Crossing the Blues
Showing posts with label York Rotters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label York Rotters. Show all posts

Thursday 12th May 11 'Mass Observation Day'

Today is Mass Observation Day.  I am using my blog, http://lowcarbonlifestyle.blogspot.com/ as my method of recording my day and I'll be publishing it at intervals throughout the day with latest updates.

If anyone wants to take part, here are the instructions about what to do and where to send your electronic diary.


Woke at 8.30 to the sound of my youngest son laughing, before he was put in a taxi and went to school.
I had my bowl of branflakes, home-made muesli with crunchy granola and soya milk, and Gill asked if I wanted to watch the news, and she put the telly on.  I put on my laptop and replied to an email from Kay about delivering compost, and got a notification about a Linkedin message about Grocery and Supermarket waste composting which I added a comment to. I started this blog post.

I had 11 notifications on facebook and then my facebook friend Phil wanted to chat about the forthcoming World Naked Bike Ride.  I checked my answerphone messages and rang one of them back to sort out a Professor Fiddlesticks appearance later this summer.  I went to get dressed soon after 10am.

I lit the woodstove from the embers from last night; we have two Clearview Stoves, both smokefree and very efficient.  We use them to heat water (on top) and at the moment I'm drying red pepper and pineapple, all from thrown-away stuff which I get for composting (and drying, making soup, etc!)

I got my electric chainsaw and tried to do a bit more of the huge logpile which is outside our front, so we can keep the stoves going next winter.  But a concrete mixer lorry arrived; our neighbour Ken is building an Orangery and he's laying the floor.  He'd got a small team of helpers and I offered my wheelbarrow to one of them who hadn't got one... but she was the 'Supervisor' and so Ken said I could help if I wanted to.  I asked him if he'd like me to help, he said yes.  So I spent the next hour helping move 4.3 tonnes of concrete from Ashbridge and chatting to John the delivery man about all sorts of things... the carbon footprint of concrete, bike trailers, our mutual friends and contacts.  I came in at 12.30 to put my teeshirt in soak as it had got tiny flecks of cement on it, and as it's one of my favourites (with Jimi Hendrix on it) I didn't want it to be spoiled.

I made a coffee and decided to have lunch, as I've a York Rotters meeting at 2pm.

For lunch I had my usual organic crunchy no salt peanut butter plus Marmite sandwich, in granary bread, and a dairy-free mayo and avocado sandwich.  I had some 'freegan' crisps, rescued from a bin (but nothing wrong with them, just after their sell-by date), and I had my coffee afterwards.  I watched the BBC One O Clock News and was pleased to see the item about the new wind turbine mast factory in Chepstow.  Whilst having lunch, I usually go online and today I sorted out my itinerary tomorrow... I'm going to take two sacks of compost to Kay before leaving my bike and trailer at the station and getting on a bus to Leeds.  I'm a regular blood donor, and last month was invited to donate platelets.  This can only happen at either Seacroft Hospital (on the bus route) or in the centre of Leeds (accessible by train) so, because of the cost (£6 return) I chose the Seacroft.  So that's tomorrow sorted.

At 1.50pm I cycled down to St Nicks for the York Rotters management meeting.  This was a short one, just under an hour, and I got back at 3pm, and after a quick coffee, got my wellies on again to do more tidying in the front.  I'd had a delivery from my gardener friend Mark, who'd taken down an Ash tree and if he'd taken it to the Council recycling depot, it would have cost him to put it in the green waste skip.  But I'm (nearly) always happy to accept logs.... but I had a lot of tidying and sorting to do.

Gill came back with the boys, she'd taken our home educated son to town to buy a diabolo, as he's been using mine (thinking I didn't know about it) and then she went on to collect our other son who's at the Steiner School.  I did more chainsawing and then went round the back and planted 30 borlotti beans in toilet roll tubes.  Thanks to Glenn for giving me these seeds yesterday.

Then I got washed and ready to go to my care work, which is at 6pm.  I got to David's house, in the centre of York, at five to six and we discussed the doors on his wardrobe which need their hanger/rollers re-attaching, so he asked me to buy some screws to do this with, on Saturday when I'm next working.  He's also had his recycling box delivered (I contacted St Nicks, which do the City Centre collection) and so I sorted out a large pile of newspapers which he (or one of his PAs) had thrown in the dustbin.  David wanted to go to City Screen for a coffee, so I got his wheelchair ready and he walked downstairs and out of his yard, and I took him along Stonegate, St Helen's Square and Coney Street.  David gave me his membership card and a fiver, and I got him a filter coffee and myself a mocha.

After this, and a few short conversations, we visited the loo and then made our way back to his place... and he wanted to have a go with his walking frame.  He is keen to get back into better shape after his illness, so he did a 'round the block', doing Stonegate, Petergate, Deangate, Minster Gates and back to Stonegate and home.  I prepared his meal... basically a microwaved 'ready meal', but with a few extras on it, such as garlic mayo and spicy onion chutney.  One of his other carers had observed that his microwave was a bit rusty and she couldn't get it to work properly (I think she just needed to centre the revolving plate more carefully) so he'd said chuck it out and buy another.  I said I'd get his old one recycled in one way or another.

At 8 I left, with my bike trailer full of a sack of shredded paper (for my compost heap), the microwave, some drinks cartons, which aren't included in the recycling collection, but I can cycle round to the Hazel Court recycling depot with all our soya milk cartons once a month or so. And some batteries which also shouldn't be landfilled, but recycled.

I whizzed home with the wind behind me, and witnessed an appalling bit of driving with a fellow cyclist nearly getting knocked off by a car driver.  Makes me think I should get a little gadget camera which goes on cycle helmets and can download up to 2 hours of film and sound to a computer.  They're not that expensive, I saw one advertised recently online... but can't find it now.

When I got back, my neighbour Ken told me that someone had been snooping round the back of his house, looking through a window and leaving footprints on the still moist concrete.  He warned me to be aware that there were opportunists around, and to keep doors locked.

I did more work in the garden before the light went completely, including putting maybe 100kg of greengrocers unsold and unwanted fruit and veg on one of my big compost heaps, sandwiched between two sacks of woodchip, which like greengrocers throw-outs is in plentiful supply if you know where to find it!  I also did a bit of weeding, a perrennial nuisance called Ground Elder, which although edible, spreads and takes over. I put it in the compost, as my heaps get hot and nothing can survive this.

I found a blackbird had got into my live trap which I set to catch rats.  I released it.  I like 'live traps' as when I used rat traps which snapped shut, I caught a few birds and even a frog once, as well as the intended prey.  I wasn't happy with this, so now use a wire cage trap.  If I get a rat, they are easy to kill, although I still don't understand why I quite like, and tolerate mice, but if I spot a rat, I immediately set the trap. I don't actually like killing rats, but if my neighbour sees one, he always tells me and seemingly blames it on me as I have lots of compost heaps, and I do occasionally get one burrowing in, but if this happens, I just turn the heap and they don't like the disturbance, and they move on.

I tested David's old microwave and it worked.  I put it on Freecycle, and hope someone will make use of it.  Gill had made a leek and cheese sauce with slices of sweet potato, so I had that, followed by a coffee.  I watched Chris Packham on TV, with his Coastal nature programme.

Much later, at midnight, I went for a little cycle ride to go and check out a skip I'd spotted earlier.  I also visited a supermarket which leaves me their fruit and veg waste.  On the way back I saw my friend Jamie, walking back from town.  He's been looking after his wife for some time as she's had cancer.  I asked how things were at home... and he told me that she'd died on Monday, and his family had come to York to see him, and he was in a daze.  I said how sorry I was to hear this, but he said that it was a release as she was not in pain any more. 

