Today the festival was finished and beginning to be dismantled. I got up quite early as I had the chance to go with 'Fluffy Chris' the site driver, with the first skip of food waste and paper plates/cups, to 'Eco-Composting' near Bournemouth in Dorset. This is 69 miles away from our site, but the material is able to be 'in vessel' composted which complies to the Animal By-Product Regulations, which prevent us composting on site which I did in the previous two years on this site, and at the Warminster site three times.
I mapread and got us successfully to the Eco-Sustaainable Ltd site, which accepts waste wood and green waste, food waste, soil and stone, and produces woodchip, topsoil, composts and turf.
Our batch weighed 2.6 tonnes, and we tipped it in the 'in vessel' shed, where it would be mixed with shredded wood and waste meat pies from a local factory, put through a 12mm screen, put in a 'clamp' with forced aeration and allowed to attain 70 celcius for at least an hour, steamed to ensure all the material is heat-treated, and then left to mature for several weeks before screening again, and put through a machine which removes plastics and non-composted materials. The resultant compost is spread on fields and seeded with grass seed, the turf sold all over Southern Britain.
We went the same way back and got back on site by 1.30pm. Lorna had taken her tent down and I did the same before having lunch at 2. Then we went, fully loaded, to see if the bus was heading to Weston Super Mare, but it apparently had a long time to wait before it was full, so Lorna rang my folks from the top of the bus (the only place on site with mobile reception) and we accepted their offer of a ride back to WSM. We started walking towards Burrington Coombe and within the hour my parents' Prius purred up, turned round and we went back to Weston.
We got another lift to the station for 5.30 pm and the train left for Bristol soon after that. A quick change over in Temple Meads, and Lorna left the train at Derby at 8 ish, I got back to York at 11pm, and got a taxi home.
Gill had gone to Robin Hood's Bay on Sunday with the boys to keep then occupied, and got a B and B and then come back on Monday via Whitby, Grosmont, the North Yorks Moors Railway to Pickering and a bus to York, arriving back in York today at teatime.
Really good to see her, glad she had the sense to do something to keep the kids from imploding.
Wednesday, 8 August 2007
Sunday 5th August 07 Big Green Gathering
Another early start, breakfast at 8 and start shift at 9, on the second skip, which we justabout completely filled by midday. Today good too on the finds... got a £6 mealticket for a meal at Roots Cafe (which I used later for lunch!) and then, amazingly, between a couple of paper plates, a £10 note and a £5 note!!!
So definitely worth working on the rubbish today, and satisfying to get so much biodegradable stuff into the skip for recycling, and ensuring it was good quality with relatively few contaminants.
At 1pm, went to the Last Chance Saloon again for my second Home Composting workshop, but the only people to come to this one were some folks trying to get out of the hot sunshine... blame it on the weather again! However they were interested and asked inteligent questions, so maybe they'll be better composters from now on.
After this, and the free lunch, happened upon the 'Question Time for BGG Directors' which was very interesting. Lots of debate, and anger even, about the fact that the 'Lost Vagueness' marquee had a generator, although powered by 100% biodiesel, the BGG strapline is 'Powered by the Sun, the Wind and the People' and there is a policy of no generators (ie fossil-fuel) on site. It was explained how/why it was there and we learned that there were other generators there, such as the tractors which suck out the non-composting toilets every day, and a back-up generator used by the outside security firm.
More frisbee in the evening. Late on, we had a wander up the fantastic canyon which is so spectacular, and had been adorned with candles and nightlights and had a lovely harpist in one place, we stopped and sat and loved it! Then later still, found the venue for a production of 'The Vagina Monologues' which was really excellent. Good on 'The Women of Avalon', thank you for sharing!
So definitely worth working on the rubbish today, and satisfying to get so much biodegradable stuff into the skip for recycling, and ensuring it was good quality with relatively few contaminants.
At 1pm, went to the Last Chance Saloon again for my second Home Composting workshop, but the only people to come to this one were some folks trying to get out of the hot sunshine... blame it on the weather again! However they were interested and asked inteligent questions, so maybe they'll be better composters from now on.
After this, and the free lunch, happened upon the 'Question Time for BGG Directors' which was very interesting. Lots of debate, and anger even, about the fact that the 'Lost Vagueness' marquee had a generator, although powered by 100% biodiesel, the BGG strapline is 'Powered by the Sun, the Wind and the People' and there is a policy of no generators (ie fossil-fuel) on site. It was explained how/why it was there and we learned that there were other generators there, such as the tractors which suck out the non-composting toilets every day, and a back-up generator used by the outside security firm.
