The chickens enjoyed their porridge this morning #forthebabyjesus
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Yearly Archives: 2010
icicles on house
So wrong but so right
a mist shrouded Llanidloes this morning
back from cheeky lunchtime sledging trip #workingfromhome
amazing ice patterns on inside of the porch
Round Wood Timber Framing with Ben Law
Mention the name Ben Law to most people and they’ll say “Who?”. However if you follow that up by describing a certain episode of Grand Designs where a woodsman, permaculturist & author who, whilst living in a caravan in the woods, built his own home from timber sourced from his wood and there’s a good chance they’ll know exactly who you mean.
Since his Grand Designs appearance in 2003 Ben has gone on to form his own timber framing construction company and by using a fusion of ancient and contemporary techniques he’s now building similar structures for others including an outdoor classroom for The Sustainability Centre and a shop for his local village.
Ben also runs a few courses a year on the building techniques and by booking well in advance I was lucky enough to attend a 4 day introduction to round wood timber framing at his home in Sussex recently.
Ben using a scribing tool
Over the 4 days we learned that round wood is up to 30% stronger that sawn wood of the same size and how a properly managed woodland can provide the raw materials for the majority of a house’s structure thus reducing the processing overhead (no need for milling or seasoning, just strip the bark off) and if it is sourced close to the build it keeps the transportation costs low as well as helping to support the local economy in terms of employment.
a partially finished cruck frame
We spent a good deal of time discussing the tools used and some of the more advanced techniques like log scribing where a transfer scribe is used to trace the profile of one log onto another in order to make a close fitting joint.
We quickly rolled our sleeves up, though and for the majority of the time we were busy making 2 cruck frames (A frames) big enough to support a large shed like structure. We laid the ‘poles’ out on a framing bed and spent a while measuring and marking before being let loose with gouges and a huge chisel like thing called a slick which is used to get similar results to a plane but within the joint itself.
On the second evening we got a première of Ben’s new timber framing DVD which we watched in his lounge of his wonderful home. It goes through a lot of the techniques we were learning as well as giving a much deeper background to the full build from laying the foundations, the frame raising day all the way through to putting the roof on and laying the floor.
A finished joint
It was a great 4 days and I left inspired and with the confidence that I could now put these new found skills to use (land and raw materials permitting!). Ben is a really nice down to earth and modest guy who also happens to be good at transferring his knowledge. If you’re even mildly interested in learning more about sustainable building techniques then I’d urge you to take in one of his courses.
Highly recommended.
Scything with Simon Fairlie
Simon Fairlie holding a scythe
Learning how to use a scythe has been something on the to do list for a couple of years now, ever since hearing Simon Fairlie enthuse about them at a course I attended that he was leading on low impact smallholding. Unfortunately life and other projects got in the way until during the summer I read a great blog post by Paul Kingsnorth on the very same subject.
Fresh with enthusiasm I quickly found Simon’s site and was pleasantly surprised to see that he’s now making a living by selling scythes and giving courses. I immediately booked myself onto the next course that I could make.
Fast forward to the middle of September and I find myself at a community on the Dorset/Devon borders called Monkton Wyld Court. Simon has his shop here and we spent the next 2 days outside in his small yard learning all about Scything.
Firstly we discussed the sociology and history of scything and how large scale farming in the UK mainly killed the use of the tool whereas in countries where there was still a good degree of smaller scale agriculture, its use prevailed right up to the present day.
There was a lot of detail around the blades (heavy American/English vs. light Austrian) and the importance of having the handle (snathe) correctly set for the operator’s height. Failure to have the correct snathe set-up and the blade at the wrong angles would quickly lead to back ache, frustration and poor mowing.
I arrived at the course fully expecting to be soon hacking away at weeds and things with a sharp blade on the end of a long stick. What I had not expected is that within minutes of instruction on the actual use of the tool I would be mowing grass, on a neat lawn, at a decent clip down to a level I’m used to with a lawn mower.