Whenever I hear of a death, I'm reminded how short life is, and how important it is to use every day fully and not waste time.  I try to pack as much in as possible, and do as much 'good' as possible, and consume as little as possible.  I think today has been a pretty standard day for me, except I've written about it in more detail than usual. 



I donate my 12th May diary to the Mass Observation Archive. I consent to it being made publicly available as part of the Archive and assign my copyright in the diary to the Mass Observation Archive Trustees so that it can be reproduced in full or in part on websites, in publications and in broadcasts as approved by the Trustees.

, |

Wednesday 16th February 11

A good day, especially meeting with Pat at St Nicks to review last Saturday's York Rotters training.

I got up fairly early as Gill asked me to pump up her bike tyres, but they were really hard, so her difficulty on the bike is due to some other factor.  She thinks it might be the bearings in the crank-case.  I'll have to have a go on her bike to see if I can work it out. 

So Gill cycled to the Steiner School with our youngest, and I spent a bit of time with our other son, and did a bit of housework.  Justin came to fix one last bit of wiring problem; in the conservatory a wire had been damaged by something banging it at waist height. We moved a storage box to get to all of the flex, so Justin could put some protective trunking over it, and found that a rodent (we had a rat in there a few years ago) had chewed the flex at ground level, exposing the wires.  This ran to a socket which I don't think we've ever used, so instead of replacing that cable, Justin just disconnected it and tidied up the junction box.

Gill went to get some bread and I had an early lunch.  I had an appointment at 2pm at St Nicks, but also had two cheques to put in and one to get out, and some recycling to do. So I cycled down to town with a large load of drinks cartons and a sack of shoddy... clothes which won't be able to be re-used, but will be recycled for rags or wiping cloths.  I decided I had enough time to pop in to Cycle Heaven as I need a couple of little jobs doing on my bike... they will do it tomorrow.  I then went to the Building Society to do my paperwork, and on to Hazel Court to put the sack of material into a recycling bank, and the 2 sacks of soya milk cartons into the carton bank.  I got to St Nicks at 1.55 where Pat was waiting for me. 

She had looked through the feedback forms from Saturday's Rotters training, and went through them with me.  I was really happy... all of them were positive, some extremely so.  There were a couple which had suggestions for improvements, but even these said that the trainer was enthusiastic, knowledgable and used the powerpoint well.  Actually, using the powerpoint was one area that Pat and I think I could have done better with.  We also discussed the layout of the room and the timing of the different bits of the training and when we stopped and went to look at the compost bins.

I came away happy.  Got home and spent a bit of time in the garden, and then at 5pm, cycled down to see Richard, bought a bag of veggies and picked up four boxes of 'resources'.

Tea was an interesting mix... some potatoes (rescued!) made into a salad with mayo, and two homegrown shiitake mushrooms fried up with a waste mooli, which is the first time I've had this radishy vegetable.  I compost loads of them, and will from now on harvest a few from the rubbish and eat them.  The taste is not too strong, but I'll have to find out how they are usually prepared.

During the evening I did quite a bit of admin stuff, organising a first planning meeting (on facebook here) for this year's World Naked Bike Ride, and putting my friend Dawn's event 'Run For All Life, fundraiser for Dr Hadwen Trust' onto facebook.  The page is here, and this year's event is here.

, , , , , |

Saturday 12th February 11

I got up at 8 as by 9 I was due to be at St Nicks to set up for the York Rotters 'How to Compost' course.  I popped down the garden before going to get some samples, to show the attendees some different sorts of composted materials, including mature garden compost and leafmould.

I got to St Nicks at the same time as Pat, who was my buddy today, and we had a fraught few minutes trying to get the padlock open on the front gate.  I eventually did it, but the padlock needs oiling or something to make it easier to use!

We opened up, lit the stove, got the laptop and projector out, got the slideshow ready to show, my first time using Powerpoint, and then found the screen so the projector had something to project onto, and by this time there were people arriving.  We had about 20 people, and the 2 hour session went really well.... I thought so anyway!  Pat joined in from time to time; I wasn't expecting that but it wasn't a problem... it was good to have her there to keep me in line!

We went through the slides first, and I answered questions as and when they cropped up,  and then at 11.30 we went outside to see the compost heaps, wormeries etc.  We finished just after midday, and over lunch I gave out the quiz, and at 12.40 went through the answers.  Sandra Gere who was teaching the 'Growing Food in Small Spaces' course arrived on the dot of 1pm, giving us a few minutes anxiety as we didn't know if she was coming or not.  Her course was from 1pm til 3pm, and I chose not to attend as I have seen her talk already.

I came back home and had a coffee and a rest.... and then came over so tired that I went for a lie down, and got up again after snoozing til 3.30.  Then I did some chainsawing... and oh dear, my electric chainsaw has I think gone wrong.  The nut and bolt which hold the blade on have been problematic and today I could not undo the nut to loosen the blade to tighten the chain, and when I turned the nut with a spanner, the bolt rotated too, so no way to tighten the chain.  And no way to take the blade/chain off, which is a real nuisance, since it is a new chain.  I think I'll probably have to get a new one... I could try Freecycle of course!

So I split chopped logs and stacked some, as it is due to rain lots tomorrow.  Then as it was getting dark I popped round to see Gladys, my 85 year old friend, and then Debbie who lives very close to Gladys.

I came home for some old potato salad and a pastie, and had a quiet evening... with a HUGE pile of washing up being the main feature. 

Glad that my boys have had a fab day... youngest went out with friends to see a film, Gnomeo and Juliette, and eldest had a friend around and had a really good afternoon.

, , , |

Tuesday 1st February 11

Up early as Gill took our little one to school and I had to be up for Justin to come and do the second day of sorting out the electrics.  He did a few more tests with the power off, and then a load with the power live.  One of the problems was apparently our outside lights, which are connected either with hifi speaker cable, or something called 'festoon cable' which is used to string temporary lights up, and the lamps just screw directly into the cable.  Ideally we'd need this replacing with proper cable, but we can't afford to do this so Justin has disconnected the most dangerous bits, such as the garage 'spur' and given us a certificate for the bits which are safe.

I worked with our eldest on a project about the Romans, and I think I've suggested something he likes the idea of.  So I helped him develop that, chivvied him along.  Justin got to the loft where there was a socket which had been damaged by an impact, so he was going to drive up to B+Q to buy another, but I suggested that I went instead, and he said that would be a better use of his time.  So I bombed up there on my bike and spent £1.48 on a new 'back box' which was the part which was broken.

At 1pm I had lunch and at 2 I rolled up to St Nicks for a meeting with John and Edward, to review the new arrangements with my volunteering as a Rotter.  The meeting was short as all is going well.  I had a productive chat with Catherine about the compost training I'm presenting on the 12th February, and then I had 3 things to discuss with Ivana.  I was cycling away by about 3, and as arranged, popped in on Maria to discuss the science lessons she's giving our home-schooler.  She loves doing it, and can take him up to GCSE in Chemistry and probably physics.  In return.... and I'm so pleased with this, she's asked me to dig out her compost heap. I'll bag it up and then either I or she will spread it on her front garden.  Woo hoo!

I got back to an empty house as Justin had finished and Gill had gone to pick up our youngest and had taken our eldest with her.  I was able to go on the net for the first time today, as for the rest of the day, the power had been on and off, so I hadn't bothered.

Once done, I did a bit of sawdust riddling... I now have about 6 sacks of riddled sawdust, a mix of recently produced white/yellow particles and the stuff underneath, on top of the tarp, which has started to decompose and is dark coloured.  This is ideal compost-toilet cover,and is good for any compost heap which has a lot of nitrogen-rich materials, such as grass cuttings, fruit, veg or manure.  I wonder if I could sell it?