More frisbee in the evening. Late on, we had a wander up the fantastic canyon which is so spectacular, and had been adorned with candles and nightlights and had a lovely harpist in one place, we stopped and sat and loved it! Then later still, found the venue for a production of 'The Vagina Monologues' which was really excellent. Good on 'The Women of Avalon', thank you for sharing!
Saturday 4th August 07 Big Green Gathering
We did two work shifts today, as there was loads and loads of stuff being brought to us, so 9 til 12.45, then 5 til 6.45. But was worth it as I found two pairs of scissors, a really good stainless steel knife and 30 pence in coins.
After lunch we went to the Green Forum marquee as Justin Rowlatt from Newsnight was meant to be speaking about his year as 'Ethical Man', but he didn't turn up, was very disappointed about this. However enjoyed watching the compere filling in and asking for poets to get up and do a turn, one did a Hilaire Belloc piece called 'Jim', about a naughty boy who left his nanny and got eaten by a lion, this brought back memories as my Dad regularly spouted this one, and other Belloc poems.
After our second shift, and tea, we had a session of juggling and devilsticks, then some frisbee until it got too dark. Then we found ourselves in the Quantum Leap tent with lots of people dancing to Green Angels, a lovely folk band with 'English Border Bagpipes' and some percussion done on scallop shells. The dancers were doing square dances and a kind of snaking around dance. I didn't join in as I'm not good at following instructions or copying others, but enjoyed watching the various dancing styles.
After lunch we went to the Green Forum marquee as Justin Rowlatt from Newsnight was meant to be speaking about his year as 'Ethical Man', but he didn't turn up, was very disappointed about this. However enjoyed watching the compere filling in and asking for poets to get up and do a turn, one did a Hilaire Belloc piece called 'Jim', about a naughty boy who left his nanny and got eaten by a lion, this brought back memories as my Dad regularly spouted this one, and other Belloc poems.
After our second shift, and tea, we had a session of juggling and devilsticks, then some frisbee until it got too dark. Then we found ourselves in the Quantum Leap tent with lots of people dancing to Green Angels, a lovely folk band with 'English Border Bagpipes' and some percussion done on scallop shells. The dancers were doing square dances and a kind of snaking around dance. I didn't join in as I'm not good at following instructions or copying others, but enjoyed watching the various dancing styles.
Friday 3rd August 07 Big Green Gathering
Another day of working in the first skip, did a morning shift 9 til 12 and then showered and lunched and spent the rest of the day wandering around and experiencing the sights, smells and sounds of the festival.
At 5pm, went to the main info place to see if anybody else was there for the naked ramble... and to our suprise there were quite a few. So no backing out now! At 5 past, we went for it and got naked and for the first few minutes it felt a bit weird, but then it just felt nice. Lots of people laughed or clapped and cheered. One guy was very keen to get infront of us and take photos, and was walking along with his digi camera pointing backwards 'discretely' at waist height, so I remonstrated with him, saying I thought his actions were dishonest and underhand, cheeky and wrong. He didn't reply and disappeared into the crowds, but I suppose if you take clothes off in public, one has to accept that some people might react in that way. Several people did ask if they could take photos, and some people in the group said 'only if you take your clothes off too' which one lady did! Several people joined us whilst we were walking around, and there was only one 'complaint' from someone on a horse and cart when we got to the horse-drawn field, saying 'no, not in here, there's too many kids around', but as we were being followed by a group of kids, asking us questions and laughing and making comments, we weren't too worried about the effect on children and we kept on walking. It was 99% well recieved with positivity and humour, and it didn't feel cold, even though the sky was overcast and it was towards the end of the day, it was a lovely feeling to have the breeze on your skin. I'd be happy to do it again, in the right circumstances such as the BGG offered.
Later in the evening we watched a film, in Spanish with subtitles, on the problems that Spanish organic maize growers are having with pollen pollution from transgenic maize nearby, and then onto another screen which was from 'bicycology' and watched a film about critical mass bike rides.
At 5pm, went to the main info place to see if anybody else was there for the naked ramble... and to our suprise there were quite a few. So no backing out now! At 5 past, we went for it and got naked and for the first few minutes it felt a bit weird, but then it just felt nice. Lots of people laughed or clapped and cheered. One guy was very keen to get infront of us and take photos, and was walking along with his digi camera pointing backwards 'discretely' at waist height, so I remonstrated with him, saying I thought his actions were dishonest and underhand, cheeky and wrong. He didn't reply and disappeared into the crowds, but I suppose if you take clothes off in public, one has to accept that some people might react in that way. Several people did ask if they could take photos, and some people in the group said 'only if you take your clothes off too' which one lady did! Several people joined us whilst we were walking around, and there was only one 'complaint' from someone on a horse and cart when we got to the horse-drawn field, saying 'no, not in here, there's too many kids around', but as we were being followed by a group of kids, asking us questions and laughing and making comments, we weren't too worried about the effect on children and we kept on walking. It was 99% well recieved with positivity and humour, and it didn't feel cold, even though the sky was overcast and it was towards the end of the day, it was a lovely feeling to have the breeze on your skin. I'd be happy to do it again, in the right circumstances such as the BGG offered.
