Human Lifestyle

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.

A tough morning trying to get both children to school. BUT they did both go, which was a result!

I had a meeting starting sometime between 10 and 11 (Jim at Semlyen IT is very relaxed) and this went well too... the website that my Canadian colleague Rory and I are working on is coming on well. Jim has a colleague called James, who's a student, who is putting it together using Wordpress.

I am so looking forward to getting it unveiled!

The meeting went really well, over an hour discussing lots of variables and listening to Jim's advice. But I didn't have time to write up our meeting to send to Rory as straight after lunch I had another meeting at St Nicks, the follow up to the difficulties I had last November when some complaints were generated because of how I behaved at a York Rotters stall at the Big Green Market. John at St Nicks has been having some conversations with people at CVS about how to proceed and how to find solutions to the problem.

Edward, who is an experienced facilitator and well versed in conflict resolution came along to be my buddy or some kind of moderator... he's known me for at least 15 years and he also knows John quite well... and funnily enough he was involved in designing the Environment Centre, although I'm not sure exactly what his role was.

We recapped on what the complaints were, and I was surprised to learn that three out of the four complaints were made by one person. I don't know who that person is, but my guess is that they probably have a general problem with me, and even if I had behaved perfectly, they would still have had a problem with me! So that person was upset about an ill-timed and inappropriate joke about burial positions (which I agree was a mistake) and also accused me of shouting at a member of the public which I didn't do, although I do know that I did make a comment back to someone who responded to my invite to tell me about their compost bin with a 'I don't bother to compost'. My question back at them 'Don't you care about the environment then?' was deemed by the complainant as unprofessional. Maybe it was, I don't know. They also didn't approve of me answering a question about Promession, the composting burial process that I'm very interested in. A separate complaint was made by a Rotter who said I'd interrupted them and contradicted them. As I don't know who this is, I cannot remember saying or doing any of that, but it wouldn't surprise me if I had done that if incorrect information had been given.

I am really pleased with some of the solutions that St Nicks are going to try. To enable me to go back to the stalls and work with members of the public, they are looking for a buddy for me, who would know something about challenging behaviour, ADHD and Aspergers, and would be trained up as a York Rotter. Their job would be to keep an eye/ear on me and to rein me in if I got too excitable and if I strayed into subjects that the Council, our funders, are uncomfortable with (ie compost burials and compost toilets).

I'm also going to be invited to help make a video, where the editing will enable my enthusiasm and knowledge to shine through, but any gaffs to be removed. The Rotters newsletter will have a featured Rotter section, so that individuals can write something about themselves, which might help other Rotters understand them a little more. All St Nicks volunteers will be invited to participate in 'diversity awareness training' which will cover disabilities and developmental disorders, sexuality and orientation, religion and race and probably more. This is a fantastic 'plus' for St Nicks to get out of what could have been quite a negative issue. Rotters will be offered communication training, so that we can all learn to speak to members of the public a bit better. I look forward to this.

The only as yet undecided things are how I deal with my role as the 'founder' of York Rotters, which St Nicks dispute as I only suggested the organisation be started, and it was founded by a team effort, with the Council and St Nicks in partnership, with me at most meetings. However, many people see me as the person who got the ball rolling, and I am therefore sometimes a spokesperson for the group. So, as yet, we don't know what to do if a media organisation rings up and asks my opinion about a composting or green subject, and wants to refer to me as the founder of York Rotters. I am comfortable with this, but I don't think the other management are.

We agreed to review the situation in six months time. I am pretty pleased with this. I do wish that the (critical words removed by request) person hadn't complained in the first place... but we cannot change what has happened, and nor the fact that people like me do sometimes piss people off!

I did a bit of work in the nature reserve for half an hour after this, and then loaded my trailer with some of the spare packing crate wood which wasn't used by the bee hive makers.

Home via Freshways, and then did half an hour of chainsawing until it got dark.

Tea was baked potatoes with the remains of the Quorn stuff from yesterday. The potato was delicious and I'd have the Quorn again to add variety to my diet, perhaps a couple of times a year...

I did a lot of writing during the evening... a long email to Rory and recording today's activities here. I feel it's been a really good day.

A peaceful start to the day, and I got ready to leave at 11am to cycle to the station to meet my friend Laura and her parents, who are staying in York for a couple of nights.

They arrived at 11.35 and we walked into town to El Piano via Barley Hall. I had a hot chocolate and the others had drinks too, and discussed where to meet later. Then we split, Laura and I wandering through town via a pastie shop and the market, Anti Gravity Shop and then on to St Nicks where I had my pastie, and then showed Laura around.

On the way home I found some more Oyster mushrooms, and when we got back I fried those immediately. Laura was pleased to meet Gill and the boys, thought the boys were very engrossed in the computer and didn't communicate much, but although Gill and I see Laura as young, they see her as an adult!

We spent an hour or so at home and then went back into town... I cycled with her on my crossbar (a favourite way of transporting someone!) and we ended up at the Minster, which we wandered round. I followed Laura into the shop and was highly amused to see a wealth of 'Green Man' carvings and teeshirts etc... this is a very pagan or Celtic symbol of a man's head with ivy coming out of his mouth, symbolising rebirth (see Wikipedia for info and images). I like the Green Man symbolism... I suppose the rebirth meme is consistent with Christianity, so no actual conflict really.