I had soup for tea, with a pile of pasta shells and broad beans in it.  Lovely, and exceedingly simple.  At about 6pm I sped off on the bike again to Langwith College to the People and Planet meeting.  I wanted to see how the Waste Food Feast meeting went today, but it seemed that maybe it didn't happen today.  However, we did some planning for the Go Green week, which I'm going to do some stuff in.  Should be good.  I was reminded that Phoebe sent me a document about composting at the University which I said I'd comment on, so that was my work for this evening once I'd got home.  I did however get distracted by a very good programme about explosives.

, , , , , , |

Thursday 27th January 11

Well the day started really badly; I was going to cycle to school with our youngest but it didn't happen, left me feeling like a completely rubbish Dad.  Gill took him in, and also collected him at the end of the school day.

I had a compost order so I took two medium sacks of unriddled compost in my trailer to St Nicks, participated in the Rotters meeting and then went to deliver the compost to Bronwen, who has converted a bit of lawn into a growing area.  She's a LETS member so I'll get paid Yorkys.

After lunch I went round to Debbie, as agreed yesterday, with the bag of 'Green Light' leaflets... the regular Green Party communication which I deliver... and Debbie always enjoys the walk round too; it usually takes about an hour.

When I got in I did a bit of wood management, and started rebuilding the logpile on the left of the front door (looking out of the house).  When Gill got in she told me about going into Archbishop Holgate's School to pick up various things left by our youngest, and to deliver the letter saying he was now no longer a pupil there.  She spoke to someone there and heard about a recent incident where one child was stamping on the head of another and there were Police and an ambulance, with the victim going to hospital.  We know we've done the right thing taking our boys out as we don't want either of them ending up injured.

We had pasta for tea, plus broccoli and carrot, but the pasta was overcooked and it was really soft and I didn't like it.  I cannot remember not liking something we've cooked for ages... maybe since I tried to eat a stinkhorn mushroom 'egg' which are allegedly edible but utterly disgusting.  I did eat the pasta but I only did so as I didn't want to waste it.

I watched a TV programme on 'The Human Planet' about people living in the Arctic, and then went out to a Green Party party, launching Caleb Wooding's candidacy in Heslington Ward for the May Local Elections.  I met lots of interesting people, most of them had seen me speak at the sit-in, or had met me before, but tonight I got a chance to get to know them better.  Lovely.  I came back after midnight.

, , , , , |

Monday 10th January 11

Up early to help ease our youngest out of the house.  Today was his first day of a two-week trial at the York Steiner School, where we hope there will be a nicer atmosphere than at Archbishop Holgate's where bullying is rife and the school don't admit there's a problem so they don't have to deal with it. 

So, the taxi arrived at 8.15 and 5 minutes later, he and Gill were heading away, in the freezing rain. It was a good idea not to try to cycle there on the first day.  Amazingly, Gill got a bus back into town and then another one straight out and was home by 9. 15.  She got an all day rover ticket as she'd planned to go to the library with our oldest child as part of his home schooling, but actually he wasn't feeling up to it so that didn't happen.  Gill and I were discussing things when there was a phone call at 10.15 from Catherine at York Rotters asking me if I was planning on coming to the Management Group meeting.  Whoops!

So i quickly got dressed and jumped on my bike and got down to the Environment Centre in about 10 minutes.  The meeting was subdued as my colleagues wanted to know what I knew about Stella Rawson, and of course this saddened all of us.  However, we had to get on with the meeting, which was mainly about our work plans for the 2011-2012 financial year, so our talk was of targets and aims, objectives and how to communicate, how to enthuse, persuade even.  We decided to target two wards, which we have data for from a Council survey last year, and we decided to see if we could get the composting rate up by 5% and 3% in those wards, we worked out how many households this would be and how many tonnes of landfill it would prevent, based on DEFRA figures.  It was an excellent meeting for discussion, decisions and successful group working.

I got home at about 1pm and Gill was in the house, not heading for the library as I'd expected.  I had a quick lunch and just before 2, cycled off to see Pauline who'd asked me to help her cut some kindling.  She has been buying logs at £70 a load, but to get them lit, needs kindling.  So I spent about 45 minutes doing that, then it was time for coffee and some good conversations, about all sorts of things, as always with Pauline.

I visited Alligator on the way home, picking up a good load for my compost heaps, and then popped in on Country Fresh where Martin gave me 4 spare pineapples.  Nice!

When I got home, Gill was dancing round looking very pleased... the day at the Steiner School had been very successful and our little one was happy.  HOORAY!  This is a huge weight off our minds.

A fruity evening... carving up pineapple for anyone who wanted it and a load on the stove to dry, and watched a programme on measuring temperature with our eldest, ad I enjoyed Newsnight as I'm very interested in the Kingsnorth collapsed trial and the undercover cop story. 

However, although I heated bathwater, I didn't get as far as a bath so I must have one tomorrow as I'm working tomorrow evening and the next day.

, , , |

Monday 8th November 10

A nice simple day, although it started with a very weird lucid dream which Gill asked me about but I couldn't explain as it was far too complicated. 

I got up and got to St Nicks for a York Rotters management meeting for 10am.  It was a fairly short meeting as John had another meeting at 11, I was glad to chat to Sara the Waste Minimisation Officer about how I might be able to take the People and Planet composting project forward, she suggested that as the contract is with YorWaste, we need to talk to them.

I came home via Freshways and when I got back, found a freecycler had given me 5 sacks of leaves for my leafmould pile.  That's the easiest way to get leafmould!

As it was raining I had a fairly quiet afternoon, some paperwork, other bits and bobs.  At about 5pm, Gill got something out of the freezer to add to tea... and couldn't get the door shut again.  I told Gill that this was the cue to defrost the freezer, so I got a box from the loft and we loaded the contents into that, and then I spent over 5 hours defrosting it with bowls of hot water from the stove, left to sit in the freezer and slowly melt the thick ice, and a careful but prolonged attack with a breadknife.  Eventually I got it completely ice-free, dry and clean, the trays washed out and dried, and it all put back together.  It was fascinating what we found underneath it!  I'd wondered where that knife had gone....

So that job took most of the evening and I wasn't able to get anything much else done.

, , , |

Friday 5th November 10

An excellent morning as we had a visit from someone who was able to help us sort out a problem we are having... great advice, lovely chap, very professional and helpful.  Both of us felt greatly relieved afterwards.

I had an early lunch and cycled down to town to the Big Green Market, where York Rotters were having a stall.  This was my first time back for exactly a year... as it was at last year's Big Green Market that I received complaints about mentioning inappropriate subjects, so I've promised not to mention them, and have a minder to make sure I behave myself.  So I did a 12.50 til 1.15 stint, chatted with quite a few members of the public, and LOVED IT.  I had forgotten how much I enjoy talking with all-comers about their home compost heap.  I love it when they find out that they can put cardboard on the heap, or how they can compost cooked food and meat scraps.  Today I also had a 'growing mushrooms' enquiry which was a bit unexpected.  And I kept to the subject... or rather kept OFF the subjects I'm banned from talking about, and everybody was happy.  Especially me.

I came home via Country Fresh and Richard had a vast pile of stuff for me. I put a carrot sack and a thin polythene banana bag in the trailer and four boxes on top.  Two boxes went on the pannier rack.  One of the greengrocers who isn't as bothered about recycling had put about 15 bags of English pears and 5 pineapples in the bin, not in the recycling where I could take them.  So these got rescued, and later I sorted out the pears (there were 70 in perfect condition) and had a bit of a wobbly about how I was going to use them all.  We had pears with chocolate custard for pudding tonight, and I spent the whole of the David Attenborough programme halving, peeling and balancing pears on the drying racks.  The pineapples will have to wait!

