Well a reasonable sleep; got up at 9.30 and had a relaxing morning watching Country Tracks and playing Scrabble on facebook. I also did some tidying of pumpkin seeds, taking them off the 10 or so sheets of newspaper where they have had their initial drying, and putting them onto fresh dry sheets, just 3 this time. There are an awful lot of seeds.
I visited my friend Debbie and returned some things she'd given me which I didn't want, and arranged to get her a few bits and bobs from the greengrocers. Then I went down to Country Fresh and did my shopping and picked up the 3 sacks of compostables. When I got back I did a bit of work in the garden, dug out the Compostumbler, putting the materials into a dalek, and immediately refilling it almost completely full. I collected the last of the quinces, which I expect I'll make into membrillo, as it's such an amazing taste. I also collected quite a few of the windfall Cox apples, which are very plentiful this year, although really small. I'll need to prune this tree this winter.
I was glad to have a facebook chat with my friend Loony, who's visiting my sister Anna in Sheffield, and a bit later another chat, by phone, with my brother, who's found himself hosting a Halloween party for Loony's daughter and Anna. I'm sure all the children will enjoy themselves.
Our youngest went out with a few of his friends to do Trick or Treat, and came back happy and overloaded with sweets. I popped out to collect my equivalent, logs, as I've found a dead hazel which hadn't been coppiced, and had therefore come to the end of it's life, with a height of about 8 or 10 metres and a trunk diameter of about 10 or 15 cm. If hazel trees are coppiced, ie cut down regularly, the tree regenerates almost indefinitely. I'm doing something similar to a huge willow in my garden, but instead of cutting at ground level, which is coppicing, I cut it at about 3 or 4 metres, and this is known as pollarding, which I do every 3 or 4 years. This also extends the life of the tree. So I came home with one trailer full of hazel logs and sticks, and will go back for more in the next few days.
During the evening I halved, cored and peeled more pears for drying, and a few Cox apples, and also did a few pumpkin seeds. A busy but good day.
Showing posts with label Scrabble on Facebook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Scrabble on Facebook. Show all posts
A lazy start to the day and a nice morning with Gill. We both worked inside the house for most of the day... I had assorted paperwork and admin to do and Gill did a bit more work on my accounts. I got a booking in Malton next week and to the Beverley Food Festival in the Autumn. I enjoyed reading this NewScientist article about the value of friends on social networks.
A bit later I did some work outside but really this was a comparatively uninteresting day. I harvested some ground elder for tea and rescued some broad beans from the unsold 'resources'; Gill made a nutloaf with yesterday's rice plus breadcrumbs and cashew nuts, grated carrot and chopped onion. This was lovely, a delicious tea.
The highlight of the evening was getting 74 points in Scrabble for TOILETS. Oh, and a nice chat with Kerry whom I met at the Northern Green Gathering a couple of years ago. She is currently what NewScientist would call a 'weak tie' but I think she'll get on well with another of my friends and my prediction is that we'll all meet up in the next few months. Then it will be a stronger tie. My friends are some of the most important parts of my life, and my life is considerably richer because of the assorted social networks I'm part of.
A bit later I did some work outside but really this was a comparatively uninteresting day. I harvested some ground elder for tea and rescued some broad beans from the unsold 'resources'; Gill made a nutloaf with yesterday's rice plus breadcrumbs and cashew nuts, grated carrot and chopped onion. This was lovely, a delicious tea.
The highlight of the evening was getting 74 points in Scrabble for TOILETS. Oh, and a nice chat with Kerry whom I met at the Northern Green Gathering a couple of years ago. She is currently what NewScientist would call a 'weak tie' but I think she'll get on well with another of my friends and my prediction is that we'll all meet up in the next few months. Then it will be a stronger tie. My friends are some of the most important parts of my life, and my life is considerably richer because of the assorted social networks I'm part of.
Today was a relaxing day.... I did virtually no physical activity apart from washing some spinach from the garden. Gill did a stir fry with it in.
Gill told me that I had to rest, so I did. Mostly with my leg up. Spent most of the day playing Scrabble, reading stuff, chatting with Gill, showing her things on facebook, things I found on Flickr... a very quiet and sedentary day. The boys were relaxed and happy too.
My friend Melanie came up trumps with a solution to tomorrow's transport. Her friend Chris is driving to the Madhyamaka Centre in Pocklington tomorrow and is happy to take me. So I'll go in costume and will take as much workshop stuff as I can, plus lots of balloons. I'm sure that I'll be able to contribute reasonably to the event, and should be offered all or most of my fee. I'm really glad that I persuaded them to keep my services. I'd like this accident to not prevent me working at all. I need the work, need the income!
Gill told me that I had to rest, so I did. Mostly with my leg up. Spent most of the day playing Scrabble, reading stuff, chatting with Gill, showing her things on facebook, things I found on Flickr... a very quiet and sedentary day. The boys were relaxed and happy too.
My friend Melanie came up trumps with a solution to tomorrow's transport. Her friend Chris is driving to the Madhyamaka Centre in Pocklington tomorrow and is happy to take me. So I'll go in costume and will take as much workshop stuff as I can, plus lots of balloons. I'm sure that I'll be able to contribute reasonably to the event, and should be offered all or most of my fee. I'm really glad that I persuaded them to keep my services. I'd like this accident to not prevent me working at all. I need the work, need the income!
