cold morning

This the first day this winter that it was just too cold to just add another layer so the heating went on. This is officially, in our house, the latest day in the year we have gone without resorting to the heating. This year is deffinatly hotter than the last few years, but I’m waiting to see what feruary and march are like till I start digging a swimming pool.

Insulation is the key to keeping our house warm, before we had an extention built we had metal framed windows with gaps and no insulation in the loft or walls. Now we have it all, and the difference it has made is amazing. We have an open plan downstairs with four main rooms, but only three radiators, two of which are quite small. All of them have foil behind then so as to direct heat back into the room instead of heating the wall. We keep all the doors closed and close curtains and blinds as soon as the sun goes down. The heating will then go on at about 4 o’clock and off again at about 9 o’clock, this means it’s not too warm for the kids in bed, but warm enough for me untill I get my arse into bed.

We never have the heating on in the night I don’t see what for, you are wrapped in a duvet and blankets? We also sleep with the windows open, as me and my wife hate to sleep without the fresh air, and yes our bedroom is freezing in the morning. It makes you get dressed quicker. I’m not a sadist, if the kids are cold I will put the heating on, for a while but I’ll also ask them ot put thicker clothes on first, and then see if they are still cold.

I think that alot of people put the heating on through routine behavior, it’s winter we better put the heating on regardless of the temperature. Stick on a jumper wear a vest, make a cup of tea, forget fashion and be warm. Enjoy the different temperatures.

Giving up the allotment was the best thing I ever did

Last year I took on an allotment plot near to my house as our garden like many towns folk is not large enough. However it proved to be a nightmare. It was hard work from the start, not physically but in organising my time between being a house husband carer for my disabled mother and looking after my then year and a half old son.

I had got half the site cleared but with no shed on site and no car carrying the tools back and forward was anightmare. There was also nobody to look after my son so many times I had to take him with me, which was fun. Every time I would get into digging I would turn around to find my lad pulling up carrots. I was starting to loose my enthusiasm for the allotment. The final straw came when one morning I got there to find many of the green houses had been broken, plants ripped up and sheds broken into. After that I started to go less and less, then when I did it was getting harder and harder to keep it in order. Finally I had to admit that I had failed to be an allotment holder.

It seems strange though, that at the same time, I was visiting my mother twice a week to do her garden which is quite large. I can’t see why I never put the two together. There is room for several plots and there is a shed full of tools. In February of this year I dug up the lawn, and started to add compost from the old heap behind the shed. It is excellent compost considering it had not been touched for years.

I planted onions, shallots, parsnips, swiss chard, khol rabi, beetroot, purple sprouting brocoli, peas broad beans and also squashes sweetcorn and french beans using the three sisters method. All grew well appart from the broccoli which was eaten by caterpillars when I was away on my permaculture course.

What struck me was how much better this whole situation was, I had my veg plot in a place that I already visited twice a week, had on hand babysitting, toilets and a canteen, sadly my mum was the cook (sorry mum) How many old, disabled or even busy people could use somebody to look after there garden and equally how many people are on waiting lists for allotments or as like me have other commitments. The guy nextdoor to us has a green house that never gets used and I don’t have room for one, if there was only more of a community feel we could share resourses.

I am a fan of the allotment it provides an essential part of urban life.But if you are thinking of getting an allotment or just want to grow a few things try and ask neighbours or family first they may find the help useful and possibly you may convert a few. There are so many giant lawned filled gardens in this country waiting to be turned into productive veg plots.

Yes that’s right I don’t drive

I had to go to the hospital yesterday for a consultation regarding having my wisdom teeth out, they have imparted no extra wisdom to me so there coming out. Anyway like most of the country yesterday it was very wet, but I did not have my son with me so I decided to walk the three miles in the rain to the hospital. I never think anything of it as I have never had a car or even learned to drive. I did have a job years ago when I drove tractors but that is the extent to which I have added to the already cogested road system. Today I walked to my mothers another three miles approx, when I arrived there were some distant relatives, visiting for christmas, and inevitably the question comes up again Where’s your car? don’t you drive? and the worst one you are stupid not to drive. Then I have to answer another round of questions to see if I am lazy,scared or even setting a bad example to my son.

