Human Lifestyle

Not too hurried a start, got the washing up done and made sandwiches so I could have lunch on the train.

Gill wanted me to try to find some soya yoghurt with active acidobifidus or something culture, so I visited Morissons AND Waitrose on my way to town, so if I found what she wanted, I'd cycle back home with the yoghurt.  But no, there wasn't a product available so I went on to the station, locked up my trailer and got a ticket to Bradford. I'd decided the best way to get to Manningham from Bradford Interchange was to use my bike, but as trailers aren't allowed on trains, I left that locked up in York.

Waiting on the platform, I texted Gill with the no yoghurt news.  On the train I chatted with a PhD student called Phil (I think!) who is researching mathematical models of medical conditions in the aging population.  Fascinating stuff.  I love train journeys!  I changed trains at Leeds and then chatted to an Oriental couple from Manchester who were about to explore Bradford, which was only 20 minutes or so from Leeds.

I'd memorised the route from the station to Jess's house, using Googlemaps and Streetview, and I found it very easily.  Nomy was in, Jess had gone to town but was soon back with some provisions for tea.  It was lovely to see them together; I'm the person responsible for introducing them to each other, and now they're a couple, which makes me very happy.

Before tea, we had a game of Scrabble on a homemade Scrabble board, made out of cardboard, and tile racks made of Lego.  How creative Jess is!

Jess cooked a stir fry with noodles which was lovely, followed by ice cream and chocolate sauce.

After this we watched YouTube music videos, and then a great film called Kinky Boots on DVD, which was great, I really enjoyed it.

Today was something I'd been looking forward to for a while, meeting one of my heroes, Susanne Wiigh-Mäsak, who has invented and developed a greener alternative to cremation and burial called Promession.

I became aware of this process whilst working with Justin Rowlatt, BBC Newsnight's 'Ethical Man', during filming in my garden, and when I found out more about it I just knew that it was a big improvement on the 'traditional' methods of disposing of human bodies when someone dies.  For those of you who don't want to visit http://www.novaterium.com/ which my Canadian colleague Rory Rickwood and I have written, where we discuss the issues in more detail, the basics are:
Cremation uses fossil gas, lots of it, to reduce the body to ash, but releases fossil CO2, polluting oxides of nitrogen, mercury from fillings and other undesirables. About 70% of UK funerals are cremations.
Burial, which may seem like an eco friendly option with the 'dust to dust' bit, but means the corpse decays anaerobically and this releases methane, CH4, a greenhouse gas. The grave may also release liquids and chemicals from the often-used embalming process, which could escape into groundwater or watercourses. Burial also uses up valuable land which then isn't available for food growing or housing, etc.
'Natural' or 'Green Burial' is a version of traditional burial, often in a rural area, often with trees being planted, often without embalming and with a cardboard or willow/bamboo casket, but if placed any deeper than a metre under the ground, it is highly likely that the remains will release methane.
Promession is a fully automated process which renders the body to a state where it can be safely interred in the top 50cm of the soil where it composts aerobically.  The body is frozen with liquid nitrogen, a waste product of the oxygen industry, and because it is then brittle, is able to be shattered into tiny fragments by means of a vibrating table.  These are subjected to a vacuum which removes all the water, leaving a material which is similar to instant coffee granules.  The casket is mechanically chipped. Metals such as fillings are automatically removed.  All the biodegradable remains are put in a small biodegradable casket which may then be interred, or cremated, or, I suppose, the contents scattered in a favourite place, like the contents of a cremation urn.  The aerobic decomposition means that a small amount of CO2 is released, rather than methane, and the resultant humus is a perfect medium for plant roots to gain nutrients from.

So, Susanne spent the best part of two decades developing this process, and it is now ready to be licenced to be used.  She has now given the job of promoting it in this country to Promessa UK, which comprises a couple, Nathan and Meredyth, and a friend of theirs, Willem, who is a business advisor, and today I went to Cambridge on the train to meet the team. 

I cycled to York station and got a day return for £66, and then met Edward for 10 minutes to sign some York in Transition cheques.  I got on the 11.35 train to Peterborough.  I was already sitting down when an old colleague of mine, Gary, from Local Agenda 21 days a decade ago, got on... and we had a good chat, and the other person at the table, a nice woman called Jill joined in too.  I love trains for these conversations.

I had another interesting meeting with a young illustrator on the Peterborough to Cambridge train. I was amazed how well she could draw on a moving train!

I'd memorised the route to East Road from the station, but on the way, next to a bin at a bus stop, I found an unopened bag of 4 Tesco's Croissants, reduced to 26p.  I can't pass by a 'freegan' opportunity, even in a different city, so I picked this up.  I think it must have fallen out of a shopping bag.  I put it in my bag.

East Road was only about 10 or 15 minutes walk.  The office block where I was due to meet the team was easy to find.  I was early and they were still at lunch, so I read my NewScientist in one of the comfy chairs in the lobby.  Then they all came back, about 8 people, some of whom said their goodbyes and disappeared, and Nathan led the way to a nearby pub.  I was really happy to meet Susanne, who is as keen a composter as I am. She has fewer compost bins than me, but has been composting for longer. 

