Human Lifestyle

The day started a bit rapidly because Gill had a GP appointment at 9.40 and woke me up at 9.20 as I'd offered to walk round with her, as it was slippery and I really didn't want her to fall over. So my usual routine of having breakfast first thing was replaced by a slow walk round to Tang Hall Lane, using the only ice-free part of Lilac Avenue, the car tyre tracks.  So Gill was happy to have me with her, and I pocketed her presrciption for painkillers and went to get those later.

We got home and I sat down to enjoy breakfast... and the Suma lorry came, so I put muesli on hold and helped unload our order... peanut butter, muesli base, soya milk, bouillon, rice, goats cheese, some other bits and bobs, plus things for Sue and Melody.

So then it was time to do some log stacking, as we're going through loads at the moment and I really need to get a load stacked by the front door to prepare for the forthcoming cold snap.  I also tidied up the Wisteria leaves which had been knocked off by the snow, and some other mess.  I started splitting the softwood rounds I picked up over the weekend. 

Sue showed up sometime between 2 and 3 to pick up her rye bread and tinned lentil soup, and I took the 2 boxes of rye bread over to her van.  I'd noticed a woman rooting through a skip of household goods in a neighbour's driveway, and as I walked back to the house, I spoke to her and we chatted.  She'd seen the skip last night and put a note through the door asking if she could rummage through.  She'd got a phone call with a yes, so had come down to find clothes and other bits.  She had a huge suitcase plus at least 2 rucksacks, a large plastic carrier bag and a child's scooter. 

About 10 minutes later, as I was splitting rounds with my axe, she struggled past and I wished her well.  Five minutes later, I was setting out on my bike to go and get Gill's prescription, and she was outside our neighbour's, still trying to manage her heavy load.  So I offered to help her move her stuff, it wasn't far, just up Osbaldwick Lane, and we had a good natter whilst going there.  Turns out she was at the Pumpkin evening and Apple Day and I'd taught her daughter to juggle...

I got the prescription and came back and didn't do any more outside as it was now dark. 

Gill had made leek and potato soup, and I had mine with two slices of bread.

Then at 6.15 I set out on the bike again to go to Tang Hall Library for the Hull Road Ward Planning Panel, and we had a very interesting and quite long meeting, lasting over an hour.  So it was nearly 8pm when I got back.  I watched a programme about equations with our eldest at 9pm, and had a fairly quiet evening.

Well, a mixed day... a noisy start, I came down to help get the boys off to school, which did eventually happen. Gill and I had some quiet time together before going out to a meeting, which took til lunchtime.

Then we had lunch and immediately after lunch, I had another meeting, this one with Paul from BT Retail, about an advertising package which would allow me to have a website with key words which would be flagged up with Google, Yahoo and Bing, and I'd have a 'pay per click' type account.  I quite liked this offer, although I can't afford it right now and will wait until my BT advertising comes up for renewal.  Currently I'm in the paper directory and have the mini-website, although I haven't done anything with the website as I haven't had time.

After Paul went, I got an email from a City of York Waste Minimisation Officer asking about my contacts within the University.  This is because someone from Love Food Hate Waste is wanting to organise, or facilitate, a series of Waste Food Feasts, to feed 1000 people.  I contacted Briony Pete and she told me about an event she co-ordinated in Hull.  She wants to get other Universities but hasn't had any luck with York so far.  I told her I'd see what I could do with my People and Planet contacts.

I spent a very short bit of time in the garden; too cold, windy, wet.  But I did unload several sacks of leaves into my leafmould pile, and brought in a load of cooking apples which are all over our orchard.

I finished making the broccoli and sweet potato soup, and that's what we had for tea, it was delicious.

Then soon after 6 I headed off to Tang Hall Library to attend the Hull Road Ward Planning Panel, which was short and sweet, just two applications to look at.  Then a short cycle to Langwith College at the University to attend the People and Planet meeting, to hear the updates on their composting campaign and to ask them about their initial thoughts on the Waste Food Feast idea.  They are an amazing bunch of people, and were enthusiastic about the Feast.  I'll invite Briony to come and talk to the group.

Came home via a logpile, and came in quickly as it was very cold.  A cosy warm evening inside, more pear preparation, lots of reading, writing, washing up.

I had a late start as I was up and around doing things last night til a ridiculous time. But I had nothing planned for the morning, and in the afternoon I had three meetings one after the other, with not a lot of time between them, including a 'public appearance' for which I felt the need to be clean and well groomed!

So after breakfast/lunch I had a bath, and then read a bit more No Impact Man book. I'm just over halfway through.

