Wood Spirit

Having decided that this Christmas would be as Eco friendly and sustainable as possible I am making all my Christmas presents and decorations for friends and family.

Whilst an easy decision to make it's hardly the most time efficient to hard craft every gift where possible. A quick click on the Internet and a present arrives through the post would have been so much easier but much less personal.

Let's hope the recipients of my labour appreciate their craft items are lovingly made and are unique.

Spent yesterday learning how to carve with an Arbortech. Great for big projects today we will be carving using just hand tools.

Amberley

Great day at Amberley museum demonstrating traditional skills.  Today we were demonstrating the ancient art of Bodging.  Pole lathe turning to make  chair legs and other useful items.

I made a Dibber and a Spurtle.  Nothing fancy just simple shapes to keep the public amused and try and increase their understanding of Greenwood working.  I also got to spend a bit of time working my Yew long Bow.  No sooner had I started on it when I was called away to look at a tree that was in danger of falling down onto the cabin that serves as the Amberley bric a brac shop.

It was a Sallow with a rather nasty crack running along the main trunk.  A small gust of wind would have had it falling onto a visitor.  So it needed immediate attention.  I did have a chainsaw handy and I am not certified anyway.  I am rather used to Tree felling with an axe though.  Some out came my large Cegga axe.  A few  it swings to create a bite and then a trusty bow saw to make sure I missed the public and the shop and it was on the ground.  Shame to see trees chopped but this one was rotten and posed a danger.

I will turn some of the wood into bow drill sets and carve a few spoons.  The rest will either become a part oaf the dead hedge or be stacked to become charcoal later this year.

Tomorrow I am demonstrating Outdoor Cooking Skills so we needed to do some foraging.  We collected Beech, Hawthorn, and Hazel leaves for a pate.  Burdock and Dandelion for roasting to make a cordial.  Wild strawberry and blackberry leaves plus stinging nettle.  I have plenty of leaves.

What about the dead things I hear you cry.  Well I have decided to cook a joint of Beef coated in sea salt in the Dutch oven.

Slipping and Sliding

Another fine day in the beautiful Sussex countryside. Today I was instructing Skid Control at Goodwood for our friends at www.Skidcontrol.co.uk The circuit was busy with motor sport enthusiasts taking advantage of the damp conditions to test their skills in some rather nice classic race cars. A little beyond the spending power of a humble Bushcraft instructor. Although great to watch the raw power of these classic beasts pushed hard on a real drivers circuit like Goodwood.

Skid Control have developed a range of anti skid courses that cater for all drivers needs that really focus on driver awareness. It is no good knowing the techniques of control if you're unaware you're in potential peril so we focus a lot on sensing what the car is doing and learning to make small adjustments to maintain friction with the road surface.

Not only is a skid control a really valuable investment to develop skills that keep you safer on the roads its actually rather good fun. Our customers range from those that have been involved in some rather traumatic experiences and need to rebuild their confidence behind the wheel to competitive drivers looking to drift with grace and style.

The joy of instructing at Goodwood is not only the people that one meets but the beautiful and historic setting. We get to observe loads of wildlife that enjoy the countryside from Buzzards and Skylarks to some rare butterflies. Although today most of the birds were sheltering from the rain we heard Chiff Chafs, Blackbirds, Thrushes, Blue and Great Tits plusa few calls I didn't recognise.

One of my 2011 goals is to improve my birdsong recognition. The more one learns about the world the more we understand how little we actually know. Questions only lead to more questions and a greater thirst for knowledge.

Douglas Bader the Spitfire ace made famous in the film 'Reach for the Sky' flew from here. A statue of the great man is situated outside the Areo Club. The other problem working regularly next to a flying school is my growing desire to get my pilots license. No real reason to apart from the challenge.

Once the training was complete we headed to Hayling Island to walk the dogs at the RSPB site along the beach at Langstone harbour. It was high tide so very few waders to be seen. I saw a couple of kayakers enjoying the water which made me wish I had loaded a canoe on the car for a quick paddle. Paddling along Hayling Island in Langstone and Chichester Harbours is one of my favourite paddles there is always something to see and the conditions change constantly keeping you on your toes.

Greenwood Village

Forest Knights chief instructor and his merry band of helpers had a great weekend at Amberley Museum improving the Bow Making Workshop and generally getting ready for the new season at Amberley.

Our friend and colleague the Amberley Bodger was running an excellent introduction to Pole Lathe Turning Course. The new bodgers left with some very nice looking rolling pins and garden dippers.
More importantly they produced vast amounts of shavings for our kelly kettles.

Its a well know survival fact that man cannot cope without copious amounts of coffee.

We are really quite excited by the improvements we have made this winter to our teaching facility at Amberley. We now offer a wide range of courses aimed at people that may not want the full camping in the forest experience but still want to learn new skills. Our site is suitable for all ages and abilities and we encourage people with disabilities to get out and experience the great outdoors.

The Greenwood village at Amberley Museum offers good disabled access so we can ensure all our guests can learn new craft and bushcraft skills in a warm friendly atmosphere.

Our range of courses available at Amberley run from a 1 day introduction of Spoon carving through to a 4 Day Outdoor First Aid Course.