Got up late as went to bed at 3am. But once up and boogieing around, had a productive day, despite it raining. I cycled into town straight after lunch, popping in on Hazel Court Civic Amenity Site with a sackful of drinks cartons and an electrical flex, all to put for recycling (and the sack to come back for re-use!). Despite there being a ban on cyclists using the facility, no one took any notice of me whatsoever... rather disappointing actually as I am somewhat looking forward to seeing how the operatives might try to enforce the rule! But no confrontation is good.
From there I popped in to Sainsbury's as we rather like their multi-seed loaf, despite it being an expensive £1.19. But we save in other areas so now and again a pricey fresh loaf isn't too much.
From there went to the Council office to deliver the Planning Panel paperwork, and then to Boots for my asthma medication, two prophylactic puffs a night keeps me asthma-free (hope that reads right!!!) and home via Country Fresh where I picked up three boxes/sacks plus some shopping.
Home in time to get some plastic 35mm film canisters ready for a Freecycler who wants them for his school, as they are good for certain science experiments. I got a huge sack full several years ago from a photography shop, before digital was so popular. I've still got loads left, but was happy to share a carrier-bag full!
I had an email from a Freecycler who posted an offer of a train layout on a board, no rolling stock, but track and perhaps scenery, saying he'd be happy to give it to me. So I said I could pick it up this evening, but he said he was going out so I'll pick it up tomorrow morning. I don't think he believes it will fit on my trailer!
A little bit later, a chap called Mark arrived, whom I'd met through Freecycle, hoping to find an adult-sized tricycle. I'd said that if he couldn't find a free one, I was selling one and he was welcome to come and look at it. He hadn't really expected to get a free one, and checked the one I bought for Gill several years ago. At that time, Gill was less confident on her bike, and needed to cycle with our little boys, so I bought her the trike but she hated it, as it didn't lean like bikes do, and she found the steering most weird, so she just got better at cycling on 2 wheels... and now she's as confident as an average person. I was very glad to sell this, as it has freed up space and will be used by Mark's wife and 15 month old child.
After tea and Gardeners World, I did a bit of sorting out... putting stuff back in the garage and compostables down the garden, and a storm broke, which I love... an electrical storm at dusk, heavy rain and me working in it... lovely, but a tad damp.
Came in and got an email form a Green Party friend with a link to an amazing document published in March this year by people in Chester, a guide/blueprint to Chester 2050... how it will/may look like, and how we'll have to live if we're to be living sustainably. It is a very long read, much of it applicable to anywhere in the UK or the World, some of it pertaining to Chester and the local area. Lots of useful links, and a good document to send to decisionmakers and activists everywhere. Click on http://www.chester.gov.uk/pdf/Vision2050.pdf.
Showing posts with label BBC Gardener's World. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BBC Gardener's World. Show all posts
I cannot remember what I did this morning... it wasn't a particularly interesting morning anyway. I did assorted computery stuff... oh yes, sorted out two Freecycle gives, a demijohn to someone wanting to construct a watering system for seedlings, and paper sacks for someone wanting to use them for potato sacks... I watched videos of police brutality etc and found a brilliant vid of the most amazing cyclist, check this out!
I just love what this guy, Danny MacAskill, is able to do... I think this is Parcour on two wheels!
After lunch I cycled (in a normal, non-parcour way) down to town to visit several financial institutions.. my building society to get some money out to pay Diana for her Calendars of Climate Change and my annual National Insurance bill, and then to the Co-op Bank to pay the water bill (£50 a quarter for 20 cubic metres of water supplied and sewerage services), and then to the Post Office to pay a £1.17 fee to get an envelope with some leaflets in it... grrr to the organisation which didn't get the envelope weighed before sending it... Finally to my GPs to get a prescription, and home via the cycle track to pick up sticks...
I went round to a neighbour to pick up some softwood logs he's saved for me... he chopped down an enormous fir tree so I got 4 wheelbarrow's worth of big discs up to 60cm across. Then down to Country Fresh where Richard was in a good mood and I took a box of compostables and bought a bag of veggies, and got flour and caster sugar in the Spar next door, as Gill wants to make a cake.
Melody popped in with her son who loves trying to split logs with my maul (splitting axe) which is really too heavy for him... but he had a go with the fresh pine... not easy to split!
As I'd had quite a busy afternoon, I decided not to attend the party I'd been invited to.. I felt an evening in with Gardeners World would be more relaxing... and I've a busy day tomorrow with the Kirkbymoorside Transition Town Springboarding Day. I'm catching a train with Bryony and cycling from Malton. And back afterwards.
