This is an early post because I will not be near a computer for a while. Activists took the Climate Camp location early and started setting up yesterday. So, instead of heading off tomorrow we're heading down today. Follow the Climate Camp news at their website, http://www.climatecamp.org.uk, on Indymedia, and likely in the corporate news sources as well.
Off to Camp,
Kasza
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Week 17: Earthworm Wins the Tournament!
Yet another fun weekend at Earthworm and I'm proud to say that we are the champions of this year's Intercommunity Volleyball Tournament.
There were five communities competing in the tournament: Earthworm Housing Co-op, Birchwood Hall Community, Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT), Lifespan-Townhead, and Redfield with over fifty people attending for the weekend.
Although tension and competiveness increased as the weekend progressed, everyone maintained a positive attitude and loads of fun. It has been remarked to me that my attempts at imbibing a pint of ale an hour hindered my skills later in the day and probably was a large factor in jamming my thumb on the ball a couple of times. Nevertheless, we went on to win the tourny and with a duct taped bandage to hold my thumb in place, I participated in each match we played (the pint an hour challenge was limited to Saturday).
Since it's unlikely I'll be in England next year, I'm disappointed that I won't be able to participate in the next tounament which will be held at Redfield.
We now have four days to sort of chill out and prepare for next week as we head out for Climate Camp on Friday.
- Kasza
Here are photos taken by me and AJ
Seb (playing for CAT) with a textbook volley
Joe (Earthworm) and Danny (Lifespan) battling it out at the net
O.B., the Earthworm Head Cheerleader
Rocky doing a little breakdance between serves
This is what losing a point looks like
Aeris all tuckered out after a full day of ratting
Evidently, the crowd was thoroughly entertained during the final match
Trophy for the best costume change goes to Lifespan
Trophy for the best dives goes to Rocky
Dressing up for the winner's ball
AJ epitimizing cool in one of her many poses
There were five communities competing in the tournament: Earthworm Housing Co-op, Birchwood Hall Community, Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT), Lifespan-Townhead, and Redfield with over fifty people attending for the weekend.
Although tension and competiveness increased as the weekend progressed, everyone maintained a positive attitude and loads of fun. It has been remarked to me that my attempts at imbibing a pint of ale an hour hindered my skills later in the day and probably was a large factor in jamming my thumb on the ball a couple of times. Nevertheless, we went on to win the tourny and with a duct taped bandage to hold my thumb in place, I participated in each match we played (the pint an hour challenge was limited to Saturday).
Since it's unlikely I'll be in England next year, I'm disappointed that I won't be able to participate in the next tounament which will be held at Redfield.
We now have four days to sort of chill out and prepare for next week as we head out for Climate Camp on Friday.
- Kasza
Here are photos taken by me and AJ
Seb (playing for CAT) with a textbook volley
Joe (Earthworm) and Danny (Lifespan) battling it out at the net
O.B., the Earthworm Head Cheerleader
Rocky doing a little breakdance between serves
This is what losing a point looks like
Aeris all tuckered out after a full day of ratting
Evidently, the crowd was thoroughly entertained during the final match
Trophy for the best costume change goes to Lifespan
Trophy for the best dives goes to Rocky
Dressing up for the winner's ball
AJ epitimizing cool in one of her many poses
Monday, July 21, 2008
Week 16: Happy Birthday Sam
An enjoyable weekend of drinking and eating has been successfully completed. Although Sam suspected that his wife, Alex, was planning something, he wasn't prepared for the elaborate party she had put together.
A few of the party-goers arrived at the campsite Friday (including us) to help set up but the majority of people came the next day. Everybody arrived around noon on Saturday and crowded into the marquee ready to scream "Surprise" when Sam and Alex rolled in at one.
Finally, with that out of the way, we could resume drinking (proudly started at 9am) and dive into lunch (a plentiful potluck feast). The afternoon progressed with a rotation of eating, drinking, napping, and volleying (gotta keep practicing so we're in form for next weekend's tourny).
The party was also a trial run for the Earthwize energy trailer. Overall, it was successful run and we're getting better throwing it up and bringing it down.
Back at Earthworm, work week helpers arrived on Saturday and have been getting on quite well attacking a variety of jobs around the property. And now that I'm done typing this, I will go join in (I'm thinking gathering wood will be a good Monday morning job).
