A generally relaxing day, with a late and slow start, watching Country Tracks on the box and chatting with Gill. But then my planned evening was thrown into disarray. I was going to meet my new facebook friend Faye at City Screen and get a ticket to see Peeping Tom, a film made 50 years ago, and a bit of a landmark in the history of cinema. But she sent me a message saying she had decided to stay in as her husband was due home after a short break... and I asked her if I could buy her ticket off her.
So, I said I'd cycle over and collect that later, and I did an hour's work outside which was lovely. Then in for a late lunch and Gardener's Question Time, and after this I got on my bike and went over to South Bank. I was pleased to see Faye in person as we've chatted on facebook, and both her and her husband Trent seem like nice and interesting people. Faye was playing with her cute little 3 year old son, who eventually overcame his shyness and we played a bit. Then her 2 year old woke, but he didn't overcome his shyness before I had to go. Faye gave me the ticket, wouldn't accept any money so I promised a bag of dried fruit and some balloon animals as and when we meet again.
From Faye's I cycled on to Miller's Yard and picked up 4 sacks of oranges and one sack of plastic bottles to recycle. And a quick cycle home, picking up some long lanky pruned branches on the way home.
Gill had added to my stew and so I had a plate of that and soon after 7, got ready to head down to City Screen to see Peeping Tom. I hadn't done any research other than what was on the invite page on facebook, ie it was an early study of voyeurism and warped sexuality, not something I'm overly interested in, but interested enough to consider seeing the film.
I enjoyed the film and will write a brief review later.
Showing posts with label Millers Yard Positive Living Centre. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Millers Yard Positive Living Centre. Show all posts
Quite a quiet day... not much happened during the morning, but early in the afternoon I cycled into town to pay a bill and buy a copy of 'The Ecologist' which has been published and there's an article about CRAGs and a profile of me... but the bank was shut and the magazine hadn't been delivered yet, so a bit of a waste of time. So went to visit Dylan at Millers Yard and had a chat and brought back 3 sacks of compostable orange halves... so not a complete waste of time!
The boys had a visitor all day so all was peaceful and happy.
I spent some time harvesting beans which have been frosted and the pods needed picking and the beans taking out to dry. Also picked a load of nasturtium seeds and buds for washing and salting, and eventual pickling. ALSO sorted out the last load of pumpkin seeds and put them on newspaper for drying in front of the stove. So loads of produce all over the house.
The boys had a visitor all day so all was peaceful and happy.
I spent some time harvesting beans which have been frosted and the pods needed picking and the beans taking out to dry. Also picked a load of nasturtium seeds and buds for washing and salting, and eventual pickling. ALSO sorted out the last load of pumpkin seeds and put them on newspaper for drying in front of the stove. So loads of produce all over the house.
I took our youngest to school (no cycle helmet hassles this morning!) and then cycled on to Fulford to deliver a confirmation letter to my agent, and on to town to pay a bill, get a cheque for rejoining Garden Organic, get some money for the TV licence, get a key cut for our eldest's school locker, and pick up compostable orange-halves and coffee grounds from Dylan at Millers Yard. Then onto St Nicks who were happy with a layer of oranges on their compost system, picked up the last of the sticks left over from the shredding weeks ago, and home....
A quiet afternoon, doing some kitchen stuff as Gill is taking it easy as she's still feeling rough after her tooth extraction.
I picked up our youngest, and much later on I did a blog post on Community Care for Blog Action Day, on a couple of local schemes which may help alleviate poverty.
A quiet afternoon, doing some kitchen stuff as Gill is taking it easy as she's still feeling rough after her tooth extraction.
I picked up our youngest, and much later on I did a blog post on Community Care for Blog Action Day, on a couple of local schemes which may help alleviate poverty.
A reasonable morning... cycled into town via Hazel Court Recycling Centre with a load of drinks cartons, which are not collected on the doorstep, but can be put in a 'bring bank', the nearest of which is the one at the Council's skip site. I also took a few bits of scrap iron and our old phone which had stopped working, for the WEEE skip (Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment) for recycling. I was not shouted at by the staff who seem to have realised that cyclists can use this facility as safely as motorists who then get out of their vehicles and wander around putting stuff in different skips.
From there on to see Dylan at the Healthy Living Centre, Millers Yard, where we had a conversation about where the York Green Festival was going, and what might be said at the forthcoming meeting. To the Council to give in some paperwork, and to the Building Society to put in a cheque. On to Boots but they didn't have what I wanted (little brushes to get between my teeth) and to Cycle Heaven to buy Gill a D lock as hers has gone wrong...
Home for lunch... and had that before a pre-arranged visit from a journalist, Sam, who used to work for the Press and knew me from those days, who's now working independently and is doing a piece for The Ecologist. So we had an hour and a half chatting, talking about carbon footprints and motivations and some quite detailed stuff. I do enjoy this, explaining about carbon calculators and 'easy to measure carbon and much more difficult to measure carbon' and the fact that it's not actually measuring, just approximating, guessing, but also the value of doing the exercise. At 3, I went to pick up our only child who now needs picking up from primary school... the older one arrived home soon after we did.
