Friday 20 May 2011

Thursday 19th May 11

A mixed day, with some boring bits, exciting bits, slightly annoyed bits and happy chilled bits.

So, up at about 9 and I spent the whole morning doing assorted paperwork.  I'm very slow at this.  I also had several phone calls, one booking Professor Fiddlesticks for Spofforth Gala and another booking for a charity event to raise money for building an extension (I think!) to an orphanage in Uganda.  I was really torn with this one,as it's on the same evening as the Manchester World Naked Bike Ride, which I really enjoyed last year, but the charity event looks good.  It is in the style of the  'Generation Game'; a 1970's TV programme where teams of participants did various games, including getting taught by an expert how to do something and then doing it, and the expert judging their efforts.  So I'll be the balloon modelling expert and teacher.... Yup, sounds like fun, different sort of fun to the WNBR.  They persuaded me with a small fee... again, I was torn, as I'd have liked to do it for nothing, but I was told that I was exactly what they wanted, and as I'm missing one of my favourite annual events, I don't feel quite so bad saying yes to this.

I'd got enough paperwork done to go to town and get a cheque out and post that to where it needed to be, and to get another one and bring it home as I haven't sorted the envelope for that, and get some money out to pay our first 2 months of Council Tax this year.  I went to Library Square to pay this but was told that it was only at St Leonard's Place where I could pay cash.  So there I also asked about water ingress into ancient cellars.  I spoke to someone from Environmental Health on the phone, who suggested talking to a drainage expert at the EcoDepot.

I said I'd go to the EcoDepot within the hour.  I called in on Miller's Yard, but Dylan wasn't there, but I did take 2 sacks of biodegradables.  The drainage expert, Brian, told me about the history of the area (drainage-wise!) and advised me to get Yorkshire Water out first.

When I came in, I rang them and got an appointment.  I think David will be pleased.

I visited Country Fresh, picked up 2 sacks of stuff, plus 20 potato sacks which I'll put on Freecycle.  I came back home and spent some time loading materials into the Compostumbler and the sit and wait heap.

I came in for a plate of pasta and our eldest decided that he wanted to go with me to the new 'thinking person's cabaret', Bright Club, which this month was at the Black Swan.  I'd enquired about it's suitability for young teens, and yes, it is OK.  So we set out a bit before 7pm, through St Nicks where I spotted a beautiful male pheasant. Our son had never seen one before and was entranced!  As we approached the Black Swan, we crossed over to see the Edible York Raised Bed, and Bill Eve was doing some weeding!  Good to see him.

The Bright Club was in the downstairs room, and it was crowded and smelled of fish and chips.  My son couldn't cope with the smell, crowd and darkness so we went.  I was a bit annoyed but continued chatting on the way back, but as soon as we reached home, I shot off on my bike to the York in Transition meeting at Peter's house, where I slowly forgot the traumas of attempting to be a good parent, and cheered up.  We had a good meeting.  I gave myself jobs to do.  Here I can be effective, useful, successful.  We had the meeting outside, sitting around Peter's washing machine drum fire-pit, which was good.  Tomas and Eleanor arrived, and had brought a small bottle of cider, as if they knew I'd be there and needing something.  I was so grateful!

I cycled to the Seahorse Hotel to book the little room for the Cosy Homes project meeting.  Good to meet an old friend, Jan, whom I worked with in Pizzaland in the 1980s!  Then came home to settle down to doing more dried apple, washing up. chat on facebook with other Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome people, wrote blog and got to bed after 3.

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