A far from easy day. I needed to find the Christmas Day Fiddlesticks paperwork and that took ages and then I had a phone call with my agent which was difficult.
I got outside after lunch and finished the logpile to the left of the front door, and sorted out some other woody stuff. Later in the day I had an important email to do and that was difficult too.
I spent lots of time playing Scrabble on facebook and doing thing around the house but felt not 100% today. Hope tomorrow will be better.
I got outside after lunch and finished the logpile to the left of the front door, and sorted out some other woody stuff. Later in the day I had an important email to do and that was difficult too.
I spent lots of time playing Scrabble on facebook and doing thing around the house but felt not 100% today. Hope tomorrow will be better.
Quite a relaxing day... and pretty too, as it was still snowing and I spent most of the day inside, dealing with assorted phone calls and paperwork. Gill went into town and got the final cheque for Harris Builders to pay for the solar panels, defunct chimney removal and new barge boards. I got a phone call from the Yorkshire Post to canvass my opinion as to whether I thought that the recession had been good for the environment, or something like that. The article will be published between Christmas and the New Year, and they've asked a handful of people, not just me.
So, a relatively quiet day, until just after 2.30 when our eldest came back, early as it's the last day of term, so he agreed to walk down to Lord Deramore's with me to pick up his little brother. I took the sledge as it was still very snowy and icy, and we had some fun. In the playground a couple of people greeted me as I haven't been down to school recently, and so I explained that I was very upset that the school wasn't taking it's obligations seriously with regards to being a 'beacon of sustainability in the community', and he agreed. He has connections with the school and someone he knows has heard some of the things that have been said about me, and he thinks this is scandalous and very wrong. Although it's not nice to know that people in the school have been bad-mouthing me for my eco-approach to life, it is reassuring to know there's some people out there who agree that this school's attitude is disgraceful. I just hope that soon they will decide that sustainability is worth imparting to the children, although it is just about too late in some ways. What they should be teaching is adaptation to a more chaotic and difficult world, with fuel shortages, high food prices, social unrest and an influx of displaced people angry that our high carbon lifestyles have left them with nowhere to live. I am feeling pessimistic at the moment as the Copenhagen talks look like a complete fudge and flop. In fact I'm angry that the World's leaders have done such a bad job, and they won't be looked kindly upon in the future. Not many of then will be regarded as 'responsible ancestors'.
Anyway, all three of us came home, some of it with one of the boys on the sledge, so that both got a go... and when we came to the bit of pavement heading down to our house, I requested to have a go... and it was ace, being pulled along by them!
Some of the evening wasn't as fun and easy, not sure how it deteriorated, but it did and I was left feeling quite low.
I did do some last-minute grocery shopping for Gill at 9pm and had a good long wind-down playing facebook Scrabble til the early hours.
So, a relatively quiet day, until just after 2.30 when our eldest came back, early as it's the last day of term, so he agreed to walk down to Lord Deramore's with me to pick up his little brother. I took the sledge as it was still very snowy and icy, and we had some fun. In the playground a couple of people greeted me as I haven't been down to school recently, and so I explained that I was very upset that the school wasn't taking it's obligations seriously with regards to being a 'beacon of sustainability in the community', and he agreed. He has connections with the school and someone he knows has heard some of the things that have been said about me, and he thinks this is scandalous and very wrong. Although it's not nice to know that people in the school have been bad-mouthing me for my eco-approach to life, it is reassuring to know there's some people out there who agree that this school's attitude is disgraceful. I just hope that soon they will decide that sustainability is worth imparting to the children, although it is just about too late in some ways. What they should be teaching is adaptation to a more chaotic and difficult world, with fuel shortages, high food prices, social unrest and an influx of displaced people angry that our high carbon lifestyles have left them with nowhere to live. I am feeling pessimistic at the moment as the Copenhagen talks look like a complete fudge and flop. In fact I'm angry that the World's leaders have done such a bad job, and they won't be looked kindly upon in the future. Not many of then will be regarded as 'responsible ancestors'.
Anyway, all three of us came home, some of it with one of the boys on the sledge, so that both got a go... and when we came to the bit of pavement heading down to our house, I requested to have a go... and it was ace, being pulled along by them!
Some of the evening wasn't as fun and easy, not sure how it deteriorated, but it did and I was left feeling quite low.
I did do some last-minute grocery shopping for Gill at 9pm and had a good long wind-down playing facebook Scrabble til the early hours.
Not too bad a start to the day, came down to ensure things didn't go too pear-shaped and therefore it was a smooth start, fortunately.
I made a start on the many demijohns in the loft which have sat there since we moved in 2001 and I've done nothing with the contents. This house doesn't lend itself to winemaking, somehow, and also I was aware of my drinking having a negative effect on my health, so I didn't resume my hobby. So, there were 30 or more demijohns of assorted wine, cider and unknown brews to basically get rid of. They are in the way of the work which will take place the day after tomorrow.
I took the bung out of each gallon jar and tasted it with a straw. Many were vinegary or bitter or yuk... but one, an elderberry and apple 1998 was wonderful, so I bottled it. Another, an experiment done by an old, now sadly deceased, friend called Lin, was orange tango and tea... I bottled this as it was interesting and drinkable... not excellent, but drinkable. There was also an interesting Metheglin... honey and herbs.
I bottled 3 gallons and poured 8 away. Only another 20 or so to go!