I then went down to town again to meet Ali who's in York for a meeting. We went to El Piano and had a lovely meal together, lots of chat about a huge range of subjects and we sorted the World out! A lovely evening.
From there on to see Dylan at the Healthy Living Centre, Millers Yard, where we had a conversation about where the York Green Festival was going, and what might be said at the forthcoming meeting. To the Council to give in some paperwork, and to the Building Society to put in a cheque. On to Boots but they didn't have what I wanted (little brushes to get between my teeth) and to Cycle Heaven to buy Gill a D lock as hers has gone wrong...
Home for lunch... and had that before a pre-arranged visit from a journalist, Sam, who used to work for the Press and knew me from those days, who's now working independently and is doing a piece for The Ecologist. So we had an hour and a half chatting, talking about carbon footprints and motivations and some quite detailed stuff. I do enjoy this, explaining about carbon calculators and 'easy to measure carbon and much more difficult to measure carbon' and the fact that it's not actually measuring, just approximating, guessing, but also the value of doing the exercise. At 3, I went to pick up our only child who now needs picking up from primary school... the older one arrived home soon after we did.
I then went down to town again to meet Ali who's in York for a meeting. We went to El Piano and had a lovely meal together, lots of chat about a huge range of subjects and we sorted the World out! A lovely evening.
A really good day... The boys were on good form as they had their visitor and behaviour is always better when they have visitors!
I took the paperwork from the Planning Panel down to town via Millers Yard, came back via Country Fresh, had lunch went to the allotment and did a lot of clearing up, pulling out nettles, digging potatoes etc.
Came back to make tea for Gill... fried onions on the stove and added some large waste tomatoes and thrown-away basil, and home-made sweet-pepper paprika to make a stewy thing. Also chopped down some flowering perpetual spinach spires, and cut off some leaves and small buds, chopped them up and stewed them on the stove. Then added some pasta to the tomato stew and served it up with the spinach and a little bit of cheese on top... Gill said it was the best meal she'd had for ages.
Later on, I wrote my paid blog on cycling... on panniers and trailers. Then had a quick bath and a chat on Skype with K who has had a good holiday, and was in a happy mood thankfully!
I took the paperwork from the Planning Panel down to town via Millers Yard, came back via Country Fresh, had lunch went to the allotment and did a lot of clearing up, pulling out nettles, digging potatoes etc.
Came back to make tea for Gill... fried onions on the stove and added some large waste tomatoes and thrown-away basil, and home-made sweet-pepper paprika to make a stewy thing. Also chopped down some flowering perpetual spinach spires, and cut off some leaves and small buds, chopped them up and stewed them on the stove. Then added some pasta to the tomato stew and served it up with the spinach and a little bit of cheese on top... Gill said it was the best meal she'd had for ages.
Later on, I wrote my paid blog on cycling... on panniers and trailers. Then had a quick bath and a chat on Skype with K who has had a good holiday, and was in a happy mood thankfully!
Busy day... I took the kids to school and we spent a lot of time phoning Everest to try to get them to come and fix our front door, which will not lock OR be opened from the outside.
Gill stayed in and I cycled into town via Sainsburys and Millers Yard to give in the Planning Panel responses, coming back via Country Fresh to do a pick-up... was only able to pick up half of what there was to be recycled.
Lunch was a little bit of respite from rushing around and doing things. Everest chaps came after lunch, as did my MESOMOCO CIC friend Richard for a chat and tour of the garden.
Gill picked up the boys and I took them to Martial Arts. I then went to Country Fresh again and took part two of the compostables to the lottie, and on the way there met a pleasant young woman called Claire who showed me her allotment. I did the composting jobs and planted a squash and weeded onions and earthed up potatoes. And came home to make a fried egg sandwich with potato salad for tea.
Gill stayed in and I cycled into town via Sainsburys and Millers Yard to give in the Planning Panel responses, coming back via Country Fresh to do a pick-up... was only able to pick up half of what there was to be recycled.
Lunch was a little bit of respite from rushing around and doing things. Everest chaps came after lunch, as did my MESOMOCO CIC friend Richard for a chat and tour of the garden.
Gill picked up the boys and I took them to Martial Arts. I then went to Country Fresh again and took part two of the compostables to the lottie, and on the way there met a pleasant young woman called Claire who showed me her allotment. I did the composting jobs and planted a squash and weeded onions and earthed up potatoes. And came home to make a fried egg sandwich with potato salad for tea.
Woken by shouting, what a pity. However, I plodded down and quietly and sleepily went to sit down between the warring parties which did the trick... I didn't have to say anything or do anything connected to the previous behaviour, just a 'good morning darlings' and the aggression subsided and Gill was able to take them into school. I got ready to go and meet Pippa down the road to give her a tour of York.
