National Meet Up - August 2nd/3rd

Erik · Post by **Erik** » 04 Aug 2008, 10:02

Hey, you guys should do a write up of this event. You could even make it into an annual do (How about 2009 in Andy's house in Bury?

), you could even end up with Matt Simmons flying in with his latest glossy powerpoint slideshow...

Andy Hunt · Post by **Andy Hunt** » 04 Aug 2008, 10:11

Erik wrote:(How about 2009 in Andy's house in Bury? )

Gaaaahh!! Definitely NOT big enough!!

Good call for an annual event though - maybe I will be able to get it together next time.

I went to support the local PO event, which was a showing of the Cuba film. I was the first there, followed by the two organisers. They had put 400 leaflets around the place and booked a community centre. The total number of attendees? ZERO.

So we went back to my place and I gave them the 'tour'.

An eventful weekend . . . we were threatened with arson by some rather unpleasant neighbours, amongst other things. Maybe indicative of the joys to come.

Glad everyone had a good time at Ken's, gutted I missed it!! An annual event gets my vote, definitely. I am actually talking to a few people here up North about maybe doing something next year, no idea what form it will take or whether it will happen though.

Adam1 · Post by **Adam1** » 04 Aug 2008, 11:59

Sounds like a lousy weekend Andy. Sorry to hear that. What's the story with the neighbour?

Thanks to Ken and his family for hosting a great party.

Sunny Jim did us proud with the musical entertainment: video clip here.

Adam1 · Post by **Adam1** » 04 Aug 2008, 12:25

I wanted to add that it was great to meet so many PowerSwitchers in person. It struck me how upbeat everyone was. The only doomerish comment I heard was from a non-PowerSwitcher. Ironic, eh!

Post by **kenneal - lagger** » 04 Aug 2008, 15:56

Thanks, guys. It was great to meet everybody at last. Special thanks must go to JohnB, TomHitchman, Snowhope, SunnyJim and Eternal Sunshine's partner Ali and son, Jacob, for their help with the finishing of the facilities. As I type we still have one tent left but a gradual wind down after a weekend like that is good. Simon, Chis and I will finish the last of the beer over the next few days.

Now we have "almost finished", well usable anyway, toilet facilities anyone travelling along the M4 or A34 are welcome to call in to break a journey and camp a day of two. Just email or PM.

I would have liked to spend more time chatting to people, perhaps next year.
Thanks again for making it a great weekend.

PowerSwitchJames · Post by **PowerSwitchJames** » 04 Aug 2008, 17:32

Really wish I could have made this - sounds like it went great though. I'll be there next year.

Blue Peter · Post by **Blue Peter** » 04 Aug 2008, 17:47

Thanks for a great weekend. It was really good to put some faces to names,

Peter.

Bandidoz · Post by **Bandidoz** » 05 Aug 2008, 00:35

Some people asked me where I got my T-shirt from:

http://www.cafepress.com/peakoilaware

Had lots of fun with the 22nd Century Karaoke (especially with the most excellent pianist rendering Bohemian Rhapsody, and some of us singing "Peak Oil really matters....toooooOOOOO meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" - kind of reminded me of a scene from History-of-the-World-Backwards), as well as the late night laughs and discussion

I wish we'd got there earlier; I thought that all of the workshops were going to be done on both days, so got there quite late on Saturday, to find most people drifting off Saturday night and Sunday morning. So I missed out on the scything and foraging. Oh well, sh1t happens! Speaking of which, the humanure toilet facilities are a most excellent implementation

I noticed SLS (Sodium-Laureth-Sulfate) handwash being used - is it really OK for this to be used to feed the grey-water system? I note that Ecover hand wash also contains SLS. Also see here

JohnB · Post by **JohnB** » 05 Aug 2008, 00:51

I finally managed to escape from Ken's at lunchtime yesterday (Monday), after arriving at midday on Wednesday. I thought I had volunteered to help put up a few signs and move a few things around, but as soon as I arrived was handed a scythe and told I needed to clear part of the field before I could park my van! Then I ended up helping to build the loos! So much for an easy couple of days, as there were a few late nights.

I thought the event was great, and it was good to put faces to names. Charlie the dog enjoyed it too.

I said I managed to escape, as Ken had to tow my van and trailer across the gravel at the entrance to the field. Unfortunately having got his Discovery in front of the van, it refused to start! We got it all sorted though.

Looking forward to next year.

Post by **kenneal - lagger** » 05 Aug 2008, 02:04

Thanks for that information Bandidos, I'll have a few words with my Chief Buyer about alternatives.

The simple composting loos that I had in mind turned into something a bit more grand when the rest of the family got hold of it. Consequently there was a bit of a timescale problem which meant that even with the help of JohnB, TomHitchman, Snowhope and some of the MSc crowd we didn't get the loos workable until about 5:00 on Saturday afternoon. Meanwhile my Clivus Multrum, designed for eight people, was taking a bashing from the fifty to sixty people present. We had about 75 people in total over the weekend from Powerswitch, the CAT MSc and local eco groups.

As a result some of the Saturday workshops to be run by me weren't run. We did, however, run a full program of events on Sunday.

My Disco is now working after having a problem with corrosion on the positive terminal on Friday and a loose connection to the negative one on Monday. (Reminder: must do some maintenance occasionally.)

I've had a chat with the catering staff, my wife and daughter, and they are happy that we host the event again next year if you wish. Given more time to organise things, a more comprehensive list of workshops could be made available and some trade stands for relevant kit could be organised. The offer is there if you want to take it up.

SunnyJim · Post by **SunnyJim** » 05 Aug 2008, 07:11

A great weekend! As everyone has said, it was great to put names to faces, and the Saturday evening was a blast. Totally agree with the 'History of the world backwards' comment Bandidoz! Hehehe. Was most surreal that piano blasting out into the night!

Thanks Ken, for teaching me how to make a cob oven, and thanks to Paul for the foraging talk.

Thanks John for the awning for the night!

Thanks to Ken, Carol and Alice for the wonderful food, drinks and hospitality.

Thanks to who ever it was that took us on the nature walk on the common.

Thanks to everyone for making it such a fun weekend!

Andy Hunt · Post by **Andy Hunt** » 05 Aug 2008, 09:50

Hi Ken, I don't suppose there's any chance of you starting a thread about the design/implementation of your compost toilets?

I'm thinking of doing a small event up North next year, a kind of landscape-integrated small music festival/party type thing, and I need to learn how to set up the various different aspects.

I had this mad idea, as the price of fertiliser is spiralling upwards, maybe farmers could be persuaded to host these small events, with a delivery of 'humanure' as payment, and of course an opportunity to sell farm produce directly to the kitchens serving the festivalette.

A 'green' festival type event could then even sell itself as a service to local farmers.

Vortex · Post by **Vortex** » 05 Aug 2008, 09:54

with a delivery of 'humanure' as payment,

Andy Hunt · Post by **Andy Hunt** » 05 Aug 2008, 09:54

Where there's muck . . .

snow hope · Post by **snow hope** » 05 Aug 2008, 11:28

Well that's a great offer from Ken and family to do the event next year!

It would certainly get my vote as the facilities and space on the farm are ideal for this kind of event. And I would like to see how much Ken gets achieved in the coming year.

I am sure we could put our heads together and suggest some workshops that we might like / find useful.