Down at the Farm
This week we harvested the first of the potatoes and were really pleased with the haul! The apples are ready in the orchard and we sampled a few of those. There are 5 or 6 different types of apples, each with a distinctive flavour. It's been a good growing year. We discovered Mirabelles this month too - these are tiny plums, the size of cherries, and they grow around Derbyshire and South of here. We have picked some and frozen others to be made into jam later.
The Shed
We've been busy at the new shed in Ripley. Membership is growing and shed activities are gaining momentum. The workshop on the ground floor is open now and the first project was bird box making. Chris helped members including a new, severely visually impaired member.
We also hosted a workshop called Text and Tools. A combination of poetry and bird box making. The poems will be laser engraved on to the bird boxes. The poetry sessions were led by a local poet, Daron Carey, who inspired everyone with his energy and enthusiasm. He honed Chris' poem, taking away notes from Chris' story and reading it to us this last weekend.
The Blind Painter
Chris has taken up painting! Using mostly acrylics, Chris has spent the past fortnight working on a series of abstract works. He's already sold a few! Chris hasn't given up woodturning (he's in the workshop as I type this) but wanted to take up another creative pursuit. He's been sharing his work on Instagram.
Henry Taylor
We spent a few hours this weekend at the Henry Taylor Open Day. It was great to see some familiar faces from Huddersfield and District Woodturners, and to catch up with some of the members. Chris talked tools with Paul Wragg, MD, and we chatted with the Andy's Man Club team about the importance of the Men's Sheds movement for improving mental health. After listening to Bob, one of the demonstrators, use a ring tool, we purchased one for Chris to use. Very much inspired by Ulf Jansson, too. We met Ulf in Sweden and he's a big fan of the ring tool.
Coming Up
This is a list of some of our forthcoming events, TV and other bookings:
- 15 September - Touch Beyond Vision, Carveco
- 3 October - U3A, Ashbourne
- 11 November - Hemel Hempstead Woodturners
Thanks for reading. We'll be back again at the end of September with the next monthly roundup.
Keep on turning!
Nicola, Chris and Bamber