Yet another catch up !!!

Full of good intent and resolute that I would keep my blog up to date, I must report a miserable failure. To be honest I have been so knacked with everything going on, it has been the last of my worries. Anyway, to make amends I shall catch up now.
Tree and I went down to Cornwall, as mentioned in the previous blog, for her job interview. We stopped in a lovely hotel, in a place called Ilogan, and would recommend it to anyone. It provided a nice break away from work and all the usual hassles of daily routine. Tree went to the interview whilst I trawled all the estate agents checking out prospective properties to buy. We stayed over an extra day and went to Sennen Cove . It gave us quite an insight into life in Cornwall out of season, as the photos show there was hardly anyone there. To cut a long story short, we came away from the whole thing having had a good rethink about whether it's really what we want. The problem is that we have always been there for holidays and we aren't sure how we would feel once we were living and working there. After long deliberation, we have decided to look at the possibilities in Wales. We certainly could get the sort of land we need to build and develop the business,whereas in Cornwall we would in effect be downsizing.
The only other bit of news is that the Eastnor woodland fayre was cancelled due to bad weather. This left us at a bit of a loss what to do with the spare time. Two car boots later and the decision was made !!
Sorry, yet again, for the lack of update but I will keep you posted....promise.

All quiet on the western front

This is just a catch up blog today, as I have shed loads of stuff to get done in the meantime. Tree has just heard that she is shortlisted for a job in Cornwall, so we could be moving quicker than we thought !!! Fingers crossed. It means I will have about a month of non stop work on the house to get it on the market. A small price to pay for freedom from Worcester. Otherwise, we have got back on the losing weight/walking more band wagon and seem to be doing quite well. The other evening we went to the Worcester Beacon with San and Kate. The air is very brisk and fresh up there, and quite refreshing. I think I will miss the hills, as they are a link with my childhood holidays and my family. Hang on, I might rethink that one ! A lot of people have already started talking as though we are going to the moon when thinking about our move. This I find strange, as Cornwall is only 4 hours drive away. I think it is the Worcester mindset ! Anyway, enough said for now, I will catch up soon. Aloha !

Prof's Wyrde World

Just to let you know I have a new attachment to this blog called The Prof's Wyrde World. In this blog I aim to stick all the odd little things that I come across in life, but never seem to have the means to record. For example, I was coming across Sabrina Bridge when I saw a very ordinary, middle aged, suited man, sitting on a bench with an attache case next to him. He leant over, opened the case and took out a xylophone. He played it, quite frantically, for a while, then put it back in his case. Sadly, I hadn't got my camera with me !!

The simple things in life.

Some people have to have the latest car.
Some people have to have the latest phone.
Some people have to have the latest gadget.
Some people are very unhappy working their guts out to pay for a lifestyle that they don't really need. They just think they need it because everybody else, significant in their world, has it or are doing the same. How sad !

Give me a sunny spring day, a garden in bloom and the comfort of a loving partners embrace, and you can keep the rest.

What IS the point.

In the course of my work I have, over 25 years, seen most things forged....or so I thought. The other day I came across this forged 1p piece in a mixed bag of coin. Okay, so I understand forging £1 coins, as they only cost about 23p to do so, but a 1p !!! The base metal is lead, which costs more than that in the first place, let alone the cost in setting up a mould and buying wafer thin copper. The way I see it is as follows:
1) It's a joke.
2) Someone is very dense
3) It just had to be tried
4) They didn't have much luck forging 10ps by filing down those eight sided coins.
Any suggestions...let me know !!!

Don't worry children, it's just a man in a silly mask.

Following on from yesterday, I had to show how the sublime becomes the ridiculous. It speaks for itself !!

Oops !!!

