Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Monday, August 22, 2005
Spent the weekend at the Moor Music Festival near Ilkley, on the edge of a beautiful Yorkshire moor, having a fantastic time. I went as part of the Northern Green Gathering space; we took a piano, a box of dressing up clothes, and leaflets/info about environmental stuff - oh, and I set up a Bookcrossing table. The bit I enjoyed most was helping men dress up in sparkly frocks on Friday night. On Saturday I had to pop into Ilkley to buy more big partyish clothes from the charity shops. The idea of the Frox Box is that people can borrow stuff for the event and return it before they go home, but I'm not sure that much actually got brought back. Anyway, it was great fun and I think it could become a permanent feature of Northern Green Gathering. The piano was a big success too, drawing in musicians and singers, and lending a bit of culture to the proceedings. Being next door to the Electric Fish cafe which had its own stage and PA meant it wasn't always too easy to hear what was happening in the NGG tent though!
There were two other bigger stages across the field with almost round-the-clock music. I got to see some of it. Top of my pops were Jon Gomm, The Bluefoot Project, Haggis Horns and Dreadzone. There was plenty more good music happening over the weekend too, but just catching bits as I wandered round means I couldn't tell you who was making it most of the time.
Creative Intentions cafe, our other neighbour, kept the site well supplied with delicious salads, veggie hotdogs and cakes for the duration, in a welcoming, comfy space. Jules cooked up a particularly scrummy Moroccan stew with couscous on Saturday.
This was mostly a very good event; efficient litter pickers kept the site clean, and there was no trouble at all as far as I could see. On Saturday though the security/stewards started stopping people taking their own booze from the camping field into the main field - if you wanted to drink while watching a band you had to buy it from Charlie's Bar. The organisers hadn't advertised this policy in advance, so most people had come stocked up with their chosen poison for the weekend, and weren't too chuffed at being stopped from carrying it round with them.
The only other criticism I want to make is that there weren't enough toilets. There was a row in the main field with maybe 16 and another 2 in the camping field (2 in the camping field for nearly 1000 people? To get to the others you had to walk all the way round the long fence that had been erected to restrict access to the main field). Anyway, they were cleaned on Saturday morning, and were fine til late evening by which time they were getting unpleasant. By Sunday morning there were only 2 that were usable - the rest were full to overflowing. So more toilets would have been good, and some facility for handwashing. The only water on site was a small drinking water bowser in each field.
Moor Music Festival site has got to be one of the loveliest festival sites I've been to. The view was incredible - especially from Windgate Nick from where I watched the sunset on Saturday with my lovely Stu. From the bench on top of the hill we could see all the way to Silsden and Riddlesden in one valley, then Ilkley and Addingham in the next, while purple heather convered the moorland in between. It was stunning.
I actually had such a good weekend that I pretty much ran out of superlatives by Sunday evening. So think yourselves lucky I'm blogging today instead of last night - you would have had just a gush of 'gorgeous', 'beautiful', 'sumptuous', 'stupendous', etc etc etc.
There were two other bigger stages across the field with almost round-the-clock music. I got to see some of it. Top of my pops were Jon Gomm, The Bluefoot Project, Haggis Horns and Dreadzone. There was plenty more good music happening over the weekend too, but just catching bits as I wandered round means I couldn't tell you who was making it most of the time.
Creative Intentions cafe, our other neighbour, kept the site well supplied with delicious salads, veggie hotdogs and cakes for the duration, in a welcoming, comfy space. Jules cooked up a particularly scrummy Moroccan stew with couscous on Saturday.
This was mostly a very good event; efficient litter pickers kept the site clean, and there was no trouble at all as far as I could see. On Saturday though the security/stewards started stopping people taking their own booze from the camping field into the main field - if you wanted to drink while watching a band you had to buy it from Charlie's Bar. The organisers hadn't advertised this policy in advance, so most people had come stocked up with their chosen poison for the weekend, and weren't too chuffed at being stopped from carrying it round with them.
The only other criticism I want to make is that there weren't enough toilets. There was a row in the main field with maybe 16 and another 2 in the camping field (2 in the camping field for nearly 1000 people? To get to the others you had to walk all the way round the long fence that had been erected to restrict access to the main field). Anyway, they were cleaned on Saturday morning, and were fine til late evening by which time they were getting unpleasant. By Sunday morning there were only 2 that were usable - the rest were full to overflowing. So more toilets would have been good, and some facility for handwashing. The only water on site was a small drinking water bowser in each field.
Moor Music Festival site has got to be one of the loveliest festival sites I've been to. The view was incredible - especially from Windgate Nick from where I watched the sunset on Saturday with my lovely Stu. From the bench on top of the hill we could see all the way to Silsden and Riddlesden in one valley, then Ilkley and Addingham in the next, while purple heather convered the moorland in between. It was stunning.
