What to do?

The end of my stay is suddenly upon me, quite by surprise as it feels as if i still have ages here. Eight days to be precise and i have little idea of what to do when i get back to England.

My visa situation is still in the air. I can make no long term plans until that is decided, but either way I have the summer ahead of me.

Windy, my brother, has just invited me on a charity walk the week after i return which looks like an excellent thing to go and do.

Yo Big Bro!

Mum & Dad tell me you're flying back on the 19th...??

Acestix!

I'm thinking, if you'd like to, it would be awesome if you wanted to join us on the Hadrians Wall Walk, which we're setting off to do on Sunday 24th May, & it'll take 5-6 days....

Check out:

http://www.justgiving.com/windy-dicken-and-craig-walk-hadrians-wall

...and let me know if you're up for it..it'd be awesome if you were...

I'm still trying to raise donations as much as possible...I'll be emailing Joy, Jac & Tania, etc...

anyways...spk soonest....

Big Love

Lil Bro XX

I have several invitations from friends around the UK to visit for a while which is excellent, all good folk who it will be great fun to spend time with and catch up on all the goings on.

HelpX hosts are inviting me from around Europe, i did suggest that i might plan a summer trip there, but i never thought it would generate so much interest. 3 farms in France, one in Portugal and several hosts that i have found that look really interesting. I could be gone for a while.

I also need to add a couple more blog posts to let all you good followers know what i have been up to for the last few weeks. My parents visit, more stuff down on the farm, parties and more. Lets see where i get to in these last few days. Take care y'awl.

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence Easter Party

Plenty of folk had told me that it was not to be missed. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence put on a great party, especially their alternative family easter gathering. The pictures tell the story far better than I ever could.



The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence®
is a leading-edge Order of queer nuns. Since our first appearance in San Francisco on Easter Sunday, 1979, the Sisters have devoted ourselves to community service, ministry and outreach to those on the edges, and to promoting human rights, respect for diversity and spiritual enlightenment. We belive all people have a right to express their unique joy and beauty and we use humor and irreverent wit to expose the forces of bigotry, complacency and guilt that chain the human spirit.


A big open air concert in Dolores Park, with numerous musical acts, competitions to find the most outrageous easter bonnet, the best outfit and the hunkiest Jesus to mention a few. The park was packed with people picnicking and enjoying the atmosphere and checking out the goings on. It was marvelous to be in a gathering so intent just to enjoy themselves however they felt fit in whatever they felt comfortable in for the day.

The park party finished at 4 and moved via a procession of sorts through to a street venue. An attending police officer decided that the marchers weren’t protesting loudly enough so tried to liven things up a bit by shouting encouragement through his loud-hailer. A local dance radio station played the latest dance music to a merry dancing audience on the street through into the night. Great fun and a wonderful way to spend Easter Sunday, I sloped off soon after dark, it got really cold really fast, back to the bar for a more sedate night.

I chilled out on Monday with another stroll through China Town and the wharfs of San Francisco, relaxing in the spring sunshine and watching another world go by.

It's been a while

Where do I start? I have not posted since before Easter, so there is plenty of catching up to do.

I was somewhat surprised, for such a christian, church going nation, that there are no big public holidays over the Easter weekend. Unlike in the UK where businesses close for Good Friday, Easter Monday and nearly everything is shut on Easter Sunday, things continue nearly as usual throughout the whole weekend here, a few places closed on the sunday.




Not that it made any difference to my plans, I was having a great time in San Francisco for the whole weekend. Daniel, one of the farm volunteers offered me a ride up on the Friday with his family and I spent the day with them, Carla, his wife and two girls, Izzie and Sophie. We had a great time in the Exploratorium, a hands on science museum with loads of interactive exhibits and tricks of the mind. We made square wheels roll along a bumpy road, floated dry ice “comets” across an “outer space” pond and watched them spin and collide as if in space. Watched a bulls eye being dissected and saw all the parts. Discovered the power of centrifugal forces and how geysers reach so far into the sky when it is just water. Listened to never ending scales in a sound booth and created lightening by winding a big handle on a strange machine. I had just as much fun as the girls did, and from the look of it, most of the other adults there. It’s just how it all works.

