I can’t believe it was only a week ago that I was sitting here, feeling destroyed from lack of sleep because of Joanna’s nocturnal earache, NOT writing a blog post because the website was broken.

Since then I have been in several different worlds – and carried a slight fever / sore throat with me the whole way.

World 1 – Visit to a finca near the Llobregat river to buy a trampoline from a Spanish grandad smoking a cigar and showing me crazy “lemons with fingers” growing in his garden.

World 2 – Caseres flat and the lovely volunteers who have stepped up to get involved in our next youth activity. I managed a short walk in the mountains too!

World 3 – TV. I managed to find programs I wanted to watch, but I find the transition between tv and real life kind of weird to be honest. My favourite joke of all the comedy’s I could find was John Oliver renaming cats from the TERRIBLE movie “Jinglesphincter and Tinkleshit”. I’m really enjoying The Franchise, Armando Iannucci’s latest.

World 4 – Oh the conference needs to get a mention. This was a trial run for me as I am learning the world of funding. A free “Digital Agriculture” conference. I am finding the strength to show up as myself, comfortable clothes, good ideas, enjoying the day. I had a great day actually; my health status was “floaty”- when you are slightly detached from what’s around you and not thinking clearly, and that actually helped me take things easy and not try too hard. I learnt a lot more about the world of project writing and know a couple of people who can do it. I understand the “Pilot Funding” and the way funding works for smaller projects within projects. I also had a bizarre experience in a session with Romanian Geo-Engineers learning about what they actually do, and future ideas they have for using their rockets to protect solar farms from hail. The “fish tank” future (see further down for more talk of this).

World 5 – Guiri comedy in Barcelona, cycling around the city. Sitting in Bar Nossa. I’m not sure I actually like this world any more. It was fun, I laughed, I was very happy to see a diverse line-up with confident older female comedians rocking the house. The last act was half-cabaret, half comedy that kind of, or really, crossed a line with jokes about young boys. This world feels very unconnected with the rest of my life.

I’ll stop there with the worlds. But I think I’d like a calmer week now, and today I finally feel normal again.

Boodaville finca and rovira regenerativa

It rained enough to stop me strimming, and also stop me worrying about whether to water the trees. The drought is still awful.

We had some seriously GOOD news about the permissions, but still are never sure when to celebrate because the council attitude is always very odd and they look like they never want us to open. In November we will start planning the site preparation for our first LEGAL activity in early 2025!!!! Angela, Jessica and I continue to meet regularly and work as the Boodaville Team.

My 12€ sponsorship campaign for Rovira Regenerativa is on target with the work getting done:

• I know what the targets are before March
• I already made important contacts and attended one conference
• I already asked the first 40 people to support the program

The percentage uptake was lower than expected last week – so I’m looking at how to communicate better. My working time on this for the next three weeks is divided between communication of the sponsorhip idea and the overall project / networking and visiting Regenerative Vineyards / Updating our database on funding calls that are open.

More excitingly – Angela and I are planning the next weekend activity at the vineyard for 9/10 November!

my permaculture / eco activities

Well I would love to tell you more about Dougald Hine and the “fish tank” model, and the amazing statistics I just read in his book reminding us that just 30% of all the world’s food comes from the industrial food chain. Maybe I’ll have time to get back to this next week. Oh and can I please mention that Dougald and Claudia sent me a photo to say hi from the Swedish Transition Conference last week. That made me smile.

other Boodaville projects

We have started organising the event for youth as part of the Rio Algars solidarity project. The plan is to gather young people in the cinema in Caseres and then have a party! (DATE – 25 or 26 of November tbc)

overall admin of the Asociation

Now there were some real advances here this week! The boring but important running of the association.

• The website is fully functional most of the time, with just one little malware left that messes the link to the site from Instagram!
• The accounting is up to date
• We have started on the mega spreadsheet which will keep an up to date record of balance, net income and cash flow.
• I’ve prepared agreements on how to share project funding when people use Boodaville’s legal structure for external projects. I just need to check it brings us enough money! and sort out the costs for people using the legal structure when there’s no “project”.