Mallinson Ltd - woodwork courses in Dorset. Perfect short breaks for everyone.

Last week's bowl-carving course was again held in the glorious dappled light of the woods in the Mangerton Valley. I don't think I can sum it up any better than one of the students: "The setting is so spectacular that just being there was a welcome escape from day-to-day life indoors, and the satisfaction and pride of actually coming away with a fine sycamore bowl was fantastic".

Perhaps as time goes by I'll learn, but this time around I was again surprised and delighted to see all the variation in the bowls produced, despite everybody starting with a very similar log. This course also saw us joined by - at seventy eight years old - our most mature student yet. It goes to show that when we say the course are for all ages, we mean it!

Winter Warmth

As Autumn approaches we look forward to the fabulous colours and the falling leaves; in truth it's my favourite time of year to be in the woods. However, any fool can get cold and wet, so work is now underway to upgrade the camp and clearing to ensure it is as enticing in the winter as it is now.

We had been looking at all sorts of ways of keeping everyone and everything warm and dry without ruining the 'working in the woods' experience until, by a stroke of pure good fortune, an ex-services student suggested what's turning out to be the ideal solution - parachutes and straw bales. Now, why didn't I think of that?!

The parachutes will be suspended from a network of ropes in the clearing, allowing us to create a huge canopy of cover from the rain, and with the usual fires dotted around for good measure. The great advantage of this system is that it is adaptable and quickly de-mountable should the sun be shining or any rain clear-up. However, not content with just keeping dry, we are also creating a really warm area for those very chilly days, using straw bales for walls and a double-skin parachute roof. I may love the woods, but I've no intention of ruining the fun by getting cold.

Christmas Present Making For Adults and Children

As many readers will be aware, I've been wanting to offer dedicated courses for children for some time. (The minimum age on the regular adult courses is eighteen). Finally, some good news on this front came in last week: our insurance company has agreed to reduce the minimum age from twelve to eight for courses for Adults and Children.

(It seems it took them a while to fully appreciate that there are no power tools involved in green woodwork and that a child much younger than twelve can safely work on a pole lathe or shaving horse.)

So, Monday December 18th will see our first such course. It's one-day only, and this one will focus on making small Christmas presents. The combined (adult and child) cost is just £95.00 + VAT. There's already been a lot of interest and places are - as always - limited, so do book as soon as you can.

In the interests of safety, please bear in mind that course bookings can only be accepted on the basis of each individual child being accompanied by an adult: two children must be accompanied by two adults!

I must admit I am rather looking forward to being able to say the age of our students runs from eight to seventy-eight.

Christmas Gift Certificates

Talking of Christmas presents (and with Christmas already looming in diaries), don't forget that we offer both dated and undated, personalised gift certificates for our courses.

They've already proved popular and so we've now released the course dates for early 2007 - see the website for full details and booking forms. This means you can order an absolutely spot-on Christmas present right now - which in turn means the woodworker in your life is going to be very happy, and you'll have one less Christmas present to think about come December.

Late Bookings

Yes, unfortunately, sometimes things don't go as smoothly as they might. As a result of some misunderstandings, some advertising and press coverage for our courses didn't happen this month. This means there are still some places available for next month's courses - both Bowl Carving and Kitchen and Garden Woodworking. However, the national press coverage is now going to hit the news-stands next month, so if you are thinking about coming down on an October date, please get in touch to reserve a place as soon as you can.

What Happened To The Pole Lathes?

Before anyone asks, a word about Pole Lathes. Yes, in the past we have talked about our Pole Lathe Turning courses. But I didn't mention them above, and instead something called 'Kitchen and Garden Woodworking' has turned up, seemingly out of the blue. Well, it's like this. I got the course name wrong. Pole Lathes are what we use to make things with, but they're only tools. It's what we make that's important, not the tools. (Otherwise, Bowl Carving would be called the Mallet and Gouge course.) And what we make on these courses are things for the kitchen and garden.

I hope you are all making the most of these last days of warmth and sunlight, and I look forward to welcoming you down in the woods soon.

Guy and the team