Whilst technique is obviously important – and I admit I did dig the blade into said neat lawn on a few occasions – it’s also all about the set-up and the sharpness. Every few minutes we’d stop and pass a stone along the blade to bring the edge back up but even after only an hour or two the stone was starting to have less of an effect. At this point we learned how to ‘Peen’ (cold forge) the blade which is where using a flat hammer struck against the blade on a small anvil we drew the blade back out to a very thin sharp edge. this was quite fiddly and will take some practice out in the field to get right but it was not particularly difficult and we soon has sharp blades again.
Various Austrian scythe blades
An illuminating part of the course was haymaking. Firstly we talked about yield and the merits of rotating between pasture and meadow. We then went through the differences between silage and hay, how labour intensive haymaking can be but that conversely, how it is still possible on a small scale to create enough hay in a few acres to keep 2 dairy cows going through the winter (note these two cows give the community all of their milk and cheese). I was particularely interested in the frame used by Simon to stack the grass on to dry which is so effective that even should it rain – an occurrence that I had though up to then would ruin a harvest – the majority just runs off onto the ground.
Since attending the course I’ve so far managed to mow some of the lawn and made short work of a nettle patch. It’s now obvious to me that with some futher practice I’ll soon be as quick as the lawnmower without the need for any fuel (other than maybe a cheese sandwich) or complex servicing.
If you manage some land and you’re looking at a cheap and simple alternative to a lawnmower or strimmer then I’d highly recommend trying a scythe out. Assuming it’s correctly set-up for you not only will you be saving money but you’ll get fitter in the process.
Electric Brompton Road Test
Background
I’ve not regularly cycled since I left London 4 years ago. There I would commute circa 10 miles a day on my cheapy Raleigh hybrid. Since moving to our current house I tried my new commute once on the aforementioned cheapy Raleigh and it was horrendous. The (big) hill home nearly killed me and I had to stop (collapse) 4 times; I had no intention of doing that journey unassisted again (though I fully admit that over time I probably would build up the strength to handle it OK).
I’d already tried an electric moped – an Elecscoot 1 bought for a bargain second hand – but it didn’t do the steep hills and just ground to a halt pretty quickly. To be fair it’s a tough test for it and if I lived in a city I’m sure it’d be great, but it’s just not cut out for big Welsh hills.
So, I knew I wanted an electric assist and because I’ve a requirement to take it on trains for commuting around London (see test 2) I opted for a Brompton because I’d heard good things about it and as a bonus it is British made.
The Kit
The bike is a Brompton M6R – the M (original style), 6 speed with a Rack – with a ‘factory fit’ conversion by The Electric Wheel company which adds a 200W front wheel motor, a custom twist grip accelerator, lots of (neat) extra wires, a modified front bag carrier and a modified C type (courier) bag which contains the (10Ah) battery.
Test 1: my daily commute
I live in a rural location in Wales on top of a big hill and it’s about 2 miles one-way with a rise (or drop) of ~ 800ft over one of those miles.
To work is easy, it’s mostly downhill. It does feel nice and stable which was initially a concern because I’m easily getting up to 25 MPH on the way down.
It comes into its own on the way home, though. On the flat the motor is only useful when going walking pace and as soon as you’re going a decent clip it makes no difference. Hit a hill however and a twist of the handle means you get an immediate boost. When the going gets really tough it makes the difference – for me at least – between stopping completely and keeping going, albeit with me working very hard.
Therein lies the beauty of the pedal assist in my opinion. I didn’t want a bike that could get me around without peddling. I *want* to pedal for the exercise etc, but it does take the edge off which on a long or hard journey is very welcome.
I’ve been doing the commute for 3 or 4 weeks now and at the end of the first week (combined with a London trip, below) I was feeling more tired than usual but no aches or sore bum.
Test 2: London
I’m helping a renewable energy company with a spin-off start-up of theirs in the metering and billing space. This means I need to be in London a couple of days a week – boo – and even though the tube system is great I like being independent when traveling around.
So, I drive to my local station which is 8 miles away. I’d cycle this too but it’s a single carriageway A road and I’m not comfortable being so close to cars and lorries doing 60+.
Folded up the bike is no bigger than a small suitcase and with the C bag rammed with stuff and my trusty Crumpler messenger bag I’m (just) able to carry everything I need for two evenings away (assuming I have access to an iron at the other end). It’s dead easy to fit the bike on the train in the usual luggage spaces and the two bags stow away up above no problems.
