Green(ish) Christmas

I went to a party on Christmas eve. I wore a pair of skinny velvet trousers which I have had for years, a new long sleeved, scoop neck top, a waistcoat I made years ago (and the lining was calico that came wrapped around something I'd bought by post!), a necklace I have had for years, and earrings I have had since my teens. A friend said I scrub up nicely (she is used to seeing me in kayaking gear!).

There are the Christmas cards. Although some greens moan about the waste, I like them, they are a cheerful splash of colour for a few weeks in the dank, damp days of winter.

There's a wreath on the door, which I've had for 4 years. I nearly replaced it as I saw one in the Lakeland catalogue I liked, but I knew it would do another year. As there were no loose bits in the box it has perhaps shed all the bits it is going to and will last for years yet.

I will have one string of lights in the dining room this New Year as I have a friend staying. No Christmas tree (plastic, decades old) and decorations (also old) and lights. Not because I didn't like to have it up but because I think the cats would immediately have it down. My first two cats (which I had one at a time) were fine with the tree. When the lights were on the first would pose under it. The last two and these two clamber on everything. I have never had the lights on a lot, only evenings when I was in, and most of Christmas day. I have noticed that there are far fewer Christmas tree lights kept on 24 hours a day round here - there are advantages to a recession!

I also have a paper chain in the bay window, which I'd got at the William Morris Exhibition at 2 Temple Place. Making the chain reminded me of my childhood when my brothers and I would make them together, though this one is far prettier.

I was very full after my Christmas dinner (large helping of nut roast!) but, except for the staff Christmas lunch at work, haven't over eaten so my attempt to reduce my tummy won't have had a set back.

But the best bit of Christmas is all the time off work as I am one of the lucky ones whose place of work closes down between Christmas and New Year.

Winter comes to Leyton - sort of!

Yesterday Leyton had it's first frost, heavy enough for thin ice on the pond and in the buckets but not enough to kill off the nasturtiums, though the ones in the back garden, away from the home, are damaged.

The rest of the day was drizzle intermingled with patchy sun.

Same again today.

On my bike ride this morning I couldn't complete my planned ride due to a large amount of water on the path under the railway line. If I needed to get through it was probably shallow enough. As I didn't, I didn't try. There was probably a similar expanse of water under the cattle creep.

I have been using this route for my Sunday morning ride a lot this summer and autumn, but I might have to give it a miss for a while. Pity, as if the weather is good for bike rides over the Christmas/New Year break it is nice to have some varied routes. I could still have one ride north, up one side of the Navigation and down the other, perhaps with a stop at the cafe at the bottom of Springfield Park for their vegetarian breakfast.

Green drinks

Transition Leytonstone have their Green drinks on the 15th of the month in the Red Lion.

The Red Lion is a very nice pub in what used to be "Zulus", a drinking establishment that caused continual trouble. It is turning more of its tables into restuarant tables, and this was particularly apparent when I arrived on Thursday at five past eight, as obviously many offices and friends were holding their Christmas get togethers. I wondered round twice and could see no-one I recognised and no table with a "green drinks" sign on it. So I left to walk home.

I was just over the road looking at the entries in a photography competition in a window when Ros came by, and back I went to the pub with her. She couldn't seen anyone either - I have often be in pubs looking round for my friends with them waving at me and I not able to see them, so I was pleased to be sure that I hadn't just not spotted the green drinks group!

Soon Grear arrived, a journalist who blogs for the Telegraph on green issues, who had met Martin on the bus and he had told her about green drinks. I can't remember the order everyone else turned up, but there was Martin himself, Jan whom I had met at the Transition Leytonstone Christmas do the Friday before, Chris, whom I first met years ago through the local Green Party but who is incredibly active in all sorts of groups, and several people from the local Green Party who were having their Christmas Social on the same evening, including 3, Ashley, Steve and Mark, whom I knew from when I was active in the local party. In all there was 13 of us squeezed into the corner.

There was music but low enough so we could easily hear each other putting the world to rights.

I left soon after 10 pm to walk home, as my alarm goes at 6.15 in the morning!

Frostier and frostier

Went to Chingford on the 97 bus this morning. Leyton slightly damp with no frost, but as I went through Walthamstow there appeared frost on the grass and the cars and it all got whiter and whiter as I approached Chingford.

I then went out in a friend's car to Whillingdale where there are 2 churches in one churchyard. The story is 2 sisters argued and each ended up building their own church. In reality the first church was a Norman church, the second one came 200 years later when the wool trade had increased the numbers in the parish. Instead of knocking down the church and building a bigger one,they split the parish, building the church for the new parish in the graveyard.

A very nice day with friends - but only possible because Tony has a car.

Water cress this winter?

This morning as I was packing up after doing a bit of sawing of wood for my wood burning stove, I spotted what I thought was a viola in the guttering of the conservatory. When I reached up to weed it I discovered it was some watercress, obviously selfsown from the watercress I had had in a pot.

Only yesterday I had torn from a magazine my next door neighbour had given me a snippet about rooting watercress stems. "Keep the contents very wet on a cool, bright windowsill inooors. You'll have free home-grown watercress for the rest of the winter."

My conservatory windowsill has plenty of light, but not sure whether that counts as bright, as it is north facing. Will this get too cool?

I could put it upstairs in the front bedroom, where the cats couldn't knock it over. This would be south facing. You are often advised to save energy by not heating rooms you don't use. Having been brought up in a house without central heating and living in a flat without central heating for 16 years, I know that if you don't heat a room all winter everything ends up smelling musty! So when the central heating is on that room is heated thought the thermostat is on low.

Ah, well, it is still free, so worth the experiment!