I wasn't feeling brilliant today, and towards the end of it I had a running nose and was sneezing all the time, so I didn't do an awful lot.
But earlier in the day, I did check that tomorrow's Woodlands gig was going ahead. I hope to be well enough... I usually recover very quickly from this kind of ailment.
I visited Debbie and she was in a great mood, having had some good luck.
I came back and had lunch, and eventually decided that whatever state I was in, I really must get down to town to put my cheque in. So I cycled down to Country Fresh, picked up one sack there, then onto Alligator where they had quite a bit for me, and then, with a trailer full of compostables, into town where I put in my cheque from Sunday and got out a cheque to pay a bill. I decided to again try my bank card in the Link ATM and whilst about to do this, was approached by a drunk and possibly Irish man who launched into a tirade of verbal abuse. It seemed he knew who I was, or a bit about me, but I didn't know him. He accused me of all sorts of horrible things, and I was really taken aback. I'm not someone who can ignore this kind of thing; I generally get stuck in, and so I did, telling him it was entirely wrong of him to give me this verbal abuse. I didn't understand a lot of what he said, but I did gather that he had lost a son, and had stood in a general election as an independent and came 6th. He had some choice words for Hugh Bayley, our MP, and was really unpleasant.
This left me quite shocked and shaken, but I kept it together and went to Sainsburys for a nice loaf and some vegan ice cream so Gill can have a treat.
I did some work in the garden but I wasn't feeling that enthusiastic so I sat in front of the stove and stripped yet more copper wire, resulting in a big pile of plastic insulating spaghetti and a bag of tightly coiled copper wire of assorted gauges or widths.
And in the evening I picked some blackberries and tried to find enthusiasm for preparing them.
Showing posts with label feeling unwell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label feeling unwell. Show all posts
Not a good night as feeling ill... headache and elevated temperature... obviously I was wondering if I have got H1N1 flu. I slept in til about 10, not good deep sleep and the paracetamol I had at 7am didn't touch the headache.
However, my usual routine of having breakfast wasn't dented, and I chatted with Gill who was sorting out the accounts... and finding several things which I haven't been paid for. One requires me to write an invoice... how tedious! I already wrote a reply letter to them; this is often enough.
Got an email from Peter at York in Transition with a link to a video about the first 'Carbon Neutral Village', Ashton Hayes in Cheshire, and if you've 17 minutes to spare, it is worth watching:
At about 11am the council lorry arrived with my 3 compost bins PLUS the little bin which the school had in the men's toilet for a year. Oh dear... do I take that back? Dilemma.
When I investigated the compost bins in the front garden, two had been delivered without their basal doors and one without the lid. What a nuisance... nothing is ever simple!
After lunch I felt well enough to go and cut a hedge but this just about wiped me out.
A very quiet afternoon and evening, didn't feel that hungry but ate salads and two dolmades anyway, kind of to be sociable. Going to get to bed early.
However, my usual routine of having breakfast wasn't dented, and I chatted with Gill who was sorting out the accounts... and finding several things which I haven't been paid for. One requires me to write an invoice... how tedious! I already wrote a reply letter to them; this is often enough.
Got an email from Peter at York in Transition with a link to a video about the first 'Carbon Neutral Village', Ashton Hayes in Cheshire, and if you've 17 minutes to spare, it is worth watching:
At about 11am the council lorry arrived with my 3 compost bins PLUS the little bin which the school had in the men's toilet for a year. Oh dear... do I take that back? Dilemma.
When I investigated the compost bins in the front garden, two had been delivered without their basal doors and one without the lid. What a nuisance... nothing is ever simple!
After lunch I felt well enough to go and cut a hedge but this just about wiped me out.
A very quiet afternoon and evening, didn't feel that hungry but ate salads and two dolmades anyway, kind of to be sociable. Going to get to bed early.
A quiet day as am unwell, off colour, tired and headachey. I spent a bit of the morning on the computer whilst Gill was at her art class, and went back to bed, and when at 1.20 Gill wondered where I was, she came up to see if I was in and found me asleep. She joined me.