My first trip I was staying near Southgate which allowing for getting a bit lost (thank you Google maps and iPhone GPS) it took me just over an hour to do 9 miles. Mostly up hill (Highgate Hill anyone). I arrived a bit out of puff as I’d pushed it hard but I was certainly not a tired mess.
What is striking when using it in London is how on the lights – especially hill starts – I’m able to pull away faster than everyone, even cars and the hard-core bike courier types. This is really big confidence booster when at the head of a line of traffic you know motorists are urgent to dart in front of you; I’m able to get away safely before they do.
It’s worth pointing out here is that when I started using this bike I decided to do away with my usual lycra gear. It’s more to carry and it’s a big faff to get changed before each journey. So I’m cycling around London in smart-casual – shudder – business attire: smart shoes, smart shirt etc.
The next morning in said attire I did the 12 miles to SE1. I went *really* gently and did the journey in 1hr 15 arriving about as sweaty as if I’d run for the bus. It was a really nice way to start a day (though I’m not convinced I’d want to do it every day).
I think a bike like this is made for the city and it’s a real pleasure to use. The manufacturers recommend that you don’t use it as a ‘twist and go’ but it’s hard not to sometimes especially when at the lights (and yes I do stop).
Some observations after using it for a while
The build quality of both the bike and the after-market electrics is superb. It is all well-made and sturdy.
The folding of a Brompton is as easy as they say. I still fumble it a bit but it’s really no big deal.
The range is reported to be 60 miles. In my first week I did 3 home commutes and a trip to London which in total came to 41 miles though to be fair there was a lot of bill hill cycling and some cheeky twist and go when in London so I think that’s pretty good on one charge. I purposely didn’t charge the battery on the first week and on the last trip home I was still showing two out of the three power indicator lights on the twist grip. Unfortunately the battery gave out on me (luckily at the top of the hill!) on that last day when still showing 2 out of 3 lights. Checking the same set of lights on the battery it was down to one, so definitely low. I now charge the bike more regularly but it’s a bit of a shame that the twist grip indicators are a bit over confident.
I fancy that there is a slight bit of drag from the motor when peddling unassisted. Now this could just be in my head but when going uphill for a long stretch, starting to feel a bit lardy and that I really should be doing a bit more work, taking the assist off really does feel like I’m peddling against something other than just gravity. For the record it’s not noticeable on the flat or downhill.
Weight. It’s fine to carry for a short distance but I have struggled a few times when running between platforms to change trains. I’m going to invest in the ‘B bag’ that costs around a hundred quid. It has a shoulder strap and wheels on the bottom
Don’t expect blistering 0-60 performance the motor is only useful on hills or when stationary. Unless you’re really slow you’ll be peddling faster than the motor pretty quickly
Summary
This is an excellent bike that is perfect for my needs. It is easy to take on transport, the assist on hills is fantastic and it’s great to have an edge when at the lights. It’s a very good city commuting bike and fine on the country lanes. It’s a shame about the rather binary charge indicator and the weight is an issue if it needs to be carried any real distance, but this can be rectified with a proper bag for it.
Recommended.
Unicivilisation Festival – Edited Highlights
Over the recent bank holiday weekend I was fortunate enough to attend the Dark Mountain Project‘s Uncivilisation festival in Llangollen, Wales.
I had a really great time and I met lots of interesting and friendly people who had all come together to discuss options for – as the website puts it – “a challenging and unpredictable future”.
The place was full of writers so there will undoubtedly be much more eloquent write-ups than I could muster; what follows are just my edited highlights.
The not-marketed-as-such-but-plainly-was keynote was Saturday at 3pm when George Monbiot was interviewed by Dougald Hine as a fireside chat. George reiterated his robust objections to the project’s aims though did thank it for starting a healthy dialogue. I enjoyed the talk which Dougald directed through some pointed and calculated questions though George did seem to be very much on the defensive which was a shame. He also did confirm that, yes, ‘we’ all were the weirdos relative to the mainstream UK population and warned us to not underestimate the global economy’s resilience even when under extreme pressure as it is currently.
