Comfrey is best for tomatoes

Long time

2009-10-01T16:29:00.000-07:00

All of my time and energy is now taken up with t h i s.

So until I can be sure that Esme and Rebecca have a future, this site will be quiet.

Reason why.

bye

As you do...

2009-03-30T03:41:00.000-07:00

So there I was sitting on the toilet playing the Argos Catalogue Game ("guess how much this fabulous pink Teflon-coated steam iron is?"*) with Thebazile while she had a shower, as you do, when I noticed a 'future-proof' 10-in-1 TV/satellite/audio system etc remote control. I started to imagine a world of floods and eco-armageddon whilst the lucky purchaser sat smugly inside a magical protective bubble beamed from his 10-in-1. What an intelligent purchase he made back in 2009. Unless, of course he forgot the batteries (not included). On that theme I've always found it odd that most 4x4s are fitted with Climate Control. 'Fire-storms getting a little intense today dear, shall we turn up the climate control a little?'

I was all set to get on my high-horse about green-wash, Organics shampoo, Nescafe fair-trade, David Cameron etc when Thebazile found an item (I won't tell you what) with the small-print warning 'dwarf not included'.

What? No dwarf? I'm not buying that then.

* £148.99

Stupid post

2009-03-27T11:34:00.001-07:00

Every so often I hear a new piece of music that goes straight to the top of my desert island discs pile. The same is true for films. If I were to choose 10 films I would like to take with me to a desert isle it would be a tough choice - I think Baghdad Cafe would be in there, possibly both Bill and Ted movies and Mystery Men and The Big Labowski. All of these are whimsical, take-it-or-leave-it choices. The only two films I know I'd definitely take (until this afternoon) were I've Heard The Mermaid Singing and Koyaanisqatski. But now I can add a third.

It is The Age of Stupid. Yes, it is handicapped by an unpopular title and by a limited budget but sometimes imperfect things are made perfect for other reasons. This is the single most powerful and compelling film I have ever seen - and I will see it again.

Empty vessels

2009-02-24T11:20:00.000-08:00

OK, I am a bit of a philistine and usually a couple of years behind the vogue but I tried visiting Twitter for the first time today and didn't think very much of it.

Have I missed something?

And

2009-02-17T09:10:00.000-08:00

Last night was the launch of Transition Stratford. And it was fun! And I managed to dig the whole of my new raised bed which this year will be for rainbow chard and red cabbage. And we got a tank full of steamy hot water from the solar panels. And a very good friend is coming to see us. And I got some paid work.

Every so often it is good to remember how 'sunny spells' can become 'glorious summer', even in February.

And so to bed.

.

...

2009-01-21T01:59:00.000-08:00

If a man is in the garden and speaks, and there is no woman to hear him, is he still wrong?

Peak Expectations

2009-01-20T01:53:00.000-08:00

So last night I spoke to a group of environmental volunteers about Transition Towns and peak oil. And I have to say it was tougher than I expected. Having examined the science, read the books, seen the films and documentaries I have yet to hear a good argument against peak oil.

But of course not many others in the room had done the same amount of research. Rob Hopkins in his book on Transition Towns says that when first introduced to the idea people often go through the five stages of grief before acceptance - denial, anger, bargaining, depression and, eventually, acceptance. There was all of the above in the room last night.

In short the fear that we have reached peak oil is based on the findings of the Hirsch Report commissioned by the American government in 2005. Oil is a finite resource and we have used about half of the worlds resources (according to BP, Exxon-Mobil and others). This is where the problem lies - the oil that is left is the hardest to get and the most dirty and expensive to refine. Add to this a growing population and the global demand for higher living standards and greater amounts of food in an era of uncertain weather and you have a looming crisis. Some (about half) of the studies into this say that oil prices will start to rise sharply from about 2012.

No big problem. Unless you consider what we use oil for. Our whole way of life is based on the cheap power provided by oil. Electricity, transport, technology, plastics, fibres, drugs - even our GDP has gone up along exactly the same curve as oil availability.

As an environmentalist, the solution to the looming peak oil crisis and climate change is the same - develop ways in which communities can continue without over-reliance on fossil fuels. We need to become more co-sufficient. It has been done before, (war-time Britain, Cuba etc) and it can be done again.

That was my message last night.

Hopefully the denial, anger, bargaining and depression are just the first stages for my town. In the meantime I'll continue chopping wood, cycling, growing potatoes and feeding the chickens.

Anyone fancy some oil-free beetroot?

Spoiler

2008-11-22T02:45:00.000-08:00

Here is the real answer to the 'ultimate' question - What is the meaning of life?

And the answer is...