Over coffees in the bar, we had wide-ranging conversations.  I was pleased to meet Peter, Susanne's husband, and got on really well with Meredyth and Nathan, who have a long history of voluntary work, low carbon living mixed with international travel. We talked about some research which needs to be done (and could be done by me, or perhaps be overseen by me?) and a little about the Promession process itself.  We chatted about all sorts of different subjects including Paul Stamets' mushroom cultures, the failings of drug prohibition, prostitution and non-monogamous relationships, free thinkers and autism, hot composting versus cold composting, aerobic decomposition versus putrefaction, Effective Micro-organisms and much much more.

The company is still in the early stages of being set up so we didn't talk much about that.  They seem keen to have my input and want me to work with them, but it's too soon to talk about anything concrete such as roles, hours, pay or anything.  They have asked for my CV and references, so I think that once I provide those, we'll be in a better position to move forward.  All I know is that I am a keen supporter of this technology, and will do what I can to help introduce it, to help people understand why it is better than the alternatives.  I'd be very happy to work with Nathan and Meredyth, and feel honoured to be associated with Susanne.  I always admire innovators... especially if in the field of sustainable development and composting!

Our chatty social came to a close at 6pm, and Meredyth gave me a shoulder bag with the Promessa Organic Burial logo on.  Nice!  I walked back to the station, getting a 99p tub of hommous on the way, which I thought would go well with the croissants.

The train connections were good, nice chat with a Dutch prostate cancer PhD researcher from York University called Paula, and on the York train I had two croissants with hommous whilst chatting to an oil company lawyer.  I got home on the dot of 9pm, feeling amazed, wowed, happy, buoyant and very lucky.

I was just in time to watch another of my heroes, David Attenborough, about the evolution of life as explained through fossils.  I had a can of cider, and after midnight, a bottle of beer which has sat on a shelf collecting dust for a year.  A happy evening. 

Thank you Promessa, you have made my day... and more!

Straight back to work today, I started with a shower to wash my hair and then loaded my bike trailer up with jugglestuff and my unicycles... the first day with my big unicycle in 8 weeks.

I popped in on Country Fresh to say hi to Rich and then on to the station to park my bike, gather my belongings and get a ticket to Leeds. The 12.15 train was late and due in at 12.37. But there was an earlier train, also late, due in at 12.13, so I went to wait for that. I sat on a seat on the platform and started chatting to a nice older lady, who turned out to be involved in her Transition Town, somewhere near Oxford. She was Ros Kent, and a quick search shows that she is centrally involved in Transition Eynsham Area. We had a really good chat on the platform and then on the train all the way to Leeds.

I had my sandwiches for lunch whilst waiting for Alan to pick me up at the back of the station, and in less than half an hour we were at Middleton Park, and I got ready to perform. It was a very standard show, workshop and balloon show, two hours non-stop, and very enjoyable. The unicycling fitted in with no problems, my ankle breaking 8 weeks ago is now becoming just a bad memory. However, I will try to be more concious in the future and try not to let it happen again.

I especially enjoyed meeting Paul and Margaret, volunteers with FoMP, and my young friend with Aspergers who is doing really well with her Poi, flower sticks and diabolo skills. She's attended all four of my visits to Middleton Park.

4pm came soon and I did the last of the balloon requests, got changed back into 'civvies' and Alan took me back to the station. There was a train within 20 minutes, and I got into York at about 5.30pm. I visited a ripe skip on the way back, and found some electrical cable, which I'll remove the copper wire from, and some lead sheets, which will realise a pound or two at the metal merchant. The skip user gent was happy for me to have these bits and bobs.

Home at 6.10 and I had some quiet time running a blade along some flex and pulling the wire out whilst watching Secret Britain. Gill had created a nice rice-based tea, with home grown tomatoes and home grown beans... totally yummy!

After tea I got the big ladders and picked a big bucket full of pears from our early pear tree. I first put them up in the self-supporting shape, which gets me 6m off the ground, but then I put them into the straight configuration and leant them against the tree, and went up the full 9 metres, my head popping out into the top of the tree! Many of the pears are over-ripe but some are just right for drying, so during the evening I halved, cored and peeled a lot of them and put them on the drying racks over the stove. Dried pears are one of my favourite of all the dried fruits I make. I still have a lot to deal with, and there's more on the tree... and several more trees to deal with, none as big as this one though.

Woke feeling a bit excited as later today I'm heading off to Manchester to (hopefully) take part in an art installation by Spencer Tunick.

I had a busy morning outside once I prized myself out of the house, and then went to Country Fresh, and back to light the stove to get bathwater and tidy myself up.

Enjoyed my bath lots.

Just after 5 I cycled a child back to his parents and then came home, had tea and escaped from Dr Who, by listening to Tracey Smith on Internet Radio.

At 8.30, started getting ready to go to the station......