They took me to their favourite candy store and then we had a great meal on a pavement table at a great restaurant and a fun walk through China Town. It was great to experience some of these places with other people, especially youngsters with all their questions and excitement. It was one great day.

To finish off, Daniel insisted on dropping me at my hostel to ensure that i found it ok. Brilliant, as it was quite a bit further out than i had expected. I had a quick kip then headed out for a bit of a night on the town.

The night turned out to be more than I had planned for, a good bar, with great music and some interesting people to chat to. They pour a mean JD and coke I can tell you. I somehow stumbled back to the hostel in the early hours and poured myself into bed. Thankfully I had chosen a lower bunk as climbing at that late hour would have been far beyond my capabilities.

Saturday saw me leap out of bed and head out in search of a hearty breakfast way before 8 in the morning. A window seat in the sun, scrambled egg with smoked salmon, piles of rye toast with butter and jam and a good pot of earl grey brought me to my senses. I was still drunk. The sustenance fueled my nerves and they delivered the slow message to my brain that nothing was to be done for quite some time. Determined to take no notice I walked a coupe of blocks in search of inspiration for the day. The further I got the more determined my hangover became. By 10am I was tucked back up in bed, where I stayed for the majority of the day, only venturing out in the evening for some light Thai food and to investigate the view from the roof terrace. I ate, the view was there and I went back to bed. The nightclub downstairs did its best to keep me awake for a while but failed abysmally. I slept and Sunday soon arrived.

I felt much better for my extended rest and plenty of sleep and ready for the party of Easter weekend.

Caution

It has just occurred to me that growing conditions in the UK are quite different to those i am experiencing here in California, and my frequent references to the Love Apple Farm blogsite may be causing some of you Brits, and folk elsewhere in the world, to take what is written as correct for you.

There are several things that come to mind as considerations:

Planting things deep into the soil may be fine here, where the ground tends to be on the dry side, but will probably cause rot and disease to the stems in cooler or wetter climes.

Constant hydration (watering) to keep the potting soil wet at all times is now always advisable. Allow the surface of the growing medium to dry off between waterings is advised where humidity and temperature differs.

The season starts much earlier here than it does back home, so adjust sowing and planting dates accordingly. Surprisingly the last frosts are expected here on the farm at a similar time to those in southern England. The days, however are much warmer here.

More tender crops, tomatoes, peppers, melons etc do well outside here with plenty of daily warmth, many will, unfortunately require the help of a greenhouse or polytunnel elsewhere.

I don't want to put you off from trying, just to consider differing climatic conditions before proceeding exactly as suggested on the blog.

Happy growing.

Jacob Cooks Dinner

One of the chefs, Jacob, from Manresa often comes over on harvest days to help gather produce for the kitchens and has become part of the farm family.

He offered to cook dinner the other night and produced an amazing meal from the gardens.

Yes, a photograph of people n my blog,its a rare sight indeed, i know. Cynthia is on the right, then Jacob, next to Josh, a volunteer in the corner opposite Sarah, who is here for a year, learning all about biodynamic farming methods. Another extended family and great fun.

This is really short as i just gave you loads or reading about visas below and thought a few photos were in order. Hope everyone is doing great out there.

Visa Applications

I haven't written on this subject for a while. It's just good to know that the forms i sent are being processed. Not the forms that i originally thought that i would be sending, but a different set altogether.

To get you up to speed. I took advice from an Immigration Attorney in the autumn on setting up a business here in the US as the wording on the application document was unclear. The form stated that the applicant had to invest a significant amount of money in the business venture they were considering. For me, i need a truck and some tools to start by business, i explained this and it was suggested that if i were to purchase these items outright, it should, indeed, signify a significant amount, in fact the total amount required and would therefore qualify for that section of the visa application. I just needed to complete the whole planned business documentation to prove that it would be a ligitimate concern and have everything ready to go before presenting my case.

It all seemed so easy, time consuming, but easy.

