Sunday 17th October 10

I had a fairly chilled Sunday morning, including half-watching Country Tracks, but I had the York in Transition Alternative Energy Event on my mind, and how I could best contribute to this.  I had a phone conversation with Anna Semlyen, who has organised this event, and decided to find or create a placard to stand outside the Mansion House.

I got some cardboard and wallpaper lining paper, and secured a stick handle into the card, and after lunch took that on my trailer, plus marker pens, down to The Mansion House on St Helen's Square, arriving at 2.30pm.  Anna supplied two posters which I stuck on each side, and I wrote FREE TODAY above the poster and RENEWABLE ENERGY below it.

My self-appointed task was to stand outside the venue and announce: "FREE ENTRY TODAY TO THE MANSION HOUSE, USUALLY £5 ENTRY, TODAY FREE.  ALSO FIND OUT HOW TO GET FREE ELECTRICITY" and similar messages.  There was plenty of interest, not just from people wanting to find out more about renewable energy, but a few (tourists) wanting to see the Lord Mayor's residence.  At about 3.30 Ivana came down and said that Anna had just finished her short talk so it was my turn to do a talk on woodstoves.  I had about 6 people listening intently and asking questions afterwards.  I went straight back out and continued pulling them in.  At about 4.45 I did another talk to just 5 people this time, but all were potential woodstove buyers.    The venue closed it's doors at 5pm, and the chap on the door told us we'd had 241 people through... we were delighted!  So were the three solar installers who had their info for people to see.  I'd been asking people on the way out if it had been worth going in, and most said it had been really useful.

So, in anybody's terms, a highly successful event.  About two thirds of the people who came in did look around the stalls and took leaflets from the Energy Saving Trust, who didn't attend but did let us have leaflets. So between 150 and 200 people got information about putting solar photovoltaic panels on their roof, or solar water heating, insulation, heat pumps, woodburning stoves and more.  York in Transition got a load more email sign ups to add to the 500+ we have already.

I came home pretty quickly, picking up two bags and a box from Countyr Fresh which had just closed, and some scrap metal out of their bin. 

Carrot soup for tea, and a bit of rice the kids didn't eat, and then I sorted out some beans which I'm drying, and some nectarines, and I sliced the membrillo into thick slices as it has dried off and set sufficiently, although the centre of each slice is soft, so I put each slice on it's side to dry further.  I tasted it again and it's wonderful.  Despite being time consuming to make, I'm sure it is worth it.

25th Feb 07

Another day not working, and a chance to go and visit the new City of York Council 'Eco Depot' which had a well-publicised open day today. This facility has been built to replace the previous 'Foss Islands Road' council depot, and one of the buildings has been constructed using sustainable materials. So shortly after 11am, my boyos and I cycled down to the James St/Hazel Court Eco Depot and it was already quite busy. After a chat to the York Rotters team and quick look around, we booked onto the midday tour of the Depot. A film crew found me and I obliged by answering their questions. The tour was interesting, but I was disappointed that only the office building had been constructed from renewable resources, the other buildings were traditional brick and steel, although the roof water is collected and stored for vehicle washing, negating the need to use drinking water at great cost. I was also saddened to learn that the council has formed a partnership with a company connected with the military, and are therefore, in my view, not totally committed to sustainability. There is nothing less sustainable than warfare, and a sustainable society wouldn't spend so much on armed forces. I would avoid any such partnerships or collaborative working, as it signifies support for this wasteful activity. However, I'm not in charge, so my views are nowt!

I'm delighted the council has invested in offices which are built from renewable, low carbon materials, and that generate much of their own energy from solar PV panels, and have lights which switch off when not needed and windows which open and close automatically. Wouldn't it be nice if all future buildings were built this way?