My unfolded day

It wasn’t work all day today, but I did look at the work of others, starting with the unfathomable richness of nature and moving through the work of people now long gone.

At the car boot sale in Llandygai there was much to look at and dive into. Here is a friend’s sales area of antiques. Bill has a large gathering of antique wooden furniture and other woodenware ranging from small hand carts to tool chests. He proves my theory that pine out made any other wood by a hundred to one. Victorian chests of drawers in pine like these shown here cost around £200-300. All hand made if course; about a week’s work for me and three days for them back then most likely.

I liked this little tool chest. Solid oak throughout including quartersawn drawer bottoms. Probably Georgian, all original and fully lockable. £380 with every drawer dovetailed front and back. Quite lovely really. Here is the inside, behind the fall-front panel.

What about these beautiful baskets too.

Strainer and steamer on the 12″ round one, but lovely work throughout with carefully wrapped handles made from bamboo and still fully in tact. I couldn’t resist these for £10 the two.

The large one was 18″ long and lined with paper. Both were well used and old. Pristinely made, carful scarfed joints to rims and foot. I buy baskets when i see them like this but I don’t know where to put them.

Walking to the castle workshop something shifted in the warmth and rain of the past few days. Daffodils are beginning to fill the fields around and in ever direction I see the gay dancing flowers nodding perpetually in the sea breezes from the Menai Straits.