- Kasza
Photos (incl. some long exposure experiments)
this is a wind turbine
this is a marquee
this is a gazebo
this is an evening sky
this is a night sky
this is a campfire
this is also a campfire
and this was a party
A few of the party-goers arrived at the campsite Friday (including us) to help set up but the majority of people came the next day. Everybody arrived around noon on Saturday and crowded into the marquee ready to scream "Surprise" when Sam and Alex rolled in at one.
Finally, with that out of the way, we could resume drinking (proudly started at 9am) and dive into lunch (a plentiful potluck feast). The afternoon progressed with a rotation of eating, drinking, napping, and volleying (gotta keep practicing so we're in form for next weekend's tourny).
The party was also a trial run for the Earthwize energy trailer. Overall, it was successful run and we're getting better throwing it up and bringing it down.
Back at Earthworm, work week helpers arrived on Saturday and have been getting on quite well attacking a variety of jobs around the property. And now that I'm done typing this, I will go join in (I'm thinking gathering wood will be a good Monday morning job).
- Kasza
Photos (incl. some long exposure experiments)
this is a wind turbine
this is a marquee
this is a gazebo
this is an evening sky
this is a night sky
this is a campfire
this is also a campfire
and this was a party
Monday, July 14, 2008
Week 15: Back in the UK
Another post missed. My excuse this time was that I was in Bristol last week and didn't have access to a computer. Maybe I should get a ghostwriter to handle my blog obligations.
Since my last post I have altered my plans and returned to Earthworm for the summer (I had been toying with the idea for a while). I will stay here until my UK visa runs at the end of September. I expect at that point I'll head to France, Switzerland, and/or Spain; who knows, maybe even Morocco. But I don't have to worry about that until September and I have enough going on here to keep me occupied/entertained.
I have been to a few cities in the last two weeks. Here's an overview of what I've done in July:
July 1
- left La Besnardiere in France early because the woman was quite irritating (my patience for WWOOF hosts has thinned considerably now)
- travel by foot, bus and train to arrive at Caen, where I stayed for three days
July 2 & 3
- visit Juno Beach Centre (overcast day ruined photo ops), William the Conqueror's castle, and some very beautiful local parks (favourite being la Vallée des Jardins)
July 4
- midnight ferry to Portsmouth (sooo very expensive)
- met a Canadian who had traveled around Europe for the previous three weeks and spent about $30,000 CDN, he figures (I nearly puked when he told me)
- train from Portsmouth to Bristol
- back in the land of the Pound Sterling (shit ain't cheap); compare the Caen hostel of 11 euros to the £25 YHA hostel in Bristol
July 5
- visit local sites
- move Saturday from the £25 YHA to the £17 Full Moon hostel, which is also environmentally friendly and much more sociable
July 6
- more local site seeing, kill time in the library
- finally get in contact with (Earthworm resident) Joe's younger brother, Sam
- hang out at Sam's place along with Joe, their brother Matt, Sam's wife Alex, and Matt's son Djindi
July 7
- Joe and I train back to Earthworm
July 8-12
- normal going-ons at Earthworm: gardening, maintenance, meetings and eating
July 13 (a very good day)
- the first sunny day all week
- future volleyball courts finally able to be mowed
- Lily's 8th birthday
- a portable, green energy solution of wind and solar nearly complete
- cob oven built
Upcoming for Me
Jul 18-20 - Sam's surprise 30th birthday, camping near Bristol
Jul 19-25 - Earthworm July Work Week
Jul 26-27 - Inter-Community Volleyball Tournament hosted at Earthworm
Aug 2 - Steve's sister's wedding (on route to...)
Aug 3-11 - Climate Camp
Aug 15-17 - Radical Routes gathering at Earthworm
Aug 27-Sep 1 - Earth First! Summer Gathering
Cheers,
Kasza
Photos
Smile for the camera
Comforting
Green pine cone?!?
Bristol Blitz victim
Overcast dawn (yet again)
Because I haven't taken many photos recently, here are a few more of the punk band at Fete de Music in Bauge. Maybe with some practice I could be as good Andrew.
Since my last post I have altered my plans and returned to Earthworm for the summer (I had been toying with the idea for a while). I will stay here until my UK visa runs at the end of September. I expect at that point I'll head to France, Switzerland, and/or Spain; who knows, maybe even Morocco. But I don't have to worry about that until September and I have enough going on here to keep me occupied/entertained.