The day went far too quickly. Gill went to town to do the charity shops, and bought a dress from Age Concern for £3 and something else for £2... and was given a card as a thank you. When she came home, she discovered that it had a £10 Littlewoods.com voucher in it, as a thank you. Littlewoods will donate £2 of it to Age Concern. How good is that?
I got a call from Lynn asking if I would be willing to help out at a LETS members' parents house later today, moving some heavy furniture and pulling up some carpets. So of course, I said yes, and at a few minutes to 6, I zoomed over to Huntington Road to help, spent 45 minutes there and sped back, in time to eat a fantastic tea Gill had made... a stew made on the woodstove then topped with cheese scone mix and popped in the oven. This 'cobbler' thing is really delicious and very easy to make.
A quiet evening, washing up, stoking both stoves as it is cold tonight, and playing Scrabble on facebook. Oh, and promoting the good news that Age of Stupid will be shown on BBC4 on Monday 14th December at 10pm. Great!
I made a start on the many demijohns in the loft which have sat there since we moved in 2001 and I've done nothing with the contents. This house doesn't lend itself to winemaking, somehow, and also I was aware of my drinking having a negative effect on my health, so I didn't resume my hobby. So, there were 30 or more demijohns of assorted wine, cider and unknown brews to basically get rid of. They are in the way of the work which will take place the day after tomorrow.
I took the bung out of each gallon jar and tasted it with a straw. Many were vinegary or bitter or yuk... but one, an elderberry and apple 1998 was wonderful, so I bottled it. Another, an experiment done by an old, now sadly deceased, friend called Lin, was orange tango and tea... I bottled this as it was interesting and drinkable... not excellent, but drinkable. There was also an interesting Metheglin... honey and herbs.
I bottled 3 gallons and poured 8 away. Only another 20 or so to go!
The day went far too quickly. Gill went to town to do the charity shops, and bought a dress from Age Concern for £3 and something else for £2... and was given a card as a thank you. When she came home, she discovered that it had a £10 Littlewoods.com voucher in it, as a thank you. Littlewoods will donate £2 of it to Age Concern. How good is that?
I got a call from Lynn asking if I would be willing to help out at a LETS members' parents house later today, moving some heavy furniture and pulling up some carpets. So of course, I said yes, and at a few minutes to 6, I zoomed over to Huntington Road to help, spent 45 minutes there and sped back, in time to eat a fantastic tea Gill had made... a stew made on the woodstove then topped with cheese scone mix and popped in the oven. This 'cobbler' thing is really delicious and very easy to make.
A quiet evening, washing up, stoking both stoves as it is cold tonight, and playing Scrabble on facebook. Oh, and promoting the good news that Age of Stupid will be shown on BBC4 on Monday 14th December at 10pm. Great!
Had a bit of a lie-in and then spent over an hour finishing off my blog from the FERA conference.
Then lunch!
Did some chainsawing and a bit more tidying up the bricks from the chimney... I now have a stack of 60 or so cleaned-up 'clamp bricks' which I'll re-use to plug a gap between the back of the house and a wall which is now part of the conservatory. Currently it is filled with some wooden battens with horizontal fence-type wooden planks (just one brick long) and this needs to be replaced. These bricks will do the job. But I won't. I need to find a brickie, and maybe one who has a brick-saw to cut the bricks down, as they fill the gap quite tightly, leaving no space for mortar.
Gill went out and the boys played in the garden, then read quietly. A very peaceful and low-key day. Gill and I had a game of Scrabble after tea, and I played lots of Scrabble on Facebook. Interspersed with peeling and slicing fruit for the drying racks...
Then lunch!
Did some chainsawing and a bit more tidying up the bricks from the chimney... I now have a stack of 60 or so cleaned-up 'clamp bricks' which I'll re-use to plug a gap between the back of the house and a wall which is now part of the conservatory. Currently it is filled with some wooden battens with horizontal fence-type wooden planks (just one brick long) and this needs to be replaced. These bricks will do the job. But I won't. I need to find a brickie, and maybe one who has a brick-saw to cut the bricks down, as they fill the gap quite tightly, leaving no space for mortar.
Gill went out and the boys played in the garden, then read quietly. A very peaceful and low-key day. Gill and I had a game of Scrabble after tea, and I played lots of Scrabble on Facebook. Interspersed with peeling and slicing fruit for the drying racks...
I enjoyed today as I visited my friend Ann for the first time in ages. She had requested some compost as she's just prepared a little patch of land for growing things in.
So I took 5 sacks of well rotted compost in my trailer over to Clememthorpe, and also some freegan Masala tea, freegan Saudi biscuits and a small bag of apple rings. I had a coffee and chat, met her handyman who was replacing a Velux window.
After this I went over to Millers Yard to pick up 5 sacks of orange halves, which I took to St Nicks. I collected my tin bath from here, as I left it there after Apple Day.
Home for lunch.
During the afternoon I finished building the logpile outside the front door.
And during the evening I watched The End Of The Line on More4, as well as playing Scrabble on facebook and doing the washing up.
So I took 5 sacks of well rotted compost in my trailer over to Clememthorpe, and also some freegan Masala tea, freegan Saudi biscuits and a small bag of apple rings. I had a coffee and chat, met her handyman who was replacing a Velux window.
After this I went over to Millers Yard to pick up 5 sacks of orange halves, which I took to St Nicks. I collected my tin bath from here, as I left it there after Apple Day.
Home for lunch.
During the afternoon I finished building the logpile outside the front door.
