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 Recently Lord Skilling and my good self (Ed) were invited to take part in a green woodworking course run by Guy Mallinson and taught by Karen Hansen out in the wilds of Mangerton. Green woodworking means both green as in 'unseasoned wood' and green as in environmentally preferable to the alternatives.
We arrived bright and early and walked down the field to a picturesque lake and over a bridge onto a small island to find our host had lit the fire and got the coffee on.
DEMENTED WOODPECKERS Once the rest of our group had turned up and we had all introduced ourselves Karen and Guy took us through some of the basics of working with draw knives, chisels, gouges and gert lumps of wood and once we had sketched out our plan of our totem pole we were off whittling our wood with all the gusto of as many demented woodpeckers. Under Guy and Karen’s informal tuition we were all making good progress when we were called for lunch which is usually a sumptuous three course affair prepared by Boo Mallinson – but seeing as this was a experimental mates day, we made do with our own sarnis around the campfire. 
IMMENSLY SATISFYING After our short break we were back in the parachute tent workshop, we couldn’t wait, the tools we were using were so razor sharp it made carving that bar of sweet chestnut wood an immensely satisfying experience and by the end of the first day we all felt like we had accomplished something. Day two arrived and we were all straight back into it, the lessons of the previous day had sunk in and we forged ahead with confidence, the surrounding woods resounding with chorus of our tools on wood.
Although I had (pretty much) finished my carving the end came all too soon, I think I speak for all present when I say that our two day break in Mangerton had been an absolutely fantastic time - meeting new people, learning new skills and a realising a true sense of achievement (and absolutely no tree hugging was involved). TRY YOUR HAND If you have ever thought you would like to try your hand at carving or you know someone who would - I cannot recommend Mallinsons courses enough, I personally spend a lot of my time stuck in front of a computer monitor so this felt like a real holiday for me. As well as Totem Pole carving there are courses on:  Kitchen & Garden Pole Lathe Turning, - Carving A Wooden Bowl
- Making A Green Wood Footstool
- Building A Willow Garden Basket
- Making & Drawing With Charcoal
To find out more please visit www.mallinson.co.uk |
