I got up fairly early as I wanted to get to Rowntree Park before 11, when the Festival officially started. I turned out the flapjack, and had a piece... it was DELICIOUS! Most of that went into a cake tin and into a pannier. I took my devlstick, in case of some good music to twiddle to, and balloons in case of kids in need... I took two cans of cider, just in case I felt like relaxing with a drink later on.
I got to the site before 11 and reported to the Festival Central tent, as Dylan had suggested that I might be useful as a steward. However, I wasn't needed but was asked to report back at midday. I went to the nearby stage where my Falling Spikes friend Moz was playing in a dub reggae band, and his band member and friend Richard, of Country Fresh fame, was coping with it pretty well. Rich doesn't like dub. And soon after the dub finished, Rich had to head off to work.... and apparently would be back at 5.30!
I had a wander round, down to the main stage, the healing and chill out area, with the nearby cabaret stage just getting going.
I met absolutely loads of my friends old and new. I met people whose names I didn't know, like two friendly characters Lorraine and Catherine. I spotted Rachel whom I wanted to say hello to but I was chatting to Laurie the poet and she'd gone by the time I'd finished that conversation. I really enjoyed the social aspect to this event, which was good as I felt a bit 'lost' as I wasn't an organiser, a volunteer, a paid worker... I was just a punter. I helped Rakesh with getting some water, and then queued with Kate Lock to have lunch. Janie and her son came from Manchester to be here, and it was lovely to see them. I did some devilsticking to some funky music, and several people with children stopped and asked about it, and I was able to give out my business card.
Later on, I collected what started as 7 boxes of orange halves, which I compressed into 4 boxes and a bag. This filled my bike trailer, but will be a good dose for one of my tumblers.
As the event came to a close, I had one of my cans of cider, and then spent well over an hour picking up litter... mainly cigarette butts, hundreds and hundreds of them. Disgusting smokers.
Right at the end I was rewarded with a fruit scone, but I needed to get back as I was tired. I got home at about 9 pm. I had sandwiches for tea.
So, a brilliant day, one of the best local festivals I've been to... lots more people there than at the last Green Festival. I take my hat off to Dylan, Mick, Ali and all the other volunteers who made this happen. Most of all I thank my friends who enrich my life so much. I am a very lucky man.
Showing posts with label York Peace Festival. Show all posts
Showing posts with label York Peace Festival. Show all posts
A really productive and excellent day.
After breakfast I needed to clear the decks a bit and wash up, but there was a saucepan full of waste eggs which I'd rescued from being lobbed out, and hard boiled... about 25 of them. So I went to buy bread and got a couple of bottles of clear vinegar too. I spent 40 minutes shelling the eggs, not easy as old eggs don't peel easily, and put them in 3 big peanut butter jars and poured vinegar over them... pickled eggs. I occasionally have one of these sliced into a sandwich with mayonnaise.
Then I did a bit of sorting out, washing up etc, and after lunch did some work in the garden, just an hour. Then I loaded up the trailer with a 25 kg sack of brown chapati flour, which I'd rescued some weeks earlier, as I'd found a taker, someone who really likes chapatis! Her housemate wanted some compost to top-dress the garden, so I got 4 large bags of that too, and then slowly cycled across town with this heavy load and delivered it. I got paid for the compost but the flour I gave as it hadn't cost me anything other than hauling it out of a skip and cycling it home. Very satisfying.
Then I made my way to Rowntree Park where Dylan, Mick, John, Steve, Ali and others were setting up for tomorrow's York Peace Festival. I helped move chairs and tables, and then helped Peter from Classic Marquees (I think!) and some Polish guys (I'm assuming) to erect the stage marquee.
Then I came home via Country Fresh, where I picked up two sacks and three boxes, just before they closed. More hot compost on the way!
I had a low key tea, a hommous sandwich, coleslaw and cheese sandwich and some dolmades and potato salad, followed by an out of date yoghurt and flapjack offcuts.
During the evening I needed to find a way of using up the stewed mirabelle plums, so I made a flapjack out of them. I took two scoops of muesli base and two little packets of 'hemp hearts' which I rescued from one of the retailers I service, some home produced pumpkin seeds and some maple syrup, this purchased! I chopped up some dried apple and tipped in some home-made stove dried raisins, then several big scoops of plums, mixed well and pushed into a baking dish, with home grown hazelnuts pushed into the top in a regular pattern, so each cube of flapjack got one whole fresh hazelnut! Baked it in the oven on Gas 4 for 25 minutes, and scored the slab as soon as i took it out... Can't wait til tomorrow to try some!
After breakfast I needed to clear the decks a bit and wash up, but there was a saucepan full of waste eggs which I'd rescued from being lobbed out, and hard boiled... about 25 of them. So I went to buy bread and got a couple of bottles of clear vinegar too. I spent 40 minutes shelling the eggs, not easy as old eggs don't peel easily, and put them in 3 big peanut butter jars and poured vinegar over them... pickled eggs. I occasionally have one of these sliced into a sandwich with mayonnaise.
Then I did a bit of sorting out, washing up etc, and after lunch did some work in the garden, just an hour. Then I loaded up the trailer with a 25 kg sack of brown chapati flour, which I'd rescued some weeks earlier, as I'd found a taker, someone who really likes chapatis! Her housemate wanted some compost to top-dress the garden, so I got 4 large bags of that too, and then slowly cycled across town with this heavy load and delivered it. I got paid for the compost but the flour I gave as it hadn't cost me anything other than hauling it out of a skip and cycling it home. Very satisfying.