I came back to the Farm so that i had easy access to all the information that i needed for the forms and to be in the right place to research and gather information and to get a better feel for the region now that i had a plan. It all went well for a good couple of weeks, i volunteered and then worked solidly on my application until i decided to have my progress checked out by the attorney. Just to see that i was on the right track and everything was going to be in order. We had a great meeting and it all sounded good. She was a little concerned in how little money i was going to invest and we devised a way to make it seem more with a little support from Cynthia and the farm, it all sounded great. The attorney also also that she would check with a friend in London to see how applicants were faring at the moment.

A couple of days later i received an email. Bad news. The embassy were rejecting all applications that were investing less that £125,000 without question. So it was a no go.

Cynthia immediately had a solution. For me to be employed by the farm and to expand its horizons to include vegetable garden instillation. I will run the instillation side of things and continue to provide support on the farm in return for board and lodgings. It all sounds great. There was a deadline for applications for this different visa, April 1. We had two weeks to get together all the paperwork and have it sent off for processing. Something that usually takes businesses several months to compile. We worked into the night most evenings to research all the requirements and put together the relevant forms, copying and compiling the document in the copy shop on the morning that it had to go into the post.

It is now in the hands of the authorities, we just have to wait until they get through the 45000 applications to hear if it has been successful. A patient wait.

My plans now are to return to the UK when my current visa expires then wait until October and, visa permitting, return to work on the farm then. I have yet to decide what to do for the summer, either get some work somewhere or travel europe helpXing and discovering more about the world. Will have to see what opportunities arise.

Berkeley

I spent the weekend with Andy and Sarah. Andy is an old friend form the UK and now lives in the bay area with his American wife Sarah.

We met up on Saturday on the eastern side of the bay, opposite San Francisco, had lunch and went on an amazing cycle ride along the bay trail, a pedestrian and cycle way running along the shoreline, stopping to enjoy the view, check out the renovated warehouses, do a bit of wildlife spotting and, of course refreshments.... We were out for the afternoon and probably covered a good 17miles which was more than enough exercise for anyone with a bit of a hangover.

Sarah created a wonderful meal and we sat and chatted about the old days and caught up on the last ten years until the early hours.

On Sunday, Andy took me to a viewpoint overlooking San Francisco bay, way above Berkeley, and then dropped me a small way down the hill at the Botanic gardens. They had a busy day and my plan was to meet Zach, Cynthias' son later in the day to take their truck back to the farm. Zach had been home for the week and is currently studying at Berkeley University which was still further down the hill from the gardens.

The air was clear and the view amazing. As was the botanic gardens. I spent several relaxing hours strolling through the flora of asia, australasia, europe and the US. The California natives was the most extensive and also the most surprising for me. I had no idea how many garden plants we commonly grow in England originated here. Ceanothus, Heuchera, Garrya, several sages to name but a few. Fascinating.

Hungry, i headed down the hill and through the university campus, full of grand buildings sponsored by the good and great citizens of California, towering trees, rolling lawns and open spaces. A wonderful place to study. There was a bell tower , the Campanile, it was open and for $2 i caught the lift to the top to be treated to more panoramic views of the city and the bay, under the threatening weight of 62 huge bells. Thankfully they didn't chime as i think that i would still be deaf today.

I eventually satisfied my hunger in a rather uninspiring Thai restaurant. The decor was erring on faded but the food was amazingly tasty and a very good price. I had time to kill so i read my book for a while and ordered the only dessert on the menu. Shaved ice over beans. I had no idea whaat to expect. It arrived and i was none the wiser except to see a sundae glass full of red beans, like chilli beans topped with plain shaved ice. Try to imagine what it tasted like, i did and was delighted by the first spoonful. Sweet and delicate, soft beans in a syrup sauce, infused with coconut cream and little chunks of coloured jelly for added texture, truly amazing, i wish now that i had taken a photograph of it to show you all.

I caught up with Zach a little after 8pm, got completely lost driving south and ended up navigating my way over several bay bridges and through central San Francisco in the dark, which was interesting. Eventually getting on the correct highway and heading back to Ben Lomond.