*Drum roll...*

*Opens golden envelope...*

The ultimate question is daft. A bit like asking 'how much is blue?' or 'when is a chicken?'

So 42 is as good an answer as any.

What is the meaning of my life? My life has no 'meaning'. But it has purpose. And that is a very happy state of affairs.

A breather

2008-10-23T05:05:00.000-07:00

In response to the kind messages and calls re the turmoils of 2008, thank you.

Good news. Thebazile is recovering very well. The (work) project I was doing that got delayed while I looked after her has also progressed well. I have the day off...

Wow. A little blue sky...

Good Samaritans

2008-10-07T02:58:00.000-07:00

Ever phoned the Samaritans? I never though I would. Last week Thebazile became very ill. The sort of ill that means you don't have the strength or control to get out of bed to use the toilet. After one day of agony she needed to be in hospital but the doctor could not refer her on because they were under strict instructions not to allow Norovirus sufferers into hospital. Four days later she was no better. On the fifth day she began having breathing problems. This time I called an ambulance. The kids clung to me horrified as she was taken away.

It was at that point that I lost it. Supporting an ill partner, two kids and earning a living (there is no time off or sick pay when you are self employed) had meant I'd not slept for five days.

So I rang the Samaritans because I really needed to talk to someone in an emotional way. To let rip about everything from cripplingly expensive insurance claims on faulty plumbing to piles of washing, from helping kids with their homework to Dad's accident and eventual death.

It wasn't as I'd expected though. The guy on the other end of the phone had a Birmingham accent. And he really didn't say much. He made the occasional gentle suggestion (could so-and-so help? Have I got friends or relatives etc etc) but really he just listened.

But d'you know what? It worked.

So wherever, whoever you are, thank you for giving up your Saturday morning to hear other peoples problems. Thanks for allowing me to go through my own problems and develop a little perspective. Thank you for listening.

Somewhere out there is an angel with a Brummy accent - and that makes me feel a whole lot better.

Photographic memories

2008-09-08T03:33:00.000-07:00

I did not sleep well last night. Having spent most of yesterday going through Dads photos my mind was a whirl of images, much of which I'd either forgotten or never seen. Dad as a baby. Family group photos. My brother and I as chubby children. Art student days. Early photos of my companion and lover, Htebazile.

And photos of Mother.

Some of it wonderful, much of it deeply disturbing. I feel like I've spent much of my life (successfully) attempting to mature by escaping from who I was at home and here I am now confronting the fact that it is all part of me.

Then there is the uncomfortable sense that I have that I'm invading Dad's personal space by going through his memories without him.

And there is the renewed sense of loss. Dad took hundreds of wildlife photos. We can't keep them. There are images of friends and relatives, many whose names are lost. They have to go.

I'm now off to the recycling centre.

I wonder if there is a lesson in that?

Motivation

2008-08-20T04:06:00.000-07:00

I expect that at some point someone will read what I've posted here. If that is the case I'd like to question why I started it in the first place.

I like to leave comments on public websites and had to sign up to blogger in order to do this.
I like to revisit this page to remember past events and emotions. I could do this with a paper diary but blogger is easier to access while I work and has an inbuilt spellcheck.
I'm beginning to enjoy the slightly mysterious nature of my own blog. Taciturn with a hint of self-pity. A photo that leaves much to the imagination. But even this mystery is a vanity that I'm not entirely comfortable with.

One counter argument (especially to point 2) is that keeping a public diary is just like putting on a mask. Whoever sees your blog only sees what you wish to present. I've seen lots of examples of very bad blogs which are no more than a public display. But I've seen a few that impress me with their honesty. If I am to blog, I should try to share the courage and honesty of good writers, even if I can't be quite as witty, technically efficient or biographically interesting.

And I don't think a blog needs to be much more than an occasional comment, observation or report. I don't like the idea of saying much about myself in public but its only fair that anyone I 'speak' to on the Internet should be able to learn a little more about me and be able to respond. So If I continue to appear taciturn, you'll know why.

And then it happened...

2008-08-03T22:25:00.000-07:00

Of course it was not entirely unexpected, after all Dad was 85. It just seems odd that my last post here was so relevant to what we have found ourselves dealing with for the past three weeks.

I didn't want him to go.

Thinking ahead

2008-05-17T23:46:00.000-07:00

Talked to Dad about his funeral plans.

Rechargable batteries and a nice shiney hand cultivator

2008-05-13T03:27:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, PoundStretcher comes up trumps.

WAGD

2008-05-11T02:57:00.000-07:00

A 50% loss of life in the UK alone by 2200.

WAGD

2008-05-11T02:56:00.000-07:00

A 50% loss of life in the UK alone by 2200.