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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Just the same old things - but they make a difference | Just the same old things - but they make a difference |
| (12 days later) | |
| In a way my small society has some similarities with going to work. On Tuesdays it is Short Stop, finding overnight stays for asylum-seekers, and Wednesday is Coasties, maintaining footpaths in the North York moors national park. | In a way my small society has some similarities with going to work. On Tuesdays it is Short Stop, finding overnight stays for asylum-seekers, and Wednesday is Coasties, maintaining footpaths in the North York moors national park. |
| Then every so often I visit my asylum-seeking friend in Leeds, working with Leeds Asylum Seekers' Support Network, and in between it's helping with Yorkshire Fairtrade. | Then every so often I visit my asylum-seeking friend in Leeds, working with Leeds Asylum Seekers' Support Network, and in between it's helping with Yorkshire Fairtrade. |
| Not exactly the same every week, but usually variations on a theme. Do I get bored? No, but then I was lucky and I never did at work. Do I wake up and think 'Oh no, it's Coasties again'? Never, even when the weather is bad. Definitely not. There are differences from work, beyond the obvious one of not getting paid. I can go away when I want, and I do; I can on rare occasions say no, as I did to the raking back in August. But that is part of the essence of my small society. These things need doing year in and year out and if no one did them I believe the world would be a poorer place. Repetitive yes, but not boring. Not to me. | Not exactly the same every week, but usually variations on a theme. Do I get bored? No, but then I was lucky and I never did at work. Do I wake up and think 'Oh no, it's Coasties again'? Never, even when the weather is bad. Definitely not. There are differences from work, beyond the obvious one of not getting paid. I can go away when I want, and I do; I can on rare occasions say no, as I did to the raking back in August. But that is part of the essence of my small society. These things need doing year in and year out and if no one did them I believe the world would be a poorer place. Repetitive yes, but not boring. Not to me. |
| So, Coasties in the shining sun at the beginning of the month. What a welcome sight this piece of machinery was; it moved all the remaining huge stones by the new path in next to no time - brilliant compared with the wheelbarrow we were using earlier in the year. | So, Coasties in the shining sun at the beginning of the month. What a welcome sight this piece of machinery was; it moved all the remaining huge stones by the new path in next to no time - brilliant compared with the wheelbarrow we were using earlier in the year. |
| Step construction was becoming more and more complicated with corners to be turned on a very steep slope. A new gate was put in and revetments built to prevent the steps becoming covered in mud in wet weather. We were able to eat our lunch outside, the sun was almost warm, a promise of things to come? By the middle of the month, however, the sunshine had gone. It was a grey dull day and slightly fewer Coasties were helping out. Two colleagues and I continued the work on the revetments but either the nails were blunt or all the planks were full of knots and hammering became harder and harder. Luckily the ground, whilst drier, was still soft, so digging was quite easy. You win some and lose some. | Step construction was becoming more and more complicated with corners to be turned on a very steep slope. A new gate was put in and revetments built to prevent the steps becoming covered in mud in wet weather. We were able to eat our lunch outside, the sun was almost warm, a promise of things to come? By the middle of the month, however, the sunshine had gone. It was a grey dull day and slightly fewer Coasties were helping out. Two colleagues and I continued the work on the revetments but either the nails were blunt or all the planks were full of knots and hammering became harder and harder. Luckily the ground, whilst drier, was still soft, so digging was quite easy. You win some and lose some. |
| Meanwhile some of the rest of the team were shaling the other steps and finishing off other sections of revetments. The last group was installing the second new gate. Hopefully one or at most two more days' work will get the path ready enough for the official opening on March 27, just two days after we return from holiday. Coasties are almost the guests of honour. We have 'instructions' to turn up in our thick maroon fleeces what ever the weather - so much more photogenic than our grey polo shirts. | Meanwhile some of the rest of the team were shaling the other steps and finishing off other sections of revetments. The last group was installing the second new gate. Hopefully one or at most two more days' work will get the path ready enough for the official opening on March 27, just two days after we return from holiday. Coasties are almost the guests of honour. We have 'instructions' to turn up in our thick maroon fleeces what ever the weather - so much more photogenic than our grey polo shirts. |
| Early in the month I did a Fairtrade stall stall at West Heslerton School, a small and welcoming primary on the edge of the Wolds. Their theme has been France, so the tables for refreshments were decorated with French and Fairtrade flags. I set up my stall, a mixture of chocolates, sweets and small craft goods, all Fairtrade. | Early in the month I did a Fairtrade stall stall at West Heslerton School, a small and welcoming primary on the edge of the Wolds. Their theme has been France, so the tables for refreshments were decorated with French and Fairtrade flags. I set up my stall, a mixture of chocolates, sweets and small craft goods, all Fairtrade. |
| The favourites as usual were jelly beans; but I also did a brisk trade in rings and bangles, maybe thanks to Mothering Sunday. One small boy was short of 10p, but a kind friend lent him the money and he came back for the ring he has had his eye on all afternoon. It was a satisfying session; I packed up and prepared to take the unsold items back to Fairer World in York The shop had been closed for essential repairs, so these stalls have been a vital life line for its commercial viability. | The favourites as usual were jelly beans; but I also did a brisk trade in rings and bangles, maybe thanks to Mothering Sunday. One small boy was short of 10p, but a kind friend lent him the money and he came back for the ring he has had his eye on all afternoon. It was a satisfying session; I packed up and prepared to take the unsold items back to Fairer World in York The shop had been closed for essential repairs, so these stalls have been a vital life line for its commercial viability. |
| Tuesday at the beginning of the month was not the usual Short Stop. The previous week hosts, co-ordinators and one of the referring agencies had met up for a social evening in Leeds: a lovely meal and a chance to meet people who are usually just voices on the phone. So when pafras rang this morning I could put a face and personality to the voice. The second host I rang had also been at the meal. We chatted about her baby and the meal and then, as usual, she said yes, of course they would take the young woman I was trying to place. | Tuesday at the beginning of the month was not the usual Short Stop. The previous week hosts, co-ordinators and one of the referring agencies had met up for a social evening in Leeds: a lovely meal and a chance to meet people who are usually just voices on the phone. So when pafras rang this morning I could put a face and personality to the voice. The second host I rang had also been at the meal. We chatted about her baby and the meal and then, as usual, she said yes, of course they would take the young woman I was trying to place. |
| Janice Gwilliam is a retired London schoolteacher who blogs monthly for the Northerner about her voluntary work with asylum seekers and refugees in Lincoln Green, Leeds, maintaining footpaths on the North York Moors and working for Fairtrade in Malton, Norton and York. | Janice Gwilliam is a retired London schoolteacher who blogs monthly for the Northerner about her voluntary work with asylum seekers and refugees in Lincoln Green, Leeds, maintaining footpaths on the North York Moors and working for Fairtrade in Malton, Norton and York. |
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