And, tomorrow, the 16th anniversary of our first kiss... the beginning of our loving relationship.
We had intended to do something like get the bus to Beverley, have lunch and come back in time to get the children, but due to yesterday's chimney removal, we needed to replace the TV aerial and the person we rang said they could do 11am today.
So at about 10, Gill went to have her hair cut and I loaded up my trailer with 5 sacks of aluminium cans and several sheets of lead (which came off our chimney), and cycled down to the metal merchants on Foss Islands Road. They weighed in at 24 kg alu (£7.20) and 20kg lead (£13) so I came away with £20.20, which was OK. I remember a time when aluminium cans were worth almost twice this... but it's still good to get money for stuff I find lying around.
We had also wondered about going to see a film at sometime after midday... but guess what, the aerial chaps didn't come til midday, so no film.
After lunch I popped down to Country Fresh, came back via Freshways. I tidied up the passage way between 127 and our house, as the chimney removal left it messy. I did another big batch of waste fruit for drying.
We spent most of the afternoon together pottering around... preparing tea and tidying.
Gill went down to school and came back with our youngest and two of his friends in the pouring rain. No mini-bonfire this evening! It was lovely to hear them all laughing and playing.
They had pizza and baked squash, a few bits of salad. Followed by chocolate cake which Gill made this afternoon.
When they had eaten theirs, we had ours, with a glass of wine which one of the boys' parents brought us as a present.
We had a relaxed evening, the boys played on the computer and we played Scrabble until after midnight, with the logstove keeping us nice and warm and some good telly... Joolz Holland is always good to listen to.
Friday, 6 November 2009
Thursday, 5 November 2009
Thursday 5th November 09
An earlyish start as the builders came at 8.30am and started putting up the noisy scaffold tower. I got up and made them tea and coffee, and asked about the TV aerial which is attached to the chimney which is coming down. I was prepared to go and buy a new bracket/fixing, but realised that I'd need a new pole or pole extension... and might also need a cable extension, so I decided to ring round various areal people and see if a professional can do it.
After several phone calls, I found someone who can sort it tomorrow.
Then I had to get rid of a pile of compostables from the kitchen, and whilst I was doing this, collected a load of composting worms which conveniently put themselves in the bin lids... perfect fro harvesting and relocating into my new 'worm cafe' which is already filling up.
Then I cleaned myself up, had a wash and found a clean York Rotters tee shirt. I was due in town for midday for 5 hours of volunteering at the Parliament St and St Sampson's Square 'Big Green Market', where York Rotters and the Council's Waste Minimisation Team have a stall.
As I walked through the market stalls, I wondered why it was called a Big Green Market as the majority of the stalls were not what I'd call green.. Venison burgers and dead duck pate, trinkets from the other side of the world, lots of stuff to buy which had a huge embodied carbon footprint.
But then again, I'm a purist. I found the Rotters stall and locked up my bike nearby and got myself launched into the unsuspecting public, using the usual ruse 'Would you like to tell me about your compost heap?' when someone looks at our cut-out dalek with the perspex sheet in, behind which are examples of assorted compostables. These include a rubber glove and a cardboard box with coloured printing, plus some plastic fruit and veg, flowers, scrunched and shredded paper, some fabric, wool and other bits and bobs. This format is immensely successful... because punters expect you to try to offer them something ('do you want one of these?') but my question is the other way round. But it's a hook. They bite, mainly saying 'yes, my heap is '... and occasionally 'I haven't got one'. This then has a response 'What do you do with your banana skins and apple cores?' Those with compost bins are about half 'working well' and a quarter 'too dry' and a quarter 'too wet', each answer can elicit a question about what do they put in the bin. Anyway, I'm in my element during these kind of events, I really love them, my enthusiasm knowing no bounds.
After each meeting I logged the information about whether they were a 'non composter' or 'existing composter' and whether they were from York or out of York. It's important to record how many people we are engaging.
I went for a wander around for my lunch break at half past one, and got a pastie and a sandwich, and bought a 'turks turban' squash for a pound which will be delicious roasted in the next few days.