Ok, we all know about health and safety but let's face it who really listens ? It's far better to just wait until you have an accident and then listen, right ? Wrong ! There's a thing called kickback when you're using a chopsaw, but the name doesn't really describe what it is. It was inevitable that using one, as much as I do, I would, sooner or later, find out. Kickback would be better named logchuck and so it was, as I was trimming a staff, that a chunk of wood flung off and hit me on the side of my head. The resultant damage was minimal, to me that is, but sadly my glasses paid the price. The great Daniel Mack, in his book "The Hedge carpenters companion", said,"no amount of time should be spent worrying about accidents that will become the stuff of stories in later years". This does not mean I will be complacent, but rather more inclined to wear a safety visor and act all knowing and wise to the unititiated.

Merry Beltain !!!!!!

I've loads to tell about, but little time to do it. Firstly, a Merry Beltain to everyone we know. Tree and I took some time out, at the beginning of Tiddesley Wood open day, to celebrate everything spring. The weather stayed dry for us and we had a very good day. Jenny and Rob, who organized the event, were very helpful and seemed delighted with the tent, mirrors and everything. We have been invited back next year and we have suggested that we should introduce the May Queen and a Maypole dance to the proceedings. Jenny was very keen ! By far we were the most successful there and slightly surprised how many people turned up (approx 3000). We were so tired the next day we didn't bother to do the Green Man at Clun. We drove out there, but looking at the weather and carrying the stock over the bridge and how well we did previously (sorry to say it again) we decided we would be wasting our time. Anyway, enough of blowing my own trumpet, I now need to make more mirrors and catch up with everything I have neglected. So I would like to apologize to anyone who may feel I a little neglected, I am sorry. Oh and by the way, the name change to the blog is to prevent confusion between the website and here !! We had a few comments !!!

Paradox. (noun) selfcontradictory statement

Having woken up at some unearthly hour this morning, to undertake a car boot sale at Hallow, Tree and I determined the day should not be wasted but rounded off with a healthy walk. The car boot was a resounding success and Tree even phoned her mum to say how much we had made !! So, we phoned Sandra and decided to go to Broadway to get a snack and then walk up Bredon Hill. Well, the photos speak for themselves. We stopped at a tea shop and ended up with a cream tea and cafe creme to top it off. The walk up Bredon Hill was scaled down to a walk around Pitchcroft racetrack. Hence the paradox. Cream tea and a healthy walk !!

Spring has sprung. Happy Eostre

Oh well a little early on the Beltain side, but I couldn't resist after Tree, San and I went for a lovely walk in Tiddesley Wood. We actually were there on a fact finding mission in preparation for the Tiddesly Wood spring open Day . I have become a bit more chilled about the whole thing, now I have completed most of the work needed for the "season". One of the good bits of the walk was listening to the trees. A good wind is needed to really hear them talk, but we still heard a few murmurs. Don't know what I mean ? Just find a tall tree, stick your ear up against it and you will soon understand.

Toothache. What a pain!

Taking out some, rare, time to relax the other night, I was more than upset when a chunk of tooth came out while I was eating. Not much to write about you say, but the irony is I had only been to the dentist for a check up three days before. Any way, I booked an appointment and went and had it filled. I didn't object to paying £44, on top of my check up fee of £15, as we all know, s**t happens and it was just bad luck. However, I sit down the following night and guess what......another chunk of tooth from the other side now falls out. What are the odds of that happening ? And I'm gonna have to cough up another £44.....great. Odds are a leg or my head will drop off next. I think there is an old folk tale about teeth getting loose meaning a portent of some future event. If you know, share it with me please.

Ominous monsters.

Tempting fate in my last blog, I now feel knackered and have a cracking headache to prove it. This is natures way to slow me down I think and so I shall heed the warning signs. Not much has been done, therefore, and I lazily pass the hours surfing the t'internet for some inspiration and amusement. Sadly bereft of anything worth note, I could only find the Monster Name Decoder. Simply, you put in your name and out comes your monster name. I wouldn't have bothered but, freakily, bearing in mind my blog title, it came out as below. Spooky, don't you think !!

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's collapsing from overwork, we go !