I just love what this guy, Danny MacAskill, is able to do... I think this is Parcour on two wheels!
After lunch I cycled (in a normal, non-parcour way) down to town to visit several financial institutions.. my building society to get some money out to pay Diana for her Calendars of Climate Change and my annual National Insurance bill, and then to the Co-op Bank to pay the water bill (£50 a quarter for 20 cubic metres of water supplied and sewerage services), and then to the Post Office to pay a £1.17 fee to get an envelope with some leaflets in it... grrr to the organisation which didn't get the envelope weighed before sending it... Finally to my GPs to get a prescription, and home via the cycle track to pick up sticks...
I went round to a neighbour to pick up some softwood logs he's saved for me... he chopped down an enormous fir tree so I got 4 wheelbarrow's worth of big discs up to 60cm across. Then down to Country Fresh where Richard was in a good mood and I took a box of compostables and bought a bag of veggies, and got flour and caster sugar in the Spar next door, as Gill wants to make a cake.
Melody popped in with her son who loves trying to split logs with my maul (splitting axe) which is really too heavy for him... but he had a go with the fresh pine... not easy to split!
As I'd had quite a busy afternoon, I decided not to attend the party I'd been invited to.. I felt an evening in with Gardeners World would be more relaxing... and I've a busy day tomorrow with the Kirkbymoorside Transition Town Springboarding Day. I'm catching a train with Bryony and cycling from Malton. And back afterwards.
A slow start to the day and spent some of the morning on the computer dealing with an email issue... at lunchtime Gill and the boys went into town on the bus to go to City Screen and see Monsters vs Aliens. I had lunch, lit the stove, washed up and tried to find enthusiasm for planting seeds.
I didn't plant seeds... I made tea so when Gill got in she didn't need to do too much. I did a nutloaf with a layer of spinach in the middle, from the garden. Gill put some potatoes in the microwave when she got in, and I popped down to Country Fresh where I was delighted to find they had some tomato plants in... a 'Shirley', 'Moneymaker' and 'Super Sweet' which were 89p each, or £1.50 for two... Richard gave me a bit of a better deal than that. I'll have to riddle some more finished compost for him to sell... it's that time of year! So I came back with these three little plants and two sacks of compostables.
I popped into Scummerfield to get some stuff Gill wanted and came back to take stuff down the garden. Gill called me in an hour later saying that if I was any later, the nutloaf would be dried up! So came in for that and it was delicious. The children both said it was lovely! Hooray, a hit.
Watched Mastermind and Gardeners World. GW is turning into Blue Peter. It's got a cute squeaky kid and a 'make' ('here's one I made earlier') and a thing on Gnomes. HELP!
Later, on Jools Holland (hahahaha) I really loved seeing Grndmaster Flash... took me back over 20 years back to my days of body-popping... excellent!
I didn't plant seeds... I made tea so when Gill got in she didn't need to do too much. I did a nutloaf with a layer of spinach in the middle, from the garden. Gill put some potatoes in the microwave when she got in, and I popped down to Country Fresh where I was delighted to find they had some tomato plants in... a 'Shirley', 'Moneymaker' and 'Super Sweet' which were 89p each, or £1.50 for two... Richard gave me a bit of a better deal than that. I'll have to riddle some more finished compost for him to sell... it's that time of year! So I came back with these three little plants and two sacks of compostables.
I popped into Scummerfield to get some stuff Gill wanted and came back to take stuff down the garden. Gill called me in an hour later saying that if I was any later, the nutloaf would be dried up! So came in for that and it was delicious. The children both said it was lovely! Hooray, a hit.
Watched Mastermind and Gardeners World. GW is turning into Blue Peter. It's got a cute squeaky kid and a 'make' ('here's one I made earlier') and a thing on Gnomes. HELP!
Later, on Jools Holland (hahahaha) I really loved seeing Grndmaster Flash... took me back over 20 years back to my days of body-popping... excellent!