During the afternoon I met a young lady I met before on the train coming back from Sheffield Green Fair (she recognised me) and I chatted with her and her partner, who have moved to York... and I think I'll be meeting them again. Also floating around were Kate Lock, on the Oxfam stall, my old friend Mary Brandon, older friends Sue Lister and John Whitworth, Rakesh and quite a few others. Jo turned up, to be the next most enthusiastic Rotter, Candy came too. It was a good session.
I finished just before 5pm and went to the Oxfam shop on Goodramgate for coffee, and popped into Kyi-Po for a vegan mayonnaise but they didn't have the one I wanted. Then onto Sainsburys for a general groceries shop, including goats milk as the nearest Co-op is having problems with keeping enough stock, and have been running out of it. Somerfield never used to! I treated myself to a treat(!)... a few months ago my cafetiere glass got broken, and as I do now and again like 'real' ground coffee, I bought myself another one, for £9. But Gill had also asked me to try to get some sparklers for the boys. Sainsburys had run out. So I popped into the Co-op on the way home but they didn't have any. Quite by chance, Lynn was in there and overheard my request, and she said that she had some spare!
When I got home, Gill reported that some lads had come asking for some logs and she said to come back later when I was at home after the Rotters stall. So I bombed round to Lynns with a bag of dried fruit in swap for 20 sparklers, and cycled back just in time to catch the lads again (students?) who wanted a small bonfire in their back garden. I let them have two half sacks of kindling and about 15 or 20 split logs. They offered me £3.90 in loose change. Seemed reasonable!
Then as I was finishing that transaction, a lady cycled up and introduced herself as the person who had left a couple of messages on the answerphone as she has some apple logs she wants to get rid of and an apple trunk still standing which she wants cutting down. I agreed to go and do this for her next week.
By this time I needed to go in and warm up. I made my own tea... some finely chopped chicken of the woods which Simon found growing on a pile of woodchips near where he works, which he'd shared with me, with 'trombone' courgette/squash, green pepper and the last of our own tomatoes, with rems of nutloaf, with a baked bean and cheese sauce. Terrific! Delicious! The best meal since... well I don't know, but it was very very tasty. Cheers Simon. And I only had half of the mushroom he gave me!
Some nice chats with family before the boys went to bed and I settled down to some email deletion as my inbox is again full. Whoops.
An enjoyable day. Tiring, but I was still up til 2am doing assorted things round the kitchen and on the laptop...
After several phone calls, I found someone who can sort it tomorrow.
Then I had to get rid of a pile of compostables from the kitchen, and whilst I was doing this, collected a load of composting worms which conveniently put themselves in the bin lids... perfect fro harvesting and relocating into my new 'worm cafe' which is already filling up.
Then I cleaned myself up, had a wash and found a clean York Rotters tee shirt. I was due in town for midday for 5 hours of volunteering at the Parliament St and St Sampson's Square 'Big Green Market', where York Rotters and the Council's Waste Minimisation Team have a stall.
As I walked through the market stalls, I wondered why it was called a Big Green Market as the majority of the stalls were not what I'd call green.. Venison burgers and dead duck pate, trinkets from the other side of the world, lots of stuff to buy which had a huge embodied carbon footprint.
But then again, I'm a purist. I found the Rotters stall and locked up my bike nearby and got myself launched into the unsuspecting public, using the usual ruse 'Would you like to tell me about your compost heap?' when someone looks at our cut-out dalek with the perspex sheet in, behind which are examples of assorted compostables. These include a rubber glove and a cardboard box with coloured printing, plus some plastic fruit and veg, flowers, scrunched and shredded paper, some fabric, wool and other bits and bobs. This format is immensely successful... because punters expect you to try to offer them something ('do you want one of these?') but my question is the other way round. But it's a hook. They bite, mainly saying 'yes, my heap is '... and occasionally 'I haven't got one'. This then has a response 'What do you do with your banana skins and apple cores?' Those with compost bins are about half 'working well' and a quarter 'too dry' and a quarter 'too wet', each answer can elicit a question about what do they put in the bin. Anyway, I'm in my element during these kind of events, I really love them, my enthusiasm knowing no bounds.
After each meeting I logged the information about whether they were a 'non composter' or 'existing composter' and whether they were from York or out of York. It's important to record how many people we are engaging.
