I got up before I needed to... the phone rang and I wondered if it was for me, and I came down to sleepily 'be there' which seems to be a good thing when the boys are getting ready for school. Just being around is a calming influence. If I say anything or interact, this is not the case, so I've learned to just 'be'. I've often said that I'm not very good at being and am much better at doing. But in this case, the doing is to just be, if that makes sense.
Anyway, at 10ish, Katalin arrived. She contacted me first before last year's York Green Festival and wanted to take photos of the event, and she did just that, recording the festival. She has a website coming soon... I look forward to seeing it! We had a cuppa and chat with Gill... and then a slow wander down the garden. She loved lots of what she saw, she was perhaps the most enthusiastic visitor I've had for some while! So she took pictures of wormeries, compost, flowers, untidy bits, me, and I don't know what else... I'll have to wait and see!
She left at about 1pm and I washed up and had lunch. In the afternoon I planted some more seeds, different sorts of climbing French beans from the YiT seed swap.
At about 4pm I bombed down to town to deliver a letter and came back via Country Fresh and Freshways. I spent a bit of time starting a new compost heap in the rain, in the metal sided bin, with the basal layers being lots of shredded hedge. Gill made a simple pasta, carrot, mushroom, asparagus, home grown purple sprouting broccoli mix, with a slice of freshly baked home made bread. This was delicious, as usual.
Then I went to town again to attend the FoE 'environment' hustings... the environment has hardly been mentioned in this pre-election run-up, so it was good to go to a meeting with all four main candidates in York Central, down at the Friends Meeting House, and hear what they had to say.
They all agreed that the most pressing environmental issue is that of climate change. All candidates said their parties would deal with it. I was quite impressed with Susan Wade Weeks the Tory, who describes herself as 'the greenest Conservative that you'll ever meet', and I really like the independent approach of Christian Vassie, the Lib Dem City Councillor and City of York 'Energy Champion'. The Green Party's Andy Chase was reasonable, and Hugh Bayley was his usual experienced and professional self. Four people who all care and think they could be the MP for York. My guess is that Bayley has such a big majority that he'll be almost impossible to dislodge, but I would love Vassie to get it. If it was a close-run thing between Bayley and Vassie, I'd vote tactically and vote Lib Dem, but I think I'll vote with my heart and vote Green. Although the Tory seems a nice person, and pretty green in some ways, I don't like all of their policies and don't trust them.
I enjoyed this hustings a lot, despite Hugh Bayley calling me 'Stephen' when he answered my question on how we can reduce the amount of meat consumed. I'd have thought he would remember my name by now; we've been communicating for many many years and have met on dog-knows how many occasions. I forgive him, he meets LOADS of people, and at least he tried! But he won't get my vote.... he didn't have a good answer to my question!
I chatted to a few of my friends afterwards and cycled home via a pile of pallets which loaded themselves onto my trailer and followed me home!
Showing posts with label Hustings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hustings. Show all posts
Thursday, 29 April 2010
Monday, 26 April 2010
Monday 26th April 10
A good day... woke late and then took some time making up my muesli, which included cracking loads of nuts and finding about 8 sorts of home-dried fruit, chopping them up and mixing them into the muesli base.
Then did a little bit more work outside, mainly filling the raised bed again, this time with the clay soil which came out of the trench which now has a wall coming out of it near our other raised beds further up the garden. I riddled the soil to break up the lumps and allow it to be spread evenly and mixed with the compost and spent potting media.
I also did a little bit of chainsawing, and fruit drying... but it was a nicely nothingy day, spent with the birdsong and the friendly robins who love what I do!
Until 5pm, that is, when I had a shower (in solar heated water, I've worked out how to do it!) Gill made a pasta and mushroom thing which I enjoyed with some home-made bread fresh out of the oven, which she had made because she couldn't be bothered to go to the shops. She is brilliant, a superb cook and we are so lucky!
At 5.30, I cycled off to the BBC Radio York Live Hustings event at the Folk Hall in New Earswick. This was for York Outer, a new constituency, and I'd been invited to attend, not sure why as I'm a voter in York Central. I got there at 6pm and chatted to an old chap called John whom I've seen at lots of meetings, plus a nice couple, sitting the on other side to John.