I actually had such a good weekend that I pretty much ran out of superlatives by Sunday evening. So think yourselves lucky I'm blogging today instead of last night - you would have had just a gush of 'gorgeous', 'beautiful', 'sumptuous', 'stupendous', etc etc etc.
Monday, August 15, 2005
I promised Merrick this recipe for a spicey elderberry wine:
Ingredients
1.3kg (3lb) elderberries
450g (1lb) raisins
2 inches Root ginger & a handful of cloves
1.25kg (2 3/4lb) sugar
20g (1/2 oz) citric acid
wine yeast & nutrient
4.5 litres (1 gallon) water
Method
Strip the berries from the stalks using a fork. Put them in your bucket, crush the berries then set aside. Simmer the ginger and cloves in the water for 15 minutes, then add the raisins. Pour this over your elderberries, stir and allow to cool to 20C (70F) before adding the yeast, citric acid and nutrient. Cover closely and leave for 3 days in a warm place, stirring daily. Next, strain through a sieve or muslin bag onto the sugar. Pour the mixture into a dark demijohn (this helps preserve the lovely colour). Don't fill right to the top until the first vigorous ferment has subsided; when it has, top up with cold boiled water and fit fermentation lock. Leave till fermentation is complete then siphon into dark bottles. Keep for at least 6 months before drinking.
Ingredients
1.3kg (3lb) elderberries
450g (1lb) raisins
2 inches Root ginger & a handful of cloves
1.25kg (2 3/4lb) sugar
20g (1/2 oz) citric acid
wine yeast & nutrient
4.5 litres (1 gallon) water
Method
Strip the berries from the stalks using a fork. Put them in your bucket, crush the berries then set aside. Simmer the ginger and cloves in the water for 15 minutes, then add the raisins. Pour this over your elderberries, stir and allow to cool to 20C (70F) before adding the yeast, citric acid and nutrient. Cover closely and leave for 3 days in a warm place, stirring daily. Next, strain through a sieve or muslin bag onto the sugar. Pour the mixture into a dark demijohn (this helps preserve the lovely colour). Don't fill right to the top until the first vigorous ferment has subsided; when it has, top up with cold boiled water and fit fermentation lock. Leave till fermentation is complete then siphon into dark bottles. Keep for at least 6 months before drinking.
Sunday, August 14, 2005
Sunday is drawing to a close and it's back to work for me tomorrow after a very pleasant week of idleness. I spent much of it reading the latest Harry Potter - finished, a review will be posted presently. But had a couple of good days out too. On Thursday I had a walk in Middleton Woods with the ever-lovely Stuart. There are some beautiful trees there, as you would hope, and lounging around in a sunny spot watching a mob of long-tailed tits chasing each other through branches certainly beats sitting in the office looking at bits of paper.
A big chunk of Saturday dribbled by as I waited for the rain to stop before heading over to Hyde Park for Unity Day. Always a good opportunity to run into people I haven't seen for a while, and this one proved no exception. Imbibed some alcohol with some fellow Northern Greenies. And there was a 'Free Shop' - donate stuff, take stuff, no money required. While there wasn't a lot there by the time I arrived, I did pick up a copy of The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro. Unity Day packed up at 9pm and we moved on to Cornerstone to partake of the festivities at their garden party and hobnob with various other friends and fellow activist types. Bluebell was resplendent in scarlet, while Merrick was touting some very strange looking cucumber wine that he'd made from produce found in a skip. Resourceful.
Anyway, a lovely evening was enjoyed by all, as far as I could see and I managed to not be too hungover today, which was nice!
A big chunk of Saturday dribbled by as I waited for the rain to stop before heading over to Hyde Park for Unity Day. Always a good opportunity to run into people I haven't seen for a while, and this one proved no exception. Imbibed some alcohol with some fellow Northern Greenies. And there was a 'Free Shop' - donate stuff, take stuff, no money required. While there wasn't a lot there by the time I arrived, I did pick up a copy of The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro. Unity Day packed up at 9pm and we moved on to Cornerstone to partake of the festivities at their garden party and hobnob with various other friends and fellow activist types. Bluebell was resplendent in scarlet, while Merrick was touting some very strange looking cucumber wine that he'd made from produce found in a skip. Resourceful.
Anyway, a lovely evening was enjoyed by all, as far as I could see and I managed to not be too hungover today, which was nice!
Friday, August 12, 2005
The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde
In this, the first of a new series, Jasper Fforde is back on form. Leaving literary detective Thursday Next to her own devices, we are introduced to Detective Inspector Jack Spratt of the Reading-based Nursery Crimes Division as he investigates the suspicious death of Humperdinck Stuyvesant van Dumpty - found shattered at the foot of his favourite wall shortly after Easter. Was it suicide? It seems unlikely. With his new sergeant Mary Mary, Spratt finds himself in the middle of a complex mystery.