I got to the station in good time and got an open return for £22, and once on the train I had a really interesting chat with a young man whom I'd overtaken on the bike earlier in town, who was heading back to Huddersfield. He was Paul who works for the Tyndall Centre, and was therefore a great person to converse with. We chatted about how to assign carbon allocations to shipping and aviation, which currently doesn't show in any individual country's carbon emissions. What luck to sit with such a knowledgeable guy!

Tony got on the train at Leeds and he immediately inspected Paul's bike as Tony love bikes, as well as being a naturist and keen on participating with the Tunick installation. Paul got off at Huddersfield and Tony and I chatted about organising the York World Naked Bike Ride and several other subjects.

We got into Manchester soon after 11pm, and took the tram to Harbour City which is the nearest Metro stop to The Lowry. There was another guy who got off the tram who looked like he knew where he was going, so I asked him if he was going to the Lowry, and we walked together across a Dutch-looking metal bridge and to The Lowry, which was still open and people were beginning to accumulate inside as it was very cold and windy outside.

I chatted with some of the people in the group we joined, and as we had over 3 hours to kill, did some balloon modelling which went down very well. I worked with a woman called Jane who had previously done some balloon sculpture and she made a couple of animals. She loved the teddy bear I made.

Sometime after midnight we all went outside as the queue had started to develop, and people were getting chairs down from a terrace so they could sit and wait in the queue... as registration wasn't til 3.30am.

Up early as had to get a train at 9.30am. So by 9 I was on my bike and heading towards the station and I managed to get the 9.27 which allowed me to get a train which delivered me to Conisbrough soon after 10am. The meeting was due to start at 11am.

I wandered over the bridge over the River Don towards the main site and when I was coming back there was another chap wandering across, he turned out to be another John from York, a Union man, and involved at one time with Remploy. We chatted and waited for others to turn up, which they did. Also the 3 core members of We Love The Earth Centre arrived... they hadn't managed to get the required information into the facilitating organisation, the Rapid Technology Transfer Group or RTTG, so unfortunately none of them were in the visiting group.

At about 11.15 we all had our visitor badges and the selected group went across the bridge again and entered the site. We first went to the Conference Centre. This is a building based on cages of rocks called gabions, and is based on nice curves... it's a more or less circular structure, with a large stainless steel woodstove in the lobby area, a circular main room and a series of other side rooms. The gabion walls were perhaps a little difficult on the eye... I would try to soften them with hangings. I liked the re-used radiators mounted on the walls, it was a nice feature. This building seems perfectly usable and seemed in good condition.

Then to the main open area between the galleries and the restaurant, much of which is covered by a huge area of photovoltaic panels, which I learned are still generating but aren't connected to the national grid, which seems like madness as they must generate thousands of pounds worth each year. We had a quick look around the deserted restaurant, last used by the war-gamers who hire the site from time to time.

Then into the huge building which is The Gallery, which was once an exhibition centre showcasing information and ideas about our planet, animals and plants, ecosystems, energy, all sorts of things, but looking very dated and one comment was that some of the arty exhibits are a bit pretentious. This building has a huge gas heating system and a really good kiddies play area, lots of climbing and crawling through wooden structures... what a waste!

One of the visitors, John O'Callaghan (another John!!!) was very excited to find the remains of the Mongolian Yurt and some Mongolian horse bridles.

My favourite area was next; the water/sewage treatment plant called 'The Living Machine'. This has been kept working and the fish and aquatic plants are still alive, although the exterior of the building is in poor condition, as it has been damaged by birds pecking, and water sitting on the plastic membrane. Near this were the gardens, with lots of fruit trees and obviously reasonably fertile ground. But all very overgrown, with hawthorns and birch seeded into it, ivy and brambles.. reverting to scrub and if left, woodland.

Then we walked down to the river, which is canalised and is navigable from the Humber to Sheffield. The Earth Centre site has a landing, although the regular floods have given it a deep layer of silt (and vegetation, of course), and alongside the river are stands of willow which really need to be coppiced.

So we made our way out and in a convoy of cars (and I was in John H's van) we managed to find our way to our hosts for the afternoon, Senior Architectural Systems, based in Denaby.

We had a good lunch... filled rolls, quiche, orange juice, and Mike Marchant was introduced by his RTTG partner, Bill Robertson.

SAS make aluminium and wood windows, as far as I can work out. I'm not sure if Mike works for them too, and my question about the relationship between SAS and RTTG wasn't clearly answered. But it was clear that both Bill and Mike care deeply about environmental and social issues, and have started a venture called MiUni, where (I think) a company suggests areas where they could improve on sustainability issues and then a 2 or 3 days syllabus is created and then a mobile classroom is taken to the business park or company premises to act as a space for
learning. (I think this is the set-up!) The third member of RTTG is a younger chap, Mark Ducker, who is involved in promoting recycling and might be connected to a company called Sustainable Energy Connections, though I can't find any mention of this...and, music to my ears, he's interested in fuel poverty and I chatted with him about woodstoves afterwards.