The producer, Phil Squire, explained the format, rules and 'warmed us up' with some funny stories of radio phone ins. Then the presenter, Jonathan Cowap, introduced the panel, who were Madeleine Kirk (Lib Dem), James Alexander (Labour), Julian Sturdy (Tory) and Baroness Haleh Afshar who is a Professor of politics at York University. There was a lot of talk about the economy and jobs, and it was interesting seeing the candidates dealing with the questions, and the good-humoured Baroness Afshar's responses were worth hearing as well. There was a question about the cessation of pain relief injections for back pain, because the National Institute of Clinical Excellence deems them ineffective, and thinks that there are other more effective methods available. The Labour candidate said he was asking for a review of this policy, but also said that he was keen on evidence-based medicine. I managed to make a comment about whether the local Primary Care Trust might stop supplying homeopathic remedies under this policy too.
The last question was good... the panel was asked that if there was a form of proportional representation with a transferable vote, who would they give their second vote for. Haleh Afshar said that as she was in the House of Lords, she couldn't vote (I didn't know this!). Madeleine Kirk said she wouldn't use her second vote (to boos from the audience!) and James Alexander said that if there was a Green candidate, he'd put his vote that way. I clapped, but I think I was the only Green in the audience. Then Julian Sturdy mumbled his way through a load of excuses and said he'd put his second vote to the UKIP, to howls of derision from the audience. It was a good final bit of grave-digging from him!
And that was that... the hour was over, it was 8pm, and I was home well before 9, when I did the washing up and settled down to watch the news and do some facebooking and email removal.
Then did a little bit more work outside, mainly filling the raised bed again, this time with the clay soil which came out of the trench which now has a wall coming out of it near our other raised beds further up the garden. I riddled the soil to break up the lumps and allow it to be spread evenly and mixed with the compost and spent potting media.
I also did a little bit of chainsawing, and fruit drying... but it was a nicely nothingy day, spent with the birdsong and the friendly robins who love what I do!
Until 5pm, that is, when I had a shower (in solar heated water, I've worked out how to do it!) Gill made a pasta and mushroom thing which I enjoyed with some home-made bread fresh out of the oven, which she had made because she couldn't be bothered to go to the shops. She is brilliant, a superb cook and we are so lucky!
At 5.30, I cycled off to the BBC Radio York Live Hustings event at the Folk Hall in New Earswick. This was for York Outer, a new constituency, and I'd been invited to attend, not sure why as I'm a voter in York Central. I got there at 6pm and chatted to an old chap called John whom I've seen at lots of meetings, plus a nice couple, sitting the on other side to John.
The producer, Phil Squire, explained the format, rules and 'warmed us up' with some funny stories of radio phone ins. Then the presenter, Jonathan Cowap, introduced the panel, who were Madeleine Kirk (Lib Dem), James Alexander (Labour), Julian Sturdy (Tory) and Baroness Haleh Afshar who is a Professor of politics at York University. There was a lot of talk about the economy and jobs, and it was interesting seeing the candidates dealing with the questions, and the good-humoured Baroness Afshar's responses were worth hearing as well. There was a question about the cessation of pain relief injections for back pain, because the National Institute of Clinical Excellence deems them ineffective, and thinks that there are other more effective methods available. The Labour candidate said he was asking for a review of this policy, but also said that he was keen on evidence-based medicine. I managed to make a comment about whether the local Primary Care Trust might stop supplying homeopathic remedies under this policy too.
The last question was good... the panel was asked that if there was a form of proportional representation with a transferable vote, who would they give their second vote for. Haleh Afshar said that as she was in the House of Lords, she couldn't vote (I didn't know this!). Madeleine Kirk said she wouldn't use her second vote (to boos from the audience!) and James Alexander said that if there was a Green candidate, he'd put his vote that way. I clapped, but I think I was the only Green in the audience. Then Julian Sturdy mumbled his way through a load of excuses and said he'd put his second vote to the UKIP, to howls of derision from the audience. It was a good final bit of grave-digging from him!
And that was that... the hour was over, it was 8pm, and I was home well before 9, when I did the washing up and settled down to watch the news and do some facebooking and email removal.
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