At 3.30 I set off for the Environment Forum meeting at the Friends Meeting House. The attendees had received my version of the Allerton Waste Recovery Park response document, and we were also going to meet and discuss things with Kersten England, the Chief Executive of City of York Council, and also we needed to discuss our Vision Document. It was really good to meet Kersten England for the first time, and she responded to all our questions in the manner expected of a Chief Exec. The Allerton Park response is going to be reconsidered after we've heard more information next Monday, when some of us will attend a meeting which will discuss a 'Zero Waste Policy' which has not been considered by the Council. The Vision Document discussion was complicated, and over-ran, and I left at 6.10, which didn't give me enough time to get to the Planning Panel meeting. So I went home and Gill gave me pizza and broccoli, baked beans and potatoes. I had some quiet time before setting out for City Screen at about 8pm.

This was for the screening of No Impact Man. I met Guy and Ivana at the stall in the foyer, and other people started to turn up whom I knew. Dave Taylor arranged that the three speakers got complimentary tickets which was nice of him. There were about 45 people in the audience, many of them 'the usual suspects'. The film is excellent, has funny moments, some cute interludes with Colin and Michelle's daughter Isabella, and I really liked the fact that the story focuses a lot of the relationship between Colin and his wife. I missed the bit about the candles when I watched the DVD last night; they are not paraffin wax, but bees' wax, and therefore NOT of fossil origin, but renewable. For as long as we've got honeybees, that is.

The Question and Answer session seemed to go quite well afterwards... about half the people went as the credits rolled and the rest were happy to hear the discussion and a few asked questions or made comments. The most interesting observation (afterwards, in the foyer) was that when the film Super Size Me was screened here, the auditorium was packed. So what is it about a film which looked at the fast food culture by means of a guy eating nothing but McDonald's for a month which made it so popular, whereas a film about a guy giving up stuff for a year drew just a few dozen? Both films had the aim of drawing attention to an aspect of modern life... maybe it was because Morgan Spurlock's experiment was just one aspect whereas Colin Beavan's was about lots!

I enjoyed my cycle home and picked up one more plastic crate for Abundance York's fruit collections, and I realised I hadn't taken the crates round to Dave Broughton in my bike trailer like I said I would. I now have 11 to give him.

Later, at home and typing away doing my blog, playing Scrabble on facebook, a friend, Manuel Costa who's an environmentalist in Canada, I think, posted ths article about Germany getting the wobbles about 'Peak Oil' and it's well worth a read. Another challenging read, if you're interested in diet, meat and veganism, is George Monbiot's review of Simon Fairlie's book 'Meat: A Benign Extravagance. Not sure I'll be moving away from vegetarianism though.

A hard working day in the garden. I finished off the chainsawing which I started yesterday, and split some logs which I liberated from a bonfire pile on a building site last night. I cut a load of hedge with the shears and cut back a huge bush which was towering over our currant bushes, and shredded some of this material but not all. Some of the shrub needs the bigger stems cutting out as they will make good kindling in a year or two.

Around the middle of the day it was too hot to be outside so I used solar hot water to do a load of washing up.

At 6.15 there was a Hull Road Ward Planning Panel at Tang Hall Community Centre, where we faced a large pile of applications, and we didn't stop til 7.45. Some of them were quite complex, and unusually we made quite a few comments on the applications. On the way home I visited a friendly bin and got 75kg of chapati flour, 3 unopened sacks, two brown and one white. Amazing. I'm ashamed of the wasteful society we live in.

I had a bit of tea and then another hour in the garden, but came in at 10.45 when it got too dark to continue.

Got up fairly early with earache. Very painful. Gill advised me to have some ibuprofen after breakfast, which within an hour seemed to work, and by midday the pain had gone completely.

I spent the morning on Novaterium, adding more natural and woodland burial sites, and I rang up several site owners and proprietors to get an exact location of their site. I also added a company who specialise in green funerals.

Just before lunch, Edward cycled round with the York in Transition cheque book to get me to sign a couple of cheques, and we spent nearly an hour chatting about all sorts of things including diet and health, green funeral options, and his book that he's rewriting.

Gill went into town on the bus to try to find some shoes which give her more support. Because her GP had suggested a certain shop, she had her gait tested several times and eventually got a pair of rather expensive but very comfortable and well made trainers. She says she looks like a chav but I don't really know what she's on about and as I love her I don't give a damn what she looks like or wears. I'm just glad that her pain might be reduced.

I had a good afternoon, including an invite from Steve Barnett of the American Progressive Radio Network, inviting me (or Rory) to talk about green funeral solutions tomorrow, on his programme 'Paradise Parking Lot'. So I agreed to do it, over the phone... it should be between 6 and 7pm tomorrow, UK time (1pm til 2pm Eastern Time).