Later in the evening we watched a film, in Spanish with subtitles, on the problems that Spanish organic maize growers are having with pollen pollution from transgenic maize nearby, and then onto another screen which was from 'bicycology' and watched a film about critical mass bike rides.
Tuesday, 7 August 2007
Thursday 2nd August 07 Big Green Gathering
Woke to heavy rain trying to get into the tent.
I was booked in to the 'Last Chance Saloon' (run by the Climate Camp folks, soon to be protesting at Heathrow) at 11am to talk about home composting, and half a dozen people turned up, probably relatively few as the bad weather. Did a good talk though, and took a few of the people who stayed til the end to see the 05 and 06 heaps.
Decided to organise a 'naked ramble' or 'nude walkabout' on Friday evening, as last year there was one but I missed it, and would have liked to do it! I was egged on by Lorna who's quite keen on naturism, as I am, even with my very limited experience of it. We checked with the Gathering organisers, and they were OK and suggested how to publicise it.
After lunch, provided by the lovely volunteers at the Brixton Tea Party tent, Lorna and I got togged up to load the first skip up with catering slops, and I had a shovel so I could sort through the stuff and remove plastic bottles, bottle tops, non-biodegradable platic bags, glass bottles, cartons/tetrapacks, etc. It's amazing what some people put in the compostables collection!
So spent most of the afternoon in the skip sorting through whilst Lorna tipped stuff in bag by bag, and had regular deliveries from two vehicles servicing the site.
Had a solar heated shower before tea. After tea, put up some more Naked Ramble info.
I was booked in to the 'Last Chance Saloon' (run by the Climate Camp folks, soon to be protesting at Heathrow) at 11am to talk about home composting, and half a dozen people turned up, probably relatively few as the bad weather. Did a good talk though, and took a few of the people who stayed til the end to see the 05 and 06 heaps.
Decided to organise a 'naked ramble' or 'nude walkabout' on Friday evening, as last year there was one but I missed it, and would have liked to do it! I was egged on by Lorna who's quite keen on naturism, as I am, even with my very limited experience of it. We checked with the Gathering organisers, and they were OK and suggested how to publicise it.
After lunch, provided by the lovely volunteers at the Brixton Tea Party tent, Lorna and I got togged up to load the first skip up with catering slops, and I had a shovel so I could sort through the stuff and remove plastic bottles, bottle tops, non-biodegradable platic bags, glass bottles, cartons/tetrapacks, etc. It's amazing what some people put in the compostables collection!
So spent most of the afternoon in the skip sorting through whilst Lorna tipped stuff in bag by bag, and had regular deliveries from two vehicles servicing the site.
Had a solar heated shower before tea. After tea, put up some more Naked Ramble info.
Wednesday 1st August 07 BIG GREEN GATHERING
Our bus from Weston left at 12 so had the morning with Lucy and children, so went to the nearby park and played and chatted, then via a co-op to get a few supplies and a box of chocolates for Lucy, before walking back to the station where the Festival bus was leaving from.
We exchanged our tickets for wristbands and got on the top deck of the bus, for a pretty ride through the countryside, up Burrington Coombe to the top of the Mendips where the Big Green Gathering takes place on Fernhill Farm, an organic meat farm, with pigs, sheep and I think some cattle. The bus dropped us into the festival so no need to wait in a queue, and went straight to the info place to ask where 'Glitterland' was this year, the litter pickers camping area, and the Brixton Tea Party marquee where litter crew get fed.
We put up our tents next to each other and went to explore the site. We have no work yet, as the compostables skips haven't arrived yet, and our job is 'quality control' and loading biodegradables into the skips. We'll start tomorrow.
We exchanged our tickets for wristbands and got on the top deck of the bus, for a pretty ride through the countryside, up Burrington Coombe to the top of the Mendips where the Big Green Gathering takes place on Fernhill Farm, an organic meat farm, with pigs, sheep and I think some cattle. The bus dropped us into the festival so no need to wait in a queue, and went straight to the info place to ask where 'Glitterland' was this year, the litter pickers camping area, and the Brixton Tea Party marquee where litter crew get fed.
We put up our tents next to each other and went to explore the site. We have no work yet, as the compostables skips haven't arrived yet, and our job is 'quality control' and loading biodegradables into the skips. We'll start tomorrow.
Tuesday 31st July 07
Leaving for the Big Green Gathering today, so up early to pack and get to the station in good time to get the Virgin York to Bristol 10.30 train I booked a cheap ticket with ages ago, a ticket only valid on this service.
