Monday, May 30, 2005
monster dancing in the park
(sorry I accidentally managed to publish the last post twice!)
so, only a week in Notts but done heaps already and already done quite a bit, nice to know I am here for at least a month cos means I can get stuck in to some projects and things. Moved into the flat that amazingly produced itself right when I needed somewhere to stay - its a terranced house which means its part of a long line of 2 story brick flats all joined in a line with a door right on the footpath and a square of 'garden' out the back (think coro street or any other British series). Its nice though, sharing it with someone else till she migrates to Scotland for a couple of months. Its also in the perfect location - best fruit and vege and general supplies in the area right round the corner, as well as a great chippie and samosa shop (lots of Indian and Pakistani people live here, there are about 6 sari shops nearby too!), then the social centre where I hang out is about 2 minutes away, along with the vegan bakery and organics shop! Its also 15 mins to get into the centre of town. Lovely.
I'm trainning up to help run the bar at the social centre, like cleaning the lines and restocking and all the other duties as well as pulling pints when the bar opens thurs/fri/sat nights. Have done 2 shifts already, great way to meet the locals!
Also helped with 'veggies' the vegan catering gang here that have a fine reputation in Notts for scrummy food! They were at the Green Festival on Sunday - so chopped lots of onions on Saturday!! And yes, another Green Festival! Seem to be doing a tour of them! this one yesterday was alot smaller than Newcastle but still fun and groovy, I helped at the Veggies/Sumac stall, funny giving out info and talking to people like I've been here forever!
Then I had my first paid job in the UK - got to dress up as a blue monster from outerspace, whom together with my pal the purple monster collected children up to do monster dancing with us! The people who do this as a funded job play the violin and guitar and call out the dances, so we just play along and hold the kids hands and try and keep things going smoothly... which didn't always work, the older ones try and pull your mask off and make trouble and the younger ones can't keep up and fall over! Still, lots of fun and a great work-out! And got £10 for it!
Also hunting for more work of the paid variety while I'm here, but sure it won't be nearly as interesting as that.
People are often asking where I'm from and its true NZ has a wonderful reputation over here, and met heaps of people who have been over and loved it etc. My accent sometimes causes problems, the most common one when I say my name - "Cle-ear?" they say, "hmm how do you spell that?"... "oh! Cla-air!" so now I often say my name in an English accent to avoid confusion!
Oh, and we had a really hot day on friday - 25 degrees and really sticky muggy heat - first real summer day over here after a long winter, it was lovely except when you are in a stuffy bar and the dishwasher is right next to you! Won't rub it in how warm it is here though.. :)
love and all things fabulous
xxx
so, only a week in Notts but done heaps already and already done quite a bit, nice to know I am here for at least a month cos means I can get stuck in to some projects and things. Moved into the flat that amazingly produced itself right when I needed somewhere to stay - its a terranced house which means its part of a long line of 2 story brick flats all joined in a line with a door right on the footpath and a square of 'garden' out the back (think coro street or any other British series). Its nice though, sharing it with someone else till she migrates to Scotland for a couple of months. Its also in the perfect location - best fruit and vege and general supplies in the area right round the corner, as well as a great chippie and samosa shop (lots of Indian and Pakistani people live here, there are about 6 sari shops nearby too!), then the social centre where I hang out is about 2 minutes away, along with the vegan bakery and organics shop! Its also 15 mins to get into the centre of town. Lovely.
I'm trainning up to help run the bar at the social centre, like cleaning the lines and restocking and all the other duties as well as pulling pints when the bar opens thurs/fri/sat nights. Have done 2 shifts already, great way to meet the locals!
Also helped with 'veggies' the vegan catering gang here that have a fine reputation in Notts for scrummy food! They were at the Green Festival on Sunday - so chopped lots of onions on Saturday!! And yes, another Green Festival! Seem to be doing a tour of them! this one yesterday was alot smaller than Newcastle but still fun and groovy, I helped at the Veggies/Sumac stall, funny giving out info and talking to people like I've been here forever!
Then I had my first paid job in the UK - got to dress up as a blue monster from outerspace, whom together with my pal the purple monster collected children up to do monster dancing with us! The people who do this as a funded job play the violin and guitar and call out the dances, so we just play along and hold the kids hands and try and keep things going smoothly... which didn't always work, the older ones try and pull your mask off and make trouble and the younger ones can't keep up and fall over! Still, lots of fun and a great work-out! And got £10 for it!
Also hunting for more work of the paid variety while I'm here, but sure it won't be nearly as interesting as that.