Gill had a go at making chapattis for the first time and cooked some rice and an un-curried bean and veg stew. I liked the chapatti she made for me but it could have done with something else in it... caraway seeds, or cumin, or fenugreek... not sure... but next time she'll experiment, or I will!

At 6.15 I took a small notebook that Lynn left at the LETS meeting round to her and then on to the Planning Panel meeting, which was mercifully quick as I had to get back for 7pm, as we were expecting Tony and Sylvia, beekeepers, to visit. I gave my details to the local apiarist club and this couple rang me, saying they would be interested in putting a hive or two in our garden. So I took them down and gave them a quick tour, and I showed them where I'd thought that a bee hive or two could go. They agreed, and so I'll prepare the area and they'll prepare two hives. Very exciting!

First thing I loaded up the trailer with two sacks of mature unriddled compost, and a sample carrier bag of riddled. My friend Dave B asked me to take some round to the Chemistry Department of the University of York, as there's someone there who wants to rejuvenate some old tired growing media in half barrels, and to grow some veggies.

Then I cycled down to Cycle Heaven as my bike needs the back wheel kissing better and the back brake stroking back into working order. When down there I also asked them to replace the saddle, as my synthetic saddle has fallen apart and I have been considering a leather saddle, which should last many times as long.

I was given a nice little Brompton to get back home on, and I called in to the Building Society to put Jenny's cheque in for the compost I took round ages ago.

Then I popped in on my friend who is doing a detox to try to conquer alcoholism, and said I'd visit after lunch.

At about 3, I got a load of compost bagged up for Nick to pick up, as requested. Then at 4, back down to Cycle Heaven to pick up my machine, which has a repaired back wheel and responsive brakes. However, they didn't have the saddle that they wanted to sell to me, so that'll wait for next time.

Then I paid the water bill and came home via Country Fresh, to pick up 3 sacks of compostables.

I got home at about 5 which is when Nick said he'd visit. He gave me £20 for 3 sacks of unriddled and 1 sack of riddled.

Soon after this I had a pastie and salads for tea, and went to the Hull Road Planning Panel, at Tang Hall Community Centre. There were quite a few 'student' related applications, including several registrations of houses being re-designated 'Houses in Multiple Occupation' after legislative changes in April, and a huge 330 bed student accommodation on the Dairy site.

I'd taken the final bag of compost to the Planning Panel to deliver to Julie the Freecycler on the way back. This was a single sack of riddled, and she'd previously had 4 sacks of unriddled. I also let her have a bit of dried fruit... and she gave me £20 as well. So, today I've been paid £40 for compost, paid in a £15 cheque and delivered two sacks for which Dave said he'd give me something! A totally composty day!

During the evening I did a load of washing up and made the decision to go to Durham on the train tomorrow, and cycle the 7 miles to Houghton Le Spring to go to the Houghton Kepier Sports College, where Dan from Ridan is delivering one of his lovely machines.

He intends to be there at 10am, so I think I'll get the 8.30 to Durham, arriving at 9.13, and I should get to the College at the same time... with luck!

Up earlyish and feeling bouncy.

Not sure why but I was feeling good... despite knowing that Gill and I had lots of paperwork and admin to do. So we spent a couple of hours going through a pile of paperwork, ringing people up, putting stuff in envelopes, posting them, putting envelopes into the compost pile, minus their stamps which we occasionally give to a worthy charity. Gill started on the 09/10 accounts.

I bought bread and pasties, and posted yams and pea beans to a chap in West Yorkshire and the same to my folks in Sheffield. The beans they saved from last year didn't germinate, so I hope some of mine do. The ones I've planted are erupting from their toilet roll beds. I love seeing that!

I responded to a Freecycle offer of a commode, to replace the wooden one I got all those years ago for my compost toilet, which is now falling to bits. Jo in Huntington said that I could come and get it. One of her next posts mentioned that she was making a raised bed, so I offered her some compost as a gift. I found her road on Googlemaps and memorised the shortest route, and set out. When I arrived, I realised that I'd forgotten the piece of paper with her actual address on it! Duh!

So, I started knocking on doors and found a Jo... but it was the wrong one. No-one knew the Jo I wanted to find. I had a nice chat to a little tubby man who was tending his garden bare-chested, and I told him that if I couldn't find Jo, I'd give him the compost... which I did as Jo wasn't in the 40 or so houses I tried!

I cycled into town and got two cheques out for adverts in 'Book of Green' and one other cheque for someone. Then I came back via Country Fresh, where Shirley had one box of gubbins for me. When I got back, I rang Jo and explained my stupidity, and asked if I could come at 5.30.