I got up at 2.30 and at 3 went to school to pick up our youngest. He is now a fast cyclist! Wow! That's an 18-geared Specialised for you!
I cycled down to Country Fresh and picked up 3 sacks and 2 boxes, plus the usual range of vegetables and fruit for family consumption.
Gill made tea... butternut, courgette, potato and broccoli with a bit of tomato soup sauce, and a pastie. I was given a veggie samosa by Raj at Freshways when I popped in on him, so I had that too... it was very hot!
After tea I went outside to deal with some of the compost and a few other bits and bobs, got in at 10. Lots of fruit to put on the drying racks. Felt a bit better after some activity, but still need an early night, ideally...
I got up at 2.30 and at 3 went to school to pick up our youngest. He is now a fast cyclist! Wow! That's an 18-geared Specialised for you!
I cycled down to Country Fresh and picked up 3 sacks and 2 boxes, plus the usual range of vegetables and fruit for family consumption.
Gill made tea... butternut, courgette, potato and broccoli with a bit of tomato soup sauce, and a pastie. I was given a veggie samosa by Raj at Freshways when I popped in on him, so I had that too... it was very hot!
After tea I went outside to deal with some of the compost and a few other bits and bobs, got in at 10. Lots of fruit to put on the drying racks. Felt a bit better after some activity, but still need an early night, ideally...
Managed to stay asleep til after 9 which was good after a late and difficult evening sorting out, or trying to sort out something complicated last night.
However, still not feeling physically very well either, but did some sorting out in the conservatory, getting recyclables together to go next Tuesday.
Gill went to town but Oxfam was shut and she tried to get Euros from a Post Office, but the exchange rate was not what I expected. I thought one pound was about two Euros but it looks like it's about 1:1. Will do some research. I researched train and bus times for a trip later this month.
After lunch I cycled to The Winning Post pub to give in a £50 deposit to secure the function room for 5th October when York in Transition is showing the film The End of Suburbia with a discussion and social. On the way back I met a friendly tree surgeon with a load of spare logs which he was only too happy to drop off at my house, which was less than half a mile away.
So I then proceeded to chainsaw them into splittable rounds but due to the type of tree, they wouldn't split. The wood has lots of cross-links and stringy fibres making splitting with a maul virtually impossible. I got my hydraulic splitter out, which my neighbours prefer me to use as it's quieter than the axe or maul and log grenade, but it wasn't working very well. I'm wondering if the hydraulic oil needs replacing, after all it has had a lot of use. I rang Tony Castle, York's best tree surgeon (well, certainly one of the most knowledgeable and biddable!) and asked if he'd be able to replace my hydraulic oil.... for a price, to see if that made the machine work any better. He'll be able to collect it in the next few days and do it in his workshop.
Our youngest had tea with a friend and didn't come back til after 7, giving the eldest plenty of space for doing homework, which he is particularly resistant to. I had to go to a York in Transition meeting and when I came back Gill was in tears as there'd been a huge violent outburst about homework and she was at her wits end. I just held her but also have no answers. I went up to put the lights out. We cuddled on the sofa and watched crap on the telly and chatted. At midnight when she fell asleep, I went onto the computer to deal with emails and to try to find a facilitator for a visioning meeting. I had to deal with a very long badly written email which took well over an hour to wade through and reply to. I have told the sender that I prefer short, to the point and well constructed messages, short sentences, good punctuation and spelling, if possible. This makes the job of the reader so much easier and is just plain courteous and polite.
Bed therefore at 2.30am.
However, still not feeling physically very well either, but did some sorting out in the conservatory, getting recyclables together to go next Tuesday.
Gill went to town but Oxfam was shut and she tried to get Euros from a Post Office, but the exchange rate was not what I expected. I thought one pound was about two Euros but it looks like it's about 1:1. Will do some research. I researched train and bus times for a trip later this month.
