What a comfy bed! Although Jess's flat was cold, I'd been given two duvets and was therefore nice and warm, and it was a firm mattress so I slept well.
Got up around 10 and had a bowl of Weetabix and a sprinkling of porridge oats with a few bits of dried apple ring broken on top. Watched YouTube videos, including some blasts from my past, Osibisa and Steve Hillage. I logged in to facebook and saw a friend had posted about the death of Pete Postlethwaite, which made me cry as he was my favourite actor, especially after his wonderful performance in Age of Stupid. What a shame, he was only 64, and by all accounts a lovely bloke. This coloured my whole day.
Jess was mending Nomi's handbag which had poorly constructed handles, so Jess was replacing them with several lengths of tough rope and then sewing leather round to make a nice looking handle. But this meant we didn't leave the flat til well after 11, and I wanted to get the 12.19 train to York so I could be back in time for the opening of the BikeRescue HubStation. Jess and Nomi were heading over to Leeds to buy material, so they waited for the bus, and I cycled down to the Interchange, which only took about 10 minutes, and I was there in time for the 12.05 train to Leeds. But I said I'd wait until the later train, but they didn't get to that train so I had that hour quiet enough to read my NewScientist.
However, I met a cyclist with a folded Brompton who was going to the HubStation launch... a volunteer from Sustrans, and friends with my friend Gael.
Once in York I picked up my trailer and then had a toasted sandwich at ?Krunchies and then went to the new HubStation, the latest project from BikeRescue, headed up by Bernie Cullen, whom I have a lot of admiration for. The place was already crowded with York's cycling fraternity, Councillors, dignitaries. The building used to be an electricity sub-station, and in 2006 Bernie requested that the Council let it be used as a Cycling Centre. It has taken £300,000 and 4 years to get it to what it is now... with space for secure bike storage, repairs, sales of reconditioned bikes, spares and accessories, a cafe, shower, and today, a lovely cake and loads and loads of happy people. One really nice touch is a window which will be permanently used for bike-based art. It currently has a load of decorated plates in it, and is very pretty. It has been put together by Lu Mason, who I think may be the daughter of Tom Mason, one of my cycling friends who died a few years ago.
I stayed til about 3pm and then came away, I would have liked to take part in the ride through the city but I wanted to get home. Popped in to Country Fresh on the way home though, and picked up a couple of boxes of compostables.
Back to a happy home, where all was well and our eldest had gone out to a film with friends... coming back having really enjoyed it. Nice simple tea, and at about 7, I went out to the LETS meeting at the Seahorse... but no-one else turned up apart from two non-member ordinary guys who seemed happy to chat with me until their takeaway next door was ready. I left at 8.30, cleared up some frosted Nasturtiums from the Edible York raised bed, picked up a pallet and came home.
Gill was on the phone when I got in, chatting with my old friend Cathryn whom I've known since I was 18. She is considering replacing her oil-fired central heating with a Dunsley Yorkshire woodburning stove, and wanted my advice or opinion. Whilst on the phone, Gill suddenly got excited, saying 'Earthquake' but I didn't feel or hear anything. However, after the phone call had finished, I switched on my laptop and went on facebook... and several other people had felt the tremor. It was ineed a quake, Gill's third, and smallest. Her first was in Nort Wales decades ago and it threw her to the ground. We had one in York a few years ago, which was my first (and only!). This time, Gill heard the rumble, the crockery on the Delft Rack clink slightly, and felt the tremor. I was so focused on the phone conversation, I'd not experienced anything.
I rang my Dad at 10pm, to wish him a happy birthday as he's reached 70. I wanted him to know I've not forgotten him, despite not being in contact for a while.
Showing posts with label bike on the train. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bike on the train. Show all posts
Today I went to Durham by train... I got the 8.30 and was in Durham by 9.15, with my bike, minus trailer. I'd been on Googlemaps the previous evening to work out about travel, and had seen that Houghton Le Spring was only 7 miles from the train station in Durham, so I took my bike (but not my trailer, as these aren't welcome on trains).
