closer to the simple life

Well after years of talking about it, moaning and almost giving up hope I’ve finally made a step closer to the dream.

Me, my partner and two other friends are renting, what is to me a huge house with equally huge garden complete with fruit trees, green house, store workshop, kennels and a wood fire with back boiler.

The last few years seemed in many ways to missing a hands on approach, days spent looking out the window waiting for something to happen. Well now what’s out there is mine, well for the next year at least.

now I can get on with experiments in the simple life. Not that my ideology had ever changed but now it’s back to the practical hands dirty approach.

hedge laying

Before the days of barbed wire and electric fences hedges were the main way to keep livestock from roaming. The hedges were planted to divide up the land and retain the live stock, when the hedges grew too tall to be effective as stock control it was the job of the hedge layer to manage these living barriers.

Today nearly all rural hedges are given a rather brutal hair cut using a tractor, although effective and time saving it does little for the protection of habitat or the health of the hedge itself.

Above are the tools that are generally all you need to lay a hedge. I pinched the picture from the National Hedge Laying Society. But it illustrates how these tools and methods have remained unchanged for centuries.

Basically without going into too much detail, what happens is, a rather brutal cut is made through the stem to be layed, called the pleacher, about 2/3 of the way through, which allows the stem to be layed down but still connected to the stump. The picture below shows the small hinge left, this small amount is enough to allow the pleacher to survive.

As you lay them posts are driven into the ground and the pleachers woven round to tie them in. This photo shows another hinge to allow this rather hefty branch to be bent back into shape, to keep the line.

The above pictures are from the course I did a few weeks ago. The section I worked on was a nightmare, even the instructor said they were really at the top end of what you would normally lay. At least I learned a great deal from it.

Once the pleacheers are all layed and woven into the stakes, willow or hazel rods are woven along the top to tie the whole thing together.

Each part of the country has it’s own style and they are fiercely upheld. The guy, Max, who taught us is a medal winner in the yorkshire style. Like most crafts it’s a skill and an art.

coping without a garden

To be honest the initial excitement of moving into a new home, a new relationship, cold days and long nights, the lack of any real outside space was not at first an issue. We’d managed to get a share in an allotment plot which is just across the road and it seemed as though we’d been lucky.

However now spring has started to stir the senses I’m missing the connection with nature. We live in a back to back and the front door steps out onto the busy street. I have to convince myself daily that from a permaculture point of view it’s a good location, close to work, shops and a train line.

But as the buds are breaking so is my conviction. Whats worse is that this time last year I was on a 60acre farm, hence the break in the blogging. I miss not being able to have the door wide open all the time and step out to poodle about whenever I like.

There’s other issues too, rubbish, it takes on a whole new meaning when it under your nose 24/7. We, being good little greenies don’t have much but what we do produce takes up valuable space. Only having one room on the ground floor which is the living room and kitchen.

To put it out I need two sets of keys one for the door and one for the bin yard, which in reality means it stays in the kitchen longer than it should. The compost is the same luckily we have an allotment to compost it on but again need two sets of keys to dispose of it. The slightest hint of rain or breeze means it sits in bags festering.

Finally there’s the inability to make anything, I’m getting more involved in green woodwork but have nowhere to practice. Luckily having a creative partner filling the kitchen with wood shavings is allowed. But you can only go so far, spoons to be precise. We do have a cellar but its a little like being on the set of the poseidon adventure.

I’m sure some people can cope but I can’t we need to move, I demand a garden, we’ll talk about the workshop, woodland, yurts……………

recycle before you redecorate

The house that we live in is a little on the grubby side but being the ethical minded souls we are, we did’nt want to simply march to B&Q and pick up another bucket of chemicals and with our purse strings tighter than Scrouge at Christmas, we thought we would search for something better.

Locally we have a company called Seagulls, party of the community re-paint charity, which basically are a charity which recycles paint then sells it on a lower cost. Most of the paint is found in skips and from donations.

We managed to two 5ltr tins for £7 rather than £20 or more and the best thing is they can mix whatever colour you like.

You save money, the environment and help support local community projects at the same time. oh but you do have to put the paint on yourself!!

Seagulls Re-use Ltd
Unit 3 & 4, Aire place mills
Kirkstall Road, Leeds
LS3 1JL

By Phone:
0113 2467 510

By Email:
info@seagullsreuse.org.uk

Opening times:
Monday – Friday 10am – 4pm
Saturdays 10 am – 2pm

Saturday 29th is buy nothing day again.

What even though the economy needs us? surely not

So it’s buy nothing day again, seen as I’m a militant hippy lefty I never buy or have a lot of money, so it often passes me buy if I’m honest, however this year it seems to have more relevance. With the recent economic down turn, the government is encouraging us to get out there spending to save the sinking ship. Like some roll out the barrel, dig for victory, before my time bullshit.

The government say that we should put aside our liberal guardian reading ideals for the moment as we rely on the economy to pay for services and benefits, which us liberal spongers also use. I’m not saying that this is not true but to be honest at the moment I’m not considering changing my views. This shift has been on the cards for a long while.