After lunch I cycled to The Winning Post pub to give in a £50 deposit to secure the function room for 5th October when York in Transition is showing the film The End of Suburbia with a discussion and social. On the way back I met a friendly tree surgeon with a load of spare logs which he was only too happy to drop off at my house, which was less than half a mile away.
So I then proceeded to chainsaw them into splittable rounds but due to the type of tree, they wouldn't split. The wood has lots of cross-links and stringy fibres making splitting with a maul virtually impossible. I got my hydraulic splitter out, which my neighbours prefer me to use as it's quieter than the axe or maul and log grenade, but it wasn't working very well. I'm wondering if the hydraulic oil needs replacing, after all it has had a lot of use. I rang Tony Castle, York's best tree surgeon (well, certainly one of the most knowledgeable and biddable!) and asked if he'd be able to replace my hydraulic oil.... for a price, to see if that made the machine work any better. He'll be able to collect it in the next few days and do it in his workshop.
Our youngest had tea with a friend and didn't come back til after 7, giving the eldest plenty of space for doing homework, which he is particularly resistant to. I had to go to a York in Transition meeting and when I came back Gill was in tears as there'd been a huge violent outburst about homework and she was at her wits end. I just held her but also have no answers. I went up to put the lights out. We cuddled on the sofa and watched crap on the telly and chatted. At midnight when she fell asleep, I went onto the computer to deal with emails and to try to find a facilitator for a visioning meeting. I had to deal with a very long badly written email which took well over an hour to wade through and reply to. I have told the sender that I prefer short, to the point and well constructed messages, short sentences, good punctuation and spelling, if possible. This makes the job of the reader so much easier and is just plain courteous and polite.
Bed therefore at 2.30am.
I took our youngest into school as Gill had been up from 6.30 getting packed lunches together and the boys' bags, persuading them to get dressed, etc.
In the playground I had a chat with Mrs P. the headteacher, primarily about the four sacks of finished compost that I removed from the final compost bin where it had been all summer. I needed to know if it was OK to leave it with the other Green Thumbs stuff or whether there was a better position for it. The reason is that the school grounds are not secure in the evenings and youths often use the grounds, and if they were injured or harmed by the sacks of compost or their contents (!!!) they could possibly sue the school. Ridiculous I know, but that's the situation...
However, another very interesting situation has progressed over the summer. The Health and Safety Executive (and local Environmental Health) visited the Japanese Garden which was constructed last year. Regular readers will remember that as the old, tarry sleepers were being unloaded from the contractors lorry, I told the school that I was fairly sure that old railway sleepers were not meant to be used in Children's playgrounds or schools. The next day I gave a letter into the school with the details of the EU legislation (Directive 2001/90/EC) which states this. The contractor was either told or worked out that it was me who had done this and gave me loud publc death threats in the playground, which was most upsetting. The work continued, despite the warnings that I thought that it was illegal. (See also UK Statutory Instrument number 721)
So, the HSE sent a letter (which I haven't seen yet) telling the school that they would have to remove the smelly and possibly carcinogenic sleepers and replace them with untreated ones. However, their reason for this wasn't that it was against the law, but apparently because I had reported that my son was "made to eat his packed lunch off one of the sleepers by Mrs P." which is totally untrue. I had reported to the HSE person that my child was made to (or asked to) eat his packed lunch in the newly opened Japanese Garden and he that afternoon reported to us that the smell of the sleepers had made him feel sick and that's why he hadn't eaten his lunch. So the HSE people had got the story completely twisted up and wrong, and very unfairly blamed the situation on the Head. If I get a copy of the letter, I will write to the author/s and ask for a correction as this situation has given the Headteacher a lot of stress over the summer. The reason they should have given is that the work contravenes an EU Directive. I don't feel that good about it as I'm partly responsible, and I'm sure the head feels bad about it as she ignored my initial advice, before the sleepers were installed. However, I am glad the garden will be made fit for use, although I'm sorry that this will cost so much more than if the situation had been sorted right at the beginning.