I went for a wander around for my lunch break at half past one, and got a pastie and a sandwich, and bought a 'turks turban' squash for a pound which will be delicious roasted in the next few days.
During the afternoon I met a young lady I met before on the train coming back from Sheffield Green Fair (she recognised me) and I chatted with her and her partner, who have moved to York... and I think I'll be meeting them again. Also floating around were Kate Lock, on the Oxfam stall, my old friend Mary Brandon, older friends Sue Lister and John Whitworth, Rakesh and quite a few others. Jo turned up, to be the next most enthusiastic Rotter, Candy came too. It was a good session.
I finished just before 5pm and went to the Oxfam shop on Goodramgate for coffee, and popped into Kyi-Po for a vegan mayonnaise but they didn't have the one I wanted. Then onto Sainsburys for a general groceries shop, including goats milk as the nearest Co-op is having problems with keeping enough stock, and have been running out of it. Somerfield never used to! I treated myself to a treat(!)... a few months ago my cafetiere glass got broken, and as I do now and again like 'real' ground coffee, I bought myself another one, for £9. But Gill had also asked me to try to get some sparklers for the boys. Sainsburys had run out. So I popped into the Co-op on the way home but they didn't have any. Quite by chance, Lynn was in there and overheard my request, and she said that she had some spare!
When I got home, Gill reported that some lads had come asking for some logs and she said to come back later when I was at home after the Rotters stall. So I bombed round to Lynns with a bag of dried fruit in swap for 20 sparklers, and cycled back just in time to catch the lads again (students?) who wanted a small bonfire in their back garden. I let them have two half sacks of kindling and about 15 or 20 split logs. They offered me £3.90 in loose change. Seemed reasonable!
Then as I was finishing that transaction, a lady cycled up and introduced herself as the person who had left a couple of messages on the answerphone as she has some apple logs she wants to get rid of and an apple trunk still standing which she wants cutting down. I agreed to go and do this for her next week.
By this time I needed to go in and warm up. I made my own tea... some finely chopped chicken of the woods which Simon found growing on a pile of woodchips near where he works, which he'd shared with me, with 'trombone' courgette/squash, green pepper and the last of our own tomatoes, with rems of nutloaf, with a baked bean and cheese sauce. Terrific! Delicious! The best meal since... well I don't know, but it was very very tasty. Cheers Simon. And I only had half of the mushroom he gave me!
Some nice chats with family before the boys went to bed and I settled down to some email deletion as my inbox is again full. Whoops.
An enjoyable day. Tiring, but I was still up til 2am doing assorted things round the kitchen and on the laptop...
Wednesday, 4 November 2009
Wednesday 4th November 09
A busy and good day. I got up relatively late but got up and about soon, as had some paperwork to get on with... quite a lot, invoices to send, stuff to do with advertising, various stuff.
Whilst on the computer I downloaded a suggested AVG antivirus update, and after that my email wouldn't send, it wouldn't accept my Phone Co-op password and I was totally flummoxed. I rang them up. A couple of hours later, a Phone Co-op chap rang me back and through a little sequence of key strokes he instructed me to do at my end, he took control of my computer... it was most weird seeing the cursor moving around 'by itself', but he only took 2 minutes before he found a box had been ticked or unticked somehow and after that, it all worked. I wonder if it was anything to do with the AVG download? Seems unlikely.
After lunch I spent over an hour moving the remaining logpile from the side of the house and tidying the area, sweeping up lots of leaves from the Wisteria. I bagged up three sacks of dry logs to take to Ann C later this evening when I'm in her part of town because of the Transition meeting.
I popped down to Country Fresh and chatted to Shirley, bought spuds and broccoli and brought back several bags of compost heap filler.
When back, I boiled the potatoes and Gill made a nutloaf, and then when she went out, I finished the nutloaf and did roast potatoes and broccoli for tea, which was delicious.
Then at 7ish, I cycled over to South Bank to deliver logs to Ann and to attend the Transition meeting, which was good. Only 5 of us, but we got a lot done.
Gill told me a little story tonight, and this is an example of what we're up against. She was in the bread shop and overheard the following:
Customer: "Hello, you all right?"
