A spoon

Usually I'm writing about issues, but just for once, tonight I want to write about some of the lovely things my friends do, as well.

It was a spoon, a hand carved pale wooden tasting spoon, the dark rings in the middle of the bowl created by the sapwood going over into the heartwood. At the far end, the finger groove had been carved to allow perfect hand balance when you lifted it.

About six inches of pale English wood, a surprise present from my good friend, Michael Smith, it might not seem much, but there was so much more to it.
Michael's alias is Veshengro, which is is Romany for "man of the woods", woodsman, or forester.  He writes a blog using that name at Green (Living) Review. He has a written book about woodland management, full of interesting facts, and a guide to reusing and upcycling trash, called "Let's Talk Rubbish". Michael is also the brains behind Reuse Central, a collection of ingenious upcycling ideas on Facebook and he works full time... I've never been too sure how he does it all.
I asked Michael how long it took him to make a spoon like this and he replied that they take between two to four hours, all told, to make, at least...
 He wasn't sure exactly what kind of wood he had made it out of, having already sent it to me, but he thought it was probably Serviceberry or Ash.  Serviceberry wood is very strong and Ash is very resilient. I had wondered if it was Sycamore, because of its pale lustre.
The point is, that this wood hadn't been discarded or burned, but turned into something beautiful which I shall treasure and use for the rest of my life and hopefully it will still be in use a generation or so later. All the while it survives, some of the carbon dioxide the tree took in while it was growing will be locked in there.
This is a picture of a sample eating spoon that Michael made for himself. It's carved out of Hazel wood. I really like it and he is going to make a couple for me, soon. They will probably be made from Alder wood.

Another of my friends, Reg Mabbett, also makes thumb sticks from coppiced hazel wood.  The handle of the stick on the right is a traditional design... and the left hand one is a joke on the name, but very good to hold as well.

Carved handles of Reg's sticks

  According to Michael, a properly managed coppiced stool can live for several thousand years, way outliving a single standard tree.
The woods live on if they are properly cared for and aren't destroyed by politicians and developers. Our most treasured woods go back centuries. Ancient woodland in England is woodland that has existed since 1600 AD and some ancient woods may link back to the woods that covered the UK around 10,000 years ago.  Only around two percent of the land area of the UK is covered by ancient woodland and whole communities of animals and plants live there. These woods can be beautiful and peaceful places for everyone to visit.  It only takes weeks for modern machinery to completely destroy them and they needs protecting, especially now. We need the trees as much as they need us!
This reminds me,  if anyone wants to buy one of Michael's spoons, he can be contacted at Green (Living) Review.  I don't have any idea how much he charges for them as mine was a present, but I'm sure he'd be happy to let you know.

Information about ancient woodland and campaigns taken from the Woodland Trust.
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/get-involved/campaign-with-us/
and
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/greenpolitics/planning/11500924/Ancient-woods-face-gravest-threat-for-decades-Woodland-Trust-warns.html

Declared interest:  Michael once wrote a very kind review of one of my books..and that's how we became friends.