Human Lifestyle

Another good day; woke fairly early and watched the delivery of building materials for next door's 'orangery' from a flat-bed lorry with a sort of hydraulic crane-grab thingy.

Gill was getting ready to go out to go to the Harrogate Spring Flower Show with her sister Jane, so she left just after 10.30 to get the bus down to the station.  I went in the garden to sort out the pots from the conservatory, and found a newly emerged beefly, which was rather interesting with it's proboscis sticking straight out and it was vibrating it's wings to warm up.  I showed the boys and our youngest did a really good drawing of it, from memory.... which looked just like the picture that our eldest subsequently found in the Oxford Book of Insects.

I got busy down the garden, putting about 10 large pots of last year's growing media through the riddle, and carefully removing the Chinese Yams which have started growing, which I'll replant.  I love the way they curl around the base of the pot!  I was disturbed by a commotion above a nearby tree... a heron was sitting in the top, and being mobbed by several crows.  Lots of noise as they divebombed it.  The heron eventually flew off.

I made the boys some lunch and one of their friends came round.  I got the wheelbarrow and took split logs to my dry storage area down the garden.  I bagged up 3 carrier bags of potting compost for Owen, who'd asked for a delivery.

At about half past four I set off for town, to deliver the compost and go to David's, for a 5-7 shift.  Owen was pleased with the compost, and I got to David's dead-on 5pm.  He was delighted to see me, and asked to be taken to Marks and Sparks as he wanted to buy a jumper.  Unfortunately they didn't have the sort he was looking for, but we did meet Neal Guppy, one of his old friends and a well-known York person.

Then we headed for City Screen and David had a coffee and I bought myself a grilled blue cheese on walnut bread plus chips with some sort of mayo.  I felt it was an unhealthy treat, and it filled me up.

Took David back and got him something to eat, and we chatted about the York Arts Centre (where he was a Trustee) and various other things.  I finished on the dot of 7pm, and cycled over to the Friends Meeting House for Tobi Kellner's presentation of the Zero Carbon Britain 2030 report.

This was really good, although disappointing how few people had turned up, considering the importance of the subject.  This report shows how by 2030 we on this island can be energy independent, and zero net greenhouse gas emissions. 

This finished at about 9.30 and I cycled over to Clement's Hall to the Bejazzled dance event, where I'd agreed to sit on the door from 10 til 11.30.  This allowed Jane, the organiser, to have a bit of a dance and enjoy herself.  I chatted to several people, including a gent called Peter who's just taken an office in the building and was interested in my services as a gardener.

I came away at 11.40 and bombed home, good to see Gill and hear about the Flower Show which she'd enjoyed a lot.

I got up early as Gill was taking our youngest to school in a taxi, and I got up to do some work with our eldest on elements, and then I had a confirmation from a facebook contact in Lahore, in Pakistan, that he wanted to have a Skype conversation this morning with me about how to present his forthcoming Master Composter course.  We'd discussed it previously and suggested that this morning might be convenient.

As I'm currently using Safe Mode on my laptop due to it not working in normal mode, it doesn't have sound, so I got my son to set Skype up on Gill's laptop, and I was able to have a conversation with Kurt and Nimra from Waste Busters and Sustainable Pakistan. Although I couldn't hear Nimra, just see her instant messages appearing, but I could chat with Kurt initially.  The Skype connection was not brilliant, and I'm not sure I got the group call thing worked out properly.... but we spent over an hour, and I hope that I'll have helped them with their Master Composter scheme. 

Then it was nearly time to go to the Feed the 1000 event at Vanbrugh College at the University of York.  I'd been an initial link in this event, as Bryony Pete from Love Food Hate Waste had contacted the University with the idea and been rebuffed.  She'd then approached the recycling team at the Council, and they suggested that I might be able to help.  I introduced Bryony to the wonderful People and Planet group, and that opened doors.  None of the People and Planet crew had heard much until at the beginning of the week, there was information about the event today.  So, there was waste food, rejected by supermarkets and manufacturers, and a team of cooks making it into meals, and a 'TV Chef' doing cooking demonstrations about how to use up leftovers, and the Love Food Hate Waste stall with information.  I arrived and found Bryony, who was chopping onions, and congratulated her on the fantastic event.  I later found out they'd fed 2000 students; I wonder what the final figure will be?

But I didn't get any food as I'm not a student.  I didn't mind.  I really like sandwiches for lunch, so I cycled home again and had my usual peanut butter and marmite, plus a hommous and thrown-away red pepper.

Just in time to go to St Nicks for a York Rotters management meeting, which was as usual really good.  However, I first helped put together a new wormery which needed two people to do it.  I contributed most to the ongoing discussion about producing a video or videos, and by the end of the meeting, I had a couple of jobs I had to do. These included emailing several seed companies to get quotes for promotional seed packets, and sending Catherine info about carbon footprints and composting.  I was pleased to see Jo (the second-most enthusiastic composter in York!) come into the centre and the conversation which ensued resulted in my promising to take in some leafmould tomorrow, for some kind of display or workshop.

I came back home and spoke to Pauline on the phone; she'd requested some emergency logs to tide her over til her next delivery next week, and she was available from 5pm til 6pm.  I volunteered to go and see her just before 6, and then go round to Clement's Hall with her and twiddle my thumbs for a bit before the People and Planet meal at El Piano at 7.30.  She was very glad of he 2 sacks of logs and a small bag of coal.  We walked round to the 'recycled building' as she calls Clements Hall, and she worked in the office whilst we chatted and I read Resource magazine.

At about 7pm I cycled down to town and went to El Piano, and waited for the lovely P+P people... we had a £10 meal, which was a lot of tapas selections.  Good conversations, laughs, food.  Very enjoyable.

And back home.... couldn't resist a visit to a supermarket skip and got some goodies which will be consumed over the next couple of weeks.

Another full and interesting day.  I emailed about 10 seed companies last thing and look forward to their replies.