So got a bus to the station and waited for 45 minutes, but although the train arrived on time, it didn't leave on time as just outside York there was a breakdown which delayed our leaving. Because of this, we didn't go via Doncaster but via Pontefract to Sheffield.
At Derby, my friend Lorna got on, as arranged, and we chatted all the way down to Bristol Temple Meads. As we had 50 mins to wait for the Weston Super Mare train, we went to the nearby 'Empire' exhibition, but didn't pay to go in as it was expensive and we only had half an hour, so we wandered round the shop area and chatted, looking at the assorted objects on sale. Lorna was born in Zambia and has lived in Kenya and South Africa, so she has an interesting take on 'Empire'.
The WSM train left on time and was quick getting to it's destination. When decanted, I rang my friend and tonight's host Lucy to see if she was in yet, and as she wasn't, left a message to say we'd walk to the seafront and slowly wander along to her house which is nearby.
However, as we started to walk to the sea, my Mother cycled up, having had a message from Lucy saying that she'd be in later, so we went back to my parents' house. My Dad wasn't in, as he'd had an operation on his eye to relieve the hightened pressure caused by glaucoma, which is strongly heritable in our family. We had a cold drink and a tour around the house and garden, which is lovely. My folks are moving soon to Sheffield, to be nearer the rest of the family, so this may be one of the last times I see the house.
Mummy drove us to Lucy's in the Toyota Prius which they got a couple of years ago, probably as I kept on mentioning carbon emissions and car travel. My parents are car addicts and won't ever reduce their driving habits, so getting a 'hybrid' car with a petrol/battery engine, and a 60+ miles per gallon 'footprint' is better than having a normal petrol car (much lower mpg), or a diesel with it's particulate emissions. However if they had a diesel they could switch to veg oil or biodiesel....
It was lovely to see Lucy again. I went to Trinidad and Tobago in 1984 with her, on a scientific expedition (Leicestershire Youth Exploration Group) and have kept in touch ever since. She has two small children and a loving and supportive husband Colin, who came in from work a bit later. We ate all together and then went for a walk through a park to the sea, where some of us paddled and I had a good session devilsticking on the beach. Good chats during the evening following the children going to bed, and we went to bed quite early as Colin gets up to go to work in Swindon very early, and the kids get Lucy up early too. Slept well, comfy futon and sleeping bags.
So got a bus to the station and waited for 45 minutes, but although the train arrived on time, it didn't leave on time as just outside York there was a breakdown which delayed our leaving. Because of this, we didn't go via Doncaster but via Pontefract to Sheffield.
At Derby, my friend Lorna got on, as arranged, and we chatted all the way down to Bristol Temple Meads. As we had 50 mins to wait for the Weston Super Mare train, we went to the nearby 'Empire' exhibition, but didn't pay to go in as it was expensive and we only had half an hour, so we wandered round the shop area and chatted, looking at the assorted objects on sale. Lorna was born in Zambia and has lived in Kenya and South Africa, so she has an interesting take on 'Empire'.
The WSM train left on time and was quick getting to it's destination. When decanted, I rang my friend and tonight's host Lucy to see if she was in yet, and as she wasn't, left a message to say we'd walk to the seafront and slowly wander along to her house which is nearby.
However, as we started to walk to the sea, my Mother cycled up, having had a message from Lucy saying that she'd be in later, so we went back to my parents' house. My Dad wasn't in, as he'd had an operation on his eye to relieve the hightened pressure caused by glaucoma, which is strongly heritable in our family. We had a cold drink and a tour around the house and garden, which is lovely. My folks are moving soon to Sheffield, to be nearer the rest of the family, so this may be one of the last times I see the house.
Mummy drove us to Lucy's in the Toyota Prius which they got a couple of years ago, probably as I kept on mentioning carbon emissions and car travel. My parents are car addicts and won't ever reduce their driving habits, so getting a 'hybrid' car with a petrol/battery engine, and a 60+ miles per gallon 'footprint' is better than having a normal petrol car (much lower mpg), or a diesel with it's particulate emissions. However if they had a diesel they could switch to veg oil or biodiesel....
It was lovely to see Lucy again. I went to Trinidad and Tobago in 1984 with her, on a scientific expedition (Leicestershire Youth Exploration Group) and have kept in touch ever since. She has two small children and a loving and supportive husband Colin, who came in from work a bit later. We ate all together and then went for a walk through a park to the sea, where some of us paddled and I had a good session devilsticking on the beach. Good chats during the evening following the children going to bed, and we went to bed quite early as Colin gets up to go to work in Swindon very early, and the kids get Lucy up early too. Slept well, comfy futon and sleeping bags.
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