In searching the net about information offered to members of the public, I found this site which is offering illegal advice to use treated sleepers in gardens as planting containers. http://www.railwaysleeper.com/railway%20sleeper%20treatments.htm I had an email discussion with one of the people at this site about the way it seems to suggest that it's ok to use treated sleepers as plant containers, and was assured that they communicate the facts of the legislation to all customers. However, I was still unhappy to see photos of raised beds growing vegetables made with creosoted railway sleepers on this website, when this is explicitly prohibited.
So my advice is to only use UNTREATED sleepers if you have any doubts as to the suitability of their purpose. They cost a bit more (ie they are not 'waste'!) but don't smell awful, leach carcinogenic chemicals onto skin or clothes, or run you the risk of being told to replace them.
I had a low-mood day as I've been feeling unwell, headache, tummy ache, tired. I went to bed for a while and haven't eaten much... Gill persuaded me to have a fried egg sandwich but I ate it without enthusiasm.
In the playground I had a chat with Mrs P. the headteacher, primarily about the four sacks of finished compost that I removed from the final compost bin where it had been all summer. I needed to know if it was OK to leave it with the other Green Thumbs stuff or whether there was a better position for it. The reason is that the school grounds are not secure in the evenings and youths often use the grounds, and if they were injured or harmed by the sacks of compost or their contents (!!!) they could possibly sue the school. Ridiculous I know, but that's the situation...
However, another very interesting situation has progressed over the summer. The Health and Safety Executive (and local Environmental Health) visited the Japanese Garden which was constructed last year. Regular readers will remember that as the old, tarry sleepers were being unloaded from the contractors lorry, I told the school that I was fairly sure that old railway sleepers were not meant to be used in Children's playgrounds or schools. The next day I gave a letter into the school with the details of the EU legislation (Directive 2001/90/EC) which states this. The contractor was either told or worked out that it was me who had done this and gave me loud publc death threats in the playground, which was most upsetting. The work continued, despite the warnings that I thought that it was illegal. (See also UK Statutory Instrument number 721)
So, the HSE sent a letter (which I haven't seen yet) telling the school that they would have to remove the smelly and possibly carcinogenic sleepers and replace them with untreated ones. However, their reason for this wasn't that it was against the law, but apparently because I had reported that my son was "made to eat his packed lunch off one of the sleepers by Mrs P." which is totally untrue. I had reported to the HSE person that my child was made to (or asked to) eat his packed lunch in the newly opened Japanese Garden and he that afternoon reported to us that the smell of the sleepers had made him feel sick and that's why he hadn't eaten his lunch. So the HSE people had got the story completely twisted up and wrong, and very unfairly blamed the situation on the Head. If I get a copy of the letter, I will write to the author/s and ask for a correction as this situation has given the Headteacher a lot of stress over the summer. The reason they should have given is that the work contravenes an EU Directive. I don't feel that good about it as I'm partly responsible, and I'm sure the head feels bad about it as she ignored my initial advice, before the sleepers were installed. However, I am glad the garden will be made fit for use, although I'm sorry that this will cost so much more than if the situation had been sorted right at the beginning.
In searching the net about information offered to members of the public, I found this site which is offering illegal advice to use treated sleepers in gardens as planting containers. http://www.railwaysleeper.com/railway%20sleeper%20treatments.htm I had an email discussion with one of the people at this site about the way it seems to suggest that it's ok to use treated sleepers as plant containers, and was assured that they communicate the facts of the legislation to all customers. However, I was still unhappy to see photos of raised beds growing vegetables made with creosoted railway sleepers on this website, when this is explicitly prohibited.
So my advice is to only use UNTREATED sleepers if you have any doubts as to the suitability of their purpose. They cost a bit more (ie they are not 'waste'!) but don't smell awful, leach carcinogenic chemicals onto skin or clothes, or run you the risk of being told to replace them.
I had a low-mood day as I've been feeling unwell, headache, tummy ache, tired. I went to bed for a while and haven't eaten much... Gill persuaded me to have a fried egg sandwich but I ate it without enthusiasm.