Paul Kingsnorth – the other organiser and, as we figured out during the weekend, he and his wife were also fellow attendees at the Low Impact Smallholding course that I went on a year or so back – asserted very eloquently that western society had reached ‘peak comfort’ and that the sustainability/green/environmental movement which has now gone mainstream has been subverted to such an extent that its main focus is now on maintaining our current levels of energy availability and comfort, which is of course unsustainable.
Vinay Gupta gave a no holds barred pitch to us that our lifestyles are such that collapse would leave us ‘living the same as the people that grow our coffee’. He also informed us that we ‘live on a militarised island of prosperity’ gained through years of blatant theft and exploitation.
Alistair McIntosh gave a powerful and deeply moving talk on spirituality. As a card carrying atheist I normally run a mile from anything like this but it was compelling to say the least.
Mark Boyle also known as the moneyless man has been published in many places recently talking about his year or so living without money. He was pimping his new book which he was very keen to stress he would not be receiving a penny for, instead the money would go towards setting up moneyless communities. He was straight-up and clearly passionate about his cause and we had an engaging conversation with him.
Tom Hodgkinson of idler fame, in amongst a literary history lesson, talked (and sang) to us about how we’re taught to love the new and the shiny in order that we feed capitalism with its need for constant growth. He also talked about work-based positive psychology, to quote him from a recent article in the Ecologist:
Positive psychology is the idea that forced cheerfulness can actually make you happy. Happiness is good because happy people make productive and uncomplaining workers. Positive psychology is about being cheerful, outgoing and cooperative in the office. It is not about negative acts such as joining a union or protesting about pay and conditions and exploitation. It is also about loading a gigantic burden onto the shoulders of the individual: be positive, be happy, be successful. Any failure is your fault.
Overall I think his was my favorite talk, I’ll certainly pay more interest to the idler publication in future which comes out each year.
Andy Hamilton author of The Selfsufficientish Bible and founder of SelfSufficientish.com took some of us on an interesting tour of the pavillion area for a some wild food foraging. I learned that daisies are edible so would be a great addition to a salad sprinkled on top, nettles with white flowers are ‘dead nettles’ so don’t sting but can be used for all same uses (wine, cordage, tea) as normal ones. Apparently dock leaves boiled up twice (once for 15 mins to get rid of the toxins) can be used like vine leaves and clover toasted can be used like seaweed in chinese cooking.
Deek Jackson of the FKN News (follow the link and see him stood behind Gordon Brown at the recent general election) gave us a talk about his newly formed political party The Landless Peasants. Deek’s presentation style was rather forthright and he explained to us how we were all economic units crammed into our Gerbil cages (houses) going to work (on the wheel) and having our cages emptied (the binmen). I really enjoyed the talk as his style was rather refreshing however, I still have one issue with his party. As a concept – buying up land for the use of its members – I think it’s cracking however mixing that with politics isn’t for me.
There were other interesting talks. For instance I sat in a small circle discussing practical vs. creative chaired by Viv (who it turns out designed Ben Law’s house) and I was really annoyed to miss Vinay’s discussion on Collapsonomics not mention the countless other breakout sessions or main-hall presentations that I missed because I was chatting with another complete stranger out on the grass.
Oh, not to forget the music! I forget most of the band names but there was the excellent Powerdown gig on Friday by Marmaduke Dando and BBC2′s Folk Singers of the Year 2010 Jon Boyden on the Saturday proved himself to me multi-talented on the guitar, fiddle and accordion as well as being an amazing singer (and evidently songwriter).
Luke Concannon (famous for the JCB Song) did an amazing set on the Friday night. He was practically shaking with enthusiasm almost like an excited little kid and for his first number he was running through the aisles barefoot and serenading some of us individually. The highlight for me was him inviting his friend, the author Alistair McIntosh, up on stage for an incredibly powerful rendition of a poem they had only performed a few times; it made the hairs stand up on the back on my neck. (London Permaculture snapped a good picture of it here). Luke is so hugely talented and I really look forward to him releasing more material.
It was a really great event that I’m so glad I attended. When I got home Cathie asked me what I’d taken away from it and without a pause I said “we are not alone”.
Thanks to Paul and Dougald for organising it, I look forward to next year.
Related links
The Importance of Being Earnest (a Morning Star review of the Monbiot talk)