So Mike told us about RTTG, and that they had already had some success when a company they were connected with (probably JCB) had developed a cab for their diggers which was so safe for the operative, so soundproof and break-proof, that the door was difficult to close. (maybe the cab was airtight?) So the RTTG put the company in touch with another company which was able to present a solution immediately. Now digger drivers can have a quiet and safe working environment AND close the door on their cab easily!

The RTTG do not yet have a plan for what they could offer to The Earth Centre site. This meeting was the first of a collective plan, which would need to be
1) productive, in terms of revenue, learning, the economy and jobs;
2) inclusive, with different technologies, occupations and communities all considered and involved;
3) open to different ideas, expertise, interests and ways of communication;
and 4) highly regarded in it's activities, research and development.

Then the 20 or so attendees introduced themselves, and were asked to say what they thought they could bring to the table, what they could offer, or what their vision was for the site.

John Wilson from Remploy was a bit new to this sort of thing but he anted the needs of disabled people to be taken into account, and employment opportunities for disabled and older people.
Ben from CO2 Sense, involved in promoting glass recycling said he had no particular vision but that obviously CO2 Sense and Yorkshire Forward were happy to contribute ideas, expertise and possibly funding to any appropriate development.
David Wilde from Groundwork Dearne Valley, whom I met a few years ago when he was presenting a day's course on Education for Sustainable Development wondered about a new headquarters for the organisation.
Bernd Hoermann, from the sustainable development department of Sheffield City Council was generally enthusiastic about what the Earth Centre was and what it could be.
John O'Callaghan disclosed his ecoactivist roots and his passion for sustainable solutions, and offered the services of his company Techead.
Joanne Wehrle from Dearne Valley Eco Vision was representing a key partner.
Phil Walker and his nameless friend wanted to use the site for American car displays... and although the process is supposed to be inclusive, this is one of the things which wouldn't fit with the vision I have of The Earth Centre site!
Jayne Evans from Beta Technology has connections with DEFRA and European links too.
Lee Brooks has had the bright idea of showing schools and other groups how to recycle aluminium drinks cans using a small scale smelter and die-casting system, and this relatively new project is called 'Casting Innovations'.
Mike Reid was one of the original Earth Centre team, before the second stage was built with the many millions of pounds of Millennium money. He seems to be a proponent of the low tech and person-centred approach, and is, like me, a big fan of what the Centre for Alternative Technology in Machynlleth have done. He is involved in Pedal Ready which looks like a good project.
Sue Crockford is a film-maker and champion of the underdog, and has had a long career of working with and documenting community struggles.
Faye Leo is with MET UK who provide training, and she has a special interest in renewable and repair technologies.
Marcus O'Hagan was a volunteer with the Earth Centre in it's first format, before the Millennium funding 'destroyed it'. He is responsible for the wharf on the River Don which would enable boats to be used as a transport option to and from the site.
Sally Walker from Native Architects, specialist in sustainable buildings (and friend of Imelda from BlueFish Regeneration who brought me down for the last We Love The Earth Centre meeting, who was unable to be here today)
Tracey Fairfax of the Yorkshire Ambulance Service, who run training and first aid courses, would be interested in using the existing facilities.
Kirsty Chamberlain, a teacher at Abbey special school which has sustainability at the heart of everything it does.
Hannah Booth from Natural England, Liz Reeve from the Don Gorge Community Group and Dan Hall from the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, all interested in the woodlands and SSSis which are in the Don Valley.
Steve Hinton from QED Consulting.

These introductions served to start several interesting conversations and will help the people who wish to help the RTTG write their business plan get it broad enough to be considered by the Council when they decide who is to have the job of co-ordinating the redevelopment.

I was one of the last to go as I wanted to chat with several delegates, and then walked back to the station with John Wilson. Good conversations on the train all the way home...

I got home just after 6pm and knew I'd been invited to attend a Fishergate Ward Committee meeting to 'speak to' a couple of funding bids that Anna had put in for York in Transition events.
So 40 mins after I got in, I went out again!

But soon after I arrived, I was told that Ivana was also there to do just that, so I cycled home again.

Simon was visiting when I got back home, he'd found some Oyster mushrooms and had brought me some, and was collecting the Suma Order which arrived today.

A late evening typing up most of today's stuff. Didn't finish it though... will be finished tomorrow!

I got up early as I was off to work. Gill pressed my clothes and I got everything together and loaded onto the trailer by about 9.45, and was cycling to the station by 10.

The train was at 10.30, to Doncaster, and then a change to the Bridlington train which is via Hull, and gets into Cottingham about 5 minutes beyond Hull.

However, a minute before the Brid train left, a whole gang of about 30 football supporters got on and surged through the train. They were 'Wolves' supporters going to see the game against Hull, and they were very very noisy. They did their shouty singing stuff, chanting lots of rude and vulgar stupidness, banging on the roof and windows and side panels, swearing. I was quite tense as my equipment was in the bikes area where a lot of them were banging and shouting.

They got out at Hull and they had only taken two of my peacock feathers out of their cardboard tube, and then left them beside the rucksack. I was soon in Cottingham and Diana, the young chap's mum, met me and drove me to the venue not far into the village. This was called The Back Room, a room with a stage and a bar, a great little place.