So, a good day.  No money earned, but a lot of resources saved, and information shared about how to reduce waste by home composting. 

, , , |

Tuesday 2nd November 10

A busy day ahead, with 3 meetings scheduled for the afternoon/evening.  But Gill and I had a fairly busy morning too, dealing with yet another situation which has arisen.  Life does not run smoothly for long.

However, a solution is on the horizon and I was able to spend a happy hour or so bagging up last year's leafmould, which has sat  in a chicken-wire cage undisturbed for the past year.  After a year of slow mouldering, I put it handful by handful into plastic sacks and leave it for another year.  This initial sorting allows me to remove twigs and sticks which I put in the Compostumbler with a job lot of putrescible food waste.  I also removed quite a bit of street litter... plastic mainly, and there were absolutely LOADS of pebbles, gravel, and small stones, some of which I was able to remove but the rest will have to be riddled out.  I don't know where these came from, but since I collect sacks of leaves from all over the place, it's obvious that someone has swept up leaves from a gravelly area.  Bit of a nuisance.  I filled 6 sacks before lunch at 1pm.

I had the usual pile of sandwiches and headed out for my 2pm appointment, hopefully a conclusion to my year of not being an active York Rotter.  John at St Nicks had drawn up a document which he emailed me this morning,  Basically this is a set of rules I have to abide by if I'm to continue as a Rotter, including only wearing my York Rotters teeshirt at official engagements, and whilst representing the organisation, I'm not allowed to discuss the composting of dead bodies (including roadkill) or composting condoms (which are biodegradable if made from natural latex) or to talk about or make jokes about sex.  But the really good thing is that Pat, one of the St Nicks management team, is going to be my 'buddy' whilst I'm working on stalls as a Rotter. I'm happy with this.  I signed the document as I really want to get back to doing what I love, and working with members of the public, engaging them with home composting education.  The other good thing which has happened because of the complaints from some oversensitive volunteers is that there has been some diversity training, so, hopefully, Aspergery people like me, ADHD-ers (we have one undiagnosed ADHD-er on the team) and other 'neuro-diverse' people may be better understood and perhaps tolerated.

Neuro-typical people (that's about 80 to 90% of the population) do find it difficult to understand what it is like to be neuro-diverse, ie autistic, depressive, Tourettes syndrome, Dyslexic, etc etc.  It is difficult to understand ourselves sometimes.  I can't explain why I am happy to have the same sandwich every day, at the same time every day, or why I find it difficult to 'read between the lines' of a conversation, or why I tend to be direct and very honest.  So if I don't understand, it must be almost impossible for anyone else to get it.  But learning about some of these traits is a start, and I think that more organisations ought to offer this sort of training.

So, by 3pm, John and Edward and I had talked around the subject enough and we'd all signed the document, and we'll review things in 3 months.  I cycled home, picked up a beautiful but road-murdered male Mallard duck, had a coffee and at 3.40, headed into town to go to the Environment Forum at the Guildhall.  We discussed a range of subjects, including the York New City Vision written by Professor Alan Simpson (59 page pdf document here) and the Forum response to the Allerton Waste Recovery/Incinerator plans.  Perhaps the most important thing we did was to choose our new Chair, due to the resignation of Jonathan Tyler, who held the reins for several years very successfully.  We accepted Kate Lock as our new Chair.  She is ideal for this post, as she's passionate about sustainability, and York, is a good communicator, both verbally and in writing, and is not aligned to any political party or connected centrally to any one organisation.  So, independent, able and keen.

We finished at 5.55 and I zoomed off to my third meeting, at Langwith College up at the University.  I got there before 6.15, and soon found the People and Planet group, who had asked me to go and help them with one of their campaigns to get more composting happening at the University.  When we split up into groups, I was able to present a short analysis of the issues: first looking at promoting composting off campus, to students living in rented and shared homes.  Then the possibilities of recycling on-campus biodegradable waste: composting on site with bespoke composting machines such as the Big Hanna, Rocket or Ridan, (there are other solutions too) or composting/anaerobic digestion off site, such as the Future Energy Yorkshire site near Selby (which has some collaboration with the University) or indeed, the Allerton plant, if and when it is built. Obviously, I favour on-site solutions, as there's no driving tonnes of stuff around, and the material doesn't even become waste.  I also explored, briefly, the reasons that the University should be recycling it's biodegradables. These include the People and Planet University Green League, reduced landfill/transport costs, reduced carbon emissions and setting a good example to students!

We finished at 7.30 and I picked up 2 logs on the way back, and enjoyed a pile of rice and veg with chutneys for tea.  The evening was full of fruit prep, writing, a bit of Scrabble, lots of washing up... bed after 2am.

, , , , , , |

Monday 27th September 10

A good day with two York Rotters meetings.  I got to St Nicks before 10am and the Management Group meeting went well.  We discussed how we are going to try to achieve the targets we haven't yet met this year, some ways of working which will enable us to reach more people, and some possible longer-term projects.  We work really well together and I think we're a strong team.

Soon after midday, my second meeting got underway; this being the latest in the series triggered by my over-enthusiastic behaviour at the Big Green Market Rotters stall last year, which generated complaints from some other volunteers and Council staff.  Things are moving forward positively... there is the possibility of my getting a 'buddy' who would work with me on the stall, and keep an eye on me and warn me if I was getting over enthusiastic or saying anything which was inappropriate.  We discussed my working to some rules, which would be very helpful with my type of Aspergery 'Neuro Diverse' way of being, and I learned that there had been some diversity training for staff and volunteers at the centre, which is wonderful.  Although this has been a difficult time for me, and my colleagues, I'm glad that positive things have come out of it, and I've learned more about the filters and boundaries I already use in certain situations, and need to develop for others, including my volunteering.

I went home fairly happy, to a late lunch, and had a productive afternoon in the house and the garden. 

Later, I put a load of dried apple rings in 2 big jars, pear halves in 2 jars, and one jar full of dried plums.  This frees up space to do a lot more apple, which I have considerable quantities of.

After 10pm, Andy Chase came round, and gave me the election leaflets which need to be delivered round Hull Road Ward.  Andy had a cuppa and some apple cake which Gill's made, and we had a good chat about all sorts of things.  I did more washing up and more fruit for drying...

, , |

Friday 3rd September 10

I didn't need to get up that early but was up and about before 10am... but as soon as I got downstairs there was a phone call. It was a young chap called Anthony who had found Novaterium and had then found me on facebook. He has an estate on the South Downs and is planting woodland and creating a new area of parkland, and he's interested in a green burial site in the woodland.

So he rang me for a general chat about how to go about the initial process of starting a natural burial site, and we spent well over half an hour chatting through lots of issues. He later messaged me and said it had been a very helpful talk, which was nice of him. He had a link for our website too, a friend of his who has a video streaming service which means the funeral can be 'attended' by people who don't need to travel to it. Very green... it'll be put on Novaterium.com soon!

After lunchtime I popped over to Woodlands to find out about the timetable for me starting the volunteering, now that the CRB stuff is through. Both my referees have sent back a reference which is good, and so 'induction' is next week sometime. I then went to find the groundsman, Richard, but instead found his colleague Gareth, whom i chatted with for a while... he was interested in info about photovoltaic panels so I said I'd send him some links to forthcoming Transition events which will give him all the information he needs.

Then I did some work in the garden, a bit of stacking and some weeding and composting; but Gill called me back up as a Freecycler called Mark had unexpectedly turned up asking about a CD of popular Christmas music that I'd apparently said he could have. So I came up the garden and we looked through a big pile of ex-skip CDs and he took a handful.