I have been to a few cities in the last two weeks. Here's an overview of what I've done in July:July 1
- left La Besnardiere in France early because the woman was quite irritating (my patience for WWOOF hosts has thinned considerably now)
- travel by foot, bus and train to arrive at Caen, where I stayed for three days
July 2 & 3
- visit Juno Beach Centre (overcast day ruined photo ops), William the Conqueror's castle, and some very beautiful local parks (favourite being la Vallée des Jardins)
July 4
- midnight ferry to Portsmouth (sooo very expensive)
- met a Canadian who had traveled around Europe for the previous three weeks and spent about $30,000 CDN, he figures (I nearly puked when he told me)
- train from Portsmouth to Bristol
- back in the land of the Pound Sterling (shit ain't cheap); compare the Caen hostel of 11 euros to the £25 YHA hostel in Bristol
July 5
- visit local sites
- move Saturday from the £25 YHA to the £17 Full Moon hostel, which is also environmentally friendly and much more sociable
July 6
- more local site seeing, kill time in the library
- finally get in contact with (Earthworm resident) Joe's younger brother, Sam
- hang out at Sam's place along with Joe, their brother Matt, Sam's wife Alex, and Matt's son Djindi
July 7
- Joe and I train back to Earthworm
July 8-12
- normal going-ons at Earthworm: gardening, maintenance, meetings and eating
July 13 (a very good day)
- the first sunny day all week
- future volleyball courts finally able to be mowed
- Lily's 8th birthday
- a portable, green energy solution of wind and solar nearly complete
- cob oven built
Upcoming for Me
Jul 18-20 - Sam's surprise 30th birthday, camping near Bristol
Jul 19-25 - Earthworm July Work Week
Jul 26-27 - Inter-Community Volleyball Tournament hosted at Earthworm
Aug 2 - Steve's sister's wedding (on route to...)
Aug 3-11 - Climate Camp
Aug 15-17 - Radical Routes gathering at Earthworm
Aug 27-Sep 1 - Earth First! Summer Gathering
Cheers,
Kasza
Photos
Smile for the camera
Comforting
Green pine cone?!?
Bristol Blitz victim
Overcast dawn (yet again)
Because I haven't taken many photos recently, here are a few more of the punk band at Fete de Music in Bauge. Maybe with some practice I could be as good Andrew.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Week 13: Paris
What happened to last week’s post? Well, it is not often that one has the chance to visit Paris and when you have such a chance, wasting time in an Internet café would be quite silly. That is a plausible explanation but more to the truth is that I couldn’t find an Internet café close to the hostel. So instead, I socialized with other travellers (surprisingly, the majority of which were Canadian) and spent a good deal of the time drunk.
I arrived in Paris Sunday evening which meant there was no time for sightseeing; only enough time for getting right down to business. The hostel room I was staying in was shared with a San Jose resident, Adam (and others but I never met them), who is funding his summer travels via the returns on his legal grow-op.
A view of Paris from the hostel balcony
We went out for dinner to a couscous place (called Couscous, I think) a few blocks away and shared a bottle of Bordeaux. On the way back to the hostel, we picked up two more bottles of red. With a mix of impatience and amazement at liberal drinking laws (you can drink in public), Adam started in on his while we walked back. As we entered the hostel lobby, we were greeted by the noise of likeminded hostellers. I quickly made for our room to uncork my bottle and returned to the group. I must blame the lateness of the night (surely it couldn’t be the alcohol that was imbibed) but I remember the names of only a few people met that night. And the only reason I remember their names is that I spent the next day with them. There was Gabriel and Tom from Montreal whose European trip was drawing to a close in a few days, Naomi from Berkley Nor-Cal who is spending her summer at a children’s camp in Brittany, and a German, Henni. The majority of the night was spent trading travelling stories and playing poker. We were shushed by the staff at two, quiet hour, and finally headed off to bed around three.
Adam hydrating for the next day
The next morning, the people mentioned before and two others from Quebec City, Valerie and Genevieve, took a walk around Left Bank, Paris. Gabriel had been to Paris before, so appointed himself tour guide. He claimed that all museums are closed on Mondays, so we would visit parks mainly that day and could go to the museums the next day.
The first stop was the gigantic University Hospital which had an art show in its chapel. From the hospital, we headed over to the closest parks, Jardins des Plantes and Place Jussieu. By the time we were leaving there, it was after 12 and seemed an ideal time to pick up supplies at the closest convenience store. I had woken late that day and had yet to eat anything, so embarrassingly, I only purchased fruit, expecting to stop again in another hour or two. The others (or maybe only Tom and Gabriel) had other plans and stocked up on lunch supplies (including two bottles of wine and some beer). We parked our asses overlooking the Seine, watched tour boats ferry people around, and enjoyed our “lunch”.