I got changed and guests started arriving... and the party went like clockwork, really good as usual. I really enjoyed myself. I got lots of positive feedback too, several children came up at the end to say thank you and Diana was very generous with her praise. How lovely!

There wasn't long to wait for the train to Hull, and then only 10 minutes wait for the Hull-York train. I dozed, but on approaching York I chatted to some Greek students who were interested in sustainable architecture, so I hope Dimitri will contact me and I can show them St Nicks.

Home by 5.45 and exhausted... but got the log baskets filled and did some washing up before Gill served tea. Our eldest had experimented with pizza dough and made a 'stuffed crust' by putting cheese around the edge of the circle of dough and folding it over. This was really good! What a treat to come home to.

However, Gill wasn't feeling too good and had an infected spot which was making some glands swell up, so she rang the out of hours doc who rang back and said go to A and E for a look and a prescription for antibiotics. Gill rang Melody and asked her if she could drive her to the hospital... and then, as it was quite late, Melody took her up to a 24 hour pharmacy place in Clifton Moor. They were back surprisingly soon.

The boys went to bed smoothly and quietly and we had a peaceful evening.

So, a fairly comfortable night but I have to say I'm very fond of my own bed! Very comfy mattress, and a nice cold wall to snuggle up against. I get so hot in most beds. This bed had no wall to go up against, thus I got too warm.

We got going fairly early and L took me to the bus station and I went on to the train station, where there was supposed to be a train to Scarborough at 10.44 or thereabouts, so as I had a 30+ minute wait, I sat in the waiting room and read NewScientist and who should walk in but Carolyn, from yesterday. She told me her daughter had rung up saying they'd had a difficult night and could she come back over to Leeds to help out! How lucky is her daughter to have a parent who can help with child-rearing! So we chatted and the journey went very quickly because of that, despite the train crawling along for quite a bit of the way, and arriving in York 40 minutes late.

I stopped off at Cycle Heaven as my back wheel and trailer attachment was misbehaving, and the magic touch was applied and it's back to normal again. I got in soon after 2pm.

After I had lunch I went to school to pick up our youngest... he got a lift back with a friend and I got back home well in advance of them. Bikes are faster than cars in York.

I visited Freshways and Country Fresh to stock up on recyclables (!) and got yet more bananas, and a load of garlic which I think I'll be able to pickle.

I spent a long time in the evening dealing with a large untidy pile of emails, including some interesting developments at The Earth Centre. Some developers have plans for it and are holding a couple of open days, the first on 9th Feb. I've emailed the group holding the open days, RTTG, and asked if I can attend. Their plans are to redevelop the site with 'intelligent sustainability' at it's heart, and crucially, for the locals especially, aim to have the site with open access and no entry charge.

A relaxed evening...

I spent some of the morning writing in Helgi's Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award booklet; he did some voluntary work for the Green Festival and he wanted this to go towards the 'service' bit of the award. I spent a long time trying to get the wording right, and I think it read OK.

At about 2.15pm I cycled over to his house and gave it to him... read what I'd put to him and he seemed happy. Then went on to the station to get the 3.15 train to Manchester, and from Manchester, a bus to Warrington, where I'm meeting a friend, L, who is having a little party.

I had some nice chats on the train between York and Leeds with a young man, and then in Leeds we were joined by a middle-aged lady so we talked about different things... turned out she was getting the bus to Warrington so I said I'd go with her. Her name was Carolyn and she'd just come back from seeing her daughter's newborn baby, and we found plenty to talk about on the bus to Warrington.

I waited in the bus station for L but no-one came up to me, and I looked around a couple of times but didn't recognise anyone. But there was one person standing around and after 25 minutes I thought I'd go and see if it was her; indeed it was, but neither of us had recognised the other. Duh! We went to a sandwich shop for something to eat and then back to her place for the gathering. A reasonably pleasant evening, and as agreed, I stayed over and had a fairly comfortable night.

I got up reasonably early and spent quite a bit of time catching up with my blog, writing out my notes and memories from my day in Sandwell last Friday, and then at midday helped Ali a bit with her film... she wanted someone to recite a poem whilst she recorded it, to use as part of the soundtrack. We got it on the 10th take... it was perfect, but for some reason her Dictaphone didn't record more than 4 seconds on that attempt. The 11th was successful!

At 2.40 we set off to pick up her daughter from school, and then went to Sainsbury's for some of her Xmas shopping and we had tea there, in the cafe. We got home just in time to gather all her University work up and she went off to there and I got the 6.21 back to York. I met an interesting Russian molecular biologist heading back to Edinburgh, after she'd had a PhD interview in Nottingham. So we talked about stem cells amongst other things. The journey flew by!

And back home by 7.30... and Will and David arrived at 8 to have a game of 'Co-operative Scrabble' where the individual players' scores are not recorded, just the running sum total. Between us we got 624 which Will said was good. A friendly evening.