What can I say, no excuses, I have neglected my blog (slaps wrist). Since we heard the good news about Beutiful Days, I have been working non-stop. Even the van has had a lick of paint ! But, as they say, all work and no play...so Tree and I have made a resolution to get back to our walking and to take some time out for ourselves. On the plus side, I have made all the mirrors I need for the Tiddesley Wood Spring Open Day , which is a bit of a relief. I just need to make some back up stock now.As soon as I have achieved that, I will definitely get back to the old routine.
See Ya all soon.

P.S In case you were wondering what the photo is about, I took this one of Billy pissing about with a torch. He looks like the mirror in the original Snow White and the seven dwarves, don't the think.

"What a beautiful day" or so the song goes.

Following on from yesterdays theme, I am most joyous today after Tree phoned me at work to let me know we have been accepted for the Beautiful Days festival. To be frank, we had given up hope, but when Tree spoke to Dill, at B-Days, she said,"they would love to have us". It seems they are a bit behind on the old paperwork !! Woo Hoo !!! (leaps about room). This will be the first of many, hopefully.

P.S Do you like my new glasses.

Living life to the full.

A simple post to say I found a wonderful quote that sums up how I feel about life today and, definitely, in the future.

"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, drink in one hand, spliff in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride !" (anon)

I know I used to do it. I know I can do it again, or I'll die trying that's for sure !!!
See ya!

Ya gotta laugh !!

I woke up this morning with a cracker of a headache, a feeling of apathy and a desire to do nothing but drag myself about in a foul mood all day. I then came across this photo of our mate Billy. It speaks for itself !! Ya gotta laugh !!

I've still got the headache though !

Them bloody photos !!

The wekend is upon us, and I realise that I still haven't got the Ireland photos sorted. So the last half hour has been spent madly posting them onto the net. I have only managed to get a third of them on there so far, but I will post updates, as and when I get the chance. Otherwise there has been no change to the work, work ,and then, work some more routine, getting everything ready for the first show. But Hey ! by the end of the month it will all be ready and normality, whatever that is, will return.Enjoy the photos of Ireland .

After Dark in the Park

A fruitful day, all in all, making mirrors and sorting the freshly air dried wood for the next project. Tree sorted and catalogued all the stock and made a bloody good job of it as well.
Mid afternoon, we went over to Dan and Sarah's house, whom we haven't seen in ages, to catch up and give Wills his belated birthday present.
When we got back we wondered what all these people were doing around our road as it was quite busy for that time of night. Then it dawned on us !! After Dark in the Park !! The Friends of Gheluvelt Park had put on a show of lights, music and entertainment in the park. Steve White and Mr Do were there, fire juggling on the bandstand, whilst ambient jazz was played to a light show of coloured lights projected through fountains of water. In the pond, light sculptures floated about whilst the banks had been decorated with paper flowers and lights, made, we assume, by local schoolchildren. To end it all, there was a 20 minute firework display to rival some of the better ones we saw last year. Tree and I were mightily impressed and the whole thing was a credit to the organisers. We have decided it is time we got involved and will be joining A.S.A.P.

Et Tu Herbie.

Not to be out done, Herbie has managed to get into a scrap with the same cat as Ziggy. It would appear that, unbeknownst to us, Herbie had been hurt a few days ago , above his left eye, but it didn't show. The wound site then got a bit swollen and infected. Under pressure, as he scratched himself with his back leg, it exploded. The result was that I found Herbie covered in gunge and blood, all over his face. He was ever so good, as I cleaned him up, and he knew I was trying to help. From the photo you wouldn't think much had happened at all, but believe me, it was like he'd had his head dunked in tomato ketchup and bake beans when I started. So we now have two cats on antibiotics and another £40 has winged it's way to the vets !!! Oh well, as Tree agreed, they're cheaper than kids to keep.

Just a quickie

Literally, just a quick blog to say we have been accepted for the Steam and Woodland Fair at Eastnor Castle on May 28th -29th (bank holiday Monday). Tree was very happy about this and I must say her perseverance, in sorting this event, is admirable.

Meanwhile, Ziggy is looking better and goes to the vets this morning for a check up, so fingers crossed !!

And, last but not least, the Ireland photos will appear soon.

More of an update, than a blog.