Then we walked through the Shambles and to the Castle, Clifford's Tower, and up to the Pizza Hut where we ate. As we still had an hour before she needed to meet her parents, we walked down to the Millennium Bridge, over it and back up to King's Staith, where the Ghost Walk was to leave from, and we met up with Laura's parents... and I left her with them. They had been back to Barley Hall where an archaeologist from the Hungate dig was doing a talk, which they had enjoyed immensely.

I came back home, stopping to talk to my friend David, who has had a good photo session with a fairly well known York science writer. When he said her first name, I knew her surname before he said it... I'm a bit of a fan as she writes for NewScientist, and I like her writing. I've never met her but would like to.

I got home at 8.30 and helped put the boys to bed.

A much better day. I got a lot done. I spent most of the morning sorting out the paper part of my accounts, getting them ready for electronic submission.

I popped out at lunchtime to get bread and pasties from Thomas The Baker, and then after lunch, in response to an email which was offering Freecycled materials for a forthcoming York in Transition Beehive Making day, I cycled down to town.

On the way I stopped at a skip and the man emptying the house said I could have a look through, and I found a large number of low energy lightbulbs in their boxes, a toasting fork and a freeview box. I also found a passport, so I took that in order to send that to the passport office, but a nosey neighbour over the road came out of her front door and shouted at me to not take the passport or she would tell the police. I gave it to the man cleaning out the house... I wonder what he will do with it? In retrospect I ought to have told her to mind her own business and taken it to the police myself.

I went via Alligator to get peanut butter, mayonnaise (yummy vegan stuff!) and marmalade for Gill, and then on to Kings Manor, where Dave, an archaeologist, met me, and showed me the materials he was happy to get rid of. These were four very large sheets of hardboard. I tried to get them on my trailer but they wouldn't go on without dragging on the ground... so after two tries, I broke each sheet in two and reloaded them. I still had difficulties getting these to St Nicks for storage... very unwieldy and good at slipping off. But, slowly and carefully, I cycled up to St Nicks and asked Ivana where they could be stored, and disposed of them. Whilst there I met Sarah, another Freecycler, which was nice.

Home via Freshways, and back to home where the dreaded paperwork was waiting. So I did half an hour chainsawing to use up the daylight.

After tea I went onto the computer again and worked slowly through the hmrc self assessment stuff... too slowly for the website as I had to re-log in twice, as I was reading explanatory notes. Also it was very frustrating as I tried to put some notes in boxes where it asked if I wanted to put more information... but it wouldn't accept my text. Eventually I had to put my notes in a file and attach it to the submission. I was able to pay my tax online, and by 11pm I had done it all!

A very good feeling, relief and happiness, a weight off my shoulders. Gill fitted the freeview box to the TV in the front room, and it works fine, although there isn't a remote for it, so we have a single remote control for two TVs. I think that needs sorting!

Up early, not sure why, but felt the need to get moving and busy.

So I did a load of work in the garden and washed up and then at midday, my visitor Hannah arrived. She found me through a freegan website and is doing her dissertation on reducing consumption as part of her Geography degree in Leeds. She hasn't actually got a title for her dissertation yet, but that will probably crystallise soon, after talking to lots of people about their opinions.

She recorded our conversation and then we had lunch, and a walk down the garden to see the fruit trees and composting.

Then we cycled down to St Nicks... she'd brought her bike over on the train, and we spent a bit of time there and then on to town along the cycle path. I stopped at Oxfam and bought a big can of Fair Trade coffee, and then popped into my GP as I had decided to have the Swine Flu jab I was offered a few weeks ago. I only had to wait about 15 minutes and I had it.

And home, along the cycle track again, picked up some good sized willow logs and came home.

I checked the temperature on the gauge on the solar panel tank, and it was 16.1 degrees Celsius. This is quite a bit warmer than the outside temperature and the incoming water, although I don't actually know the external temperature; I'll have to sort that out. So, with limited winter sunshine, the water in the tank was warmer, and would take less gas to warm it up to a useful temperature coming out of the tap.

Gill used the last of the tomato soup to make a stew thing and it was good. I went out to Green Drinks at the Black Swan at about 7.45 and met up with Neil, then Guy, then Dave, and just as I was leaving, Ivana.

A quiet evening back at home... I took off one of the wheels of my trailer and fixed a puncture.

Well, a busy enough day starting with a cycle down to town to attend the CAFOD and Christian Aid - organised York Wave, a few hundred people encircling the Minster as a gesture of solidarity for those at risk from climate change and a message to our government that we want them to set ambitious, tough and binding targets at the Copenhagen talks in December.

I was glad to go, as despite my agnosticism and dislike of how some people put their religion above their love of humanity. I think we have to get over our differences and prejudices and move towards a unified goal of looking after this planet and life on it, whatever our beliefs in the supernatural, science or otherwise. I was pleased to meet lots of people I know and love and care about, and to join hands with to surround the Minster in solidarity.

After this I went to the Belfrey Hall on Stonegate, a building I didn't know existed, and took part in a debate about the issues surrounding governance and carbon emissions, developing countries and climate change. There were four speakers, Hugh Bayley, our Member of Parliament, a Nigerian called Father Blaize, an amazing 'sustainable housing' lecturer called John Grant from Sheffield, and Rashni Mistry: I'm not sure where she was from or who she represented. They introduced themselves, Hugh going on about the overseas development work he does, and John Grant was a very good speaker about the whole gamut of issues.