I'd memorised the route and it didn't take long to get to where I thought I needed to be, but I took a turning off the main road a bit early, and cycled through an office estate before going back to the A690 and going a bit further North. I was looking for a sign to the A1052, but it wasn't advertised on the A690 so I cycled past that exit, thinking it must be the next one! But there was a steep hill through a cutting and I walked up this, and asked a local, who told me I'd overshot the mark, so I went back and soon found Dairy Lane and Houghton Kepier Sports College, where Dan from Ridan was due to install his lovely Ridan Composter. Terry King the Estates Manager met me and proudly showed me round... first to the readout from the newly installed wind turbines. This readout shows how much they are generating now, how many Kwh they have generated, and how many kilos of carbon they have stopped going into the atmosphere. Then Terry took me to see the gardening area, with greenhouse and raised beds, and a few food plants, and then to the field next to the A690 where the wind turbines, capable of generating 6Kw each, are situated. These were put up in February (see Sunderland Echo) and underneath, they've planted an orchard of mini fruit trees, and some soft fruit in a fruit cage.
As we were walking away from here, and Terry was telling me about the automatic light switcher offers in the classrooms, he got a message saying that Dan from Ridan had arrived.
He had driven from Devon with two Ridans, one in the van and one on a trailer. Several Sunderland City Council people arrived, as funding has come from them. I helped carry the Ridan out of the van... it was quite light, just 60kg, and it was placed in the bins area just outside the kitchen door. There was a raised area next to where the machine was placed, which means that access to the entrance hatch won't need a stepladder. The second stage of the process requires a fairly long 'sit and wait' in a compost bin called a worm bin, and one of the two supplied was installed next to the Ridan. The other will go up near the wind turbines in the orchard, although the idea is to fill one, then the other and let the first rot down. I wonder if the school intends to dig out the one nearest the machine and bucket it over to the second one? I'm sure they will work something out!
So, what is it about the Ridan that I love? It's the simplicity and the sturdiness. It is a plastic tube with a volume of 400 litres. This is double skinned with an air gap between the two... and then surrounded by an insulating blanket about 5 cm thick. Along the length of the tube is an axle with a series of arms which sweep through the material when the handle at the end is turned.
A nice design feature is that this handle is geared, meaning that it is easy to turn, and about 6 turns of this handle gives just one rotation of the inner axle. When the unit is full of a third of a tonne of material, this system should make aerating the material reasonably easy.
For every bucket of food waste... and it will take meat and cooked/processed foods too, an equal volume of woodchip needs to be poured in. Ideally, if it receives 150 litres a week, the material will take about a fortnight to pass through and fall out of the exit hole at the other end. This won't be fully composted but will easily rot down in the static compost bin. The Ridan should easily enable the contents to get to 60 degrees Celsius for several days, pasteurising it and rendering it down to an easy to compost worm food, and thence on to a brilliant soil-improver.
Dan did a brief training session.... it's hardly complicated... and then he had to get off to his next delivery, a National Trust property in the Lake District. I cheekily asked if I could have a lift to as far as the A1(M) so I put my bike in the van and got that lift. From there it was a quick cycle down into Durham, getting to the station at midday, just 3 minutes before a Southbound train pulled in. I was home for lunch just after 1pm.
I didn't do a lot during the afternoon, until the children came home, and then I got busy in the conservatory, filling up a couple of the planters ready for tomatoes and cucumber plants, which will go in tomorrow.
I will do a report for York Rotters and City of York Council about this composter, as I think it is well worth trying out here in York, probably at a school, or perhaps the Environment Centre. Of course, I'd love one, as it would be a lot easier than having all the different smaller tumblers and dalek bins. For me, this composter has overtaken the Rocket in my affections... it is lots cheaper, doesn't need electricity, and can still legally 'do' cooked food.
I'd memorised the route and it didn't take long to get to where I thought I needed to be, but I took a turning off the main road a bit early, and cycled through an office estate before going back to the A690 and going a bit further North. I was looking for a sign to the A1052, but it wasn't advertised on the A690 so I cycled past that exit, thinking it must be the next one! But there was a steep hill through a cutting and I walked up this, and asked a local, who told me I'd overshot the mark, so I went back and soon found Dairy Lane and Houghton Kepier Sports College, where Dan from Ridan was due to install his lovely Ridan Composter. Terry King the Estates Manager met me and proudly showed me round... first to the readout from the newly installed wind turbines. This readout shows how much they are generating now, how many Kwh they have generated, and how many kilos of carbon they have stopped going into the atmosphere. Then Terry took me to see the gardening area, with greenhouse and raised beds, and a few food plants, and then to the field next to the A690 where the wind turbines, capable of generating 6Kw each, are situated. These were put up in February (see Sunderland Echo) and underneath, they've planted an orchard of mini fruit trees, and some soft fruit in a fruit cage.