A good day because the two plumbers came back and got the solar hot water system's tank, which has an integral immersion heater, up to 60 Celsius with the electric immersion, which they had to wire up specially as it is not actually needed for our system... and after a couple of hours, one of them came back and sorted out the valves below the boiler, so that it all works correctly.

I asked to be shown how it works. The water comes in from the 120 litre tank in the loft, which is fed by the solar panel on the roof (south-facing) at anywhere between ambient temperature and 70 or more Celsius. If it is above 60, the valve senses this and sends the water to the mixing valve (and onto the taps) which is set to about 47 degrees, which is nice and hot for baths and washing up the dishes. So, it would blend the 60 or more degree water with cold to get 47. However, this incoming water can be below 60, in which case it is sent to another mixing valve which if it is above 24 Celsius, mixes it with cold so it enters the boiler at no more than 24 degrees, which is the official maximum temperature the boiler can take it at. The boiler is then set to warm the water up to 47 degrees and it goes to the taps. If we'd have had the money and the boiler that was newly installed when we bought the house in 2001 was older and less efficient, we'd have put in a boiler which could cope with warmer incoming water, so whatever the temperature the panel got the water to, there would be no diluting it to reduce the temperature before heating it up again. Despite this being a bit of a fudge, the solar system will save us gas and logs, as putting water into the boiler at 20 degrees is better than at 10 (as it uses less gas to get it up to the preferred shower temperature) and in the summer, there will be ample hot water for evening washing up, and I won't have to light the stove just to get some dish washing water.

The most important thing, though, is that he signed the Commissioning Certificate! So we now have a fully functional Solartwin hot water system, which uses the energy in daylight to warm water so that less gas or no gas is used to give us hot water. Fantastic!

A good day too because at 10am, I had a visitor, Barry, who had advertised on Freecycle for some composting worms. I'd replied saying yes of course. He came round with his prototype wormery container, and told me his life story, and I then showed him all of my compost bins, tumblers and wormeries. He went away very happy, having taken in a lot of composting information and a tub full of worms.

In the evening I got the 5.30 train to Doncaster and then the next train to Conisbrough, where The Earth Centre is, and attended the first meeting of 'We Love The Earth Centre', a community group which aims to get this fantastic resource used, after all, it has been mostly unused for five years. I was able to contribute positively to this meeting, and there's another meeting in January.

The Earth Centre was once a coal mine, but when it closed it was just left as wasteland, but in the late 1980s, following a UN meeting which exhorted people to follow sustainable development, a group of local people had the idea of developing the site as a community resource, and John Letts and Jonathan Smales worked up the idea to have it as a demonstration of lots of sustainable design and technologies. It then got a massive amount of funding, many tens of millions, and the architects had a ball. (some photos and info here) However, the locals felt excluded, and the entry fees were set too high for the locals to be able to use it much.

By 2004 it had closed, and it's not been used for it's intended purpose of education, or by local people since then. It has been used by a war-games company, and for training soldiers and the police, and the locals generally don't like this. A couple of TV programmes have used it as a set.

So, We Love The Earth Centre started, as a reaction to the place being left to rot and be vandalised for 5 years. The site is owned by Doncaster Council who have been approached by at least one group already but their plans for a cycling theme park were not deemed good enough. About 30 people came to this first meeting, a wide range from under 30s with dreadlocks wanting to use it as a live-in eco-village, through to three of the original staff, a current caretaker, a local councillor, some assorted greens and local political activists. One person suggested it could be an open air art gallery, another wanted the adventure playground to be made accessible for local children, and another suggestion was to make some of the area between the site and Conisbrough station into a skate and BMX ramp-park. A vineyard was suggested a few years ago but rejected as it didn't create enough jobs. The cafe is apparently still in working order, and that is seen as a source of income. One person suggested building an Earthship. Someone else liked the idea of fishponds, for recreation (angling) and I mentioned the Able Project where horse bedding is put in worm-beds and the resultant worms are fed to farmed fish for human consumption, which I see as slightly more valuable than fishing and throwing them back with damaged mouths. One person reminded us that the canalised River Don is navigable, and a marina could be built. So no lack of ideas or enthusiasm!

When the meeting wound down, I walked back to Conisbrough station to get the train to Sheffield. At one of the stations near Sheffield, a young woman tried to get off the train but was pressing the button on the wrong side of the train, the door away from the platform. As the door wouldn't open, she panicked a bit and shouted into the carriage 'How do I get the door open?' I told her to try the door on the platform side, but the train had already got ready to go, and the door wouldn't open. As the train started to move off, she ran down the carriage to the drivers cab and banged on the door and shouted for the train to stop, which it did. She was able to get off after a minute... very lucky. This caused a bit of a ripple within the carriage and one chap said that there would be an enquiry as every minute's delay cost the network £1000.. he worked for Network Rail and knew these things. We got chatting and I told him about my taking my circus show around the country by train, and he was intrigued. Turns out he has a son who's got a birthday party soon, and he made a provisional booking with me to come to Doncaster and do the party. I'll be amazed if this happens, but I hope so!