Shop Person: "Yeah, good thanks. You all right?"
Customer: Yeah, been getting Christmas presents. I've just got nine. But I haven't got the big one yet. I was thinking of getting a 30 inch flatscreen telly for Kelly's room. But me Mam said not to as she was only 3 and it would be wasted on her.
Shop Person: (grunts)
Unbelievable, eh?
Whilst on the computer I downloaded a suggested AVG antivirus update, and after that my email wouldn't send, it wouldn't accept my Phone Co-op password and I was totally flummoxed. I rang them up. A couple of hours later, a Phone Co-op chap rang me back and through a little sequence of key strokes he instructed me to do at my end, he took control of my computer... it was most weird seeing the cursor moving around 'by itself', but he only took 2 minutes before he found a box had been ticked or unticked somehow and after that, it all worked. I wonder if it was anything to do with the AVG download? Seems unlikely.
After lunch I spent over an hour moving the remaining logpile from the side of the house and tidying the area, sweeping up lots of leaves from the Wisteria. I bagged up three sacks of dry logs to take to Ann C later this evening when I'm in her part of town because of the Transition meeting.
I popped down to Country Fresh and chatted to Shirley, bought spuds and broccoli and brought back several bags of compost heap filler.
When back, I boiled the potatoes and Gill made a nutloaf, and then when she went out, I finished the nutloaf and did roast potatoes and broccoli for tea, which was delicious.
Then at 7ish, I cycled over to South Bank to deliver logs to Ann and to attend the Transition meeting, which was good. Only 5 of us, but we got a lot done.
Gill told me a little story tonight, and this is an example of what we're up against. She was in the bread shop and overheard the following:
Customer: "Hello, you all right?"
Shop Person: "Yeah, good thanks. You all right?"
Customer: Yeah, been getting Christmas presents. I've just got nine. But I haven't got the big one yet. I was thinking of getting a 30 inch flatscreen telly for Kelly's room. But me Mam said not to as she was only 3 and it would be wasted on her.
Shop Person: (grunts)
Unbelievable, eh?
Tuesday, 3 November 2009
Tuesday 3rd November 09
Up early as builders coming to remove the unused chimney and put on new boards at the edge of the roof.
But it was raining hard and when they came they realised that my logpiles had to be moved. The workers rang the boss and he rang me back to say they'd be around on Thursday. And yes, I do have to move the logpiles. They offered to do it, but building a new logpile is an art, so I'm doing it. I've never seen somebody else build a better logpile than me, apart from Alastair Heseltine, who is an artist and sculptor whom I think is inspirational. Do have a flick through his website, click on the photos on the left of the screen to move around...
I moved one of the two logpiles at the side of the house to the side of the passage between our garden and our next door neighbour. I'll move the other one tomorrow, and tidy up. I didn't move the second one today as there was a thunderstorm with hail and driving rain.
I spent some of today peeling and slicing and drying a huge load of Persimmon, sometimes known as Sharon Fruit. They naturally have a couple of dark marks on them, and can get very soft and squishy but are still delicious and edible. However, one of the greengrocers has chucked out about 20 to 30 boxes, each with six fruits in. Each fruit makes 4 slices so that's a huge amount of dried persimmon, but it is really worth it as it's lovely, a great texture and flavour!
I got ready for work at about 4pm, as was booked to go and entertain at the 20th anniversary of the University of York Nursery. I was able to take my bike and trailer through to the back where there is a covered outdoor area with a soft surface, and I did about half an hour of walkabout and making faces to the kids inside the building, their laughing faces pressed up against the window, and me either sticking my tongue out or crossing my eyes, or thumbing my nose... all silly but good fun interaction. Then I did my show... a big audience of at least 40 children and same numbers of adults, a very quick show but a good un! Finally, I made a lot of balloon animals, just giving them out to whomsoever wanted them, til about 6 when there was a firework display at the front of the building. I had a baked potato with beans and cheese, packed up and cycled towards home. Lovely!
I popped in to Simon and Melody as both their children went to that nursery, and I had mentioned this during the booking discussions and as I left today, one of the staff said to give their regards to the family. So I did so.