And during the evening I watched The End Of The Line on More4, as well as playing Scrabble on facebook and doing the washing up.
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.
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.
Lovely morning, lie in with Gill, then a bath... in gas-heated water... the first time this year I've needed to use gas for a bath.
But I cannot go to work dirty!
I left for work clean, hair washed and shiny, plaited by Gill. Left at midday, bike trailer loaded up with bag-o-tricks and unicycles, with my back pack of costume, feathers and balloons on my back. My reading matter, party contact details and sandwiches were in a pannier.
I got my ticket and waited 10 minutes for the train to Huddersfield, chatting to a nice older woman called Jo who was visiting her very old parents in Liverpool. She and I chatted on the platform and then she chose to sit next to me on the train and we had a good chat... no time for me to eat my sandwiches or read, but she was good company.
Nigel, the birthday boy's Dad, met me at Huddersfield, and drove me to the party place, a little village hall in very scenic hill country near Holmfirth. I entertained at their wedding 5 years ago, when their child was nearly 2. So this was his 7th birthday... and he'd invited the whole class.
The party went completely as expected, and I got the 5.30 train back to York. I dozed.
Gill had taken the boys to see a film at City Screen, so I had pasta for tea and went into the garden to muck around there for a bit. The family came in and Gill was exhausted after a trying and difficult day. I got my stuff ready for tomorrow, a playscheme where I'm doing composting etc, so I have to take assorted samples!
I had a peaceful evening, watched a bit of telly and played Scrabble on Facebook.
But I cannot go to work dirty!
I left for work clean, hair washed and shiny, plaited by Gill. Left at midday, bike trailer loaded up with bag-o-tricks and unicycles, with my back pack of costume, feathers and balloons on my back. My reading matter, party contact details and sandwiches were in a pannier.
I got my ticket and waited 10 minutes for the train to Huddersfield, chatting to a nice older woman called Jo who was visiting her very old parents in Liverpool. She and I chatted on the platform and then she chose to sit next to me on the train and we had a good chat... no time for me to eat my sandwiches or read, but she was good company.
Nigel, the birthday boy's Dad, met me at Huddersfield, and drove me to the party place, a little village hall in very scenic hill country near Holmfirth. I entertained at their wedding 5 years ago, when their child was nearly 2. So this was his 7th birthday... and he'd invited the whole class.
The party went completely as expected, and I got the 5.30 train back to York. I dozed.
Gill had taken the boys to see a film at City Screen, so I had pasta for tea and went into the garden to muck around there for a bit. The family came in and Gill was exhausted after a trying and difficult day. I got my stuff ready for tomorrow, a playscheme where I'm doing composting etc, so I have to take assorted samples!
I had a peaceful evening, watched a bit of telly and played Scrabble on Facebook.
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!
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!
A good day... chilled morning watching The Big Questions and Countryfile, whilst playing Scrabble on Facebook and keeping the stove going. The bananas I loaded up yesterday are looking a lot smaller and soon I'll be able to move them to another cake rack to finally dry off. The banana glut has been caused by the heavy snow last week. Don't see the connection? Read on!
Every day, primary school children get a piece of fruit under the 'Fruit for Schools' scheme... it could be an orange or apple, banana or even a stick of carrot. This is a regular consumption pattern, so when the snow came, and a percentage of schools were shut for a few days, this meant that several hundred thousand pieces of fruit were left uneaten... and came back onto the market. So a box of bananas, which ordinarily might cost £15, became available for about £5. So, many fruit shops bought these and sold the bananas more cheaply than they usually do. But they go off quickly and some people don't like over-ripe bananas (I do though!) so that's why there are over 100 bananas still sitting in our hallway, waiting to have the chance to be rapidly air-dried, jarred up and bartered on the LETS, or given to friends as gifts, or even chopped up and put in my daily muesli.... or composted, which is what will happen to most of them.
So, Sunday afternoon was equally relaxed... did some wooding, visited Country Fresh on my bike which is just about on it's last legs (if that's not a misnomer) as the jumping drive cog is worse today... making it almost unrideable uphill with a load, but still OK on the flat or downhill...
Later, after tea, I made the same journey again, down to David's to see the photos he took down at the Residents' Festival and then last week down at the Museum Gardens. Some nice Fiddlesticks images, we think we almost have enough for David to start doing my new publicity leaflet.
During the evening I got both 5 gallon cans of bathwater hot so as I can have a bath tonight, as I'm doing some filming tomorrow up in Middlesborough, and although it's about frugal living (someone's trying to live on a pound per day, I think, and I've been asked to help and give some tips and advice), I do want to look clean and tidy... not as if I've been head down in a skip!
Had a bath and hair wash. Lovely!
Every day, primary school children get a piece of fruit under the 'Fruit for Schools' scheme... it could be an orange or apple, banana or even a stick of carrot. This is a regular consumption pattern, so when the snow came, and a percentage of schools were shut for a few days, this meant that several hundred thousand pieces of fruit were left uneaten... and came back onto the market. So a box of bananas, which ordinarily might cost £15, became available for about £5. So, many fruit shops bought these and sold the bananas more cheaply than they usually do. But they go off quickly and some people don't like over-ripe bananas (I do though!) so that's why there are over 100 bananas still sitting in our hallway, waiting to have the chance to be rapidly air-dried, jarred up and bartered on the LETS, or given to friends as gifts, or even chopped up and put in my daily muesli.... or composted, which is what will happen to most of them.