I got to Sheffield without a hitch, and the tram, and got to Ali's at about 11pm. I'd agreed to go over on Wednesday some while ago, and the co-incidental nearby meeting on the Tuesday night fitted well with this plan.

Up early and to the station for the 8.30 train to Sheffield. Met several friends on the train; Andy spent some time explaining about his work on interfaces and architecture. I was left reasonably baffled. I did understand some of what he said. Melody and her daughter were off to Birmingham to an audition, as Natalie is a singer and has the potential to go far.... possibly further than Birmingham.

I got the first tram up towards where Ali lives and walked the last mile instead of waiting for 20 minutes to get the tram to then walk half a mile.

We had a good day together, went to pick up her little daughter from school who was very over excited to see me as she'd requested a diabolo workshop. This didn't go particularly well as she has a disability in one arm/hand caused by Cerebral Palsy, which meant she couldn't hold one of the diabolo sticks. But she has such a strong character that I think she'll find a way to overcome it, perhaps by strapping one stick to the non-functioning arm, or by using some type of belt or corset which will enable her to hold the stick still. Ali spoke on the phone to the local Green Top Circus and they have a trainer who is a specialist with young children and people with disabilities. I'm looking forward to hearing what happens! There are several circus and performance tricks available to people with only one functioning hand, and I'm going to get her a yoyo and maybe a set of yoyo balls, and there are other things too. I'll have a think and an ask around.

We went out for tea at a local pub, and a bit later I got the tram back to the station, the train back to York and my bike back home.

Got up early enough to get all my stuff together and jump on the bike at 10 and head off to the station, where I caught the Grand Central service to London just before 11am.

I met a nice woman on the train (in the seat next to me) who recognised me from the talk I did in Northallerton, and we chatted all the way down. She was going to visit a family member with her two teenage children, and we got on well... covered a lot of subjects in two hours!

When I got to Kings Cross I decided I wanted to go and see the Thames... and find somewhere to have lunch... so I got the circle line to Embankment and went up on the bridge where there was a busker playing a pan (steel drum) so I ate my sandwiches listening to him play. Memories of Trinidad!

I decided not to go to Tate Modern but to get the Northern Line to Edgware... found an internet cafe to do emails and blog, then made my way to where I'm staying tonight.

Paul, who's about the same age as me, lives with his parents following a business venture which didn't work out, and they are away so he decided to have a few people over, and Lisa, one of his close friends, invited me following our meeting in May, where we got on well primarily due to our views on sustainability and social justice. When I arrived, Paul and his friend Naomi were just finishing getting ready... in fact there were a few jobs yet to be done so I helped by mopping the kitchen and bathroom floors, as asked.

I also helped chop veg for dipping, and potatoes fo roasting. People turned up in dribs and drabs after work and as they could get to Edgware from as far away as Dagenham and even one from the Welsh borders. The conversation flowed and the food was good. I always enjoy meeting new people and Paul has a diverse bunch of friends ranging from a nightclub entrepreneur through to a teacher of adults with learning disabilities. I really enjoyed the evening and the company of these people.

Paul had provided some blow-up mattresses and things to sleep on, and half a dozen of us slept in the big living room.

Lovely morning, lie in with Gill, then a bath... in gas-heated water... the first time this year I've needed to use gas for a bath.

But I cannot go to work dirty!

I left for work clean, hair washed and shiny, plaited by Gill. Left at midday, bike trailer loaded up with bag-o-tricks and unicycles, with my back pack of costume, feathers and balloons on my back. My reading matter, party contact details and sandwiches were in a pannier.

I got my ticket and waited 10 minutes for the train to Huddersfield, chatting to a nice older woman called Jo who was visiting her very old parents in Liverpool. She and I chatted on the platform and then she chose to sit next to me on the train and we had a good chat... no time for me to eat my sandwiches or read, but she was good company.

Nigel, the birthday boy's Dad, met me at Huddersfield, and drove me to the party place, a little village hall in very scenic hill country near Holmfirth. I entertained at their wedding 5 years ago, when their child was nearly 2. So this was his 7th birthday... and he'd invited the whole class.

The party went completely as expected, and I got the 5.30 train back to York. I dozed.

Gill had taken the boys to see a film at City Screen, so I had pasta for tea and went into the garden to muck around there for a bit. The family came in and Gill was exhausted after a trying and difficult day. I got my stuff ready for tomorrow, a playscheme where I'm doing composting etc, so I have to take assorted samples!

I had a peaceful evening, watched a bit of telly and played Scrabble on Facebook.

Another good night's sleep and up relatively early to get packing. Gill was somewhat better and soon after 10 Dankie drove us down to Norwich station so we could get the train to Peterborough. Nice chat with a youth worker called Alex who was heading back to Birmingham. When we got to Peterborough, a train to York pulled in which was about 10 minutes late, so we had no wait at all and although the train was full, we got seats in the same area of the carriage and we got to York about 15 minutes sooner than expected. A bus drew in just as we got to the front of the station, and we were home soon after 3pm.