Last week on the way back from the shop I saw two women talking in the middle of the road, both dressed in, I guess, identical nurses uniforms disscussing work. Nothing strange about that you may think, however they then said ’see you later’ to each other, walked into there drives, got in a car each and drove off down the street, one behind the other????

Now I must confess that my wife does drive and enjoys it, so I can’t preach about pollution and so on. We have a decomissioned postal van which we are doing up into a camper, but thats another post. Many people would say that then it is easy not to drive and it’s more about lazyness than ethics. However I do all the shopping, visit my mother who is disabled as I’m a registered carer and we go together every three weeks to the super market to get tins, cleaning products and chilli sauce. Also my wife works as a riding instructor and has a horse of her own so is out the house alot, even if I did drive we would possibly have to have two cars for me to actually have any time driving. I think that this allows me to say that I can continue to be a non-driver without being considered lazy.

What I object to is that as a non-driver is that you are considered as if you are lacking an essential skill, yes it is true that the design of todays towns and cities are all designed around the car but they are also catering for a certain lifestyle that I’m not part of. I know there are people who consider me lazy ,most are in my family, but they don’t see that I do more physical activity when walking than they possibly do in a week driving. I get great joy walking or cycling I can stop and enjoy something and be off again befor most people have found a parking space. I also feel that it is important to experience a certain amount of precipitation and sunlight direct to your skin rather than from a windscreen.

I also want to say something on public transport as I feel that it is unforgivable when people decide not to use it in favour of sitting alone in a car. However other than trains I never use our local bus service as I feel that it’s too expensive I want to support it but refuse to pay £1.50 to travel two miles.

I will admit there are times when I think if only I could drive but I think that they are no more frequent than wishing to be on holiday or winning the lottery. If somebody wants to give me a lift and it’s raining I’m not stupid but equally if it’s raining and there is no offer I will still go out, and no not just to the pub. I’m glad I don’t drive and proud that I can still get out and about without relying on other people.

when the sea sea level rises

A 10m sea level rise will result in our house being virtually on the beach.

wrapped up

Why buy wrapping paper when you get the kids to make it for free. This roll of backing paper cost £1 from wilkinsons.

community shopping

This is an idea I’ve had for a while now, it’s by no means new but a great way to save money and be an ethical shopper but also you can gain a greater knowledge of the people who live around you who most of the time we never even know there names. Most of us who live in an average street in an urban area shop at the same shops and supermarkets as our neighbours, meaning in a street of say 50 houses there will be at least 50 trips to the supermarket each week normally in a car. Also there are often elderly people in the street that would be more than greatful of a helping hand with shopping.

What I want to set up in the new year is a shopping co-op with friends and neighbours so as to cut out the ammount of single trips to the super market and also try and encourage those who do not shop organically or ethically to do so, as well as this I hope that it will go some way to minimising the ammount of wastewe produce.

Many organic whole salers will only deal with you if you are a company or a co-op, rather than a single customer,Essential-trading.co.uk. Also buying in bulk is cheaper and saves on the environment as one large carton of washing up liquid is better than ten small ones. Ecotopia.co.uk allow you to buy Ecover and other products in bulk, so for example you can buy 10kg bag of wash powder rather than the 1200g you get at the shop, its all very simple. We own a van which we are doing up as a camper so we have the scope to collect bulk orders. There is also a veg box sceme in the area.

The theory as ever is the easy part the test will be how many people I can convince to be involved. I know I have a few friends who possibly will be up for it, but the neighbours will be another matter as some of them I have never spoken to, and many already consider me to be slighty eccentric.

tackling self-sufficiency alone

The importance of community

I feel that by far the hardest part of voluntary simplicity and living with a degree of self-sufficiency for me is not sourcing local produce or growing what I can where I can, it is the choice of opting out of certain social activities, the choice to not be part of the mainstream, living the ideology. What years ago would be common knowledge and family traditions now is unusual and carried out by a select few.