So, Sunday afternoon was equally relaxed... did some wooding, visited Country Fresh on my bike which is just about on it's last legs (if that's not a misnomer) as the jumping drive cog is worse today... making it almost unrideable uphill with a load, but still OK on the flat or downhill...
Later, after tea, I made the same journey again, down to David's to see the photos he took down at the Residents' Festival and then last week down at the Museum Gardens. Some nice Fiddlesticks images, we think we almost have enough for David to start doing my new publicity leaflet.
During the evening I got both 5 gallon cans of bathwater hot so as I can have a bath tonight, as I'm doing some filming tomorrow up in Middlesborough, and although it's about frugal living (someone's trying to live on a pound per day, I think, and I've been asked to help and give some tips and advice), I do want to look clean and tidy... not as if I've been head down in a skip!
Had a bath and hair wash. Lovely!
A nice late morning. Boys in good cheer. Generally a lazy day.
However during the afternoon Lorna popped in on the way back from her sister's and I went for a short walk with her, getting back at 5, and she then drove home to the Midlands. I expect we'll see her later this month, as she's visiting her sister again then.
I popped round to our neighbour Debbie who's back from visiting her brother in Windsor. She's had an unusual Christmas and is glad to be in her own house again.
The whole family watched a programme on ITV with a shrunk Nigel Marvin exploring his back garden and saying "Help! I'm no bigger than a bug" which was relatively good but not brilliant.
Soup for tea... I'd made the reddest soup possible, with tomatoes, red peppers and beetroot, and it was lovely. Had this with a pastie, and a cabbage and cashew nut thing which Gill made, plus some left over baked beans. Tasty!
Fairly quiet evening.... watched some telly, played Scrabble and answered composting questions on Facebook. Bed by 2am.
However during the afternoon Lorna popped in on the way back from her sister's and I went for a short walk with her, getting back at 5, and she then drove home to the Midlands. I expect we'll see her later this month, as she's visiting her sister again then.
I popped round to our neighbour Debbie who's back from visiting her brother in Windsor. She's had an unusual Christmas and is glad to be in her own house again.
The whole family watched a programme on ITV with a shrunk Nigel Marvin exploring his back garden and saying "Help! I'm no bigger than a bug" which was relatively good but not brilliant.
Soup for tea... I'd made the reddest soup possible, with tomatoes, red peppers and beetroot, and it was lovely. Had this with a pastie, and a cabbage and cashew nut thing which Gill made, plus some left over baked beans. Tasty!
Fairly quiet evening.... watched some telly, played Scrabble and answered composting questions on Facebook. Bed by 2am.
A nice start to the day, with a phone call from Lorna who's up in Yorkshire visiting her sister and asked if she could visit us all this evening. I came down and lit the stove as it's cold, and breakfasted.
Gill went out with our eldest to go and look for a Nintendo Wii, as he's been saving up for one for ages, after enjoying using one at a friend's house earlier this year.
I went on my computer and our youngest played on Spore on the other computer.
The others came back, they'd walked into town, got a good deal on a Wii and walked back. They'd got a basic Wii Sport with added games, steering wheel, extra user remote and probably other stuff... for an all inclusive price which was quite a bit cheaper than all the bits if bought separately. So what's going to happen is that he'll have the basic stuff he's saved up for, and keep earning and saving so he can buy the extra stuff off Gill.
We had a late lunch of the last of the leek and potato soup, and I did a small amount of work outside, pruning out this year's brambles, some chainsawing (just 10 minutes) and splitting.
Lorna dropped in after tea (which was tomato soup, home-made of course!) and watched the boys and Gill setting up the Wii whilst I filled up the aquarium that our youngest got for his main present. Lorna had never seen a Wii before so was just as amused as we were to watch our eldest having a virtual boxing match, very entertaining and fun.
Lorna left at about 9 and I set to and made another batch of tomato soup on the woodstove. This is what you do with a glut of tomatoes: chop two onions and a stick of celery, and fry in the biggest heaviest pan you have. Add a job lot of chopped tomatoes, followed by a couple of chopped beetroot and two red peppers. Stew for a couple of hours with the lid on and then let it go cold overnight without taking the lid off. Tomorrow morning I'll add some herbs and bouillon, balsamic vinegar and soy sauce. Then whizz with the hand-held blender and bring it up to heat again... it will be delicious!
Whilst this was bubbling, I watched Nine Months, a rather rubbish American film, and played Scrabble with my various Facebook friends.
Gill went out with our eldest to go and look for a Nintendo Wii, as he's been saving up for one for ages, after enjoying using one at a friend's house earlier this year.
I went on my computer and our youngest played on Spore on the other computer.
The others came back, they'd walked into town, got a good deal on a Wii and walked back. They'd got a basic Wii Sport with added games, steering wheel, extra user remote and probably other stuff... for an all inclusive price which was quite a bit cheaper than all the bits if bought separately. So what's going to happen is that he'll have the basic stuff he's saved up for, and keep earning and saving so he can buy the extra stuff off Gill.
We had a late lunch of the last of the leek and potato soup, and I did a small amount of work outside, pruning out this year's brambles, some chainsawing (just 10 minutes) and splitting.
Lorna dropped in after tea (which was tomato soup, home-made of course!) and watched the boys and Gill setting up the Wii whilst I filled up the aquarium that our youngest got for his main present. Lorna had never seen a Wii before so was just as amused as we were to watch our eldest having a virtual boxing match, very entertaining and fun.