Towards 7pm I got washed and changed as the York Rotters 6th Birthday Party was happening, and I got to St Nicks soon after 7. Relatively few people turned up, but it was good to see Chris, Pat and Jean, Ivana of course, and Catherine our Project Officer. There was also Penny, who's the daughter of Gill's Mum's old friend Kate, and Vicky whom I first met at the Transition Ceilidh and she upset me, but now we're friends. I chatted with Julia from Parashoots, who may be making a video of York Rotters. We ended up talking about the RSPCA and all sorts of things! There were a few others there but I didn't get to know them. I enjoyed the buffet and stayed til after 10 so Catherine who was locking up wasn't there on her own.

I had a chat with my friend Laura when I got back, as she was worrying about the health of one of her friends and she wanted to talk. Then i lit the stove to continue drying the Mirabelle plums. A very late evening...

, , , , |

Monday 5th July 10

I had a busy and enjoyable day.

My first job was to try to finish the notes from last night's YiT meeting, so I got up before 8am and started transferring stuff from my notebook to an email, to send it to the others who attended the meeting so they could check the notes before they are sent out to the rest of the group.

But I got distracted by wanting breakfast and in order to do that I needed to wash up....... so I did a batch and had breakfast, and I didn't get the minutes completely done before I had to go to St Nicks to attend the Rotters Management meeting, starting at 10.

I really enjoyed this meeting; the current team is working really well together and I really like Sara our Council Waste Minimisation person, as she's very positive and easy to work with. We had a brief talk about Edible York and the possible development of a Master Gardener scheme. We reviewed the recent York Rotters events and some forthcoming ones. One thing we want to do is to make a video about our work, so we watched a couple of local films from local film-makers and discussed why we wanted it, what message, who it is aimed at, how it would be used. I volunteered to do an initial script, to work out how much info we can fit into the time available. We discussed the future of commercial waste recycling and whether we can promote composting in commercial premises. Again, I have a bit of work to do to find some info about this. Finally, it has been suggested in some parts of the media (Telegraph) that teabags should be torn up before adding to the compost heap, as some bags are made of non-biodegradable materials (ie certain sorts of plastic). We think that the advice is not necessary and might become a barrier to recycling these items, and lots of people don't have a problem with teabags. I do find some uncomposted tea bag 'ghosts' in my finished compost and I either ignore them or take them out along with other 'contraries'.

The meeting finished at about midday and I came home for an early lunch as my next appointment was at 1.40 at the Hospital, to have my plaster cast taken off and something else put on. I didn't have more than 15 minutes to wait before I was invited into the inner sanctum and 10 minutes later had the temporary pot cut off. My ankle and foot was quite swollen, and I admitted that I hadn't managed to take it easy. She asked if I'd elevated my foot at all, and I said that I'd had it up on a chair. She pulled my foot right up in the air and said 'like this?'... well I hadn't been told to do acrobatics! She said to reduce my swelling I had to raise it right up in the air, above my head! Then she explained about the two alternatives, and looked at the X-rays and prodded my foot. She decided on a removable plastic 'walker' with an inflatable inner to immobilise the ankle. This would allow me to exercise my foot with it off, and wash, but support it when up and about. I was very happy with this decision, and only had another 15 minutes wait for chap to fit it, and show me how to inflate it.

So I left the Hospital and cycled into town, popped in to see Dylan at Millers Yard, (seven sacks of oranges and coffee grounds!) went to the Guildhall to see about the hire of the Mansion House for a York in Transition Energy Event, and walked across town to cycle home.

Near the Barbican I noticed that the old compacted beds near the cycle track had been given low sides (raised beds) and filled with sand, which was a bit odd. A few yards further on, there was a queue of traffic on Kent St, pointing towards Fawcett St, and there was a female cyclist coming down the 'off side' of the line of traffic (nearer the centre of the road, presumably because the nearside, next to the kerb, was blocked by a thoughtless driver) and suddenly, a 4x4, I think it was a land rover, pulled out and did a U turn, very nearly knocking the cyclist flat. I was quite near and had a word with the driver and he was horribly abusive towards me. I wish I'd got his number plate as I would have reported him to the police. The lady cyclist was stunned and couldn't continue on her way for a few tens of seconds.... she must have been in shock that her life was so very nearly snuffed out. This kind of motorist behaviour makes me very angry.

Anyway, I managed to put my violent thoughts aside and got home.... and then found a message on email about the raised beds... Chloe, the contact person for Edible York, had asked the men putting sand into the beds to stop, and had asked if some compost or top soil could be put in. I messaged back saying that if she'd asked for compost, she'd get the YorWaste composted woody waste stuff, which is really an insult to the word compost, as it's only fit for mulch. It is composted green waste, processed hot and quick, and has few nutrients and when added to soil, is bound to rob the soil of nitrogen as it is very carbon-heavy. So I said that I would be happy to supply some rich 3 year old proper compost, to try to make these beds a bit better. So I cycled 7 sacks down at about 5pm, had a bowl of soup at 6 and another 7 sacks there, arriving at 6.30 when the work party was just getting going. My compost was most welcome. We removed some of the sand and bagged that up (I took 3 sacks away) and mixed in the council woody stuff with the sand and my rich well rotted compost.

Lynn Turner arrived as she was going to the LETS AGM, and there was also my friend Bill Eve, a lady called Ann who has visited my composting demonstration garden, Dave Broughton and several other Edible York stalwarts. After half an hour Lynn and I went to the Seahorse to the AGM, which I was chairing. This was a lovely meeting too... better attended than we'd expected.
Meeting details to be continued.......... too late to think straight.

, , , , , |

Friday 25th June 10

Another good day... Up early enough to help the kids get out of the house peacefully and then persuaded Gill to spend some time with me which was really nice.

Later, we were downstairs and we had the conservatory door open and we heard a pretty distinctive noise, so we looked outside and yes, it was a thrush breaking a snail shell on the path, to get a bit of escargot lunch.... that's a first right outside the back door. Over the past few weeks, we've had a family of blackbirds coming into the conservatory through one of the top-light windows, which have been wide open... and they've been eating assorted fruit which I've brought back to the house for drying. The first one to come in was a young one with a big bald patch on it's back and a lump on the side of it's beak, and it has brought the rest of the family with it, so we've had up to 4 in there at once! The nicest thing is, that one of them sits and sings loudly in there! We feel so lucky with our wildlife-friendly garden.

After lunch I decided to go to Country Fresh to get fruit and veg... but as I'd be halfway to Cycle Heaven, and I was rung up about them having a leather saddle with springs in the shop for me, I decided to go and get that, as my plastic saddle has begun to seriously fall to bits. The busy people at Cycle Heaven couldn't find the black Brooks saddle mentioned in the phone call... but found me a brown one which was old stock and therefore cheaper! Yay! Still expensive though, but it ought to last for years. I was told that it might be uncomfortable at first as it moulded to my shape, but it wasn't, it was fine. I'm very pleased with it.

I did some work in the garden, assorted compost-based stuff, until 3 when Gill went to school, and I got ready to go to St Nicks for a meeting with John and Edward to catch up with the progress of rehabilitating me into York Rotters, as the current situation is still causing me anguish. Yesterday I attended a private meeting with a friend and two of his neighbours, but was told beforehand that I wasn't allowed to be a volunteer Rotter, but to go as 'John the Composter', because I am currently banned from doing the core Rotters work of giving home composting information to groups as I upset a couple of people at a stall we had late last year with my over enthusiastic and inappropriate humour. It is important that York Rotters is seen to be a professional group offering mainstream messages, and talk of compost toilets or composting funerals is strictly a no no. So today was an update on where St Nicks had got to in helping me back into the role I'm really good at, and due to some staff changes, they haven't got very far in finding me a 'buddy', but they have set a date for some 'diversity training' which will help people understand about disabilities including Aspergers, which should be interesting. Also, the Rotters newsletter has got a section 'meet the Rotter', a chance for people to introduce themselves, a mini autobiography . I've submitted mine and I sincerely hope they will print it word for word, as I was very careful to put stuff in which will help people understand my, ahem, 'special needs'! There was also a suggestion that I should perhaps concentrate on my (paid) John the Composter work, rather than the voluntary York Rotters role. However, Edward saw how passionate I was about the group and the work we do, and how proud I was about how successful it is, and he made it clear that he could tell how much I really love York Rotters, which I hope helps the other managers and volunteers welcome me back soon.

