', so that it can be Martin's, Richard's, or even Shirley's Country Fresh.
I picked up several sacks and boxes there, and had a friendly chat with a bricklayer from Leeds called Phil, who was very positive about what I was doing. I hope he visits, I gave him my details, as I think he's a potential 'Green Convert'!!!
The folks were away when I got in so I went down the garden and dug out a sit n wait compost heap, completely filling a builders one-tonne bag, and then rebuilt a new pallet bin, off the ground to discourage rodents. It is on a pallet, raised off the ground, and has four pallets wired together as sides. I broke up the old container and used some of the wooden slats to fill the holes in the base pallet. I'll refill the bin tomorrow.
The two lovely ladies and three boys (our youngest had a friend to play) came back from town where they'd walked down to the walls, walked a section and then got a bus back. Soon after this, Helen had to go. I hope we see her again soon.
Had the fantastic soup for tea, watched a bit of telly whilst doing computery stuff during the evening. My spirits were raised to see the chaos at the new 'Terminal 5' at Heathrow. On the lunchtime news there was film of a 'flashmob' anti airports protest which looked really good, but on the evening news there was nothing about this, just the fact that the whole place had got clogged up with the luggage machinery not working and the staff not being able to cope... and therefore quite a few flights were cancelled. The really good thing was that it was mainly 'short-haul' flights. The lazy greedy bastards who use these should have gone by train instead (much lower carbon emissions). So this kind of chaos makes my happy.
Friday, 21 March 2008
Friday 21st March 08
A good start to the day, after a comfortable night on the new mattress.
Lit both stoves as it was really cold, got some bathwater ready for Gilly.
The children were off school for the first day of the Easter Holidays and so I kept out of the way as far as possible after the first outburst. I am not coping very well with dealing with this behaviour, and by the end of the day I was feeling quite low because of being shouted at and disobeyed, and my reaction to this which can also be loud and sometimes physical. I do not respect myself for not being able to cope even though what we are going through is not the usual type of child behaviour.
It does not count that there is often an apology soon afterwards.... this is heartfelt and genuine, but it doesn't undo the feelings of hurt and hopelessness that I feel when it is happening and it certainly doesn't mean there won't be another angry outburst soon afterwards.
Hey ho, take one day at a time, try to control my desires to punish him for the disobedience, violence and destruction, try not to swear at him, try to disengage and walk away if possible, unless he's attacking Gill or the other child. Not easy to do. Being 'disengaged' is not my best quality, infact it's the exact opposite of my personality.
I did get out mid-morning to buy some bread... and in one of the rolls I bought, I found a nail, a metal one! I phoned the Environmental Health people at the council but they were on holiday so I put the breadroll in the freezer so I can take it to them next week.
I managed to get some stuff done in the evening, fruit-drying wise and washing up, but my computer wouldn't connect to the internet when I wanted to write my paid blog and this compounded my feelings of inability.
Lit both stoves as it was really cold, got some bathwater ready for Gilly.
The children were off school for the first day of the Easter Holidays and so I kept out of the way as far as possible after the first outburst. I am not coping very well with dealing with this behaviour, and by the end of the day I was feeling quite low because of being shouted at and disobeyed, and my reaction to this which can also be loud and sometimes physical. I do not respect myself for not being able to cope even though what we are going through is not the usual type of child behaviour.
It does not count that there is often an apology soon afterwards.... this is heartfelt and genuine, but it doesn't undo the feelings of hurt and hopelessness that I feel when it is happening and it certainly doesn't mean there won't be another angry outburst soon afterwards.
Hey ho, take one day at a time, try to control my desires to punish him for the disobedience, violence and destruction, try not to swear at him, try to disengage and walk away if possible, unless he's attacking Gill or the other child. Not easy to do. Being 'disengaged' is not my best quality, infact it's the exact opposite of my personality.
I did get out mid-morning to buy some bread... and in one of the rolls I bought, I found a nail, a metal one! I phoned the Environmental Health people at the council but they were on holiday so I put the breadroll in the freezer so I can take it to them next week.
I managed to get some stuff done in the evening, fruit-drying wise and washing up, but my computer wouldn't connect to the internet when I wanted to write my paid blog and this compounded my feelings of inability.
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