Whistle making on YouTube

 Phew . . . what with dogs barking, ice cream vans chiming, film crew having nervous breakdowns and the star 'f'ing and blinding at his cock ups. . . here it is.

If you can't make a whistle after watching this . . . get in touch and come on a course to have fun.

I think I'll have to wet my whistle now because I'm spitting feathers and the camerawoman thinks that we could make another film of the out-takes which would be hilarious !

Don't forget about Wizardry in Wood next week - I'll be there on Thursday, June 5th.

Coming soon . . .

We were all ready to make a new video for YouTube today but the light went and it started to rain . . . so watch this space.

Come and see the wood wizards next week (4th-6th June) at The Carpenters Hall. You need to book a ticket first (free) though.

Oak, Walnut & Fonts

It was good to be demonstrating next to Neil Taylor at Blenheim at the weekend as we hadn't seen him for quite a while. He's a dab hand with the adze and makes some great seats, stools and chairs. The Welsh chair below is in Oak & Walnut.


I bought a stool from him a couple of years ago to play the guitar on but it never felt quite right so we took it to an event earlier in the year and sold it (as his). A lady contacted us afterwards and wanted to order 4 like it for her new breakfast bar so we were able to pass him on quite a nice commission.

In looking at the demonstrators stands I thought they looked a bit jaded and tatty (including mine) - same old dog-eared signs and props. So I have decided to spruce things up a bit and to that end have bought a typeface from MyFonts - Karacan Pro. I think it has the right feel to it - sort of slightly rustic and old-timey. What do you think ?
Also bought ArtText for doing clever things with typefaces but it's taking some time to get my head round that.

Blenheim Palace

Took this pic first thing on Saturday morning before the absolutely chronic weather moved in to ruin the rest of the weekend.

At the Travelodge in Oxford where we stayed (thank god we weren't camping) the wifi cost £5 an hour - which is why there have been no posts lately.

How many hoodies fit on a shavehorse ?

Well obviously the answer is SIX . .

And here's the proof . . .



Just got back from Yorkshire. The meal last night was excellent especially the rare, Yorkshire Dales, Rib Eye steak.

Tomorrow we're off to Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire (birth & burial place of Winston Churchill) for a 3-day craft show over the Whitsun bank holiday weekend.

Travelodge here we come again ! (Wonder if they have free 24hr wifi there?)


x

Order & Chaos

We're sitting in our Best Western motel room, which is within spitting distance of the Countryside Live showground on the Ledston Estate, having some tea and relaxing after Day 1.

The stand

I love the way they form an orderly queue to begin with
and the fact that I don't have to do any of the legwork !

Pretty soon it descends into chaos

Some young ladies having a go with a bilboquet (where you have to catch the ball on a spike).

Time for a refreshing shower and then a meal in the restaurant here which is apparently highly rated - the menu looks interesting with a lot of local fare available. Thank god it isn't Brake Bros style catering - we've been living off snacks for the last couple of days.

Countryside Live

I hear and I forget
I see and I remember
I do and I understand

This is the motto of The Countryside Foundation for Education who organise Countryside Live to show inner city kids the sort of things that go on in the country. We're going to the one up in Yorkshire at the Ledston Estate near Leeds tomorrow for the 2 day show.

There are birds of prey, pheasants, gun dogs, farmers, corn dolly makers, sheep shearers, hurdle makers, charcoal burners, tractors, horses, donkeys, cows and goats etc. etc... and a bodger !

Around 2000 children attend each day over the two days and most of them want to have a go on the lathe so they do understand what's going on and they'll be doing all the leg work !

We do two shows a year. One in Spring for the Northern industrial cities and one in the Autumn for London. It's great to see the look on the face of a child who's got a bird of prey on their arm as a lot of them have never been into the countryside before. They don't know about milking cows and think that milk comes in a plastic container from the supermarket.