People are often asking where I'm from and its true NZ has a wonderful reputation over here, and met heaps of people who have been over and loved it etc. My accent sometimes causes problems, the most common one when I say my name - "Cle-ear?" they say, "hmm how do you spell that?"... "oh! Cla-air!" so now I often say my name in an English accent to avoid confusion!
Oh, and we had a really hot day on friday - 25 degrees and really sticky muggy heat - first real summer day over here after a long winter, it was lovely except when you are in a stuffy bar and the dishwasher is right next to you! Won't rub it in how warm it is here though.. :)
love and all things fabulous
xxx
Monday, May 23, 2005
greetings from nottingham
Hey there, hmm lets see...My second week in Scarborough went well, more volunteering on the woodland and by the end of the week it was quite satisfying to look and see what I have contributed to the project, the guest caravan is now painted and has its own fence and garden area, and a big area of woodland is gorse free and ready to be used! (not that I did it all - I was part of a working team!).On my last day there I went on a big walk to a nearby forest and wandered through the big old trees, listened to the birds, smelt the wild garlic growing everywhere and ate a picnic lunch by the river! Then walked down to the village near by and did a loop back to where I was staying. So had a great time there, nice to stay put in one place for a bit and relax and Louisa and her family were great and big thanks to them all!Last friday I travelled south to Nottingham, all weekend there was another organising gathering for the G8, about 100 people all rather stressed and busy but it was much better meeting people a second time round (in a warmer environment!) and getting to know them all a bit better. Lots of late night parties as well so now totally exhausted!Very lucky cos have a flat to house sit for a while here, and Nottingham is a very cool city - its known as a 'greenie' hub with the social centre and housing co-op and vegan food places and activities etc so looking forward to staying here for a bit.Quite cool how smoothly its all going so far, it all seems to come together perfectly and there is so much to take in and experience its awesome! well, umm, could keep going on about the silly small things but don't think I will (at the moment) just say big hugs to all and keep on doing your good things :)
greetings from nottingham
Hey there, hmm lets see...
My second week in Scarborough went well, more volunteering on the woodland and by the end of the week it was quite satisfying to look and see what I have contributed to the project, the guest caravan is now painted and has its own fence and garden area, and a big area of woodland is gorse free and ready to be used! (not that I did it all - I was part of a working team!).
On my last day there I went on a big walk to a nearby forest and wandered through the big old trees, listened to the birds, smelt the wild garlic growing everywhere and ate a picnic lunch by the river! Then walked down to the village near by and did a loop back to where I was staying. So had a great time there, nice to stay put in one place for a bit and relax and Louisa and her family were great and big thanks to them all!
Last friday I travelled south to Nottingham, all weekend there was another organising gathering for the G8, about 100 people all rather stressed and busy but it was much better meeting people a second time round (in a warmer environment!) and getting to know them all a bit better. Lots of late night parties as well so now totally exhausted!
Very lucky cos have a flat to house sit for a while here, and Nottingham is a very cool city - its known as a 'greenie' hub with the social centre and housing co-op and vegan food places and activities etc so looking forward to staying here for a bit.
Quite cool how smoothly its all going so far, it all seems to come together perfectly and there is so much to take in and experience its awesome! well, umm, could keep going on about the silly small things but don't think I will (at the moment) just say big hugs to all and keep on doing your good things :)
My second week in Scarborough went well, more volunteering on the woodland and by the end of the week it was quite satisfying to look and see what I have contributed to the project, the guest caravan is now painted and has its own fence and garden area, and a big area of woodland is gorse free and ready to be used! (not that I did it all - I was part of a working team!).
On my last day there I went on a big walk to a nearby forest and wandered through the big old trees, listened to the birds, smelt the wild garlic growing everywhere and ate a picnic lunch by the river! Then walked down to the village near by and did a loop back to where I was staying. So had a great time there, nice to stay put in one place for a bit and relax and Louisa and her family were great and big thanks to them all!
Last friday I travelled south to Nottingham, all weekend there was another organising gathering for the G8, about 100 people all rather stressed and busy but it was much better meeting people a second time round (in a warmer environment!) and getting to know them all a bit better. Lots of late night parties as well so now totally exhausted!
Very lucky cos have a flat to house sit for a while here, and Nottingham is a very cool city - its known as a 'greenie' hub with the social centre and housing co-op and vegan food places and activities etc so looking forward to staying here for a bit.
Quite cool how smoothly its all going so far, it all seems to come together perfectly and there is so much to take in and experience its awesome! well, umm, could keep going on about the silly small things but don't think I will (at the moment) just say big hugs to all and keep on doing your good things :)
Friday, May 13, 2005
Scarborough - fairly cool!
howdy, well I'm not here for the actual Scarborough Fair - but it means I miss the hoards of people that apparantly decend here for their summer holiday by the beach, but haven't been based in the town itself, I've been staying on a woodland about 10mins drive away.