So, I had a bit of time to..... do some pallet butchery! I've collected half a dozen broken or unwanted pallets over the past week or so, which needed dismembering and then chopping up into bite sized pieces. Before I set back out for Huntington a second time, I had the Thomas's pastie, and got another sack of mature unriddled from down the garden to pop in the trailer.

This time, I knew which house I was going to, and Jo and her partner and child were waiting for me. The little boy was fascinated with the compost beasties in the sack, and I worked out how to put the commode into my trailer, and cycled back to my neck of the woods. I'd timed it just nicely, arriving at Tang Hall Community Centre just before 6pm when the Hull Road Ward Planning Panel was meeting. I decided to bring the commode in with me, as it looked far too interesting for the local wildlife to ignore.

I was the first there, followed shortly afterwards by a couple of young men from York University who have joined the panel. One of them is the President of the Student Union, and the other is also a SU officer... they are graduates, not students, but they've joined our group as they represent students and there is a certain amount of tension between student houses and the more permanent community. So they want to learn about the house conversions we deal with every time, enlarging homes from 3 bed to 5, 6 or more, making them 'Houses in Multiple Occupation', and possible scenes of loud parties, messy gardens and other accusations. Not all students are like this, and some non students have untidy gardens too (me, for instance!) but they are an easy target for locals to complain about.

We dealt with quite a few good applications, most of them pretty standard, and some of them house extensions, so our new members saw a good range of applications.

I got in just after 7.30 and did a bit of tidying up in the front garden before coming in and having some potato salad and other salady bits, with olives.

A very peaceful evening... enjoyed the new BBC programme 'The Story of Science', and had a good few goes on Scrabble on facebook.

A peaceful start to the day and at 10, Michael, a German chap who has a son at our son's school arrived, as he had invited himself round to find out how to make a compost heap which didn't attract rats. He lives near a farm which has lots of rats and his 'dalek' bin has regular rodent visitors.

So we went down the garden and I showed him the various 'dalek' bins which are on concrete or paving stones, and one on a proprietory plastic base, all of which are rat proof (OK, rat resistant!) and haven't ever been gnawed through or tunneled into. I showed him the GreenCone, which has (or had, as I set a trap) a rat living in the basket under the cone, having tunnelled through the soil and munched through the basket. I showed him the 'New Zealand Bins' made of pallets, which I construct on top of several pallets to raise them off the ground, and line with chicken wire. These are also rat deterrant, as the only way they can get in is through the top. I showed him the Compost Mate tool which I use to disturb the heaps, making rat peace and quiet impossible.

Then I showed him the four sorts of tumbler, all of which are either rat proof or would be really difficult for a rat to get into. He really liked the Sun Mar Compost Flow 400 litre jobbie, and I asked him to let me know which one he decided to get.

So then the next 'feature' of the day was lunch, and whilst having lunch and after, I contacted several organisations through their websites, to ask about using some photos for the website I am working on.

Then I emptied the wheelbarrow (sacks of compostables) and used it to take the logs I cut yesterday and took them to the new logpile for fresh logs which is on a pallet in the shared pathway between us and our neighbour. Some needed splitting too, which not only helps the thick ones dry faster, but makes the stacking easier and safer.

I had tea early, a pile of pasta parcels, broccoli, cauliflower and pumpkin, as the Hull Road Ward Planning Panel was at 6pm today, rather than the usual 6.30. We had a lot to deal with, including some quite complicated applications, and ones where we disagreed.

We finished at 7.10 and my next meeting was at 7.30 in the Black Swan, the first planning meeting of the 2010 York World Naked Bike Ride. Tony and Hugh came... Tony is the main organiser, and he'd prepared a check list/agenda which we worked through, including the route, publicity, police/council liason and assorted other bits and bobs. A good meeting, and on the way back I checked out a logpile, some of which found it's way into my trailer.

On the way out of St Nicks Fields, I saw two youths running off up one of the paths, from a rubbish bin which they had just set light to. There was another chap there, just standing and using his mobile phone. I stopped and looked into the bin, saw that it did indeed have some contents on fire. I parked the bike and said to the chap standing around that it ought to be put out, but I'd just had a pee so could he help? He declined, so I scrabbld around to find enough snow to chuck into the bin to eventually put out the small fire. The only thing the chap said was in response to my saying 'I wish there was more snow'.. and he just said 'you don't hear that very often'. I tried to chat to him a bit more but he was in a world of his own.

I came home, unloaded logs, put the bike away and came in, tired but happy that the meetings had been productive.

Quite a good day... got a letter from a reader of plants for a future, to which I contributed a comment, with some seeds as a swap for some tubercles of Diascorea batatas (sometimes known as D. opposita) or Chinese Yam (see this blog post). I also had a phone call from a West African man living in Worcester who'd bought a cinnamon vine in a pot from Country Fresh when he was visiting York, asking me about how to look after the plant... and I promised to send him a few tubercles when they were harvested.

