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.





 

Today I went for a walk.

Today I went for a walk, the footpaths were open and if I had had time, I could have gone into the stillness of the woods with the soft paths, paved with generations of fallen leaves.  How long will these rights remain, though?  If you have a wood or a forest you love to walk through, maybe one near you or one you have visited on holiday or on a day's walking expedition, there are two organisations who have a  form for you to fill in, to tell the independent panel on forestry why the woodland are important to you... and there are only nine days left now before the consultation is closed..They say they want to hear from YOU. The Woodland Trust has one form you can access on  http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/en/campaigning/our-campaigns/panel/Pages/forestrypanel.aspx?WT.mc_id=panel  and The Ramblers Association has a slightly different version at http://e-activist.com/ea-campaign/clientcampaign.do?ea.client.id=117&ea.campaign.id=10747  They are thoughtful questions and maybe you will enjoy telling the panel what you feel about your woodlands... it's a great opportunity to really say how much they matter to you... and your family if you have one.

When is a victory not a victory....yet ...and what can we do about it?

    The huge public outcry against the sale of 100% of the public forest estate has been one of the most heartening events this winter.... but like the winter, which doesn't seem to want to leave us, neither has the problem. The government is still entitled to sell off 15% of the land by law over a four year period. I am indebted to  Save Our Woods for the following information.
    " The Coalition Government is able to sell approximately 40,000 hectares of land over the four year period 2011/12 to 2014/15 under existing legislation even without the need for the Public Bodies Bill. On a yearly basis, this is nearly TWENTY times what was sold per year between 1997 and 2010. These plans, as identified in the briefing note, are only “temporarily suspended"
      If they were left in charge for another sixteen years, then if my maths is right, it's possible they could dispose of around 50% of the land. Since a  hectare is absolutely meaningless to me, it sounds more like a refined person calling their dog, I googled  40,000 of them and found out that these are 98840 acres.
     There  is another problem, which is that, according to The Woodland Trust,  Ancient Woodlands aren't properly protected and there are loopholes in the law which need changing.You may know of woodland near you which has been lost to developers or quarrying or a new road.  They say that 850 ancient woods have been threatened by built  development over the past decade. They have a petition to sign and let's hope that this time, someone listens.  These woods are too precious to lose.

Vested interest... Ebook and audio book,"Where The Fox Goes". Christian family fiction about people trying to save their woodlands. at www.insideoutsider.co.uk