Lorna left at about 9 and I set to and made another batch of tomato soup on the woodstove. This is what you do with a glut of tomatoes: chop two onions and a stick of celery, and fry in the biggest heaviest pan you have. Add a job lot of chopped tomatoes, followed by a couple of chopped beetroot and two red peppers. Stew for a couple of hours with the lid on and then let it go cold overnight without taking the lid off. Tomorrow morning I'll add some herbs and bouillon, balsamic vinegar and soy sauce. Then whizz with the hand-held blender and bring it up to heat again... it will be delicious!
Whilst this was bubbling, I watched Nine Months, a rather rubbish American film, and played Scrabble with my various Facebook friends.
A late start to the morning, boys still unwell, Gill worse.
I lit the stove and did a wash up.
A very quiet day, just busy around the house, keeping it warm, keeping the family looked after, fed, medicated. I did pop down to Country Fresh to pick up from Richard, came back with veg for a meal and a sack of goodies for the compost.
Did baked potatoes for the boys, and played Downfall.
Played lots of Scrabble with assorted Facebook friends.
I lit the stove and did a wash up.
A very quiet day, just busy around the house, keeping it warm, keeping the family looked after, fed, medicated. I did pop down to Country Fresh to pick up from Richard, came back with veg for a meal and a sack of goodies for the compost.
Did baked potatoes for the boys, and played Downfall.
Played lots of Scrabble with assorted Facebook friends.
Got up early and took our youngest to school... and as he was performing in the assembly at 9.15, I'd taken my 'Compost Mate' tool in and I turned the contents of the two dalek bins with the most mature compost in, taking sticks out and making a layer of them on the growing heap, and taking out the inevitable plastic contraries... sweet wrappers, cling film. bits of toy off the playground...
The assembly was lovely, with a time travelling boy (my son!) arriving at the Greeks and then several Greek God stories, all with great costumes and props.... and I took Gill's little camera in and filmed the parts with our boyo in. I would have liked to film the whole thing, but this camera can only do about 5 minutes of moving stuff, so I got the beginning and end. I just hope I've done it right and Gill and the boys have something to watch!
Gill got back from the hospital just after lunchtime with news that she needs to have her gall bladder removed, pretty urgently. This is quite frightening when looking at the long list of possible side effects and things which might go wrong.
I cycled down to school to get our little un and came back in time to go down to Freshways and Country Fresh. I also did a bit of chainsawing today, and splitting some huge rounds which I couldn't split earlier in the year, but today I did an initial chainsaw cut which got the splitting started, and I was able to use the log grenade to split chunks off. Hard work, got very hot.
A quiet evening, boys had a good session on the computer with their new game, which was a prize on Wednesday at the quiz, and we busyed around the house.
Later in the evening Gill and I had a game of Scrabble and I thrashed her. She doesn't mind, it's the playing that counts, and she does win sometimes. I had a rare defeat on Facebook Scrabble tonight, Jennifer (a Scrabble friend found by chance through the application) beat me, reducing my stats to just 88% won. Dreadful!
The assembly was lovely, with a time travelling boy (my son!) arriving at the Greeks and then several Greek God stories, all with great costumes and props.... and I took Gill's little camera in and filmed the parts with our boyo in. I would have liked to film the whole thing, but this camera can only do about 5 minutes of moving stuff, so I got the beginning and end. I just hope I've done it right and Gill and the boys have something to watch!
Gill got back from the hospital just after lunchtime with news that she needs to have her gall bladder removed, pretty urgently. This is quite frightening when looking at the long list of possible side effects and things which might go wrong.
I cycled down to school to get our little un and came back in time to go down to Freshways and Country Fresh. I also did a bit of chainsawing today, and splitting some huge rounds which I couldn't split earlier in the year, but today I did an initial chainsaw cut which got the splitting started, and I was able to use the log grenade to split chunks off. Hard work, got very hot.
A quiet evening, boys had a good session on the computer with their new game, which was a prize on Wednesday at the quiz, and we busyed around the house.
Later in the evening Gill and I had a game of Scrabble and I thrashed her. She doesn't mind, it's the playing that counts, and she does win sometimes. I had a rare defeat on Facebook Scrabble tonight, Jennifer (a Scrabble friend found by chance through the application) beat me, reducing my stats to just 88% won. Dreadful!
Woke up dreaming and had a leisurely morning reading NewScientist about willpower! Very interesting...
At 11ish our friend Maria came round to tell us about her first term as a teacher... much more work than as a biologist at the University! Her son and ours played very happily on the computer, and he stayed for lunch when Maria went back home to do some marking. Whilst Maria was here I made pumpkin soup, this time with a tin of tomatoes in, with the other half of the pumpkin.
I did some work in the garden after lunch, clearing up leaves and other jobettes including emptying the compostumbler and putting the contents in a dalek. At about 4 Gill came out and said that Cycle Heaven had rang and asked me when I was bringing my bike in to have the disc brakes tightened... which I was going to do today but forgot!
So I went in to deliver my bike, plus Gill's which needs a service. I left them both there and came back on a Cycle Heaven replacement bike... I'll collect both the repaired/revamped bikes tomorrow at 2pm.
Gill made a risotto for tea which I added a few pickled walnuts to... tasty!
Later, Gill and I had a game of Scrabble on the board (which I won) but at the same time (whilst Gill was trying to come up with her words) I was playing Scrabble on Facebook and winning there too.