So I replied to both with a letter and information about looking after the plant, and tomorrow will put a film-canister of tubercles with the letter and send them off, one to Worcester and the other to Maldon in Essex.

At 10am Lynn came round as she had asked if I still had any spare bananas... and by chance, I had got some more bananas yesterday so she came round for a chat and to pick up some bananas. We chatted for over two hours.

I popped round to Tang Hall Library to take some children's books back, and got milk from the Co-op on the way back.

Rice and home-made baked beans for tea, and then off to the Hull Road Ward Planning Panel for 6.30, where there were just two applications to deal with. However at the previous meeting, just before Christmas, only two people were able to attend, and they disagreed over an application, so the Clerk had emailed round to canvass opinions and gather more comments. The other person had said this was underhand and wrong, as only the opinions of those present at the meeting should count. So we had a very heated discussion which lasted until we had to go, at 7.30. We realised that we had no ground-rules for this situation so the Clerk is going to ask the Council for advice, and I'll ask my Fishergate Planning Panel friends if they have rules about being quorate (having a certain number of people there in order for the meeting to make decisions) and whether people not actually at the meeting can contribute to the discussion or the vote. Difficult ethical and procedural dilemmas.

A late evening with children and homework.

A bit of a wasted morning in some ways. I had been invited to 'participate' in a webinar, a made-up word based on a seminar conducted over tinterweb. This was because of my being involved in organising York Green Festival, and my interest in organising events generally. So, cvent had invited me to get my computer ready to listen to and watch a presentation, and presumably contribute my views/experiences/questions.

So, as requested, 10 minutes before the event, I registered but my registration procedure just went round in circles. At about 5 minutes into the event, I was about to give up and the phone rang, and one of the organisers tried to help me get onto the correct webpage, and sent me an email with a URL, and put the phone call onto the live presentation so I could listen with the phone on loudspeaker, whilst I copied and pasted the URL into my browser but that just sent me to a pdf document. I got increasingly frustrated. I was also finding it difficult to concentrate on the presentation, as the gentleman had an accent which meant that to understand what was being said, I would have had to put all my concentration into the presentation... which I couldn't as the speakerphone isn't the highest quality and I was still going round in circles with the website. Right at the end the presenter asked if anyone had any comments so I decided to speak... and he answered me, was very apologetic and a bit later, he rang me back and I was able to explain the problems I'd had trying to access the presentation.

So, all I got from the presentation was that the organisation offers a wide range of online services which help event organisers run a successful event. Nothing that York Green Festival could use, I think, but who knows, in the future, I may get involved in organising something which might need cvent's help. I'll keep an open mind but hope the webinar software can be improved, as it gives a poor first impression if something doesn't work.

Anyway, the rest of the day was OK, I did quite a bit of housework, nothing outside as it was raining a lot.

I did go to the Hull Road Planning Panel where we dealt with the usual house extensions making three-bedrooms into 5, 6 or even up to 9 in some cases. These are usually for students.

On the way back I decided to pop into a house just down the road which has a SolarTwin hot water panel on it's roof, distinctive because of it's photovoltaic inset which runs the pump. Malcolm was in, a very engaging gent, and was delighted to tell me all about the system, which he is very very happy with. He has kept good records of all his meter readings and bills... Very interesting stuff... the household of two used about 2000 thermal units of gas a year before the installation, but now averages 1500, a reduction of 25% on their annual gas bill. They also now don't use an electric immersion heater and this electricity use has reduced too. Malcolm reported good customer service and was very satisfied.

I came in shortly before Gill and the boys came in from an open day at the secondary school where our youngest is going next year.

As well as doing washing up, I played loads of Scrabble on facebook.

Quite a frustrating day as I spent quite a lot of it trying to deal with email problems. I also was aware that today would have been the day I left the BGG site and came back to York. So I had a low mood day generally.

Cycled into town to pay in a cheque, get two cheques out, give the maps back to the library, and at the library there was an ex stock sale and I got 3 CDs for a pound each.

When I got back I did some housework, but didn't get very far. One thing I did succeed with was getting my eldest son to help rig up a string from an upstairs window to allow a rampant bean to climb higher than the bamboo canes it is currently waving from the top of. It can now go to the first floor of the house! I picked some beans and Gill added these to a fantastic dish she made, using mashed broad-bean inners to create bean burgers (cooked in non stick mince-pie tins!) and yesterday's macaroni cheese. A delicious meal, especially the bean burgers.