Home for a bit of fruit, cake and ice cream, and out again to the Seahorse for the first 'Climate Argument Club', an offshoot of York in Transition. Some of us are engaged in debates, discussions or even arguments with people about things connected with climate change, so we met to discuss how to handle them, and whether to do some kind of training to help us deal with the sorts of arguments and opinions we face. We felt that if people understood the science, then we wouldn't need to do too much else, but we also recognised that people are affected by emotions, traditions, religion, 'gut' feelings, where their heart leads them and of course, misinformation and propaganda. We didn't come up with any firm conclusions, but I'm sending a couple of files and links to Bryony, Dan and Sue, as these would help or come in useful.
I had promised Gill that I'd be in by 10pm... I just managed it!
But I then had a lot of email and facebook stuff to do, plus the obligatory blog post, and there's space on the drying racks as stuff shrinks.
But it was raining hard and when they came they realised that my logpiles had to be moved. The workers rang the boss and he rang me back to say they'd be around on Thursday. And yes, I do have to move the logpiles. They offered to do it, but building a new logpile is an art, so I'm doing it. I've never seen somebody else build a better logpile than me, apart from Alastair Heseltine, who is an artist and sculptor whom I think is inspirational. Do have a flick through his website, click on the photos on the left of the screen to move around...
I moved one of the two logpiles at the side of the house to the side of the passage between our garden and our next door neighbour. I'll move the other one tomorrow, and tidy up. I didn't move the second one today as there was a thunderstorm with hail and driving rain.
I spent some of today peeling and slicing and drying a huge load of Persimmon, sometimes known as Sharon Fruit. They naturally have a couple of dark marks on them, and can get very soft and squishy but are still delicious and edible. However, one of the greengrocers has chucked out about 20 to 30 boxes, each with six fruits in. Each fruit makes 4 slices so that's a huge amount of dried persimmon, but it is really worth it as it's lovely, a great texture and flavour!
I got ready for work at about 4pm, as was booked to go and entertain at the 20th anniversary of the University of York Nursery. I was able to take my bike and trailer through to the back where there is a covered outdoor area with a soft surface, and I did about half an hour of walkabout and making faces to the kids inside the building, their laughing faces pressed up against the window, and me either sticking my tongue out or crossing my eyes, or thumbing my nose... all silly but good fun interaction. Then I did my show... a big audience of at least 40 children and same numbers of adults, a very quick show but a good un! Finally, I made a lot of balloon animals, just giving them out to whomsoever wanted them, til about 6 when there was a firework display at the front of the building. I had a baked potato with beans and cheese, packed up and cycled towards home. Lovely!
I popped in to Simon and Melody as both their children went to that nursery, and I had mentioned this during the booking discussions and as I left today, one of the staff said to give their regards to the family. So I did so.
Home for a bit of fruit, cake and ice cream, and out again to the Seahorse for the first 'Climate Argument Club', an offshoot of York in Transition. Some of us are engaged in debates, discussions or even arguments with people about things connected with climate change, so we met to discuss how to handle them, and whether to do some kind of training to help us deal with the sorts of arguments and opinions we face. We felt that if people understood the science, then we wouldn't need to do too much else, but we also recognised that people are affected by emotions, traditions, religion, 'gut' feelings, where their heart leads them and of course, misinformation and propaganda. We didn't come up with any firm conclusions, but I'm sending a couple of files and links to Bryony, Dan and Sue, as these would help or come in useful.
I had promised Gill that I'd be in by 10pm... I just managed it!
But I then had a lot of email and facebook stuff to do, plus the obligatory blog post, and there's space on the drying racks as stuff shrinks.
Monday, 2 November 2009
2nd November 09
Up reasonably early although I was really tired. We got a phone call saying the builders are coming tomorrow so I checked with them that it was OK to leave the logs which are along the side wall of the house (it was).
i had booked my bike into Cycle Heaven as I had found that I was unable to tighten the disc brake on my front wheel, and i thought it needed replacing. But one of the guys had a quick poke with a 'torque driver' and showed me how to tighten it without trying to grip the little plastic wheel, which is falling to bits. I was pleased with this and went to Paxtons to buy a torque driver... but they only had sets of umpteen of them, so had to get a set, plus a handle, setting me back £10.90.