I added a small sack of goodies to the public composting area, which hasn't had any deliveries of sawdust from the pet shop for a while, which is a pity, and cycled home. I then spent a good two hours dealing with an old heap which has had 'visitors' and I bagged up all the mature compost and will rebuild the structure in a way to make said visitations much more difficult, ie on a pallet with a solid base, and up on top of another pallet to make lodging underneath less attractive.

I came in after 7pm for tomato soup. Then went and spent an hour doing Ben and Jill's compost bin, scooping stuff out from the base and putting it through the rotasieve, removing uncompostable 'contraries' and putting uncomposted sticks and bits of Yellow Pages back in the top. I'll get paid in Yorkys for that, which is nice.

I spent most of the rest of the evening with Glastonbury Festival on BBC2, and it brought back really good (albeit hazy) memories of 10 Glastos I attended or worked at when I was younger. Those were the daze!

, , , , , , , , |

Thursday 24th June 10

Up early enough to see the boys off, despite being out and about at 2am, on a mission to rescue logs from a bonfire pile on a building site. I've now taken all that I can take from there, and fully expect to see the rest of the stuff go up in smoke quite soon. The logs that I rescued I split and stacked, I think there's between 300 and 400 kg that I got from this place over the past few nights. That's a good week's winter heating, at least.

I decided to check with Catherine the York Rotters project manager about the current thinking about composting in blocks of flats, since a friend who lives in a block wants to compost and some of the neighbours do too. I confirmed what I thought, that there are a series of Environment Agency forms to fill in if they decide to have a communal compost heap or wormery, but if they do it unofficially then they'll just have to keep quiet about it and get on and do it without the authorities getting involved. Catherine reminded me that I'm currently not allowed to address public meetings as a York Rotter, because of my Aspergers and the twitchyness of the Council, York Rotters' funder, being worried that I might mention compost toilets or other 'horrific and wayward' composting subjects. So I told Catherine (and later, John from St Nicks too) that it wasn't a public meeting. However, they were still unhappy about my going as a volunteer Rotter, wearing my York Rotters tee shirt. Whilst stacking logs I had a wild thought that if they want me to go as John the Composter, which is my business, that as the 'client' isn't paying (they are expecting a volunteer Rotter) then I should invoice York Rotters... but of course I won't do that. But I am angry that I'm still being prevented from doing what I love. I do hope we resolve this soon.

Gill went to her birthday lunch with Melody, Natalie and Alison. I worked outside and came in over lunch, watched some Wimbledon tennis stuff. I heard someone with a chainsaw nearby so I went to say hello, and was promised some apple and pear logs to pick up later.

I did a bit of log stacking in the afternoon, but to do this I needed to clear up a lot of aluminium cans which I've collected over the past months. So I had a stamp-fest and filled a sack with them, and then I stacked the very dry logs from the building site. Gill came back at about 3 and I went to school to pick up our youngest... he walked some of the way home and had a lift on the pannier rack for the rest.

Our eldest went down the garden at about 6pm and came back in excited, as he'd had a close encounter with a 'bird of prey', and he gave us a quite detailed description, it was grey and had a stripe on the underside of the tail. This only matched a Honey Buzzard, in the assorted books we have... but I wonder how likely that is?

I enjoyed tea... some burgers made of rice from yesterday, along with pan-fried new potatoes and some asparagus, Gill's favourite birthday vegetable.

But then at 6.45 I set out to go and visit a friend called Owen, who lives in a flat in a block of six. He wants to do some composting, and had asked for a York Rotters visit, to which I'd agreed. I went to his flat and two other residents came to join the discussion. Earlier, I was asked/told to not go as a York Rotter but to go as John the Composter. But this turned out quite lucky really as if I'd been with my 'official' tee shirt on, I'd have had to give them advice about Community Composting and the dreadful Animal By-Products Regulations, but as I was 'just John' I was able to give them two options.

So, there are no regulations at all about what a householder can home compost in their own garden or property. BUT, if you have more than one household contributing to a compost heap, or in a communal garden, then officially, this is known as Community Composting and the ABPR comes into play. This means that any food waste which has come into contact with processed food, or dairy, or meat/fish must not be composted on an open heap or in a dalek... it has to go into an 'in vessel' system where the temperatures are controlled and measured, and any Community Compost set-up needs a licence from the Environment Agency.

So my talk explained what composting was, and how to get the best results, and why it was good... and then the choice: for one of the residents to set up a compost bin or two, and for it to be used by that person and others, if they wished, without the owners explicit knowledge (!) and not have any of the red tape, or to contact the authorities and get the permissions and get assistance from York Rotters (although probably not me). I explained about Bokashi and wormeries and tumblers. We looked at the potential positions for the bin/s and then I left them to decide what their approach would be. My guess is that a simple dalek system will be used and it will be unofficial, without the ridiculous rules and regulations. 40 minutes later I was cycling home, and I picked up the apple and pear logs which were promised earlier.

Later on, Gill and I had a game of Scrabble on a board, but it was an awful, low scoring game which I won.

, , , , |

Friday 5th March 10

Up early to help keep the peace. And lo it was a peaceful morning!

Once the children were at school Gill and I were able to spend a quiet hour together and then I went out into the garden to gather the riddled compost into carrier bags... I filled 7. I also finished emptying out the Composphere which I should have returned to York Rotters in December (whoops) after testing it. The material within was only partially rotted so I put it on the top of a heap I've just finished filling with fresher stuff. I need to write a review, for York Rotters and for Composphere, so here it is:
**************************************************
Links to the Composphere:
the manufacturers: Crompton Mouldings
several retailers: Original Organics, Green Rewards, home4eco, Natural Collection, and there are several others. Prices range from £75 to just over £100.

I've had the Composphere since June I think, but had some problems with it falling apart when I rolled it, but eventually the manufacturer sent some replacement bolts which do work, and hold the two halves together well. I filled it quite quickly with garden materials and fruit and veg from the greengrocer. I rolled it now and again, certainly not every day, but maybe once a week, and over the next month added a bit more as the material rotted down. I did notice that the holes in the base were quite small and rested more or less on the grass, and the contents remained quite wet. My view is that it could suffer from poor drainage due to it's design, but this could be improved by careful siting to allow maximum drainage. Over the winter months it was very cold and this would have slowed down the rate of composting, and I rolled it less often due to snow. However, I did still roll it around, and the half-full sphere was quite unwieldy... you need to be strong to roll it, and you need quite a few metres of free space to be able to roll it over more than once, although in a small space, you could swivel it round and continue rotating it in the direction needed to tumble the contents.
Yesterday and today I emptied it, using a medium sized garden fork. This was not that easy, although the aperture was just big enough for the fork I was using, but as I took the partly rotted material out, some got knocked off by the sides of the hole and it was a bit untidy. Some of the material had compacted a bit, the simple rolling motion had not broken apart the clumps and there was stuff in these which hadn't rotted as well as it hadn't received enough oxygen. None of the material was ready to use, and this was to be expected as it is ridiculous to expect to be able to make compost in less than 6 months... especially during cold winter months. I forked the stuff into a garden bucket and put it on one of my working heaps to continue to rot down.