At 6.20 cycled off to the Hull Road Ward Planning Panel at Tang Hall Community Centre, where Vicky was in charge and I was happy to be just a panel member. The chat and repartee cheered me up. The main topic of conversation was whether we should join the York Open Planning Forum. One of our members was at a meeting a few weeks ago which the chair of the YOPF also attended, and the abominable behaviour of this person, who interrupted and was rude to people, meant that our member wants us not to join the YOPF. Our new Clerk, who has now fully taken over from me, will find out how our group would benefit from joining the YOPF and bring that info to the next meeting and we'll take a vote.

I came back from this meeting via the St Nicks compost piles and put on a layer of veg and fruit stuff, covered with a layer of pet shop waste.

Home to try to relax... lit the stove as I need to do more washing up and I've got some fruit to dry.

I woke and was aware that our eldest did go to school but our youngest had a cough and sniff and was very tired, so he stayed at home. I used the good weather to do some tidying up in the garden... a wheelbarrow full of compostables from the greengrocers which needed to be roughly chopped up and loaded onto the latest pallet-heap, also some shredding, hedge material from last week, and some sacks that Gladys from Thief Lane has saved for me, including Berberis which is prickly.

I got a message form Lynn saying that she'd like to ask Freshways for a raffle prize for the LETS Healthy Living Event. I agreed to meet her outside the shop just after 11 to give the letter to Raj; he wasn't at work today but one of his employees said they'd give it to him or his brother. I then went on to Country Fresh with another letter and poster, and Richard said no problem to providing us with a prize. What a generous guy! I'll collect it next Wednesday.

On this leg of the journey I met a chap called Paddy who is an estate worker, who's role it is to do various jobs around the small bungalows between Lawrence St and Heslington Road, and he was cutting up some elder branches with secateurs and putting the bits in a bin bag. I stopped and said hello and asked if I could have the cut stuff, and he was only too happy. I had the cut branches and the sack of chopped up stuff... which was heading for 'the bin'. We had quite a long chat and I gave him my card and invited him to contact me if he was in a similar situation again. I also said I might be able to help him find a solution to this bad situation.

I came home and shredded this material... took about two minutes. It all filled just one small sack when shredded and made a layer on one of the current heaps.

I had a go at deleting loads of emails over lunch and found one from the chap in charge of waste and recycling in York, Geoff Derham. He had taken charge of the sorry situation with Lord Deramore's School's approach to my composting attempts. I sent him an email asking if anything had happened... had there been a meeting? Were the school going to improve their 'eco-credentials'? What had happened to my compost bin the alleged Health and Safety advisor had ordered to be removed? I got a fairly swift reply. There had been a meeting. The school was going to undertake some process of greening, but this would take time. My compost bins will be returned to me by lorry in the next couple of days. I have received no thanks or any communication from the school regarding the years of waste-reduction work and composting, nor the work I put in with Green Thumbs. I do feel hurt and angry, yet I also see this situation as having a potentially positive outcome as this school might, just might develop ways of being a 'shining example of sustainability within the community' which has always been my aim. Just a pity it should happen with them virtually excluding me.

I picked our first two courgettes and we had these for tea, with nutloaf croquettes, potatoes and corn on the cob. I had to rush out to the Hull Road Ward Planning Panel, meeting at the Tang Hall Community Centre, where I was due to hand over the Clerk's role to Vicky... something I'm sure she'll do a much better job of than me. We did go through several applications though, and I got away shortly before 7.30 and headed down to Green Drinks.

This is an idea which started in 1989 in London, where like-minded environmentally conscious people meet up for a drink and a chat. Simple really. This was York's first.. upstairs at the Yorkshire Terrier on Stonegate, made reasonably accessible with a stairlift, but along narrow corridors. It was well attended and I was pleased to meet Susanne, an archaeology support worker, and Pam, a newbie to York but Green Party member, plus various friends including Dave and Andy, Lynn, Rich and Ivana, Bryony, Katie, Jennie, and others. Had some good chats.

I left fairly early... before 10 anyway as I was tired.

Up fairly early as I was taking our youngest to school. It is Gill's birthday but I hadn't sorted anything out as I hadn't had time yesterday. She had an appointment and left at 8.30, and arrived back with a headache and went to bed.

I went to town to deliver the Planning Panel paperwork and went to the market to see if I could find something for Gill... no luck. So I cycled on to Alligator and found some marmalade, chocolate, vegetarian jelly powder and a card made by Brenda Tyler, a friend of mine. Then in Country Fresh I got some marigolds... not gloves (!) but flowering plants, a tray of 12, as well as assorted veggies, fruitees and compostables.