At 11ish our friend Maria came round to tell us about her first term as a teacher... much more work than as a biologist at the University! Her son and ours played very happily on the computer, and he stayed for lunch when Maria went back home to do some marking. Whilst Maria was here I made pumpkin soup, this time with a tin of tomatoes in, with the other half of the pumpkin.
I did some work in the garden after lunch, clearing up leaves and other jobettes including emptying the compostumbler and putting the contents in a dalek. At about 4 Gill came out and said that Cycle Heaven had rang and asked me when I was bringing my bike in to have the disc brakes tightened... which I was going to do today but forgot!
So I went in to deliver my bike, plus Gill's which needs a service. I left them both there and came back on a Cycle Heaven replacement bike... I'll collect both the repaired/revamped bikes tomorrow at 2pm.
Gill made a risotto for tea which I added a few pickled walnuts to... tasty!
Later, Gill and I had a game of Scrabble on the board (which I won) but at the same time (whilst Gill was trying to come up with her words) I was playing Scrabble on Facebook and winning there too.
Wowow a lie in!!!!!!!
Actually had a lie-in til just after 9, lucky lucky me... Gill took our little un to school and our eldest is having a day off as his school has staff training today.
A good day, plenty to do, but spent an hour playing Scrabble whilst the woodstove heated water, for washing up. Our youngest was at the theatre this afternoon, so wasn't due back in school until 4.20, so I cycled down there with our eldest, who was pleased to see a couple of his friends who are at a different secondary school.
A filling meal of pasta and squash.
Actually had a lie-in til just after 9, lucky lucky me... Gill took our little un to school and our eldest is having a day off as his school has staff training today.
A good day, plenty to do, but spent an hour playing Scrabble whilst the woodstove heated water, for washing up. Our youngest was at the theatre this afternoon, so wasn't due back in school until 4.20, so I cycled down there with our eldest, who was pleased to see a couple of his friends who are at a different secondary school.
A filling meal of pasta and squash.
A good day... took our little one into school and came back via lots of windblown leaves, and filled 3 sacks for the leafmold pile...
I spent the whole day inside, doing a load of washing up and fruit drying whilst Gill went to the dentist again. I spent quite a lot of time playing Scrabble on Facebook, between pots and pans and apple slices.... I must remember to choose a long time for goes as I had a short bit of game with a stranger and it was on a two minute timer, and she forced a win against me as I ran out of time... not really fair, but I've learnt from this! Most of my games are on a 24 hour or 7 day timer... much more civilised!
Gill went to school to fetch our youngest and at 4.20 I went to 'Meet the Teacher' as Parents evening is now called. Our youngest is doing well, good reading and writing scores, maths too, so we're proud of him.
I came back with four large sacks of leaves... the leafmold enclosure is looking pretty full now, but I'll build the sides up with cardboard whilst it sits down a bit!
A toasty evening with a big log on the stove and boys being relatively well behaved. More Scrabble as Gill snoozed... and then did my paid blog on a solution to the 'Credit Crunch'.
I spent the whole day inside, doing a load of washing up and fruit drying whilst Gill went to the dentist again. I spent quite a lot of time playing Scrabble on Facebook, between pots and pans and apple slices.... I must remember to choose a long time for goes as I had a short bit of game with a stranger and it was on a two minute timer, and she forced a win against me as I ran out of time... not really fair, but I've learnt from this! Most of my games are on a 24 hour or 7 day timer... much more civilised!
Gill went to school to fetch our youngest and at 4.20 I went to 'Meet the Teacher' as Parents evening is now called. Our youngest is doing well, good reading and writing scores, maths too, so we're proud of him.
I came back with four large sacks of leaves... the leafmold enclosure is looking pretty full now, but I'll build the sides up with cardboard whilst it sits down a bit!
A toasty evening with a big log on the stove and boys being relatively well behaved. More Scrabble as Gill snoozed... and then did my paid blog on a solution to the 'Credit Crunch'.
Got downstairs at 8ish and our eldest was growling his way through his homework.
I took our youngest to school, and when I got home Gill was getting ready to go and have her tooth extracted, to prevent the re-occurrence of the abscess. I lit the stove so I could dry a load of fruit...
I spent quite a bit of time looking through information about cycle helmets, following the comment (last Friday) from Richard Keatinge about why he and his children don't wear them. I have learned a lot about this contentious subject, and hope that more research is undertaken.
We had a good afternoon talking to Paul, another new contact, and then at 3 went to pick up our little one.... coming back via the logpile and arriving at home with another 60 or 80 kilos...
As all was well after school, I popped down to St Nicks to help clear up some mess made over the weekend when someone threw a load of sticks around which I'd piled up to slowly take home bit by bit. I took one load home and put the rest into the St Nicks compound so that some of their volunteers can chop it all up for their stove...
Then came home and a very peaceful evening progressed, although Gill was feeling ill she boiled some home grown potatoes and broccoli, and created a nutloaf. I chatted with the boys, and as was finding some music to become a soundtrack to Ali's film, they took an interest in that.
These are some of my favourite tracks/bands:
Orbital: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEVBTKrs97I and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvuiXb--Lu8 (Gill and I were at this gig!)