Time flies, so they say, and never a truer word spoken. Lots of stuff has happened in the last week, but most of it is mundane. I have been working on the mirrors, mainly, and a small side job for Joy's shop, whilst trying to prioritise for the coming festy season. On that note, Blissfields has put a link to Wyrdewood on their site, so go check it out. Beautiful Days haven't got back to us yet, so fingers, and anything else for that matter, crossed !! As for Eastnor ... Hello is anyone there ?
Otherwise, we had a bit of bad news in that Tree's gran died on Friday. It was expected , as she hadn't fully recovered from a fall she had earlier in the year.
I apologize for the lack of a photo, but since coming back from Eire, Tree and I both seem to have lost a sense of time, I think it is because of the anticipation of coming events. We only managed to organize ourselves for a walk around Pitchcroft today, let alone everything else. Talking of Pitchcroft, did you hear a couple were mugged there. Their mugger was unarmed and I said to Tree, " Pity the poor f****r if he had come across us instead".Comments on a postcard to: Muggers in traction, Worcester Royal.

Catch up with y'all soon, y'hear !!

Poorly puss.

Yep ! He's done it again ! Waking up early on Saturday morning, I noticed that Ziggy wasn't his usual, lively, self. On further inspection, we found he couldn't move without yelping, so a hurried visit to the vets was organised. The vets kept him until the afternoon, having found a big hole on his left shoulder and some puncture wounds under his arms, so they could sedate him and stitch him up. When we collected him he was high as a kite on sedative and just sat staring into space like some tripping hippy. You had to laugh, well you didn't ,but after £160 cost it was that or cry !! He's on the mend now and just pissed off because he can't go out and fight some more ! I think he only does it so he gets to sleep on the bed !! The photos of Ireland will appear soon, promise.

All play and no work !

As you will have gathered from the lack of blogging, Tree and I have been away for a couple of weeks sojourn. As part of the bigger plan, to move away from Worcester, we went to Ballydehob, in south west Ireland, to see if it would be a suitable place to move to. We stayed in a place called Ardura Beg Cottage overlooking Roaring Water Bay and, as you can see from the photograph taken from the living room window, had a beautiful view of the bay. The castle to the left of the photo belongs to Jeremy Irons and the lighthouse, to the right, is Fastnet. There is too much to put in one blog about our trip, so I will spread it out, with a few photos, over the next few days. Sadly, living there would be a logistical nightmare for the business - it took us sixteen hours just to get there !! Certainly, if we didn't have to come to mainland UK, it would have been brilliant. Peace and quiet, absolutely no light pollution, fresh air, clean water, loads of healthfood shops and the sunsets were phenomenal.

Air drying ( or how to crick your back )

As Tree has had a bad cold for the last few days, we decided that we both needed a spot of fresh air and to sort some of those jobs that have been nagging at us. We thought hard and made the choice to go and see Adrian Viner, our friendly sawmill guy, at his farm. As the saw bed is situated right next to the cowsheds the air was, how shall we say, ripe !! The long and short of it is, we came home with all of the Yew, Sycamore, Holly and Oak cut and ready to air dry. That was the easy bit !! The hard bit is all the stacking and spacing, called sticking, which allows the air to flow evenly around the wood. Shifting well on about twelve hundred weight in wood is no joke and by the end of it I had cricked by back and knew I would suffer later for it. However, seeing all the wood sticked makes me feel good, knowing that it is only a matter of six months and I can start using it.

The Old Tool Store, we love 'em !!

Not usually being the kind of person to endorse anything, I have decided to make an exception when it comes to The Old Tool Store .When making certain rustic items of furniture, you need very unusual tools. In my case I was looking for a hollow auger. Try as I might, the only place I could find them was in the U.S.A, at very unreasonable prices. Veritas make a modern version but still not what I needed. Then I found The Old Tool Store and was mightily happy !! Some may say that is very sad. I say "Try finding one on the net, for two months, with no success". In case you were wondering, a hollow auger cuts circular tenons onto the end of wood prepared using a spoke pointer (another thing I got from The Store). They have truly earned their place on my links section !!!