When I got to the BnB Pips showed me some pictures of her trip to Morocco, on a so-called 'eco tourism' visit. It did look pleasant, but of course she flew there and back, and I've come to regard this kind of thing as a bit indulgent, whether it is 'eco-tourism' or otherwise. However, I don't judge my friends on their behaviour, as I like them for more than their lifestyle choices. I was glad to walk with her to the station with her suitcase in my trailer where she put the suitcase in storage for the day.
We walked into town and I parked my bike in St Helen's Square and locked it up. We then walked down to the Spurriergate Centre where she'd bought a card yesterday but then found it had a religious text in, and they were good enough to allow her to exchange it for a secular one.
Then a wander up to Barley Hall through the little alleyways, and had a look around that which was good in the daylight as I mainly see it at night when I've been working there as 'Jester Jigglesticks'. When we were walking down Stonegate, met Jenny my AVP friend, with one of her friends who was also receiving a personalised tour of York. Jenny suggested that we ought to go to Marks and Spencer on Parliament St, and go to the top floor 'Menswear Department' as there was a fantastic view over the roofs to the Minster. So true, one of the best views in York I think!
From there to The Shambles, Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma-Gate, the charity shop where my friends Debbie and Rosalind work, Barnitts (Pippa likes shopping so I thought she ought to see Barnitts!) and then up Petergate to Bootham Bar and onto Gillygate to go and see Dylan at Millers Yard Positive Living Centre (more than a Healthy Living Centre!) and then a quick pop into the Minster and Shared Earth, and then sat down to eat a pastie for lunch. Finally, a visit to the Guildhall where there was a door open I hadn't seen before, and it led to a tunnel under the Guildhall to the River Ouse... a bit of a treat for me too as I hadn't been down there before.
Then we said our goodbyes and I cycled home as I had a date with the pre-schoolers who were about to have a session with worms!
I collected several different types of worms from the garden, plus some other beasties including slugs, centipedes, millipedes and beetle larvae. I took these into the school and had a fascinated and captive audience for 45 minutes, including putting together a Wiggly Wigglers wormery which lets the children see how worms mix up layers of soil. Very satisfying to enthuse 4 and 5 year olds in the most important subject there is, viz respecting the Planet and all life on it.
I brought the boys home and we had a very quiet evening. Later in the evening I was on the computer and a friend from my teen years contacted me and told me how important I'd been in her rather troubled life, it was lovely to catch up and to hear how my friendship had been so important.. very moving.
When I got to the BnB Pips showed me some pictures of her trip to Morocco, on a so-called 'eco tourism' visit. It did look pleasant, but of course she flew there and back, and I've come to regard this kind of thing as a bit indulgent, whether it is 'eco-tourism' or otherwise. However, I don't judge my friends on their behaviour, as I like them for more than their lifestyle choices. I was glad to walk with her to the station with her suitcase in my trailer where she put the suitcase in storage for the day.
We walked into town and I parked my bike in St Helen's Square and locked it up. We then walked down to the Spurriergate Centre where she'd bought a card yesterday but then found it had a religious text in, and they were good enough to allow her to exchange it for a secular one.
Then a wander up to Barley Hall through the little alleyways, and had a look around that which was good in the daylight as I mainly see it at night when I've been working there as 'Jester Jigglesticks'. When we were walking down Stonegate, met Jenny my AVP friend, with one of her friends who was also receiving a personalised tour of York. Jenny suggested that we ought to go to Marks and Spencer on Parliament St, and go to the top floor 'Menswear Department' as there was a fantastic view over the roofs to the Minster. So true, one of the best views in York I think!
From there to The Shambles, Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma-Gate, the charity shop where my friends Debbie and Rosalind work, Barnitts (Pippa likes shopping so I thought she ought to see Barnitts!) and then up Petergate to Bootham Bar and onto Gillygate to go and see Dylan at Millers Yard Positive Living Centre (more than a Healthy Living Centre!) and then a quick pop into the Minster and Shared Earth, and then sat down to eat a pastie for lunch. Finally, a visit to the Guildhall where there was a door open I hadn't seen before, and it led to a tunnel under the Guildhall to the River Ouse... a bit of a treat for me too as I hadn't been down there before.
Then we said our goodbyes and I cycled home as I had a date with the pre-schoolers who were about to have a session with worms!
I collected several different types of worms from the garden, plus some other beasties including slugs, centipedes, millipedes and beetle larvae. I took these into the school and had a fascinated and captive audience for 45 minutes, including putting together a Wiggly Wigglers wormery which lets the children see how worms mix up layers of soil. Very satisfying to enthuse 4 and 5 year olds in the most important subject there is, viz respecting the Planet and all life on it.
I brought the boys home and we had a very quiet evening. Later in the evening I was on the computer and a friend from my teen years contacted me and told me how important I'd been in her rather troubled life, it was lovely to catch up and to hear how my friendship had been so important.. very moving.