As we were walking away from here, and Terry was telling me about the automatic light switcher offers in the classrooms, he got a message saying that Dan from Ridan had arrived.
He had driven from Devon with two Ridans, one in the van and one on a trailer. Several Sunderland City Council people arrived, as funding has come from them. I helped carry the Ridan out of the van... it was quite light, just 60kg, and it was placed in the bins area just outside the kitchen door. There was a raised area next to where the machine was placed, which means that access to the entrance hatch won't need a stepladder. The second stage of the process requires a fairly long 'sit and wait' in a compost bin called a worm bin, and one of the two supplied was installed next to the Ridan. The other will go up near the wind turbines in the orchard, although the idea is to fill one, then the other and let the first rot down. I wonder if the school intends to dig out the one nearest the machine and bucket it over to the second one? I'm sure they will work something out!
So, what is it about the Ridan that I love? It's the simplicity and the sturdiness. It is a plastic tube with a volume of 400 litres. This is double skinned with an air gap between the two... and then surrounded by an insulating blanket about 5 cm thick. Along the length of the tube is an axle with a series of arms which sweep through the material when the handle at the end is turned.
A nice design feature is that this handle is geared, meaning that it is easy to turn, and about 6 turns of this handle gives just one rotation of the inner axle. When the unit is full of a third of a tonne of material, this system should make aerating the material reasonably easy.
For every bucket of food waste... and it will take meat and cooked/processed foods too, an equal volume of woodchip needs to be poured in. Ideally, if it receives 150 litres a week, the material will take about a fortnight to pass through and fall out of the exit hole at the other end. This won't be fully composted but will easily rot down in the static compost bin. The Ridan should easily enable the contents to get to 60 degrees Celsius for several days, pasteurising it and rendering it down to an easy to compost worm food, and thence on to a brilliant soil-improver.Dan did a brief training session.... it's hardly complicated... and then he had to get off to his next delivery, a National Trust property in the Lake District. I cheekily asked if I could have a lift to as far as the A1(M) so I put my bike in the van and got that lift. From there it was a quick cycle down into Durham, getting to the station at midday, just 3 minutes before a Southbound train pulled in. I was home for lunch just after 1pm.
I didn't do a lot during the afternoon, until the children came home, and then I got busy in the conservatory, filling up a couple of the planters ready for tomatoes and cucumber plants, which will go in tomorrow.
I will do a report for York Rotters and City of York Council about this composter, as I think it is well worth trying out here in York, probably at a school, or perhaps the Environment Centre. Of course, I'd love one, as it would be a lot easier than having all the different smaller tumblers and dalek bins. For me, this composter has overtaken the Rocket in my affections... it is lots cheaper, doesn't need electricity, and can still legally 'do' cooked food.
A hearty but not brilliantly healthy breakfast of toast, scrambled eggs, fried mushrooms, fried potatoes, fried hash browns, baked beans. Coffee, fruit juice. Left at about 9.30 and cycled along the not-very-nice A607 to Grantham. The first few miles seemed slow, gently up onto a sort of plateau, but then it was level with a following wind, and towards Grantham, some wonderful hills, one of which I sped down at at least 30mph, and saw a recent car accident at the bottom... a chap who'd driven his van into a hedge/tree and was walking away from it, phoning someone on a mobile. Then I passed a notice saying how many people had been killed on this stretch of road. I didn't enjoy this cycle ride that much and was glad to soon be in Grantham. I bought a ticket, a single up to York, for just over £30 and waited for the 10.46 to Doncaster. But there'd been a fatality on the line at Stevenage and the train didn't come in til after midday.
I got lunch in Doncaster, a pastie and a sandwich, and then the 1.15 to York, and was home by 2pm. I saw the results of another car smash on the way up the Hull Road... I felt quite lucky to have got home in one piece!