After intros, the chair asked if there were any questions, I got my hand up and was picked first. I asked the question which was on many people's lips, (John Grant had referred to it) which was why Hugh had voted against the 10:10 motion on Wednesday? Now I'm not sure if I heard him correctly, but I think he said he didn't vote against it, which is a lie, according to the official website (scroll down to see if your MP voted yes or no to the motion). He very cleverly wriggled out of it by going on about the small committee who had discussed the motion beforehand, and they had come to the conclusion that the House of Commons was incapable of reducing their carbon emissions by 10% in 2010. Well if they'd voted to aim to do that, and maybe got to a 5% or 8% reduction, that would have been FAR better than saying 'We don't think this is possible'. I am very very disappointed with him. And, unfortunately, the more free-thinking John Grogan whom I like a lot. Our other local MP, Anne Mackintosh, voted for the motion. How sad that party politics spoiled this debate.

Anyway, back to today's discussion. The 'Energy Champion' for York, Cllr Christian Vassie, asked another difficult question as did a couple of other people. Not all the discussion was about Bayley's voting record, there were ones on insulation and water resources and other things.

I cycled home in the rain after this. Lunch. Gill went into town with the boys.

I washed up.

At 4.30 I cycled off to St Nicks to meet with Melanie who asked me if I could introduce her to foraging... she wanted to pick some sloes so I said yes, why not, on the understanding that she'd let me sample the sloe gin when ready. We also got some apples.

I had a 'use it up tea' heated on the woodstove. I had some nice 'bundles' with the boys (boisterous play wrestling which boys like doing... girls might too but it's very common in boys!) which was fun. And a quiet evening followed.

A very busy busy busy day.

But I didn't have to actually get up until just before 11, although I did do a bit of housework in my dressing gown after breakfast.

At 11am the replacement solar panel surveyor man arrived. The chap who looked round a few weeks ago has hurt his back, so someone else has taken over. Alan was a young and enthusiastic chap, and we had some lively conversations whilst he looked at the outside of the house, the boiler in the bathroom and the roof space. I also showed him the solar panel on the house down the road which has an integral photovoltaic panel which runs the pump. That's what I want. Not a 60w pump wired in and using mains power all the time... sort of defeats the object of the exercise.

Then shortly before midday I bombed into town to attend the Avaaz 'Wake Up Call' flashmob which was aiming to give world leaders the message that there are a lot of us who think that the forthcoming Copenhagen talks are possibly the last chance to set firm and binding targets to reduce CO2 emissions. The York Press photographer was there, and BBC Radio York, and I was able to inform listeners that Gordon Brown, our Prime Minister, had decided to attend Copenhagen himself, demonstrating how important he realises it is. This decision is partly due to the rising clamour about this event. Today, people were given Gordon Brown's phone number and asked to ring him up. What good this will do I don't know, but it's worth trying.

Very soon after this I walked my bike through town and as soon as out of the pedestrian zone, cycled quickly to St Nicks where the load-carrying trike was waiting for me. Tom gave me the key to the lock and told me he wanted it back within the hour. It was not easy to ride, as it hugs the road camber and doesn't lean into corners, but I got the hang of it and plodded up to B+Q, parked up, locked it and went to find someone in the gardening section. There was no-one there. I wandered around and found a B+Q staff member in the paint section. I asked her if I could ask her a question and she looked terrified and said that she was on her lunch hour and actually buying paint. I said that I just wanted to know where I could pick up the turf and she smiled and said she was responsible for the garden bit and would take me to the turf waiting for me. She had looked terrified as she thought I was going to ask a technical question about paint!

I loaded up the 12 rolls of turf onto a trolley whilst she did the paperwork, and I scooted it all outside to the tricycle. It was a heavy and slow cycle back to St Nicks, but the whole trip took just 45 minutes.

I came home on my bike, unhitched my trailer and made a sandwich to take down to the station, as I needed to get the 2.11 train to Hornbeam Park. I put my bike on the train, as when in Hornbeam Park I needed to get to the place on Leeds Road just outside Harrogate to meet Karen the acupuncturist for my first session. I got there at 2.55 and she was expecting me, so I was led to her treatment room. She had already done a full history on Saturday, so she just needed to check my tongue (why, I have no idea!) and pulse, then I lay down and she put about 6 pins in me, only one of which was slightly uncomfortable as it went in... the rest I didn't feel at all, just the pressure of the guide tube. The I lay still for between half an hour and 45 minutes which was LOVELY... being told not to move just felt great... and I felt totally relaxed, but I didn't fall asleep, though I think I could have let myself... The session was over all too soon and she took my pulse again (as before it had been racing as I'd just cycled quickly) and off I went, in the rain which had started. I got to Hornbeam Park with loads of time to spare, and waited in the rain feeling very calm and slightly elated.

It didn't take long to get back to York, and home via Sainsburys as I had forgotten to get Danish Pastries this morning from Thomas's Yesterbake for tomorrow's CarFreeDay picnic breakfast.

I came home via Country Fresh and Freshways.

When I got home, with the pastries, and a nice loaf and some cereal, I went straight out again, to the Co-op to get some more bits and bobs for tomorrow's event.

