A New Class Begins – 9 Days of Pure Woodworking
The castle gates to the grounds will open wide at 6am and they will drive, walk, run or cycle through them to start the one mile trip through the woods to Penrhyn Castle. The woods will be wildly alive right now with everything from Jackdaws and crows to blackbirds and English robins. If they walk the will walk past the giant sequoias, monkey puzzle trees and they will be beneath a canopy of green most of the way. They should hear the river down below and the waterfowl that live there.
The Castle rises atop a dome of rock by many metres; standing sentinel to the open seas below and beyond. Rhododendron and azaleas are spectacularly stunning now and will be for several weeks.
The cafe is always open for lunch and we’ll eat here most days. Outside in the courtyard of the stable block people mill around throughout the day. We’ll keep the door ajar for them to see what all the banging and sawing is about.
Working away from normal work is always a unique experience for most people. Our workshop looks a bit like a studio because we use high up photography lights to simulate more natural daylight inside the three-foot thick walls of Penrhyn Castle through which no daylight penetrates. Two tall windows and a 16’ tall door don’t quite cut it.
Because of the video work and online broadcasting, YouTube and so on, my creative workspace has become something almost surreal for a few moments when everyone arrives. Seeing it the way it is, my workspace never really changes these days. What you see in the films is the way it is every day. It’s where I live in my work.
Here are a couple of pictures of what I saw in the last couple of days.
See you all at the weekend!
Looks wonderful. Makes me wish I was coming on this course. I expect it will be very differnt by October when I come and join you for 9 days. Back to preparing the garden for our Open Gardens in June now. Hope you have a great 9 days.
October is always lovely too, “Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness.” according to John Keats.
enjoy this experiance you lucky people its not everyday a master gives his time to teach .
I’ll be there!! Been planning to do the course for a while now and decided that it was about time I bit the bullet and booked.
I’m really looking forward, with a mix of excitement and trepidation, to learning lots of new skills and meeting new and interesting people. I’m even quite looking forward to my 5 hour drive to get there from Hampshire.
You will love this course Jon. And I hope that you do enjoy the journey too. Take your time, stop and soak in the scenery and chill a little as you travel.
Best for now and see you Sunday.
Thanks Paul. Looking forward to it.
Very lucky people indeed. hope you enjoy yourselves
I wanted to be on this course but work , money and illness got in the way . It’s my birthday tomorrow so it would have been nice but alas that’s life.
Paul the pictures of the flowers and castle are just beautiful. Your description of the walk to the shop left me wanting. It is my dream to attend a class when permitted. Thank You for what you do.
Looking forward to meeting you, the team and the other participants on Sunday. I guess it might feel like being on the set of a favourite TV show at first, but that will soon be secondary to the serious business of real woodworking!