Gill was delighted to see me. But she'd had a phone call from the chap who booked me for Sunday's Sewerby Gala gig in Bridlington. They were seemingly expecting me to do big shows with huge audiences, and I on this occasion did smaller one-to-one and small-group workshops as this seemed more appropriate for the type of event and the space I'd been given. So this is the second complaint about my work I've ever had in 16 years of working! I also made a negative comment about the American Car Rally which was going on next to the Gala to the wife of one of the organisers who'd offered to take me into Bridlington afterwards, and that didn't go down well. So the organisers were not willing to pay me the full fee agreed, and were offering a lower fee, not much less, so I accepted as I want an easy life and don't generally like causing trouble. But I am disappointed that the organisers said nothing during the event, as if they had, I could have done something different, got a different spot in which to perform, with no-one behind me (my original request) and a better 'stage' area. But I won't get another booking there, but I'm happy with that as it was difficult to get to and had lots of additional expenses.
Gill made a super tea, a stew with ciabata bread, and we had a cozy evening.
I got lunch in Doncaster, a pastie and a sandwich, and then the 1.15 to York, and was home by 2pm. I saw the results of another car smash on the way up the Hull Road... I felt quite lucky to have got home in one piece!
Gill was delighted to see me. But she'd had a phone call from the chap who booked me for Sunday's Sewerby Gala gig in Bridlington. They were seemingly expecting me to do big shows with huge audiences, and I on this occasion did smaller one-to-one and small-group workshops as this seemed more appropriate for the type of event and the space I'd been given. So this is the second complaint about my work I've ever had in 16 years of working! I also made a negative comment about the American Car Rally which was going on next to the Gala to the wife of one of the organisers who'd offered to take me into Bridlington afterwards, and that didn't go down well. So the organisers were not willing to pay me the full fee agreed, and were offering a lower fee, not much less, so I accepted as I want an easy life and don't generally like causing trouble. But I am disappointed that the organisers said nothing during the event, as if they had, I could have done something different, got a different spot in which to perform, with no-one behind me (my original request) and a better 'stage' area. But I won't get another booking there, but I'm happy with that as it was difficult to get to and had lots of additional expenses.
Gill made a super tea, a stew with ciabata bread, and we had a cozy evening.
Planning... what to do instead of the Big Green Gathering.
I rang a friend in Kenilworth and I might visit.
I went down to town to pay in my cheques from this weekend and went to the library to get some maps out, so I can at least have the chance of cycling from Leamington back to York, or some of it.
What I do know is that I'll be away for several days, on my bike, with a tent and very minimal stuff, and will be back in 3, 4 or 5 days. I have no idea, it's very open.
There will almost certainly be no posts on this blog until I get back, as I'll be away from everything, and probably won't feel inclined to pop into a cybercafe to do emails and 'tinterwebby' stuff.
So at 4ish I'll go down to the station and get tickets from Birmingham to Leamington, and Gill will bring our eldest down to put him on the train with me and my bike, and wave us goodbye.
If anyone wants to know more about the closure of the Big Green Gathering, you can do no better than to read Derek Wall's blog : http://another-green-world.blogspot.com/2009/07/cops-ban-big-green-gathering-so-punters.html
I rang a friend in Kenilworth and I might visit.
I went down to town to pay in my cheques from this weekend and went to the library to get some maps out, so I can at least have the chance of cycling from Leamington back to York, or some of it.
What I do know is that I'll be away for several days, on my bike, with a tent and very minimal stuff, and will be back in 3, 4 or 5 days. I have no idea, it's very open.
There will almost certainly be no posts on this blog until I get back, as I'll be away from everything, and probably won't feel inclined to pop into a cybercafe to do emails and 'tinterwebby' stuff.
So at 4ish I'll go down to the station and get tickets from Birmingham to Leamington, and Gill will bring our eldest down to put him on the train with me and my bike, and wave us goodbye.
If anyone wants to know more about the closure of the Big Green Gathering, you can do no better than to read Derek Wall's blog : http://another-green-world.blogspot.com/2009/07/cops-ban-big-green-gathering-so-punters.html