Tea was a pastie and roast potatoes and some sweet potatoes, rescued from the compostables. They had been thrown out as they were beginning to sprout... I cut of the sprouting ends and will try to grow them on, in the conservatory through the winter.

Then out again to a Transition meeting. I went via Lynn's to pick up a parasol for the CarFreeDay demo. The meeting was good as there were two new faces, but it was also a tough meeting as we had a bit of sorting out to do with regards which activities are 'core Transition' activities and which are 'community building' activities which pave the way for the core Transition activities to take place. I took minutes, and also agreed to work with Diane, to help set up a Huntington and New Earswick Transition Initiative.

Home quite tired but had a lot of typing to do, so to bed at the usual time of 2ish.

And here's what Rich filmed today (added a few days later)

A very busy and good day... maybe because Gill ensured that I had a lie in, and I came downstairs after 9am, and had some good chats over breakfast.

However, I had assorted things to do so I got on and did them.

I cycled down to Lawrence Street and measured three parking spaces which have a two-hour limit, so I could work out how much turf to get. This don, went on to Morrisons to get a big jar of Marmite, and some goats cheese for Gilly. Then on to St Nicks to discuss a job which has been advertised there, with the recycling team. I am wondering whether to apply for it. It's four days a week, 28 hours, and pays £10K. If I got it, it would be a big change for me as I'm used to pretty minimal paid work, and lots of free time to do things which reduce my cost of living. But the Fiddlesticks work is not that busy and I'm missing the writing work, so I might give the recycling job a whirl.

But I also needed to go to St Nicks to sort out the bags of stuff brought back from the Green Festival, all the paper plates and biodegradable containers, cardboard cups, wooden forks etc. I had to take out some plastic and a few cans and other non-compostable bits... but this left me with four sacks of material to bring home and put in assorted tumblers and daleks.

Home for a late lunch and then after that went up to B+Q to find out about the turf, and I easily bought what I needed. I got 12 rolls for £31. I'll collect them on Monday, the day before the stunt.

Then did a little bit of riddling, and dug out a pallet heap into a builders bag so I could re-load the pallet bin... and took some riddled compost down to Richard at Country Fresh, and brought back a huge load of perhaps 80kg. More composting, finished pruning the little cherry tree, and picked some pears. I prepared the pruned cherry wood into a 'magic staff' for one of my boys who desperately needed one.

Gill used the broccoli I bought to add to a lightly spiced curry that one of the boys had requested and we had that with rice and pitta bread.

I then popped out to see Lynn who's been requesting some dried fruit for weeks, and saw that she has got a garden parasol to lend to the Car Free Day event.

So a busy day. Productive, active, feels good.

Up at a reasonable time as had to go to a York Rotters meeting at 10am and got there on time, to meet the two Waste Minimisation Officers, Rachel and Sara, plus management group members Pat and John, and our employee Catherine.

It was a good meeting. I found out what is going to happen at Lord Deramore's re sustainability and of course, composting, and we talked over the forthcoming fifth birthday party on the 4th September. Gill is going to do a cake in the shape of a compost bin or heap. The WRAP subsidised compost bins finish at the end of September and we discussed what to do after that, to keep affordable compost bins available to members of the public. We had a discussion about a social with information about the micro-organisms which do the work in the compost heap, inspired by a talk Catherine went to at the recent Master Composter event, at Ryton I think. She wasn't that impressed with how that was presented (not enough microscopes for the large number of people who attended) and I think we can do better. Finally, St Nicks has had a bit of contact with the Mosque which is next to it on Bull Lane, and we had a chat about how we could engage the community which uses that. I agreed to do some research. The meeting finished but we kept on chatting for quite a while.

I collected a couple of stray logs (tree surgeons dump them on St Nicks quite often) and called in on Raj at Freshways to ask him about how Islam approaches environmentalism, and if he thinks he knows how York Rotters could work with Muslims to get them enthusiastic about composting. I spent half an hour in there, as he was busy with customers, but I did learn quite a bit. One of the tenets is cleanliness, so keeping the atmosphere clean, the garden tidy etc would be one angle, another is appreciating beauty, so a garden with plenty of compost added would be more beautiful than one without. I'll find out more from various translations of the Quran and associated discussion... I found this quite easily but haven't yet explored it much.

Home for a late lunch and a frustrating afternoon as my normal email is completely unavailable, both on Thunderbird and on Webmail. Fortunately I have an emergency email with Google, which I was able to use to receive a document from the council and then forward that to my colleagues at York Green Festival.

I didn't spend all afternoon being frustrated with the computer... I did a lot of chainsawing and splitting which was very satisfying and also dug out a compost heap, turning it into a builders bag, and admired my growing pumpkins which are doing really well.

I had a late tea as I was out in the garden til after 7pm. I had a beard trim and a bath as I'm working tomorrow and Saturday.

Woke wondering about why I hadn't been contacted by the insurers re the York Green Festival. So after breakfast I rang... and found that the email I sent on the 21st hadn't been received. So I resent it and then had a chat to the recipient, who wanted several other bits of info plus a signature, electronic or otherwise. I knew nothing about electronic signatures, and I didn't have the other info either, so I sent out a 'help me' email to the other YGF-ites, and got a reply from Tom who offered to help me do an electronic signature.