What has become the norm for me still requires me to have to explain to friends and family the reasons behind such behaviour. I find it hard sometimes to keep up my ethics and motivation, as even though this way of life is carried out by thousands of people across the world, for me amongst my friends I am still the pioneer. This sometimes gives me a feeling of responsability, to have to prove how things can work, to myself and especially to my family who may have given up something for the ability for me to experiment. Luckily I have a very understanding wife who supports me, but as much as I need the support of my family what I crave is the ability to discuss and share experiences with others. In our modern consumer lives we have lost not just traditions but the most importantly communal knowledge, the passing down of skills through generations. What is sad is that of all of my family and friends possibly two grow some of there own veg and dabble in brewing etc. I do not feel in any way superior to those who don’t but rather we all lack a common goal.

Even though the internet has provided me with information and forums to discuss, these such forums like selfsufficientish.com and rivercottage.net has made available this type of community and been vital to my successes in keeping to my goals, however these are only virtual, only on hand to offer advice rather than support or physical help. It is hard to be the only one but knowing that there are others out there gives me the confidence to carry on.

Garlic finally appears

I planted this garlic ( Garlic Printanor )in late October and thought it would never appear. I bought it online from The Organic Gardening Catalogue. I have some planted in the herb spiral and the rest i in pots around the patio. As always they are planted possibly too close together but when you have limited space it’s hard not to try and cram them in, besides bulbs are supposed to grow close together to keep each other company. I have tried these this year as normally I just get bulbs from the green grocers but they never seem to get to a decent size, we will see if it’s the bulbs or my lack of green finger ability.

The Dibnah small small holding in the news

I recieved an E-mail yesterday from a journalist of the local paper saying can we do a story on your scummy scunny scrumpy business. This was quite a shock not to be contacted by the paper but that I did not know that I had a business going. Where do people get this information from? Stonehead a fellow blogger from the wilds of Scotland (see blogroll) was also contacted yesterday by the BBC wanting to do some sort of review, but in true crofter style he told them that he was too busy to discuss it as he was baking prune flapjacks, now there is a man who has his priorities in order.

The institution wants to know what makes us crazy hippies tick.

How to use a ratchet press

The ratchet press I use is very simple but came with no instructions, so here are some, it’s not rocket science.

Start by filling the wooden barrel with your crushed apple press down firmly and fill to the top. Then add the two half moon wooden pieces, and press down. Remember to have the bucket under the press from this point as juice will start to flow immediately. Next build up a stagered tower with the timber blocks, you are only given four pieces but I cut a few more to give extra hight. The trick is to build the tower as high as you can as this saves unwinding the ratchet to add more pieces.

Then srew on the ratchet untill it meets the wooden blocks. Then comes the important part, as you need to slot in two shieves. The ratchet will not work without them. They are always placed in opposite directions.

If you want the ratchet to go down point the shieves in a clockwise direction and visa versa.Think of it like this, if you want it to go down, as you place the shieves in, think of a clockwise motion and have the pointed end of the shieve pointing in that direction. When you want to reverse it just swop them over easy.

When it gets to a point when you feel that you can’t possibly go any further, stop, and then wait a while. I normally give it half an hour to an hour, smoke a fag make a cup of tea. When you return you will find that you are able to crank it with ease again for a while. When it gets stiff again stop wait a few mins and then reverse the shieves, take off the ratchet and wooden blocks open the barrel an you are left with a squashed apple cake as my son calls it. My press is a 15 ltr I -guess this is the volume of the barrel- this gives me on average 5ltr’s of juice from each press. It also will be necessary to build a table or have something to fix it to when pressing as without you are unable to exert enough force.

Best of all it’s great fun, next year I will be able to enjoy some year old cider between presses.