Scariff Tip Trip - Tuesday 30 Oct 2007

It's 12.50 on the 31st, but this is for yesterday. By now you know the hours I keep. After breakfast, we headed of to Scarrif to get rid of the re-cycling and rubbish. Had to go into the village first to buy our voucher for 3 black bin liners of non recyclable rubbish for 12 euros. Back to the tip. There's a great little Irish lady there who seems to be the boss and a young man who helps, he has Downs Syndrome an is always keen to help with your bags, etc.

It was busy as usual, farmers on tractors, an odd assortment of cars and drivers, vans and trailers. It's a great place to socialise and everyone is in a good mood. We tipped our cans into the food can receptacle, drinks cans into the can bank, all the plastics into the plastic bottle chute, old saucepans and barbed wire (the latter from my bramble patch) and much paper and cardboard. Even little batteries into a small red bin! Feeling very virtuous, we headed back into Scarrif centre for our customary coffee and a bun at Joe and Brians' Cafe.

Scarrif is a very 'right on' village. Full of vegetarians, vegans, hippies and even the odd local! Many of the villagers are from the UK. We discovered the cafe on our first trip there, after our tip run. It is run by 2 special needs adults, and is supported by the local monastery. They do the books for the boys and a motley collection of people seem to come and go and help out or just pop in to chat. They make great tea and coffee and always have a range of home made cakes.

They also have art on the walls. This changes occasionally and is always a source of interest to me. This time they had some very atmospheric black and white photos.

We ordered our coffees (fair trade of course and in individual cafetieres) and I had a scone with butter and my favourite jam, apricot while Jim chose a vegan fruit cake. Joe brought it all to us. I had worn my black sweat shirt with High Tor Players on the front, this being one of the companies I used to act with. A chap with a long pony tail said, 'Not High Tor, Matlock'. It turned out he lived in Matlock Bath, Derbyshire when he was a child for quite a few years. I lived in Matlock Bath from 1980 to 2002! It's a small world, as they say. We chatted for ages all about the place and some of the residents we both knew. He had gone to school with my best man from my previous marriage! The chap sitting with him was wearing a hand knitted striped woollen jumper, had his grey hair long and wore a beret. That's the usual sort of uniform for Scarrif.

Back home and I managed to plant the black tulip bulbs I'd been meaning to plant yesterday when the loo and poo crisis struck. I can't wait to see them flower in the spring.

It was dark by 5.30ish, so early. Had to come in and it was also drizzling quite heavily by then. Jim potted the roses individually so we don't have to rush to get the rose bed ready. He also made a great vegetable curry with rice, very Scarrif!

I watched 'Wolf' on tv, a Jack Nicholson/Melanie Griffiths film where Jack gets bitten by a wolf and naturally turns slowly but surely into a werewolf! As in the end does Melanie. Great fun, Jack at his OTT best. I love that man. Earlier Holby City proved a bit of a disappointment. It gets more like Coro/Eastenders each week. Very silly.

Caught up with a few more old friends on Facebook today. Another of the Millstone Grit Company, Nancy, who used to play 2nd witch. We toured round many schools with a workshop production of Macbeth. I played Lady Macbeth. What a part. Nancy had this wonderful costume, like an old orange curtain full of holes. Each time she put it on, a bit more of it disintegrated! They were fun times, though hard work.

Night all.