I’ve not yet had to tighten my belt even though I’ve noticed the slow rise in food prices. I live a certain way for many reasons many I feel are worth trying. I’m lucky that at the moment I can still do this buy choice some people are forced into changing lifestyles through unemployment etc. At the same time I find it hard to feel a great deal of sympathy for people struggling to pay a mortgage on a house they could barely afford in the first place. Also I had the unfortunate pleasure of having to make my way through Leeds city centre last saturday and if shear numbers are anything to go buy then the lemmings are still on course.

Those that bought into the capitalist consumer ideal have made their beds. I’ll not be changing my spending habits through any sense of national pride for something I never wanted to be part of. I can’t imagine feeling sad as high street shops close or supermarkets close. I must agree that the thought of little executives going hungry as Starbucks and Gregg’s close down is worrying but some how I always get to sleep some how.

People on a low wage out of a job is always a shame but just perhaps this will force radical change rather than coaxing the banks to start letting us plebs borrows more than we can ever hope to pay back just to keep the wheels turning.

new start

well I’ve finally got a place to call home after over a year of couch surfing and travelling about all over the country trying to find a place to belong. I’m now living in Leeds in a little back to back house with no outside space at all, feels a little like a step backwards but there you go. At least I’ve got an allotment and it’s just across the road so thats a bonus.

I’ll keep it brief as I’m having trouble with the computer at the moment but when it’s sorted I’ll get back on with this.

blogging brings about BBC action network closure

This month the BBC’s action network who previously attempted to get like minded people and groups together, has to admit defeat as bloggers take over. The BBC site has been running for five years but can no longer keep up. It’s nice to know we make a difference. Here’s their goodbye speech.

Dear Action Network members,

We are sorry to announce that the Action Network website will be closing on Wednesday 30 April 2008.

Action Network, which helps people get involved in their neighbourhood, has been running for five years. It was one of the first user-generated websites to embrace online democracy and help people publicise their campaigns and articles online.

But in the last few years blogs have led to a revolution in online publishing. Today there are 71m blogs on the web and more and more of our campaigners are enthusiastically blogging or joining social networking sites to get their message out.

At the same time other fantastic democracy websites have launched, such as TheyWorkForYou and E-Petitions, which are being used by our members along with all the other tools available on the web.

Although we’ve continued to update our site with new features, we now feel that the pace and innovation of online democracy means that our members can access a wider range of web tools, and have more control of their campaigns, outside Action Network.

So, sadly, Action Network will be closed at the end of April, and we will be providing information to our members on how they can find new homes for their campaigns (see the link to FAQs).

However in line with the BBC’s public service remit, we will continue our commitment to help people engage in civic life and national debate with two new initiatives.

The first will be to launch a new service which will give people access to all the BBC’s content across tv, radio and online on a range of topical issues. Many of these topic pages will reflect the same issues that have been central to Action Network, from healthcare and schools, to public transport and policing.

Each topic page will offer the latest news stories on an issue, including TV and radio programmes, while linking to the wider debate through people’s blogs, campaigns and websites.

Many of the Action Network guides and briefings will be moved across to the BBC News Online website and will be found in the new topic pages – and will continue to help people understand how political systems work and how to get involved.

The second is a wider digital democracy broadband project, ultimately aiming to provide video of debates and speeches from our main institutions, information on your local and national representatives, guides to issues and the institutions, and easy ways for anyone to plug in and take part.

For more information on the Action Network closure we have provided a list of FAQs which we hope will answer all your queries.

We wish you the best in your campaigning.

turning 30

Well sorry that posts are still thin on the ground but there’s not a lot to report. I ‘ve not lost my way but I’m more preacher than practitioner at the moment. I’m still so surprised at the ammount of interest in my little blog. Had a great e-mail the other week a lady wanted to interview me as part of a piece on green parenting (I think) I would have loved to do it but was busy travelling around.

Anyway this month marks a milestone in my life on the second of October I said goodbye to my twenties. Like many people I did have a sence of panic probably more so as I’m worse off than when I turned twenty!! no house no money well at least things can only get better from here. I also managed to celebrate in full childish style by going away to spain ( yes on a plain but sssshhhhh don’t tell anyone ) had a great time and I think a drink or two? now I feel really positive about the future and ready to move on.

I’m going to promise myself to start posting again soon which means I’ll have to get my arse into gear and do something worth talking about. Thanks for looking.

good karma

Last night I recieved the most amazing phone call out of the blue. Last month at a festival I found a purse outside the beer tent being slightly merry myself I put it in my pocket and wobbled off to bed. The next morning when I looked in it there was £60 driving licience bank card and a ferry pass. Now I’m not saying that I did not consider keeping the money it was very tempting being a skint tramp. My conscience took over and I handed it in with a contact number.

I had almost frgotten about it, so it was amazing to get a phone call from someone with nothing but praise for me and find out how much it helped her and what a problem she would have been in if she did not get it back. I wil be spending today feeling smug.

Seed saving

So all your plants have gone to seed, well good that means free seed next year. All my lettuce and raddish have gone wild but I normally rip them up and compost them, what a fool I have been as then come spring I buy the very same varieties all over again, well no longer. Next years lettuce will be 100% organic and more importantly 100% free.