TRYING TO WET YOUR APPETITE!

Enjoyed giving a talk with colour slides, entitled ‘Getting real about Going Green’ to the Grange Forum. Herewith a condensed version of said talk. You could say it’s a sort of advert for same.

Talk divided into various sections (in capitals) and slides (small case).

INTRODUCTION : SETTING THE SCENE
Going for a renewable/replacement, rather than capital/finite exploitation approach. Here is the Earth – ‘don’t spend it all at once’. Tory Island, off the coast of Donegal – peat for fuel removed down to the bedrock. Result – desert! Energy demand, per capita, of Asia, China, Africa, India ‘versus’ – Japan, Europe, Australasia, USSR and USA. Shows a divided world. Go for global village status. Wine Glass visual. Container of glass (1/5th) – The ‘Wealthy’ world. Neck of glass – 4/5th) – The ‘Poor’ world.

MACHINES VERSUS HUMAN POWERED TOOLS
Harvesting grapes with machine (cost £1/2 million) Sprint Mill approach – low tec hand tools.– Two person cross cut saw (£5 from tool stall in Kendal market!) / Scythe (not strimmer) / besom (not petrol driven blower) Side Axe, froe / simple kitchen tools (not electrical gadgets) - Sieves – Chaff/debris chopper.

HUMAN INGENUITY
Tomatoes grown in telephone box – Sheltered walled garden on wind swept Hebredian island – Black plastic bag ‘rain-coat’.

USING LOCAL RESOURSES
Wwoofers felting – making baskets –compost loos on Erraid using human effluent and sea-weed – No dig beds in veggie patch – stone paths – gooseberries – red currants – red cabbage –runner beans – Belinda, the ‘scare lady’ amongst wild foxgloves – gleaming organic apples – savoy in the frost –huge bowl of fresh gooseberries with cat – ‘art’ lettuces- leek with dew – potatoes chitting, like folk waiting at a football match – crazy carrot – hens – duck eggs – own seeds collected (leek, radish, bean) – goats chiselling ash tops.

TRADITIONAL SKILLS
Benjie on the shave horse – charcoal drum – basket willow harvesting – planting out cherry seedlings – curragh curves – jars of preserves – cleft oak – hand-made gate and hurdle – Elderflower wine.

OAKS WOOD
New coppice shoots – garlic and blue bell territories – wood-fuel tipis.

HUMAN ENERGY : THE MOST NEGLECTED FORM OF RENEWABLE ENERGY ON THE PLANET!
Cycling on Coll – hay chopper/scruncher – pressing apples – swiller’s mare – tradition hedge laying (RSPB and English Nature both very critical of tractor flailed hedges as poor habitat) – cycle trailer stuffed with firewood –no flex rayburn/aga iron. Allotment work on Erraid – one wheeled hand trucks.


WITNESSING THE WONDER
Window ‘art’ in Sprint Mill – close up of radish seed skeleton – Robin eating from human hand.

OUR IN-HOUSE PHILOSOPHY
Moving on – protest and survive spiral – thistle seed weightlessness – rejection of monoculture – vines in Germany – Erraid composite.

POWER/BEAUTY/ENERGY OF THE NATURAL WORLD
Integration rather than excessive exploitation – dog rose and thorns – grasses waving by the river Sprint – Oaks wood ‘garden’ – rosebay willow herb sculpture –fern fronds unfolding – self in advanced meditative frame of mind!


All of the above is a sort of abstract executive summary of our life at Sprint Mill. The coloured slides have been assimilated from our ‘bank’ of slides gathered over many years.

I really enjoy taking myself, projector and slides by bus and folding bike (as was my visit to Grange) and sharing my thoughts and experiences with whoever invites me!

If any reader would like a dose of the above – feel free to contact me by phoning 01539 725168. Can’t wait to hear from you!