Gill went down to the station to collect our eldest and his buddy, they'd travelled up on the train together from Leamington Spa, and immediately they came in the noise levels in the house rose about 100-fold. I soon went out to go to see Tom, who scanned my signature and put it into various formats so I have a chance to add it to documents, like the insurance document I need to send to the insurers. I'll have to have a play around later.

After seeing Tom I called in on Anita who told me that next month she is emigrating to Spain for a couple of years, to live in the house she's refurbished. I will miss her as although I don't see her very often, I am fond of her. She says she'll be back in a couple of years.

I came home via Sainsburys as Gill wanted flour, ice cream and a baguette to make garlic bread with.

I popped in to Freshways on the way back and picked up 3 small sacks of compostables, and then spent an hour or so down the garden sorting them out.

Pasta and home grown veg for tea, and garlic bread, and I then shot out to St Nicks for the AGM and a talk on the National Bee Unit which was really interesting.

Ben Jones is a researcher there and he talked us through the work of the Unit which is based at Sand Hutton. Their role is to ensure the health of the honeybee in England and Wales... there are probably no 'wild' or feral honeybees left, all are managed or farmed, either by commercial beekeepers or by hobbyists. Most people think of bees as responsible for honey, but this is just worth between £10million and £30million a year, but their value as pollinators is somewhere between £120million and £200million.

He told us about the assorted diseases, legislation, how the inspectors identify the problems, the different sorts of beekeepers, and lots more. There were lots of questions asked too, so many that we over-ran and therefore missed the little film that was planned about the tree planting on St Nicks, but there will be another chance to see that.

The AGM was very straightforward. I collected some logs on the way back from a chap round the corner who had invited me to pick them up whenever I wanted, and I got in just before 10pm.

Another good day, after a late start I did my Community Care Blog and then at midday headed into town to a meeting with my Transition buddies down at City Screen, to discuss the publicity around The Age of Stupid, and the panel members for the discussion afterwards.

I then went to chat to the proprietor of 'One' Ethical Boutique, about a possible publicity stunt for the film, and my building society to pay in a cheque, the council to give in some paperwork, and finally to see Dylan at Millers Yard, and a good chat and collected several sacks of oranges and coffee grounds, which I promptly took to the St Nicks Fields composting area. All that pet shop sawdust needs some nitrogen-rich stuff!

Home for a very late lunch... 3pm and then did a bit in the garden, clearing up some of the riddling before tea and then another meeting, this time a YorkLETS meeting which I chaired and I think was a successful meeting.

Home by 10, and had to do more writing, this time the proposed text for the Age of Stupid flyer/poster.

A good day, up quite early but Gill took our boyo into school, as she's walking back with four of them! I did a bit around the house and got ready to go to town to do paperwork and meet my visitor. So, popped into see Richard to have a giggle about his more than 15 minutes of fame on Street View and then headed into the Building Society to pay in two cheques and get out one to pay half of our Council Tax. Then to the bank to pay in a SUMA order cheque and the Council Treasury to pay them, and onto the station for 11.30 which is when Chris was supposed to arrive. I met him at the Compost Doctors training a few weeks ago and he seemed like someone I would get on with, so we've connected via Facebook and I offered to show him St Nicks.

Chris turned up at 11.45 and his 2 year old son was very cute! We walked through town and got to St Nicks, the boy having fallen asleep by now. I was able to do a very quick tour... after all he works at Skelton Grange Environment Centre and for a year taught Leeds schools how to compost. Wish he was in York! He took a few photos as inspiration, such as the cut-out dustbin and the Komp 250 compost bin with the perspex front. Got home by 1pm and had lunch together, and then had a walk down the garden to look at all of the various compost bins, wormeries, fruit trees and more. His little boy enjoyed the trampoline.

Chris left at 3ish, as Gill went down to school, and I continued tidying up the back room as we've got a horde of little boys coming... I love the Ewbank!

When Gill and the noisy boyses came back, I went to Somerfield (aka for humour, Scummerfield) and got mayo and chocolate, and then I went down the garden to do more riddling.

Gill made a pizza for tea... not her best as she used goats cheese which was too salty for me.

Happy family today. An excellent day!

I got up quite early and put the seed potatoes I bought a while ago into egg boxes for chitting. I'll put these trays of egg boxes in the loft under window so the shoots go green and stay relatively short, before planting them mainly in the allotment when the risk of frost has reduced. If the shoots are coming through, and a frost is forecast, I'll have to go up there and earth them up to protect them.

I took our youngest to school and came back in good time to meet the first of my two visitors this morning. Marabel arrived first, then Lizzie, both people from York in Transition. Marabel is undertaking an MSc on the embodied carbon footprint of buildings compared with the energy used within them during their 'lifetime'. Lizzie is a student too, but I cannot remember what her subject is. They asked to come and see how I managed to live with a carbon footprint of about a twelfth of the UK average.

So we sat and chatted and had a 'past it's sell-by date' instant chai-tea ('just add hot water') plus dried fruit, and discussed needs versus wants, black/white and grey-areas, and a variety of other interesting conversations connected to ethical lifestyles.

We had a fairly leisurely wander down the garden and then off to St Nicks. Lizzie wasn't on a bike, so I gave her a lift sitting on the rack behind me. Initially she was a bit unsure of this but once we got going she told me she was enjoying the ride.