Imbolc, Cirencester and "How close do you wanna get"

Tree and I got up early, a significant event in itself considering it was Saturday, and having eaten a full breakfast to surpass all others, got the car ready to go to Ragged Hedge Wood in Cirencester. As we set off towards the motorway I remarked to Tree that the car sounded a little different. This, somehow, seemed familiar !?! Anyway, we put it down to the wind whistling through the bars on the roof rack. Oh Oh !! Yep it's just like No Brakes back in December, except this time it was the exhaust. We got about as far as The Balloon pub when the exhaust starts to get louder and louder. Determined not to be beaten, we carried on to the wood where we would make a decision what to do. As you can see from the photos a lot has changed. There is now a cool sculpture of a dragon at the entrance to the wood and the circle is guarded by an Oak dragon, on the West quarter of the circle. We coppiced the wood we needed, thanking mother wood for her bounty, and performed a short ritual for Imbolc, laying wild flower seed around the circle. We got back to the car and decided to have a coffee at the little mortgage and let Green flag sort out the car. True to their word they were there within the hour and we soon set off for home. All the way home I kept forgetting about the car and, on turning round, would think someone was driving right behind us. "How close do you wanna get ?". Oh well, apologies for the long blog and maybe next time we will be able to get wood and not break down on the Cirencester road. Anyone would think we were jinxed !!!
Blessings to one and all.

Good advice / Bad advice Part II

Following on from my original post about not looking at the sun I couldn't resist posting another. Unfortunately, this time I only managed to capture Worcester at ground zero of a nuclear explosion. Well what do you expect ? It was taken on a keyring digital camera !!!

It's 6 o'clock in the morning and I have woken to see the moonlight flooding in through the window. A wonderful start to the day for two reasons. Firstly, I have finally shrugged off the cold I have had for the last week or so (hence no blog !) and secondly, it's only two days until Imbolc. The added bonus is that the full moon has happened over a weekend, so no rushing about. Tree and I have decided to visit the wood at Cirencester, where we were handfasted, and spread some wild flower seed to mark the first day of spring and the fertile earth. It will be good to ground ourselves in a special place. In addition, we are hoping to coppice some wood to make stands for the new mirrors I have made. We have now been invited to do Beautiful Days Festival in August, subject to pitch availability, and along with about five more events, have a full calendar for the year. Other events include, Spring open day at Tiddesley Wood, Eastnor Castle Steam and Woodland fair, Green man Festival at Clun, Blissfields Festival and hopefully loads more !!
Anyway, a merry Imbolc to one and all. Spread some seed, celebrate the hopes and wishes for the year ahead, feel the sun on your face and bathe in the light of the moon !!!

Ockeridge wood

A gloriously sunny Sunday afternoon ! I'm still full of my cold and have even started to cough, to add good measure to feeling unwell. Tree and I decided to go on a bit of an expedition, to seek out potential sources of wood, and chose to go to Ockeridge. Quite fortunately, we met the conservators, while we were there, who were more than helpful in telling us how we can get coppiced Hazel, and the like. We spent about an hour and a half trying to find the warden in the wood somewhere, so we killed two birds ( not literally) by getting our weekly walk in as well. Hoorah !!
Talking of birds, we saw three Kestrels hovering, weightlessly, over a spread of old Oak trees in the centre of the wood. It's amazing how graceful they are.
Oh well, I'm back home now and nursing a cup of honey and lemon, feeling better at least for the walk !!

What a loser !!

Unlike George Galloway, I am happy to announce ," I am a loser". The reason... I started a diet about two weeks ago. Not being one to usually diet, I was expecting better results than I got in the first week, i.e I didn't lose anything. Despondent, or pissed off more like, I was almost ready to chuck it in, when I noticed the first pound was off. What started as a trickle, soon became a torrent ( slight artistic exaggeration allowed ) and before I could say"slimmers world", I had lost EIGHT pounds !!! Only twenty eight to go. Even fruit has become more appealing than sweets !!!