A quite early start, woken by loud child noises, but Gill took them to school which was a treat for me to not have to do that. She found two dead baby moles on the school field and noticed that there were some empty plastic containers of what looked like chemicals had been (possibly) thrown into the Japanese Garden and she wondered if there was any connection. So she went into the office and asked about the plastic containers... and was told that the council had taken over the job, implying that the person who had been doing it, IRA Bob, who had been very aggressive with me (September 07) was not doing the work any more..... I wonder if the creosoted sleepers have anything to do with it? My research at the time indicated that creosoted sleepers were not allowed in school play areas and after I'd informed the school, Bob was asked to paint them... but since then, the paint looks like it has either come off or been absorbed, and the sleepers just look like creosoted sleepers. I want to find out more! I wonder if my original suggestion, that creosoted sleepers should NOT be used in this position, may have been the right thing to do? Gill and I even offered to buy one untreated sleeper.
Got home to a phone call from Jo saying that the York Rotters social had been cancelled tonight as too few people had said they were attending, so it's postponed. Jo and I met in town and went for a coffee at the Spurriergate Centre, I got my sandals repaired (the sole and upper had come apart) and I went to Barnitts to look at goblet blenders as ours has expired. I need to check with Gill about what type to get, how much to spend etc. The one which has gone phut was quite cheap.. perhaps about £30 and the motor hasn't lasted very long at all, about 3 years.
Collected a lot of stuff from Country Fresh and came home for lunch, Gill had been to say hello to her art-class friends and had then gone on to town to do the charity shops, and also visited Barnitts, to get another rat trap as one of our neighbours keeps mentioning that he's seen a rat. Next time he does, I'll ask him if he's set any traps or put down poison... not every rat in the vicinity is my responsibility or living in our garden! Just some of them......!
Did some work in the garden (set the traps!) and dug out a compost heap and got more planting media together, and all too soon it was time for me to go and pick up the kids. As I arrived, one of my offspring rushed out and headed for the gate... he'd been bullied or teased and had struck out at his tormentor, and was feeling guilty about his reaction. I went inside with him and the lovely headteacher listened to him and he calmed down very quickly. We had a good vigorous cycle home.
I did some more compost riddling and took some down to Country Fresh, where it is taken by customers 'for a donation'.
Gilly made a pizza dough and we all had individualised pizzas for tea.
Watched some good telly together, a lovely programme on trees and then Gardener's World, sadly without our favourite Monty Don. Hope he's ok!
I had been given a load of raspberries from Country not-so-Fresh and I sorted out the non-mouldy ones, stewed them on the stove and then immersed a load of dried apple rings in the stewed raspberries, let them soak up the juice and redried them... scrummy raspapple rings!!!
Had a long phone call with my dear friend Lucy whom I've known since my teens, and then had a game of Scrabble with Gill. We both put down two seven-letter words but I won. A good game, whilst listening to Jools Holland's musical guests.
Got home to a phone call from Jo saying that the York Rotters social had been cancelled tonight as too few people had said they were attending, so it's postponed. Jo and I met in town and went for a coffee at the Spurriergate Centre, I got my sandals repaired (the sole and upper had come apart) and I went to Barnitts to look at goblet blenders as ours has expired. I need to check with Gill about what type to get, how much to spend etc. The one which has gone phut was quite cheap.. perhaps about £30 and the motor hasn't lasted very long at all, about 3 years.
Collected a lot of stuff from Country Fresh and came home for lunch, Gill had been to say hello to her art-class friends and had then gone on to town to do the charity shops, and also visited Barnitts, to get another rat trap as one of our neighbours keeps mentioning that he's seen a rat. Next time he does, I'll ask him if he's set any traps or put down poison... not every rat in the vicinity is my responsibility or living in our garden! Just some of them......!
Did some work in the garden (set the traps!) and dug out a compost heap and got more planting media together, and all too soon it was time for me to go and pick up the kids. As I arrived, one of my offspring rushed out and headed for the gate... he'd been bullied or teased and had struck out at his tormentor, and was feeling guilty about his reaction. I went inside with him and the lovely headteacher listened to him and he calmed down very quickly. We had a good vigorous cycle home.
I did some more compost riddling and took some down to Country Fresh, where it is taken by customers 'for a donation'.
Gilly made a pizza dough and we all had individualised pizzas for tea.
Watched some good telly together, a lovely programme on trees and then Gardener's World, sadly without our favourite Monty Don. Hope he's ok!
I had been given a load of raspberries from Country not-so-Fresh and I sorted out the non-mouldy ones, stewed them on the stove and then immersed a load of dried apple rings in the stewed raspberries, let them soak up the juice and redried them... scrummy raspapple rings!!!
Had a long phone call with my dear friend Lucy whom I've known since my teens, and then had a game of Scrabble with Gill. We both put down two seven-letter words but I won. A good game, whilst listening to Jools Holland's musical guests.