Art show in the chapel
The next area we wanted to loiter in was Jardin du Luxembourg which has the magnificent looking Palais du Luxembourg complete with bored looking guards to protect it from the menacing tourists. We had finished one of the bottles of wine by now and on our way to the next spot I felt I should contribute to the cause, so I purchased another bottle of Bordeaux.
Palais du Luxembourg
The walk to Hotel des Invalides was the longest walk of the day but surely was worth it to see the guards shoo Adam and Gabriel off the lawn when they tried to take a seat (the Parisians are adamant about keeping to the path). A bottle of wine was killed here and then we off to our last spot, Champ de Mars and, touring above, the Eiffel Tower.
The crew (Naomi, Henni, Tom, Gabriel, Adam, Genevieve and Valerie is taking a photo beside me) outside L'hotel des Invalides
Lounging at Champ de Mars, gazing at the tower, we downed the last bottle and then the group broke apart. Adam, Henni, and Naomi wanted to go up the tower. I couldn’t be bothered to wait in line or pay the eight euros, so I returned to the hostel with the Quebeckers.
It has to be said that this was my fifth day straight of getting drunk* and I’m not as strong as I once was. When we got back, I went straight to the room and had a “nap”. Around midnight, Adam and Gabriel tried to convince me to join the party but I had no energy in me for it. It’s a shame because from the stories regaled the next day, it was better than the previous night.
It was such a good party that I didn’t see anybody the next morning, so I headed off for Notre Dame and Louvre on my own. I figured I would stop at anything that seemed interesting en route. This turned out to be a very good plan because I ventured upon a free museum dedicated to the history of Paris. I would find out later that this was to be the only museum I would enter that day as the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays (lesson learned: don’t trust Gabriel’s tour guide skills). I didn’t intend on waiting in line or paying to see inside Notre Dame, so I contented myself to walk the perimeters of there and Louvre, appreciating the beauty from the outside.
A view of Notre Dame
In the evening, I enjoyed a solitary dinner at an organic, vegetarian restaurant and got a small lesson in the French dining culture. I finished my meal and was offered dessert and coffee by the waiter. I declined both and waited for the bill to arrive. Over the next ten minutes or more, he passed me by multiple times to receive new diners, take orders, and deliver food. We even made eye contact a couple times. Unfortunately, I don’t know the word for bill, so, hoping that there is an open wifi signal nearby, I pull out my iPod. Luckily, there was. I ended up at a page that informs me the word for bill is “l’addition” and that, in France, the bill only comes once the diner has requested it. Ohh!
That night a fraction of the group from the first night ventured out to a bar, picking up a couple students on our way. Disappointingly, it was a much more subdued night compared to the two previous. I suppose that is good though because I was able to get a decent sleep and was refreshed for my journey to La Besnardiere, my next WWOOF stop.
Happy Impending Canada Day,
Kasza
*Thu: prepared for the weekend’s Solstice party by getting drunk and raiding grocery skips
Fri: Solstice night 1
Sat: Solstice night 2; up until 5am
Sun: Paris hostel night
Mon: Paris by day
Extra Photos
Solistice Party
Lily getting in the spirit
Amy-Jane enjoying a joke behind the bar
Dress up and dance!
Feeling the drain after a day of festivities
Remnents of Solstice dinner
Henry ready for action the next day
Le Fete de Music in Bauge last Saturday
Don't know this name of the band but they were pretty good. Click on the pics to enlarge
I arrived in Paris Sunday evening which meant there was no time for sightseeing; only enough time for getting right down to business. The hostel room I was staying in was shared with a San Jose resident, Adam (and others but I never met them), who is funding his summer travels via the returns on his legal grow-op.
A view of Paris from the hostel balcony
We went out for dinner to a couscous place (called Couscous, I think) a few blocks away and shared a bottle of Bordeaux. On the way back to the hostel, we picked up two more bottles of red. With a mix of impatience and amazement at liberal drinking laws (you can drink in public), Adam started in on his while we walked back. As we entered the hostel lobby, we were greeted by the noise of likeminded hostellers. I quickly made for our room to uncork my bottle and returned to the group. I must blame the lateness of the night (surely it couldn’t be the alcohol that was imbibed) but I remember the names of only a few people met that night. And the only reason I remember their names is that I spent the next day with them. There was Gabriel and Tom from Montreal whose European trip was drawing to a close in a few days, Naomi from Berkley Nor-Cal who is spending her summer at a children’s camp in Brittany, and a German, Henni. The majority of the night was spent trading travelling stories and playing poker. We were shushed by the staff at two, quiet hour, and finally headed off to bed around three.