This is a batch composter... it needs to be filled and then rolled regularly with no more additions, as it mixes newer material with older. After a couple of months with no new additions and regular rolling, it can be emptied and the material placed for maturation. I would regard this as a bit of a gimmick, a 'fun composter' for enthusiastic and strong gardeners with plenty of space. It is not the best tumbler on the market, nor is it rubbish. I give it 5/10. I don't think it will be a 'best seller', but it will be enjoyed by some. It certainly seemed sturdy and fit for purpose. I wouldn't mind having one to add to my collection.
John Cossham, March 2010
************************************************
I will send links to this review to York Rotters and Crompton Mouldings.

Anyway, I loaded my trailer up with the seven bags of riddled compost (which is 2 to 3 years old, but recently riddled) and the now empty Composphere. After lunch, at about 2pm, I cycled off to St Nicks to return the sphere to York Rotters for someone else to trial.

I had a chat with John, who is uncomfortable with my writing about the meeting we had on 22nd Feb, which he thought ought to have been confidential, as it concerned the complaints made about my over-enthusiastic and possibly unprofessional behaviour at last Novmber's Big Green Market, and my subsequent suspension as a York Rotter. However, no-one suggested that it should be confidential, and actually, I don't think that there was anything in the meeting which needed to be kept confidential. I don't mind anybody knowing about what I'm going through, and none of the complainants are named (I don't know who they are either!). Indeed, I think the process is quite positive, and I'm pleased at how the issues are being dealt with, despite being annoyed by the complaints in the first place.

For me, confidentiality is about protecting someone, something, or other information, and preventing that information going public. I cannot see anything in this process which needs protecting, but John asked me to look at my blog and consider removing anything which I thought might be upsetting to anybody or that could get taken out without detracting from the fact that it is my diary, and it's a meeting about me and my role in the organisation.

Later during the evening Edward rang up and we discussed openness, honesty and related subjects, and he agreed the world would be a better place if more people were honest and open, but that the reality of the situation was that many people cannot cope with it, and were in some instances frightened. I told Edward that to try to help the situation, I would remove any things that I thought were the most likely to be causing an upset. I could only find one. So that is now blanked out.

After dropping off the Composphere, I went down to town to see if I could give back a cinema ticket which I will not now be able to use (City Screen gave me my money back!) and then doubled back on myself to Country Fresh, where Rich was happy to have the bags of fresh compost. I picked up one large sack and two boxes of fruit and veg, and also two sacks from Freshways.

After a brief sit down with a coffee, I spent another hour in the garden... lovely and peaceful.

However, later on I felt a bit low as I have some paperwork and admin to do which I need to make time for and it's difficult to find the time and enthusiasm to do this.

, , , , |

Monday 22nd February 10

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.

, , , |

Saturday 13th February 10

A really good day, a nice late start, waking slowly and gradually becoming aware of things... I love waking like this! I made up my muesli before having breakfast and it is good to have my home-made cereals again. I use Suma Organic Muesli Base and a wide range of chopped-up home-made dried fruit.. today, apple, pear, banana, pineapple, pumpkin seeds, some out-of-date cranberry and white chocolate muffin topper stuff and some broken walnuts. Delicious! Each time I make up my big jar of muesli I do a different mix... sometimes with sesame seeds, sometimes some leftover chocolate flapjack. Sometimes I have some fresh fruit on top too, and I have a layer of shreddies or shredded wheat, then bran flakes, then my muesli, and often some crunchy cereal on top. I like unsweetened soya milk on this. For me, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

So, I had breakfast and did emails, and was reminded that today at midday there was a commemorative tree planting at St Nicks in memory of a York Rotter called Carol Skelton, who died last year. So I got there on time but was waylaid by a local policeman who was keen to mark my bike with a UV pen with a serial number, so that if it gets stolen, and I report it, anybody caught with a similar looking bike might have it scanned, and there is more chance that I would get it back.

The family arrived, Carol's sister from Harrogate, and quite a handful of nieces and nephews, and others I didn't know their relationship. We all walked over to the Stone Circle and a hole had been dug, and a wheelbarrow of rich soil was ready to put in the Birch tree which had been chosen. The children held the tree and shovelled the soil into the hole over the roots, and some photos were taken. Then we walked back to the centre where there was a lunch... baked potatoes and salads, it was nice to be able to chat to some of them, and show a few around the centre.

On the way back I found some really good Oyster mushrooms, the same log which Simon's been harvesting. I've never seen so many on one log, there were literally hundreds. I picked three small clumps.

Home for about 1.30, and after a coffee I went outside to try to finish off the packing case wood, as it's looking very untidy.

At 3.30, Faith, a media student from Leeds arrived... she had been set a project to find out about 'freeganism' and had found the UK Freegans website, and JD the site supervisor had put her in touch with me. I'd talked to her by email yesterday and this morning she said could she visit this weekend, so I said yes to this afternoon if she wanted.

She recorded her questions and my answers, and then we went round the garden which I think was an eye-opener for her. She recorded some of our conversations round the garden too, so she got plenty of material.

After Faith went to get the bus back to the station, I continued with the firewood situation and got a lot done.

I harvested a bunch of Velvet Shank mushrooms from the garden and added these to the Oyster, and had these with the stir fry which Gill made.

A very nice evening chatting with friends on facebook. And washing up.

, , , , , , , |

Thursday 28th January 10

Up relatively early compared to recent days, and by 10 was doing housework and being busy. A bit later in the morning I went to do some work in the garden, which was lovely as the sun was shining. I did more of the annual bramble pruning and some more compost heap construction.

Gill had an appointment in town so I went to our youngest son's class assembly, where the class puts on a little play or show. I didn't realise that my lad was the compere! He introduced the 3 different groups (Eboracum Romans 2000 years ago, Georgian ladies and today's schoolkids) and at a couple of intervals he helped explain the plot. He has a lovely clear voice and did it with confidence. I was really proud of him. But then he wanted to go to drama club, and be picked up at 4pm. So I cycled back home, did half an hour's sawing with the bowsaw, and cycled back. We then walked home together, which was nice.

I did a little more outdoor work but had a Fiddlesticks enquiry, and some interesting emails to deal with. Catherine from York Rotters started a facebook page for York Rotters, which is great, and I invited lots of my friends to join that. I also saw that my blog counter had gone past 20,000, which is pretty amazing. That's since Sept 08.

We had a small tea, Gill had made some rissoles with the rice from yesterday and she made 'burgers' with them, one each in a roll. Bits and bobs of salad, was very nice.

So, during the evening I had a lot of computery work to do, I did this whilst half-watching the TV and keeping the stove going as it has gone cold again. Brrrrrr.....

, , , , , , |

Thursday 12th November 09

My 1000th blog post on Low Carbon Lifestyle. I wonder how much lower carbon my lifestyle would be if I hadn't have done all this blogging?

But hey, no-one's perfect... especially me, as today's events have reminded me.

Today I was due to attend a York Rotters management meeting, but yesterday one of the other managers rang me to tell me that there had been some complaints about me following the Big Green Market last week when I spent over four hours engaging with the public about home composting. So today, instead of the management meeting, I went in to St Nicks to listen to the accusations, and to try to work out how to deal with the issues.

So, what did I do? Well, it was acknowledged that I am an excellent communicator of composting information and there is no-one more enthusiastic and keen. But, on one occasion I was listening to another (novice) Rotter give some (incomplete or incorrect) information and when they had finished, I spoke to the member of the public and said "actually, you CAN compost that", and told them how. The other Rotter felt they had been contradicted and they didn't like it, and complained. So, first complaint, unjustified I think.