Home via Country Fresh and Freshways... loads more compostables!
After lunch Gill and I moved the bricks which we reclaimed from the coal-hole demolition which I did soon after we moved here in 2001. Our neighbour is going to use the bricks to build a wall under the new fence he's going to put up where I've taken the hedge out.
I had some 'use it up' tea and went to a LETS meeting at 7.15 which was good although I was still tired.
I took the minutes and when I got home, typed them up ad sent them out.
i had booked my bike into Cycle Heaven as I had found that I was unable to tighten the disc brake on my front wheel, and i thought it needed replacing. But one of the guys had a quick poke with a 'torque driver' and showed me how to tighten it without trying to grip the little plastic wheel, which is falling to bits. I was pleased with this and went to Paxtons to buy a torque driver... but they only had sets of umpteen of them, so had to get a set, plus a handle, setting me back £10.90.
Home via Country Fresh and Freshways... loads more compostables!
After lunch Gill and I moved the bricks which we reclaimed from the coal-hole demolition which I did soon after we moved here in 2001. Our neighbour is going to use the bricks to build a wall under the new fence he's going to put up where I've taken the hedge out.
I had some 'use it up' tea and went to a LETS meeting at 7.15 which was good although I was still tired.
I took the minutes and when I got home, typed them up ad sent them out.
Sunday, 1 November 2009
Sunday 1st November 09
A late morning but as slept on a spare bed had a better night's sleep.
I went with Ian on the tube to his house in South London and had lunch there, and then to the playbarn place where his and Lisa's daughter, who has just turned 8, was having a party.
I did a little minishow of circus tricks straight after their tea, and then whilst they were playing in the last half hour, I made all the partygoers a balloon animal.
I got the 5pm train back to Victoria, and a tube to Kings Cross, and was in good time for the 6.20 Grand Central train home.
The train journey back home was good, sitting with three sisters who had been to see a musical and were celebrating with a bottle of wine, and were quite jolly and chatty.
The train was a bit slow on one part of the journey (it apparently 'got cautioned') and got into York at 8.30, so I got home at 9pm, very tired but happy to see my little ones and my wife, and a harmonious house.
I went with Ian on the tube to his house in South London and had lunch there, and then to the playbarn place where his and Lisa's daughter, who has just turned 8, was having a party.
I did a little minishow of circus tricks straight after their tea, and then whilst they were playing in the last half hour, I made all the partygoers a balloon animal.
I got the 5pm train back to Victoria, and a tube to Kings Cross, and was in good time for the 6.20 Grand Central train home.
The train journey back home was good, sitting with three sisters who had been to see a musical and were celebrating with a bottle of wine, and were quite jolly and chatty.
The train was a bit slow on one part of the journey (it apparently 'got cautioned') and got into York at 8.30, so I got home at 9pm, very tired but happy to see my little ones and my wife, and a harmonious house.
Saturday, 31 October 2009
Saturday 31st October 09
Bit groggy this morning as didn't get to sleep until after 3am and the air bed wasn't brilliant, with a bit of a leak, so it became flatter as the night drew on. But there was cereal for breakfast which is always the best way to start the day, for me, and some of the conversations from last night continued until lunchtime, when other folks drifted away, and then at 2, I went out to Canon Park station, as agreed, and met Ruth, my friend from college days, and we caught up with our various bits of life story for an hour and a half in the park, mostly sitting in the walled garden. It was lovely to see her again as she is one of my longest standing continuous friends.
However Ruth had to go and see her parents and was then heading out to a party, so at 4ish she got in her car and I walked through the park back to Paul's flat. I was amazed at some of the huge trees on the outskirts of the park and in surrounding streets, some are vast Sequoias more suited to an arboretum, not residential streets! Nice anyway!
Paul was having another party this evening, with some different guests, and I again helped to prepare a bit of the food.
However Ruth had to go and see her parents and was then heading out to a party, so at 4ish she got in her car and I walked through the park back to Paul's flat. I was amazed at some of the huge trees on the outskirts of the park and in surrounding streets, some are vast Sequoias more suited to an arboretum, not residential streets! Nice anyway!
Paul was having another party this evening, with some different guests, and I again helped to prepare a bit of the food.
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