Tweed Valley Forest Festival 2008

Last Saturday I was pleased to be able to join Bob Fleet and Gavin Phillips on the banks of the Tweed in Peebles as part of the Tweed Valley Forest Festival. It was a two hour drive across from Northumberland to the borders, enlivened by a barn owl on the A696 just before Otterburn. 

The high winds and rain meant that all the demonstrations took place inside a large marquee, which required constant attention during the day to bang in pegs, add extra guy ropes and generally make sure it didn’t take off.

We found room at one end of the marquee, next to Red Kite Yurts for Bob’s pole lathe, a couple of shave horses and my bowl carving bench. There wasn’t a lot of room as we had to make space for the Scottish Conker Championship rings! I’d heard that Bob was the first competitor to be knocked out in the inaugral games last year and he didn’t do much better this year, driving home a good hit which smashed his own conker!

Bob and his amazing vanishing conker

 

Later in the day Gavin arrived with his bowl lathe. It was touch and go whether he would make it because Clare has broken her wrist, but she was able to come in the ned, her re-set wrist well plastered. Here’s Gavin with Bob’s wonderful bodger’s hat, made from the fibres of some exotic leaf. 

Gavin in the bodger's hat

 Despite the excitement of two pole lathes on the go, the greatest attraction was making gypsy flowers on shave horse. Indeed for the boys in the audience it wasn’t even this, it was Bob chopping the sharpened ends off the hazel rods that was the biggest draw, as they shot into the side of the marquee from the chopping block.

Next to this my bowl carving demonstration didn’t stand a chance.  With Bob attaching magician’s balloons folded into sausage dogs on the end of the pole lathe and Gavin in full-on bowl lathe mode I realise I’ll have to up the showmanship quotient to stay in this league. Wait until the next event in the Scottish Borders, guys!

 

"So that's where the Entwives went!"

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