The second was more serious... I was talking to another volunteer and we were talking about ethical burials... I'm not sure who initiated the conversation, but that doesn't really matter. The problem, for the complainant, was that I talked about my plans (Gill and I have a burial plot booked in York Cemetery)and was explaining about Promession, which would be my preferred disposal route, and I told the joke which Gill made when we got the plot, that if I died before her, she'd request to be buried face down. Most people find this amusing, but some over sensitive volunteer complained. They thought it was inappropriate as another volunteer Rotter had died the previous week. I am quite matter of fact about death.. I see it as a consequence of life, but I do know that some people are not as comfortable with the thought of this inevitability. So, this complaint was perhaps half justified.

The next one is inexcusable. How I get members of the public engaged is to wait until someone looks at the cut-away compost bin and I then say "Would you like to tell me about your compost bin?" Many people stop and tell me. A few say "No thanks" and on one occasion someone said "I don't bother to compost" and on this occasion I said "So you don't like recycling then" and this I agree was unprofessional of me. Black mark against my name.

The final thing is the thing I'm most sorry about. One volunteer said they wouldn't want to be on the stall with me again, and another said that they felt like not being part of York Rotters after their experience. I am mortified about this as I started York Rotters in 2004 and love the fact we have been so successful, have lots of active volunteers and are a vital part of St Nicks.

So we sat and talked about my behaviour, the fact that I have been diagnosed as on the autistic spectrum, but don't tick quite enough boxes to be given the Aspergers Syndrome label, despite Gill, my mother, my friend Ann and probably others thinking I have all the classic symptoms. And if I do have AS, then it could be classed as a disability, and this puts an interesting spin on the whole situation. However, I am willing to try to improve and learn to be more empathic, more appropriate, and I will again look to try to secure some Cognitive Behavioural Therapy through the NHS, which might help me.

So, the result of this meeting was that I have been suspended from York Rotters for a month to see if we can resolve the situation. I cannot think of any 'quick fix' here. But in the meantime, I won't be wearing the York Rotters teeshirt, won't do any Rotters volunteering, and won't attend any social events. This is sad but if it helps, and enables York Rotters to continue more smoothly, I can accept the situation.

This was a really difficult meeting for my friend and colleague at St Nicks and I don't want to put that person through this again. Nor do I want to upset the other volunteers (whether or not I think they are oversensitive) or members of the public.

Anyway, I cycled home, had an early lunch and cycled off to see Robin who had asked me to help him install his new solar tubes on his roof. We spent an hour getting ready, with the help of his neighbour, and then when I was in his loft poking a sensor wire through the tiles, he realised he had made an assumption about the new set of tube-holders he had bought. His existing set was configured one way round, with water in at one side and hot water out the other, but unfortunately the new set was made the other way around. This means that he will have to replumb his pipework in his loft. What a nuisance. Poor Robin!

I then went into town to pay in a cheque and to get out another to pay for some advertising.

Then back home, via Country Fresh and Freshways.

I had a quiet and fairly subdued evening. I prepared some pears for drying.

, , , , , , |

Thursday 5th November 09

An earlyish start as the builders came at 8.30am and started putting up the noisy scaffold tower. I got up and made them tea and coffee, and asked about the TV aerial which is attached to the chimney which is coming down. I was prepared to go and buy a new bracket/fixing, but realised that I'd need a new pole or pole extension... and might also need a cable extension, so I decided to ring round various areal people and see if a professional can do it.

After several phone calls, I found someone who can sort it tomorrow.

Then I had to get rid of a pile of compostables from the kitchen, and whilst I was doing this, collected a load of composting worms which conveniently put themselves in the bin lids... perfect fro harvesting and relocating into my new 'worm cafe' which is already filling up.

Then I cleaned myself up, had a wash and found a clean York Rotters tee shirt. I was due in town for midday for 5 hours of volunteering at the Parliament St and St Sampson's Square 'Big Green Market', where York Rotters and the Council's Waste Minimisation Team have a stall.

As I walked through the market stalls, I wondered why it was called a Big Green Market as the majority of the stalls were not what I'd call green.. Venison burgers and dead duck pate, trinkets from the other side of the world, lots of stuff to buy which had a huge embodied carbon footprint.

But then again, I'm a purist. I found the Rotters stall and locked up my bike nearby and got myself launched into the unsuspecting public, using the usual ruse 'Would you like to tell me about your compost heap?' when someone looks at our cut-out dalek with the perspex sheet in, behind which are examples of assorted compostables. These include a rubber glove and a cardboard box with coloured printing, plus some plastic fruit and veg, flowers, scrunched and shredded paper, some fabric, wool and other bits and bobs. This format is immensely successful... because punters expect you to try to offer them something ('do you want one of these?') but my question is the other way round. But it's a hook. They bite, mainly saying 'yes, my heap is '... and occasionally 'I haven't got one'. This then has a response 'What do you do with your banana skins and apple cores?' Those with compost bins are about half 'working well' and a quarter 'too dry' and a quarter 'too wet', each answer can elicit a question about what do they put in the bin. Anyway, I'm in my element during these kind of events, I really love them, my enthusiasm knowing no bounds.

After each meeting I logged the information about whether they were a 'non composter' or 'existing composter' and whether they were from York or out of York. It's important to record how many people we are engaging.

I went for a wander around for my lunch break at half past one, and got a pastie and a sandwich, and bought a 'turks turban' squash for a pound which will be delicious roasted in the next few days.

During the afternoon I met a young lady I met before on the train coming back from Sheffield Green Fair (she recognised me) and I chatted with her and her partner, who have moved to York... and I think I'll be meeting them again. Also floating around were Kate Lock, on the Oxfam stall, my old friend Mary Brandon, older friends Sue Lister and John Whitworth, Rakesh and quite a few others. Jo turned up, to be the next most enthusiastic Rotter, Candy came too. It was a good session.

I finished just before 5pm and went to the Oxfam shop on Goodramgate for coffee, and popped into Kyi-Po for a vegan mayonnaise but they didn't have the one I wanted. Then onto Sainsburys for a general groceries shop, including goats milk as the nearest Co-op is having problems with keeping enough stock, and have been running out of it. Somerfield never used to! I treated myself to a treat(!)... a few months ago my cafetiere glass got broken, and as I do now and again like 'real' ground coffee, I bought myself another one, for £9. But Gill had also asked me to try to get some sparklers for the boys. Sainsburys had run out. So I popped into the Co-op on the way home but they didn't have any. Quite by chance, Lynn was in there and overheard my request, and she said that she had some spare!

When I got home, Gill reported that some lads had come asking for some logs and she said to come back later when I was at home after the Rotters stall. So I bombed round to Lynns with a bag of dried fruit in swap for 20 sparklers, and cycled back just in time to catch the lads again (students?) who wanted a small bonfire in their back garden. I let them have two half sacks of kindling and about 15 or 20 split logs. They offered me £3.90 in loose change. Seemed reasonable!

Then as I was finishing that transaction, a lady cycled up and introduced herself as the person who had left a couple of messages on the answerphone as she has some apple logs she wants to get rid of and an apple trunk still standing which she wants cutting down. I agreed to go and do this for her next week.

By this time I needed to go in and warm up. I made my own tea... some finely chopped chicken of the woods which Simon found growing on a pile of woodchips near where he works, which he'd shared with me, with 'trombone' courgette/squash, green pepper and the last of our own tomatoes, with rems of nutloaf, with a baked bean and cheese sauce. Terrific! Delicious! The best meal since... well I don't know, but it was very very tasty. Cheers Simon. And I only had half of the mushroom he gave me!

Some nice chats with family before the boys went to bed and I settled down to some email deletion as my inbox is again full. Whoops.

An enjoyable day. Tiring, but I was still up til 2am doing assorted things round the kitchen and on the laptop...

, , , , , , |