Winter is here, the Essex Group has gone into hibernation. We will arise in the new year, hungry for wood chips and good company.
Saturday was the last meet of the year for the Essex branch of the APTGW. We celebrated by burning some wood in the Pizza oven. This was the first time using a wood fired oven for myself, Carl, and Merlin (the day’s pizza chefs). We’d have to figure it out as we went. It went very well indeed, from the slick teamwork to the first tasting and onto the second round! Merlin kindly made a huge batch of perfect dough, Carl came equipped with the tools, and I brought far too much cheese. Everyone enjoyed the pizzas and went home stuffed to the brim.
The Pizza’s weren’t a total distraction, some wood was carved! A few worked on spoons, Andrew made a coat hook and had his first ride on a shave horse. Not just any shave horse either. It was a Sean Hellman easy rider made by Carl. One of our newer members David W brought us all burnishers he’d made from Antler and Bison Horn. At the previous meet he’d brought along some leather for us all, great for tool rolls and pouches etc. He’s been thrilled to find a group of like minds after years of not knowing any local wood folks to hang out with.
Just like the APTGW our group has a range of ages, races, and genders. Diversity doesn’t stop there, we have spoon carvers, polelathe & power turners, bowl carvers, walking stick makers, leather workers, weavers, wooly workers, yarn spinners. Some full time, and some hobbyists from various walks of life. We welcome beginners, veterans and those in between, and have an ethos of skill sharing and knowledge spreading.
It’s been an honour to hold our meets in Bedfords Park Walled Garden. We’ve been here since August 2021, it’s a wonderful location to meet other members, make a woody mess and encourage new folks to join the APTGW.
The Garden is owned by Havering Council and lovingly maintained by a team of dedicated volunteers, has won multiple horticultural awards, sells the produce they grow, provide education, and have created a beautiful place to visit. Bedfords park is situated on high ground, has a view of Canary Wharf and the City, a herd of Deer, hilly walks, a variety of our winged friends including birds of prey, a lovely visitors centre, plenty of history and a lot of different tree species.
