I could hardly wait to tell you of a blessing received just last week, but leaving for the show I had to put it aside until I could give it full measure of attention. Some weeks ago a couple came by the New Legacy workshop here at Penrhyn Castle and we chatted for a while…
These are some of the additional items of real woodworking for you to look at, contemplate and respect. None of them can be mass made because they demand the handwork of the men who made them. This hand skill doesn’t happen overnight but comes from the demand of self imposed, constant discipline. This is the…
It was a mixed age range at the show and on Friday it was all adults because of school. I think that the show could have been a great field trip for kids to learn about craft as an alternative, but that wasn’t to be. Where are you D&T resistant materials teachers? We could have…
Part of my demonstrating was cutting dovetails and it’s one I have done many times in the USA shows where I perfected the demo, so people are used to it there. Here in the north of the UK that wasn’t the case so they were interested straight away. Here is how it went at the…
Yorkshire folks When it comes to bluntness Yorkshire folk take first place. Brutally honest with a twist of humour no other race on earth has. It was nice to be with people I relate to who without reserve tell you the way it is, even though pride can get in the way. That’s what the…
Well, some are asking for more details of the campaign when lots of people are actually doing it. The campaign is about choices and the ways we woodworkers choose to work with wood. It is not a club of rules, do’s and dont’s but recognizing key issues and trying to understand the why for…
I don’t know where to start really. Should I tell you of the vast percentage of the show that is not woodworking at all, or the important bits in between the big bit booths? Lots to do but poor venue structure Many show or event organisers use craftsmen and women to wallpaper the walls of their shows…
I have to say that there is something about an English B&B you won’t find in other countries. Now I cannot say what it is exactly, but it is in the details. This the Wynstay B&B in Harrogate. It’s a homey and pleasant home from home. Here in my B&B I am…
It’s a specially made wooden box used to contain linens and blankets for extra bedding or changed bedding whereby heavier winter quilts and duvets are stored when lighter weight bed covers are used in summer warmth periods and vice versa. In times past it was a special chest used to store items put away…
The first day of the show is over and all went very smoothly with non-stop demonstrating from 10am to 2pm with no breaks and no slow down. Right from the start it was very much wall to wall people and wanted to know more and more about real woodworking at the bench with hand tools….