Ozric Tentacles, for instance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXAaDqPl7oY
Spacemen 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxgrxD674IY&feature=related
Ultramarine, (not my fave track/album which I cannot find on Youtube) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCZ7cshAkWY
Eatstatic http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8BOUtKe2dg and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-_NneB5fmY&feature=related
The Orb see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvavCIRKJrw&feature=related and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8xqMEOjtlA&feature=related
KLF see, for instance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_64V5he-bk&feature=related and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLUTDhdlJs4&feature=related
Peter Tosh http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OZQ1vFCmoI and my favourite PT song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sX7zvcW8eaU
and Tosh soundalike Lucky Dube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewRzSOCDApc and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFVjtBkfyDo
Pink Floyd, my fave album is Obscured by Clouds, which is soundtrack to a film called La Valee: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5R-_Go5C2A
Deep Purple: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFDvvQ5wi1w
and that's just a start... I have a vast music collection and this only just scratches the surface.
I haven't had time to find Human League, Kraftwerk, Bonzo Dog Doodah Band, Small Faces, Beatles, Black Uhuru, Yello, Frank Chickens, Big Audio Dynamite, Blondie, Gong, Steve Hillage, Steve Miller, Gary Numan, Donna Summer, Chaka Khan, Brian Eno, Talking Heads, Rolling Stones, Roxy Music, all sorts of Break Dance/Hip Hop stuff, a smattering of classical such as Carl Orf's Carmina Burana and Mussorgsky's Pictures At An Exhibition (best version by Tomita) and thousands more, literally. I used to LOVE music and it still means a heck of a lot.... although when I listen now, the shivers don't go up and down my spine as they used to...
So the boys were fascinated to see/hear some of my favourite 'retro' life, which they know nothing of, as ever since we moved here, I've never got my turntable plugged into the amp, and then a couple of years after moving here, one child dropped a pot of paint onto the amp so that it no longer works. I really ought to get it all wired up again. So for 7 years, I've only listened to my tape collection and a few CDs, and the radio. The hundreds of vinyl records have just sat there.... which is a pity really as it's a varied and eclectic couple of bookshelf's full...
A very pleasant evening! Included a good phone chat with my parents and two Scrabble games on Facebook with two of my friends..
I took our youngest to school, and when I got home Gill was getting ready to go and have her tooth extracted, to prevent the re-occurrence of the abscess. I lit the stove so I could dry a load of fruit...
I spent quite a bit of time looking through information about cycle helmets, following the comment (last Friday) from Richard Keatinge about why he and his children don't wear them. I have learned a lot about this contentious subject, and hope that more research is undertaken.
We had a good afternoon talking to Paul, another new contact, and then at 3 went to pick up our little one.... coming back via the logpile and arriving at home with another 60 or 80 kilos...
As all was well after school, I popped down to St Nicks to help clear up some mess made over the weekend when someone threw a load of sticks around which I'd piled up to slowly take home bit by bit. I took one load home and put the rest into the St Nicks compound so that some of their volunteers can chop it all up for their stove...
Then came home and a very peaceful evening progressed, although Gill was feeling ill she boiled some home grown potatoes and broccoli, and created a nutloaf. I chatted with the boys, and as was finding some music to become a soundtrack to Ali's film, they took an interest in that.
These are some of my favourite tracks/bands:
Orbital: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEVBTKrs97I and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvuiXb--Lu8 (Gill and I were at this gig!)
Ozric Tentacles, for instance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXAaDqPl7oY
Spacemen 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxgrxD674IY&feature=related
Ultramarine, (not my fave track/album which I cannot find on Youtube) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCZ7cshAkWY
Eatstatic http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8BOUtKe2dg and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-_NneB5fmY&feature=related
The Orb see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvavCIRKJrw&feature=related and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8xqMEOjtlA&feature=related
KLF see, for instance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_64V5he-bk&feature=related and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLUTDhdlJs4&feature=related
Peter Tosh http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OZQ1vFCmoI and my favourite PT song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sX7zvcW8eaU
and Tosh soundalike Lucky Dube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewRzSOCDApc and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFVjtBkfyDo
Pink Floyd, my fave album is Obscured by Clouds, which is soundtrack to a film called La Valee: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5R-_Go5C2A
Deep Purple: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFDvvQ5wi1w
and that's just a start... I have a vast music collection and this only just scratches the surface.
I haven't had time to find Human League, Kraftwerk, Bonzo Dog Doodah Band, Small Faces, Beatles, Black Uhuru, Yello, Frank Chickens, Big Audio Dynamite, Blondie, Gong, Steve Hillage, Steve Miller, Gary Numan, Donna Summer, Chaka Khan, Brian Eno, Talking Heads, Rolling Stones, Roxy Music, all sorts of Break Dance/Hip Hop stuff, a smattering of classical such as Carl Orf's Carmina Burana and Mussorgsky's Pictures At An Exhibition (best version by Tomita) and thousands more, literally. I used to LOVE music and it still means a heck of a lot.... although when I listen now, the shivers don't go up and down my spine as they used to...
So the boys were fascinated to see/hear some of my favourite 'retro' life, which they know nothing of, as ever since we moved here, I've never got my turntable plugged into the amp, and then a couple of years after moving here, one child dropped a pot of paint onto the amp so that it no longer works. I really ought to get it all wired up again. So for 7 years, I've only listened to my tape collection and a few CDs, and the radio. The hundreds of vinyl records have just sat there.... which is a pity really as it's a varied and eclectic couple of bookshelf's full...
A very pleasant evening! Included a good phone chat with my parents and two Scrabble games on Facebook with two of my friends..