Adam hydrating for the next day
The next morning, the people mentioned before and two others from Quebec City, Valerie and Genevieve, took a walk around Left Bank, Paris. Gabriel had been to Paris before, so appointed himself tour guide. He claimed that all museums are closed on Mondays, so we would visit parks mainly that day and could go to the museums the next day.
The first stop was the gigantic University Hospital which had an art show in its chapel. From the hospital, we headed over to the closest parks, Jardins des Plantes and Place Jussieu. By the time we were leaving there, it was after 12 and seemed an ideal time to pick up supplies at the closest convenience store. I had woken late that day and had yet to eat anything, so embarrassingly, I only purchased fruit, expecting to stop again in another hour or two. The others (or maybe only Tom and Gabriel) had other plans and stocked up on lunch supplies (including two bottles of wine and some beer). We parked our asses overlooking the Seine, watched tour boats ferry people around, and enjoyed our “lunch”.
Art show in the chapel
The next area we wanted to loiter in was Jardin du Luxembourg which has the magnificent looking Palais du Luxembourg complete with bored looking guards to protect it from the menacing tourists. We had finished one of the bottles of wine by now and on our way to the next spot I felt I should contribute to the cause, so I purchased another bottle of Bordeaux.
Palais du Luxembourg
The walk to Hotel des Invalides was the longest walk of the day but surely was worth it to see the guards shoo Adam and Gabriel off the lawn when they tried to take a seat (the Parisians are adamant about keeping to the path). A bottle of wine was killed here and then we off to our last spot, Champ de Mars and, touring above, the Eiffel Tower.
The crew (Naomi, Henni, Tom, Gabriel, Adam, Genevieve and Valerie is taking a photo beside me) outside L'hotel des Invalides
Lounging at Champ de Mars, gazing at the tower, we downed the last bottle and then the group broke apart. Adam, Henni, and Naomi wanted to go up the tower. I couldn’t be bothered to wait in line or pay the eight euros, so I returned to the hostel with the Quebeckers.
It has to be said that this was my fifth day straight of getting drunk* and I’m not as strong as I once was. When we got back, I went straight to the room and had a “nap”. Around midnight, Adam and Gabriel tried to convince me to join the party but I had no energy in me for it. It’s a shame because from the stories regaled the next day, it was better than the previous night.
It was such a good party that I didn’t see anybody the next morning, so I headed off for Notre Dame and Louvre on my own. I figured I would stop at anything that seemed interesting en route. This turned out to be a very good plan because I ventured upon a free museum dedicated to the history of Paris. I would find out later that this was to be the only museum I would enter that day as the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays (lesson learned: don’t trust Gabriel’s tour guide skills). I didn’t intend on waiting in line or paying to see inside Notre Dame, so I contented myself to walk the perimeters of there and Louvre, appreciating the beauty from the outside.
A view of Notre Dame
In the evening, I enjoyed a solitary dinner at an organic, vegetarian restaurant and got a small lesson in the French dining culture. I finished my meal and was offered dessert and coffee by the waiter. I declined both and waited for the bill to arrive. Over the next ten minutes or more, he passed me by multiple times to receive new diners, take orders, and deliver food. We even made eye contact a couple times. Unfortunately, I don’t know the word for bill, so, hoping that there is an open wifi signal nearby, I pull out my iPod. Luckily, there was. I ended up at a page that informs me the word for bill is “l’addition” and that, in France, the bill only comes once the diner has requested it. Ohh!
That night a fraction of the group from the first night ventured out to a bar, picking up a couple students on our way. Disappointingly, it was a much more subdued night compared to the two previous. I suppose that is good though because I was able to get a decent sleep and was refreshed for my journey to La Besnardiere, my next WWOOF stop.
Happy Impending Canada Day,
Kasza
*Thu: prepared for the weekend’s Solstice party by getting drunk and raiding grocery skips
Fri: Solstice night 1
Sat: Solstice night 2; up until 5am
Sun: Paris hostel night
Mon: Paris by day
Extra Photos
Solistice Party
Lily getting in the spirit
Amy-Jane enjoying a joke behind the bar
Dress up and dance!
Feeling the drain after a day of festivities
Remnents of Solstice dinner
Henry ready for action the next day
Le Fete de Music in Bauge last Saturday
Don't know this name of the band but they were pretty good. Click on the pics to enlarge
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