Then I made my way to Rowntree Park where Dylan, Mick, John, Steve, Ali and others were setting up for tomorrow's York Peace Festival. I helped move chairs and tables, and then helped Peter from Classic Marquees (I think!) and some Polish guys (I'm assuming) to erect the stage marquee.
Then I came home via Country Fresh, where I picked up two sacks and three boxes, just before they closed. More hot compost on the way!
I had a low key tea, a hommous sandwich, coleslaw and cheese sandwich and some dolmades and potato salad, followed by an out of date yoghurt and flapjack offcuts.
During the evening I needed to find a way of using up the stewed mirabelle plums, so I made a flapjack out of them. I took two scoops of muesli base and two little packets of 'hemp hearts' which I rescued from one of the retailers I service, some home produced pumpkin seeds and some maple syrup, this purchased! I chopped up some dried apple and tipped in some home-made stove dried raisins, then several big scoops of plums, mixed well and pushed into a baking dish, with home grown hazelnuts pushed into the top in a regular pattern, so each cube of flapjack got one whole fresh hazelnut! Baked it in the oven on Gas 4 for 25 minutes, and scored the slab as soon as i took it out... Can't wait til tomorrow to try some!
Both boys off to school, late, but they went.
Gill went into town to pay in a cheque to the Credit Union. I did some stuff inside and then moved logs from the huge stack of beech at the back round to the front, to build up the pile on the right of the door.
Gill came back from town and had forgotten to get various things... including a book our eldest wants, and is waiting for us in Waterstones. So at about 2.30 I cycled in and visited Alligator for peanut butter and marmalade, Waterstones, my building society and then Sainsburys.
Gill did a spaghetti-based meal... I stir-fried some sliced sprouts to go with it, and soon after 7pm set out on my bike again to go to Millers Yard to have the 'York Festivals' meeting with Dylan. Baz turned up, and Sarah from Kyi-Po. Later, Helgi arrived to give me his Duke of Edinburgh Silver booklet to fill in.
Dylan and I had already had a conversation about York Green Festival and York Peace Festival this year. York Peace Festival goes back over 20 years to when York had a Peace Centre, and it was connected to that. I loved the Peace Festival, and when it stopped happening about 5 years ago (not sure when the last one was actually) I missed it and then in 2006/7 I decided to 'do' a Festival, which became York Green Festival in 2007. We had our third last year. But this year, several of the organisers are involved in organising the World Carfree Cities International Conference in York this summer, so we're taking a break and York Peace Festival can take place. This is provisionally booked for 5th September. Dylan also has plans for some events and activities in the week leading up to this, but this is for Dylan to announce when it is more concrete, and the other partners are agreed.
So we all discussed about these events and some other York Festivals, such as the Carnival, which is on June 5th, and a York in Transition (dance?) event on 17th April which I'm partly responsible for. The meeting wasn't very long... and I got away so I could go to St Nicks where my York in Transition friends were having a meeting. I found some logs on the way there, but the weight in the trailer made cycling in the snow much more difficult so I had to push my bike some of the way along the cycle track. I got to St Nicks just as they were on AOB, so I was able to fill in some of the stuff I'd just learned.
So, got home just before 10pm, banked up the stoves, kissed both my boys goodnight, and settled down to a quiet evening.
Gill went into town to pay in a cheque to the Credit Union. I did some stuff inside and then moved logs from the huge stack of beech at the back round to the front, to build up the pile on the right of the door.
Gill came back from town and had forgotten to get various things... including a book our eldest wants, and is waiting for us in Waterstones. So at about 2.30 I cycled in and visited Alligator for peanut butter and marmalade, Waterstones, my building society and then Sainsburys.
Gill did a spaghetti-based meal... I stir-fried some sliced sprouts to go with it, and soon after 7pm set out on my bike again to go to Millers Yard to have the 'York Festivals' meeting with Dylan. Baz turned up, and Sarah from Kyi-Po. Later, Helgi arrived to give me his Duke of Edinburgh Silver booklet to fill in.
Dylan and I had already had a conversation about York Green Festival and York Peace Festival this year. York Peace Festival goes back over 20 years to when York had a Peace Centre, and it was connected to that. I loved the Peace Festival, and when it stopped happening about 5 years ago (not sure when the last one was actually) I missed it and then in 2006/7 I decided to 'do' a Festival, which became York Green Festival in 2007. We had our third last year. But this year, several of the organisers are involved in organising the World Carfree Cities International Conference in York this summer, so we're taking a break and York Peace Festival can take place. This is provisionally booked for 5th September. Dylan also has plans for some events and activities in the week leading up to this, but this is for Dylan to announce when it is more concrete, and the other partners are agreed.
So we all discussed about these events and some other York Festivals, such as the Carnival, which is on June 5th, and a York in Transition (dance?) event on 17th April which I'm partly responsible for. The meeting wasn't very long... and I got away so I could go to St Nicks where my York in Transition friends were having a meeting. I found some logs on the way there, but the weight in the trailer made cycling in the snow much more difficult so I had to push my bike some of the way along the cycle track. I got to St Nicks just as they were on AOB, so I was able to fill in some of the stuff I'd just learned.
So, got home just before 10pm, banked up the stoves, kissed both my boys goodnight, and settled down to a quiet evening.