I did my usual tour around the Environment Centre, and then around the nature reserve, where they left to go to the North of the City, and I cycled out of the area via Freshways where I collected a bag of compostables. I was back in time for a 1pm lunch.

I did a bit of 'office' type stuff after lunch, despite nice weather outside... took a couple of phone calls and did some essential emailing. But I also did a bit of logpile building, including some of the slowly growing 'arty' pile.

I went down to school to collect our youngster but he wanted to stop and participate in the streetsports activities, cycling around the playground with ramps provided by the City of York Council's play team. He therefore stayed with a friend, and I agreed with the friend's Mum that I'd collect them both at 4.30 and bring them home, were she could collect him when she was ready. Which is exactly what happened.

I visited Country Fresh at 5ish, and Scummerfield too, on the way back. Whilst I was having tea, Anita and Bruno came round to pick up their SUMA stuff, after it had been sitting in our hall for weeks!

The boys went to bed early, after several very late nights.

A really productive day. However it started with some difficulty, one child not wanting to go to school, but eventually cajoled him along and we got to school just before the doors closed so he wasn't technically late.

I had a chat with he head teacher in the playground and then put my boy's bike away... and near the bike shed there was a discarded banana skin, which I decided to put straight in the compost bin which is close to the bike shed. In the compost bin some lazy or stupid person had put a plastic bag with some dog poo, so I took that over to the main big bins... where I discovered a discarded resource which was in the wrong bin. The school have a waste paper bin, but it doesn't get used much, often has other materials in it and lots of paper goes in the 'to landfill' bins. In one of the landfill bins were eight dustbin liner sacks of glossy pamphlets, catalogues, advertising materials from 2008.. all totally recyclable paper.

I hoicked them out and packed them carefully in my trailer, panniers and on my rack... an extremely heavy load. My guess is that it was about 100Kg... I know how much a 20Kg sack feels like, and three of them, and this was considerably more than my usual heavy load of compostables (often 60+ Kilos). Anyway, struggled home with this and decided to take it direct to the Hazel Court Depot on James St... and took a pile of tetrapak/drinks cartons too, in re-usable bags.

I was expecting the staff there to try to stop me using the facilities as I'm not a motorist, but luckily I was ignored, so no confrontation between a 'jobsworth' and a militant cyclist recycler. Phew. I decided to count the number of publications the school had thoughtlessly thrown away... 240, with 31 still in their plastic wrappings (which I took off, of course!). I also removed some reply envelopes as the gum on envelopes messes up the paper recycling machinery... they are better composted.

Cycled back feeling buoyant, via St Nicks, to see if Catherine the head Rotter had any teaching material that I could use on Monday for Wigginton School. She had some wordsearch things and various other materials which will be very useful, and make it more interesting and accessible for the youngsters.

Got home to find Gill wrestling with the concertina clothes dryer which was refusing to stay stood up. We tried to fix it but the plastic thing which held it up wasn't particularly well designed and wasn't working. So a repair solution was needed. I found a short bungee (found on the road a few weeks ago) and tried to make that keep the rack up, but the stretchiness meant that the rack just flopped down. So I got a nice clean 6cm x 6cm length of wood and measured that up, cutting it to the right length. Then cut a couple of narrow notches in it which fitted over two of the bottom horizontals, preventing them from moving outwards and therefore keeping the rack stood up and extended. Hooray! Gill then sanded the length of wood down so there were no splinters. We like repairs!

Maria then rang... I'd offered to show her St Nicks some time ago, and now she's not teaching she has more time so she asked me to take her there and give her the tour. I agreed to go round to her at 1pm and we'd walk down together. Good discussion about aluminium cans and scrap metal, living roofs and more. A fairly quick toddle round the Environment Centre and then round the nature reserve... and back towards home, I left her at Scummerfields and was home for just after 2.

Riddled lots more sawdust.

Got my little boy at 3.15.

Came home and went on the computer to see if there was any message from Franny at The Age of Stupid about coming up to York, but nothing. Edward rang and we decided to have the special showing plus Question and Answer on 26th April, whether or not Franny can come.

Tea was good... a mix of the remains of carrot soup, tomato-based stew and some other bits, Gill made dumplings and then cooked the lot on the roaring woodstove... totally yummy! Our eldest was having tea with a friend and didn't come back til 7ish... came home bearing some flapjack he'd made at school. We were all very enthusiastic about this, despite it not holding together, and this put him in a good mood.

I went out to the York in Transition meeting which I was due to chair. I had not prepared a printed agenda but got one together at the start of the meeting. We had a quite vibrant session, including a stroke of genius from Peter, suggesting that we might get Franny to do the introduction and/or Q and A via videolink. We had two new attendees, one of whom was doing some research about the Transition movement, the other a student studying for a Ph.D in a really obscure subject which I've forgotten... but want to know more about...

We managed to finish on the dot of 9.30 and slowly made our way to the Slip Inn for a pint and a chat, and helped the researcher with pages and pages of notes....

I got back at 11pm and filled the log baskets, had a bowl of home-made muesli and settled down to dealing with emails and half-watching a programme on the recent snow and how it affected the nation, on C4+1.