I had a late lunch and Gill went to pick up our little one. Both boys signed the card and we sang Happy Birthday to Gill and gave her the presents and I think this cheered her up. However, she had said she would do the parents evening at Archies, so I made tea for the boys.

Gill got in and had some too, and we had a peaceful evening. I did quite a bit of compost heap loading, then came in and prepared a large number of apple rings and red peppers for drying. I also posted messages on Freecycle for a mirror, ceiling light and candlesticks, all rescued out of a skip. I got requests for them very quickly, but I had put on that I would wait to see as many answers as possible and then decide... so a decision in a few days.

Gill had requested that I have a real game of Scrabble without me also playing more Scrabble games on the computer. Which was probably a bad idea as all my energies went into the one game and I beat her 420 vs 248. But we both enjoyed it, regardless of the score. I was lucky with my letters, including putting down all of them on the last go to make POLICERS. Gill really enjoyed playing real Scrabble without the interference of the laptop being on, and it has been a few months since we played. When we first got together, 16 years ago, we played Scrabble nearly every night....

But after the game I switched on to write my blog. Mr. Habitual.

Quite a good day, although up earlier than I would have liked... but not a bad thing as I had a Doctor's appointment at 9.40, so bombed round there, and after that went to Sainsburys which is very near. Got back on the dot of 11, which is what time I told Sarah, a PhD student, I'd be available from. I rang her and she arrived fairly soon. She's researching the individual actions that people are making to reduce their climate change impact, and all the people she's spoken to have said 'you must speak to John'!

I chatted with her, gave her a tour of the garden and then, over a freegan tea, chatted some more. She recorded everything and got me to fill in a few forms too. Quite enjoyable. Glad to be able to help.

After a late lunch I did some paperwork... sorting through a big pile of paper and putting some of it for firelighting and some for recycling, just a couple of bits to keep for my records. I got together the Planning Panel paperwork, ready for this evening's meeting.

Gill made tea, pasta-based and perfectly acceptable. The Hull Road Ward Planning Panel meeting started off badly. I arrived at Tang Hall Community Centre and the bike rack had two bikes occupying two slots at one end, ad four bikes all together at the slot at the other end. Then there was one bike chained up at right-angles to the 'proper way round', obscuring the remaining 3 slots. I called out to the children playing and asked if the bike belonged to anyone. One boy said yes, it was his. I asked him to put the bike in the slot so I could put mine in too, and he refused. I said that if he didn't move it, I would, as I could see I would be able to put it behind the stand by turning it upside-down. The bike was not unlocked and moved so I did move it myself, and one of the children went inside to 'tell'. The playleader came out and started to tell me off, but fortunately Carolyn had seen the whole thing play out and interjected, saying that I had asked politely to start off with and it was actually the bike owner who was at fault.

The boy who indicated that he was the owner turned out to be a liar... the real owner was inside the building, and when told to come outside to unlock and move his bike, he did. Grudgingly. The liar got a talking to from the playleader and was made to apologise to me.

Anyway, after this hiccup, the meeting went well. Just four of us there. Got a lot done, much good humour.

I got home at 7.50 and did some work in the front garden, hand-sawing a load of planks.

During the evening I discovered a whole composting subject I knew nothing about; the use of Black Soldier Flies as agents of composting. See this blog for more info!

I got up quite early as I knew I had quite a bit to do today, and I settled down to try to do my Community Care blog, but I failed as I couldn't concentrate. And then I got a phone call from a friend who I met at the Northern Green Gathering, who'd posted a 'status' on Facebook asking for information on 'green funeral options', and I'd replied and said we ought to have a chat. She was wanting to plan her own funeral and convey those wishes to her solicitor. So, I went through the 4 legal and available methods of body disposal, and their relative carbon costs, and social aspects, as a funeral and/or place to remember the deceased is important for those who loved that person. I ended up telling her about the 5th method, not yet available, Promession, and hopefully she'll be able to make a decision as to which she would prefer for her own body.

Gill headed off to town soon after getting back from taking our youngest to school, as she had a dental appointment. I went to Thomas's for Yesterbake bread, the Co-op for cereals and flour, and to deliver a cycle helmet, on loan, to Lynn who'd asked last night if she could borrow one. I had a chat with her... her garden was looking good.

On the way back I noticed a skip with a large amount of turf in it, some rolled up, unused and ready to be stacked up and made into loam. I spoke to the owners who enthusiastically invited me to take the lot... and said I could sort through some other items as well! I took four trailer-loads plus what could sit on my pannier rack. The other items I rescued were some unopened toiletries and cosmetics, a mirror in a gold coloured frame and an old phone which I will put in the WEEE area at Hazel Court next time I go. But the turf will be most useful to me. It did take a while to bring it back and get it stacked neatly down the garden.