Fforde's clever writing once again had me giggling on the bus, as he mixed nursery rhymes with 'reality' to create a surreal world where talking bears enjoy the same rights as human beings, In Fforde's imaginary Reading anything can happen.
As in the earlier series chapters open with quotes from such publications as "The Toad" and "Who's What?", while familiar fictional detectives are transformed into the likes of Miss Maple and Inspector Moose.
If you enjoyed the Thursday Next series I think you'll like this - (it is an improvement on Something Rotten which didn't quite do it for me). I'm already looking forward to Jack and Mary having another adventure.
In this, the first of a new series, Jasper Fforde is back on form. Leaving literary detective Thursday Next to her own devices, we are introduced to Detective Inspector Jack Spratt of the Reading-based Nursery Crimes Division as he investigates the suspicious death of Humperdinck Stuyvesant van Dumpty - found shattered at the foot of his favourite wall shortly after Easter. Was it suicide? It seems unlikely. With his new sergeant Mary Mary, Spratt finds himself in the middle of a complex mystery.
Fforde's clever writing once again had me giggling on the bus, as he mixed nursery rhymes with 'reality' to create a surreal world where talking bears enjoy the same rights as human beings, In Fforde's imaginary Reading anything can happen.
As in the earlier series chapters open with quotes from such publications as "The Toad" and "Who's What?", while familiar fictional detectives are transformed into the likes of Miss Maple and Inspector Moose.
If you enjoyed the Thursday Next series I think you'll like this - (it is an improvement on Something Rotten which didn't quite do it for me). I'm already looking forward to Jack and Mary having another adventure.
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Since my last post I suffered an almightly hangover, having spent much of Saturday drinking with the Leeds Bookcrossers at the Kirkstall Abbey picnic follwed up by a bottle or two of wine with a neighbour from across the street - and much tobacco smoking too. I felt really yukky on Sunday. And it was all self-inflicted. Stooopid.
So Sunday was very well-behaved. Leetle bit of food, no alcohol, no tobacco. Ditto Monday - which also involved a long walk with my sister and my nephews. Unfortunately I can't quite say the same for today, although I was mostly good. But then I went to the monthly Bookcrossers meet at the Wrens pub, swapped some books, drank a fair amount of very good beer and scrounged a couple of cigarettes from Yorkshire Soul. So as you can see I'm struggling with being a non-smoker!
Apart from all that almost-debauchery I've been sitting around the house reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - very good so far! I'll post my review of The Big Over Easy tomorrow.
So Sunday was very well-behaved. Leetle bit of food, no alcohol, no tobacco. Ditto Monday - which also involved a long walk with my sister and my nephews. Unfortunately I can't quite say the same for today, although I was mostly good. But then I went to the monthly Bookcrossers meet at the Wrens pub, swapped some books, drank a fair amount of very good beer and scrounged a couple of cigarettes from Yorkshire Soul. So as you can see I'm struggling with being a non-smoker!
Apart from all that almost-debauchery I've been sitting around the house reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - very good so far! I'll post my review of The Big Over Easy tomorrow.
Saturday, August 06, 2005
Did you see this story about the artist Banksy on Channel 4 news the other day? He has been painting on the wall the Israelis have built in Palestine. Take a look - you can view the report and see his work.
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
Just popped over to have a look at Bristling Badger where Merrick reminded me of the destructive goings on in Iceland. He writes that "Alcoa, the world’s largest aluminium company, approached the Icelandic government with a view to building an enormous aluminium smelter there, and the government readily agreed". This project threatens Icelands unique ecosystems, as well as the environment for many miles around. Unsurpringly, profit is being placed firmly before planet. This project won't benefit Iceland, won't benefit the people living there, certainly won't do anything to enhance the wildlife.
As I was reading Merrick's article I realised that I knew all this already - I came back to my blog and did a search but could find no mention of it. Then I realised I'd raised it in a question to the West Yorkshire Pension Fund at last year's Annual General Meeting when I was trying to draw attention to their unfriendly investment practices - they invest in Barclays (among others) and Barclays is a major player in funding the Iceland project. As you no doubt will have guessed, I got little joy out of my questioning, just a load of flannel. Anyway, I originally got my info about the dam & smelter project from Friends of the Earth.
As I was reading Merrick's article I realised that I knew all this already - I came back to my blog and did a search but could find no mention of it. Then I realised I'd raised it in a question to the West Yorkshire Pension Fund at last year's Annual General Meeting when I was trying to draw attention to their unfriendly investment practices - they invest in Barclays (among others) and Barclays is a major player in funding the Iceland project. As you no doubt will have guessed, I got little joy out of my questioning, just a load of flannel. Anyway, I originally got my info about the dam & smelter project from Friends of the Earth.