Good to be home! Opened letters, read the Press, made some phone calls, lit the stove, did washing up. Just usual stuff, back to normal.

I went to Country Fresh to collect what they had got put aside for me, and Somerfield to get a job-lot of pasta. They have a good 'two for the price of one' deal; I spent £11 on about 12 bags of pasta, lots of different sorts. Had pasta and home-grown purple sprouting broccoli for tea.

A peaceful evening.

Woken ridiculously early by an enthusiastic 5 year old, who always wakes at 6am.

During the morning I did some balloon models for her and my first successful balloon flower, for Ali. Sarah was amazed at the 'dogs dinner' model, where I put a small marble-sized balloon inside a dog. I can also do this with someone's watch, and call it a 'watch dog'.....

I watched Countryfile at 11 and then we went to a garden centre to get some things for Ali's forthcoming raised bed garden project. She got various seeds, seed potatoes and bags to grow them in, seed trays with propagator lids, biodegradable pots and some peat-free general compost. She has ordered some huge pots and will find some good local topsoil. Also a compost bin, water butt and wormery. I've offered her some rich compost to mix with the soil. Nice one Ali!

Back for a late lunch and potted up some herb seeds and the potatoes. I got away at 4 to get the 4.20 tram and the 4.50 train. Chatted to a very nice chap called Alan who works at Ampleforth College, involved in Transition, and might meet him at the Kirkbymoorside 'Springboarding Day' on April 25th, their name for the 'Unleashing' that is the more usual name in Transition for the launch event. Back into York just before 6, collecting some compostables from both shops on the way home. When I'd unloaded, I cycled over to Fulford to collect our eldest who'd had a fun day all day with his friends, lots of pretending to kill people with sticks, sorry, Excalibur, and shooting people with pretend guns etc etc... and no adults trying to direct them into more wholesome activities! He'd had a lovely time, and was happy to see me, good chats on the way home and had supper and was in bed by 9pm... presumably completely worn out!

I had to amend my Community Care blog written yesterday as when Ali and I looked at it, we found that when the link to Danny's myspace page was clicked, it opened up in the same window, replacing the blog window with the poem written out. So, no easy way of reading the poem and listening to Danny reading it... I'll have to learn how to open something up in a new window...

A relaxing evening, spent on the laptop, enjoyed a chat to a new Facebook friend who writes an interesting blog http://hippiechickdiaries.com/ which I like. Like her too!

Not an easy start to the day but everyone got out of the house on time. I cycled our youngest to school, with him sitting on the luggage rack, as there was snow forecast for the afternoon and Gill didn't want him having to cycle back in that. However, my drive-cog wheel (sprocket?) is somehow slipping under the chain when I push hard on it... which was more than a bit of a nuisance. I had to walk up the hill away from our house but once on the level, so long as I didn't accelerate hard, I could cycle relatively easily and got to school on time. Time for a service, methinks!

I then cycled gingerly into town and dumped the machine at the station and got my ticket to Sheffield, where I was due to help Ali with a day of interviews for new personal assistants. I had a really good chat with a lovely South African woman from Harrogate, called Julie, who was heading to a conference in Birmingham. We discussed any number of interesting subjects... religion and evolution, polyamoury and cheating, Zimbabwe and politics.... a train trip which helped me feel a whole lot better!

Ali met me at the station and we went up to Blue Moon Cafe to look at all the applications and discuss the questions to be asked in the interviews. One of Ali's other carers Sarah arrived to help, and we had coffee and cake to help us with our deliberations. At midday we toddled up to the Friends Meeting House where Ali had hired a room for the day, as a neutral space in which to interview the six applicants. One phone call message arrived saying one had withdrawn, but we interviewed five really lovely people, including two Poles and two Africans, one a refugee pleased with recent residency papers. All of them had the ability to do the work and fit in with Ali's family and their care needs. Because all of the applicants were good, choosing who got the jobs was difficult, but Ali was glad to have the two of us to bounce ideas off. Over lunch, another of Ali's friends arrived and stayed for an hour, and he joined in one of the interviews too!

We finished the interviews and spent nearly another hour discussing the notes we'd made and who might fit best in Ali's household.

We left at 5.30 an I got a lift to quite close to the station... and grabbed a baguette for tea before getting on the 5.47 to York via Wakefield and Leeds. This 'CrossCountry' was rammed full... standing room only, and it was a cold hour in the lobby area between the main part of the carriages. However, I got a seat from Leeds to York, and had a nice chat with Zena, travelling fro Oxford to Durham to see her boyfriend.

Once in York I had no time to go home before the Transition meeting started, so I struggled in the snow with my poorly bike along to the Stables, where just five of us came for our regular fortnight meeting. I was really tired and cold, but had a good meeting, getting a lot done. The Carbon Detox Show tickets are selling well, and our Transition Initiative project is moving forward.

I was glad when it finished though, at 9.40, and got home for 10pm. Gill had had a tough day and was happy to see me to tell me all about it. I had over 70 emails to deal with and was up til nearly 2am doing that and this blog, having a bowl of pasta and soup supper and watching BBC News 24.