Another 'good side of the bed' morning... with luck this is a new approach to getting up and ready for school! I cycled our youngest into school and cycled straight in to town in order to meet Stuart who's part of Visit York, to discuss my role in the York Residents' Festival, which for many years has been the York Residents First Weekend, where locals brandishing a 'YorkCard' could get in a whole load of visitor attractions free, and some places not usually open to the public, like the Minster Stoneyard. So this forthcoming weekend there is a new-look event, with a wide range of attractions open, plus activities and entertainments in Parliament St and St Sampson's Square. They've got a huge Tepee type structure for a sort of stage area, and I'm contracted to do 5 one-hour shows over the two days.

So I chatted to Stuart for 20 minutes and then headed to the station to meet a student called Sally who's doing a dissertation on supermarket waste food, and some solutions to the problem. She'd contacted the UK Freegan website and asked if anyone in the North East would be willing to talk about what they do to reduce this kind of waste, and I said I was happy to show her. She was due to arrive at about 10am but by 10.15 she hadn't turned up so I cycled home. An hour later I got a phone call from Ivana at St Nicks saying that Sally had found her way to St Nicks after missing her first train, and could I meet her down there.

I cycled down and showed her around the centre, then we walked back home via the supermarket who sell me their unsold veg and fruit for a penny per sack, so I can use whatever I can, and compost the rest. We had lunch and I gave her a little tour of the estate (!) and answered her questions as well as signing a release form to allow her to use the info I've given her. My request was that I would like to read her dissertation once it's done.

She walked back into town and I cycled down to school to collect our little one.

A peaceful evening until homework was mentioned. Homework is the absolute bane of all our lives as when it is due to be done, there is inevitable trouble. So, we all had a nice tea... Gill made a stew with my help... I prepared some of the veg, including Jerusalem artichokes which need careful peeling as they are rather knobbly, at least the ones I grow are! Gill made a cheese scone mix to put on top of the stew... the veg cooked on the stove, then the 'cobbler' placed on top, and bunged in the oven for half an hour to cook the scone dough on top. Totally yummy, as is over 90% of Gill's cooking. Whilst she was making this, I made tomato soup for the weekend, and Melody came, her son and ours spent time on the computer, having fun with 'Club Penguin'. Melody and offspring went, having done a SUMA order and had fun on the computer, respectively. We then had tea... very nice, all together. Then time for homework and it all kicked off.

The situation became so serious that I was unable to go out to the meeting I was supposed to, as I had to stay in and deal with the difficulties that were occurring. Extremely depressing stuff as when it happens, I feel like a rubbish Dad, even though I know I'm doing OK compared to many less-involved and less caring fathers.

Of course, non-parents cannot understand, and some parents with easy children won't either... and it feels slightly better when we get sympathetic comments from those in the know as we know we're not alone. One of the problems is that both children get teased about me and my compost toilet... this is obviously the weirdest thing I do in some people's eyes, and children can be so cruel and unthinking, especially to other children. I love my boys so much it really hurts to go through what we are going through, and I feel little pangs of guilt and responsibility... some from the fact that I was a difficult child and some of my traits are obviously heritable, and also because the lifestyle I lead means I stick out from the crowd and it's easy for my sons to get teased and bullied about what I do. And neither of them actually use the compost toilet... it's absolutely nothing at all to do with them!

So, I missed the YiT meeting and spent at least an hour keeping the peace. Things did eventually cool down... no-one can keep up that level of activity for long... it's obviously exhausting.

Had a very nice sympathetic phone call from a good friend who is going through something similar. Much needed support. By 11.20pm the homework was done... an amazing piece of work, really excellent!

What an evening, what a day, what a life!

The boys had a lie in til about 9am which was a small but lovely treat. A relatively peaceful morning followed... and I cycled down to town to put in yesterday's cheque and a couple of other bits and pieces. Decided to come back via the cycle track and collect some logs, but when I'd done this I continued along the track which became increasingly icy and slippery and virtually impossible to push my overloaded bike and trailer. It was totally impossible to actually ride the bike on this ice, and so slippery that my feet didn't have enough purchase to push the bike. At one place, I had to unload the trailer, push the bike to a less slippery bit and re-load. I stopped off at St Nicks and chatted to Robin who was looking after the place and warming soup for the eco-active volunteers on their woodstove.

I did eventually get home. Had lunch and tried to persuade both boys to come to St Nicks to attend the Fungus Foray which was being led by my friend Findlay Coopar. However, only our youngest was willing to come. He had a lovely time and played with Simon's son, and afterwards, Simon and offspring came back home for a coffee, natter and play. We found a good selection of fungi on the nature reserve, many of them quite difficult to identify brackets on logs, as there are lots of enormous tree trunks dumped there, making an excellent habitat for a range of organisms. So we found hoof fungus, a type of oyster called pulmonarius, which looks like lung tissue, 'Jews Ear' on Elder trees, Common Coprinus which has a drug called antabuse within it, used to try to help alcoholics stop drinking. There were also candle snuff fungus, 'dead mans fingers, velvet shank, and Simon had spotted some Oyster on the way to St Nicks, which he went to find and bring in to show everybody. Findlay knows a lot about fungi including the encrusting ones which I don't know much about. I really enjoyed myself.

After Simon went, I put three sacks of compostables into the compostumbler and brought a load of apples and garlic back up the garden for preserving. I helped Gill do tea, by preparing some sweetcorn and home-grown potatoes, which needed a lot of work as the slugs and woodlice had got there first, but had left plenty for us as well. A good tea.