Got here Thursday last week, and met by Louisa in her big red van - she purchased the land (not sure how big but not huge by NZ forest standards) a couple of years ago and after masses of paperwork and offical crap to go through she is now able to start turning it into a community resource and sustainable educational area - in the long term there will be places to walk round and enjoy the trees, as well as a mill and training on how to turn the wood into furniture and other woodworking skills. But for now its some caravans on site (I am in one of them) and lots of clearing to do!
She also runs a housing clearance business on the side (cos there is no such thing as the 'Super Shed' here, any household goods chucked out go straight to landfill) where she picks up peoples unwanted stuff and sorts it out to various charities, secondhand dealers etc. But because she doesn't have any storage space yet, all that stuff lives in the yard! So while its lovely in the trees, its also like living in amongst a big recycling centre (quite fun to go treasure hunting in though).
She has 4 people working part time for her (she has 2 kids, Cathy and Bill [who is a Harry Potter lookalike!] also) so I've been helping them with gorse clearing (yup! they have it by the bucketload here too) fence building, yard cleaning, caravan painting, whatever needs doing! Its been a fine week to do it in too, some lovely sunny days... yesterday I went to the edge of the woodlands and had lunch in the sun looking out over the moors, its a great veiw of typical English countryside with the bright yellow rapeseed paddocks and the grass fields resembling a patchwork quilt.
Anyways, am in Scarborough for the day - the beach is nice, but nothing special (I would say that though) and its surrounded by hotels and holiday homes. The castle up on the cliff that separates the two beach fronts is very impressive - will walk up there for a look next. For those interested the Brontes all spent time here and in Filey which is south from here and where I'm off to tomorrow.
Going to spend next week here too, then on to Nottingham for a while to visit the social centre which is ment to be 'where its at' :)
Been a bit homesick recently I'm not afraid to admit - talked to Mum and Dad last weekend and its hard thinking that I'm so far away and not going to be seeing anyone for a while (unless you all come and visit me which I suggest you do!). I do miss everyone! Often have to remind myself I am here and take it all in - its quite discombobulating (sorry, its one of my favourite words!).
Love and hugs to all as always, and don't be afraid to email me OK?!
Got here Thursday last week, and met by Louisa in her big red van - she purchased the land (not sure how big but not huge by NZ forest standards) a couple of years ago and after masses of paperwork and offical crap to go through she is now able to start turning it into a community resource and sustainable educational area - in the long term there will be places to walk round and enjoy the trees, as well as a mill and training on how to turn the wood into furniture and other woodworking skills. But for now its some caravans on site (I am in one of them) and lots of clearing to do!
She also runs a housing clearance business on the side (cos there is no such thing as the 'Super Shed' here, any household goods chucked out go straight to landfill) where she picks up peoples unwanted stuff and sorts it out to various charities, secondhand dealers etc. But because she doesn't have any storage space yet, all that stuff lives in the yard! So while its lovely in the trees, its also like living in amongst a big recycling centre (quite fun to go treasure hunting in though).
She has 4 people working part time for her (she has 2 kids, Cathy and Bill [who is a Harry Potter lookalike!] also) so I've been helping them with gorse clearing (yup! they have it by the bucketload here too) fence building, yard cleaning, caravan painting, whatever needs doing! Its been a fine week to do it in too, some lovely sunny days... yesterday I went to the edge of the woodlands and had lunch in the sun looking out over the moors, its a great veiw of typical English countryside with the bright yellow rapeseed paddocks and the grass fields resembling a patchwork quilt.
Anyways, am in Scarborough for the day - the beach is nice, but nothing special (I would say that though) and its surrounded by hotels and holiday homes. The castle up on the cliff that separates the two beach fronts is very impressive - will walk up there for a look next. For those interested the Brontes all spent time here and in Filey which is south from here and where I'm off to tomorrow.
Going to spend next week here too, then on to Nottingham for a while to visit the social centre which is ment to be 'where its at' :)
Been a bit homesick recently I'm not afraid to admit - talked to Mum and Dad last weekend and its hard thinking that I'm so far away and not going to be seeing anyone for a while (unless you all come and visit me which I suggest you do!). I do miss everyone! Often have to remind myself I am here and take it all in - its quite discombobulating (sorry, its one of my favourite words!).
Love and hugs to all as always, and don't be afraid to email me OK?!