Later in the day, I was getting ready for the Green Festival meeting and I realised I had forgotten the Planning Panel meeting, so I fired off an apologetic email... my life is too busy, too unstructured and I'm probably trying to do too much. I expect a telling off from my colleagues for messing them around. I missed this one because I had to book the next block of meetings at Tang Hall Community Centre, I hadn't done that and the dates had not gone in my diary. No excuse really.

So at 7 I cycled off to the Green Festival meeting at St John's, and it was a really good meeting, very productive. It now looks like we have an event co-ordinator, so in my mind, this event is now more likely to happen rather than not.

Home before 10 and Gill had had a tough evening. She asked me not to go out on Wednesday evening.

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.

Got up late and spent time on the computer during the rest of the morning.
Through my 'Feedjit' widgit (which still thinks I'm in Leighton Buzzard!) I found http://cabalamat.wordpress.com/ 'Amused Cynisism' and http://www.charlescrawford.biz/ which have links to my 'How I Compost' photo post. Both these blogs have a lot of stuff worth looking through. I enjoyed some self-indulgent Facebook stuff, playing Scrabble whilst cooking the carrot soup on the woodstove for tonight's tea. I have over 20 games going on...

Also had a lot of emails to answer and various other things to do... research for my next column, which has a deadline next week.

A quiet inside afternoon... I went to school to pick up our youngest and was approached by a teacher who knows I'm somewhat keen on recycling, offering me a huge sack of envelopes to compost (at home) so I cycled back with about 20Kg of assorted envelopes and about 20Kg of fruit waste... since I've stopped composting at school they've been throwing away about 7Kg/day of fruit and veg material, this was a completely full plastic rubbish bin which I've been using to collect compostables in. By now, the school head teacher will have had a meeting with the Council waste people so I'm hoping to hear from either of them soon with a way forward. Only then will my anger, despair and disgust subside. If a school cannot recycle, what chance do we have for the future, when children see all the recyclable materials being thrown away.

I've another gripe with the school... there is a pre-school group based within Lord Deramore's, and they have milk in small drinks cartons. They would like to recycle these cartons, and the Council DOES have facilities... at the main civic amenity sites, such as Hazel Court. So, the pre school group asked me if I could collect these and take them for recycling. I said yes, could they be placed in a receptacle in the bins area? The pre school people asked the school if this could happen... and guess what? Apparently, someone from Health and Safety says they cannot! Can you believe it? I would happily deck the Health and Safety person at the school I'm so angry. So I will have to collect the sack of milk cartons as and when I can, the pre-school doesn't want them in the classroom as they might smell, and I think the obvious place to collect them is in the bins area which already has a bin for paper recycling (although it often has other things dumped in it, their quality control is so poor). What a shambles!

Anyway, came home and washed up, helped Gill get tea ready. Ben came round to dispense advice about the childrens' 'dongle' which has stopped working, and the reason my ADSL usage is so high... blame it in the BBC iPlayer which has been doing 'Peer to Peer' stuff and using my computer to send stuff on, apparently. Ben showed me how to turn off that function. At 6.15 I headed off to Tang Hall Community Centre for the Hull Road Ward Planning Panel. Four of us turned up, and had a really good discussion about the different planning applications, mainly house extensions to make (we assume!) student houses.

Then cycled over to the Groves to pick up a Freecycled clip-frame, and cycled slowly down my old street, Emerald St, where I lived for 13 years. Memories!

Back via Freshways where I had an accident with the clip frame. Damn. I did clear up the mess though... what a waste. Silly me.

Back home, all was peaceful and tea had gone down well... the boys got off to bed pretty easily and I stayed up working til after midnight, as usual with Gill snoozing beside me... lovely!

Another late start, but a productive day nevertheless.

Washed up, twice. (not the same stuff, just two drying-rack loads!)

Put a load of spare glass jars in the recycling.

Took the second lot of planks up Hull Road to the people who will be able to re-use them.

Emailed round the Hull Road Planning Panel members to remind them about the meeting tonight.

Mended my son's bike light.

Did some paperwork connected with the Planning Panel and cycled it down to the Council, also visited the Co-op Bank and my building society.

Came back via Country Fresh and Freshways.

Did a bit of composting and some weeding.

At 6, Gill fed me... cauliflower and macaroni cheese. Then at 6.20, rushed off to the Planning Panel meeting at Tang Hall Community Centre and dealt with about 5 applications, with 3 other Panel members.

Home via a friend who has recently been bereaved, to give her my condolences.

A relatively quiet evening. Listened to two radio programmes on BBC iplayer. Started a Facebook version of the No Miles High Club for people who don't fly, won't fly...