Gill and I had a game of Scrabble and I washed, halved, topped and tailed, cored, peeled and sliced about 20 apples which had been thrown away, and put these 80 or so slices on cake racks on the big water cans on the stove to dry... an excellent harvest from the bins! I won the Scrabble.

A reasonable day... A slow start but at 10ish I got up as at 10.30 was expecting a visit from someone from The Stove Gallery/Pete The Sweep to fit a replacement 'Turbobaffle' which is the part of the stove which makes it smokefree. It sits in the top of the firebox and takes air from an inlet beneath the stove and the air is channeled through a long labyrinth within the baffle which heats the air up. The air then enters the firebox through lots of tiny holes, giving jets of fresh hot air, causing much turbulence and complete combustion, high thermal efficiency and 'smokefree' status. But an expensive bit of kit. The old one had somehow become overheated and had become mis-shapen and wasn't functioning at full whack. Will have to treat it with more respect. I will have to tell Gill NOT to leave the bottom-air open as this makes the stove too hot and can damage the turbobaffle. She often forgets to close it down after opening it up to ignite fresh fuel, and I come in to find it open and her getting on with whatever, having forgotten to close the spinner at the bottom....

So I waited for the stove person and got a phone call saying he'd be late. I split logs and cut sticks. Then the chap came, he was really nice and wrestled with the stove for a long time, eventually putting the turbobaffle in, replaced the rope-seal on the door and was interested to read my latest column, published today in Community Care, on 'Healthy Hobbies'.

Lunch and all too soon it was time to go to school. Gill got the boys, I attended the first AGM of the Green Thumb Gang and we agreed a constitution, all over in half an hour. I whizzed along to St Nicks to attend a sustainability surgery and give composting advice. This was followed by the Hull Road Ward Committee Meeting which was very quick.

Home for tea.

No work, so spent lots of time with the family.
In the morning went to the bread shop with one protesting child, as they were fighting and needed separating. Once on his bike, my son was fine, and we went to the bakers and the Co-op, then down to St Nicks Fields where we spent nearly an hour playing in the play area, on the climbing equipment, mucking around, really nice.

During the afternoon I had a short nap and then piled up a compost heap, cut hedge, shredded hedge and cut back brambles which have fruited and need to be removed before next season.

My little boy's birthday, I got a lie-in and woke when he came in to open his presents which he was very happy with. I had to go to town before lunch as my chain broke on the way back from the model shop yesterday ( I accelerated too hard and a link streched and nearly broke, then the chain kept jumping, so I knew I'd done something silly). So off to Cycle Heaven, then a pick-up of compostables and visit to the building society.

Played with the kids during the afternoon, and planned the weekend. Decided the train times weren't conducive to go to the Northern Green Gathering, sad but there you go. But we are going to go to 'Buzzing' tomorrow at St Nicks, a poetry and pictures performance about insects, by my friend Anneliese Emmans Dean, see http://www.thebigbuzz.biz/

Put up the tent in the garden as the boys wanted to have a mini festival here. Also set up a 'single log bonfire' which is a very dry log split lengthways and set upright in a hole in the lawn. The splits are filled with resinous wood and twigs, paper, candle-ends, and lit. It needs some management but burns well, and if the top is level, can even be used as a place to cook with a pan set on top. Gill made pizza dough and a birthday cake whilst I was doing this, and we all ate together at 6pm, with fresh blackberries with the cake.

At teatime, my little 'birthday boy' spoke to my parents on the phone, but his small voice was difficult for my Dad to hear or understand and the old man couldn't tell who it was until I took the phone off the little one and spoke to my dad and explained who it was. After they'd chatted successfully, I had a chat and my Dad told me that he was exploring getting an electric car called a G Whizz, he's already got a Toyota Prius, a hybrid petrol/electric. Then he asked me if I could clear my front garden of logs so when they next visit, they could park their car there. All other visitors put their car on the verge between the road and the pavement, or on the shared driveway, or round the corner on Lilac Avenue. So I said no, I couldn't remove my logs, which is how this house is heated and how we cook and get bathwater, as I wouldn't know where to put them and it would take ages. He put the phone down on me! A few minutes later, my ma phoned and told me that I'd been very rude to Daddy, 'after all they'd done for me' and that I'd be the loser. Then she slammed the phone down on me. This was so upsetting, as I've been getting on a lot better with them recently, and I didn't consider my response rude, just honest. I wonder if they'd want to park their car on the front garden if it were a veg patch? Why do they not respect my logging area? And why all this shit over a bloody car? Parking on the verge isn't such a problem is it? Never mind, our relationship has never been that good, and I don't care if they don't want to see me again. What I do care about is the Grandparent / Grandchild relationship, I hope that isn't damaged by our problems.

Gill and the boys slept in the tent, leaving me a long time to write and chat to my lovely friend in the US of A, who's planning to visit me in October, it's very exciting as we haven't spent much time together since I was a teenager... we have had an 18 year gap in our relationship, but she's been in my thoughts nearly every day all that time. Gill understands that K is very special to me, and doesn't mind my chatting so much, as she can see that it makes me happy... unless we have a misunderstanding, which is unfortunately easy on Googletalk, as there's only words no facial expressions or voice. Should get Skype really, but would need to upgrade to broadband for that, probably.

Bath late, first one since BGG!