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
Green(ish) Festival in Newcastle
Hey hey
Well its been one month since I arrived! Quite an achievement I think, its gone pretty fast really - and done so many things already too, racing around the country.
I got on the bus at Leeds on Saturday heading for Newcastle - there was a 'Green Festival' there over the long weekend (May bank holiday) so with nothing better to do I headed up to it! (Sophie had a contact there that said I could crash with them...) A couple of hours later, after road rage and a duck flying into the windscreen I was there - in the middle of a mass convergence of Newcastle soccer fans going to a game! Battled my way through a sea of black and white till I found the park where the festival was at - its central and right next to the soccer stadium! Once I got inside however I felt much better - the place was all colourful and vibrant and happening, found the guy putting me up, had a feed at the social centre cafe then volunteered my time as a steward. Sold programmes mostly (the festival itself was totally free) which ment I could walk round and take it all in - it was pretty big and full of stalls, information on all things 'green', yummy vege food, kids games and activities, a healing area full of coloured te-pees, a heritage area with woodworking, felt and fabric making, bread making and other old-school skills, and about five different music stages/zones. Saturday was a family day then Sunday alcohol was sold and music went till 11pm. Took a while for the sun to come out on Sunday but when it did the place was groovin! there were amazing drumming groups (I thought of Annora!) music from all over the world (Iranian, Hindi, punk, folk, reggae, Cuban, trance...) it was great! Except that being in the centre of town and open to all and selling booze, it sort of morfed into a version of Sparks in the Park with thousands of drunken hords.
This made for a HUGE clean-up on Monday, volunteered my time picking up rubbish and sorting out recycling, it really didn't look like much of a green festival then I can tell ya! By 9pm that evening we had got a large chunk of the clean up done, and had (fish) and chips under the bandstand - even tried mushy peas but not really to my liking.
The people I have been staying with are lovely, the Newcastle crowd are really neat and at the moment starting up a social centre (hence the fundraising cafe) which is close to happening.
Haven't seen much of Newcastle itself yet, will do today - then the plan is to go back down south to Scarborough to help on a woodlands project. Hope to get free board in exchange for working on the project.
All and all things are going smashing - having a blast travelling round and seeing all the amazing things and energies here. Whats the word in NZ? anything of great importance I should know about?! Often think about what everyone is up to :) is it getting cold and yucky yet?
hugs and lots of happiness
me
Well its been one month since I arrived! Quite an achievement I think, its gone pretty fast really - and done so many things already too, racing around the country.
I got on the bus at Leeds on Saturday heading for Newcastle - there was a 'Green Festival' there over the long weekend (May bank holiday) so with nothing better to do I headed up to it! (Sophie had a contact there that said I could crash with them...) A couple of hours later, after road rage and a duck flying into the windscreen I was there - in the middle of a mass convergence of Newcastle soccer fans going to a game! Battled my way through a sea of black and white till I found the park where the festival was at - its central and right next to the soccer stadium! Once I got inside however I felt much better - the place was all colourful and vibrant and happening, found the guy putting me up, had a feed at the social centre cafe then volunteered my time as a steward. Sold programmes mostly (the festival itself was totally free) which ment I could walk round and take it all in - it was pretty big and full of stalls, information on all things 'green', yummy vege food, kids games and activities, a healing area full of coloured te-pees, a heritage area with woodworking, felt and fabric making, bread making and other old-school skills, and about five different music stages/zones. Saturday was a family day then Sunday alcohol was sold and music went till 11pm. Took a while for the sun to come out on Sunday but when it did the place was groovin! there were amazing drumming groups (I thought of Annora!) music from all over the world (Iranian, Hindi, punk, folk, reggae, Cuban, trance...) it was great! Except that being in the centre of town and open to all and selling booze, it sort of morfed into a version of Sparks in the Park with thousands of drunken hords.
This made for a HUGE clean-up on Monday, volunteered my time picking up rubbish and sorting out recycling, it really didn't look like much of a green festival then I can tell ya! By 9pm that evening we had got a large chunk of the clean up done, and had (fish) and chips under the bandstand - even tried mushy peas but not really to my liking.
The people I have been staying with are lovely, the Newcastle crowd are really neat and at the moment starting up a social centre (hence the fundraising cafe) which is close to happening.
Haven't seen much of Newcastle itself yet, will do today - then the plan is to go back down south to Scarborough to help on a woodlands project. Hope to get free board in exchange for working on the project.
All and all things are going smashing - having a blast travelling round and seeing all the amazing things and energies here. Whats the word in NZ? anything of great importance I should know about?! Often think about what everyone is up to :) is it getting cold and yucky yet?
hugs and lots of happiness
me
