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

It's a tired old cliché but it is true - time does fly when you're having fun. We are now fully settled in to the new woodland workshop here at Higher Holditch Farm, and already we've four courses under the belt with plenty more in the pipeline - between now and December we've one or two courses most weeks. (And yes, you guessed - some are already booked, so get your own booking in sooner rather than later!)

Regular visitors to the site will have noticed quite a few new photos on there - some from guests (thanks!), some taken by me - that show what we're up to and how the new place is shaping up. We went away (surfing in Jersey - the waves in Dorset just aren't large enough) for a week earlier in August and while it might seem strange to want to get away from our rather idyllic home and workshop, the change of scene was welcome. We came back to the woods with fresh eyes expecting to see all sorts of things to do but, while we have been making some minor tweaks and improvements to the new venue, pleasingly, there's not that much to change. We have a good year-round venue in place already!

River Cottage Demonstration

No, we're not protesting! Rather, as well as running courses we shall be at a couple of events in September, the River Cottage Festival being one of them.

This is held on September the 6th and 7th at the River Cottage HQ, which is about 10 minutes up to road from our new woodland workshop. I shall be demonstrating bowl carving and maybe a bit of draw knifing if time permits, as well as showing the products of our new courses.

I really do recommend coming along - this is fantastic event that should have something for everyone, wood-nut or foodie.

For more information: www.rivercottage.net

Decorex Launch

As well as the River Cottage Festival here in Dorset, September will see me in London. From September the 21st to the 24th it is the 'Decorex' show, at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea. This will see the official launch of my 'Wishbone Stool', on the 'BESPOKE' stand, B40.

As regular readers might recall from a while back, this stool is part of a limited edition of handmade contemporary bar stools made entirely by hand in the woods, and is a response to a brief to make a stool in the greenest way possible. There's more about it on the 'Green Woodworking Furniture' page.

I shall be at the exhibition every day except for the last one, when I'll be back in Dorset sharpening gouges for that week's bowl carving course.

You can see more about BESPOKE at Decorex here: www.bespokegallery.co.uk

Prices - Good News/Bad News

The bad news: tool prices are going up in September. The tool prices on the site have mostly stayed the same for a couple of years now, but what with the Euro exchange rate and supplier price increases, we are going to have to review all of our tool prices in September ... and inevitably this will be in the upward direction.

So if you have been meaning to buy some tools, the next couple of weeks would be a sensible time to do so.

The good news: we are keeping the course prices the same for the next year. This will be the third year at the same prices and I hope this will further encourage people to consider a green and cost effective UK-based short break in the coming year.

(By the way, we are working on next year's dates and if all goes well we should be publishing some or all of these next month.)

That's it for now. Hopefully, we'll see you either at River Cottage or Decorex in London - and/or down here in the woodland workshop.

Guy and the team

Tree of the month - Sycamore - Acer pseudoplatanus

Last month here in Dorset the annual Tolpuddle Martyrs' Festival took place, celebrating the formation of the first Trade Union in 1834. Six farm labourers met under a sycamore tree on the village green in Tolpuddle to form a society to fight the poverty wages and harsh working conditions of the time. For this act of defiance, they were arrested and sentenced to seven years' transportation, but the subsequent outcry and the mass workers' protest led to them receiving a free pardon. The venerable sycamore tree beneath which they stood, now known as the Martyrs' Tree, is still standing on the tiny village green in Tolpuddle, and is both the largest sycamore in Dorset and one of the smallest properties under the protection of the National Trust. Aside from this national monument of a tree, however, the sycamore has been both cultivated and reviled at different times since it was introduced to Britain, probably around 1500.

The names of the sycamore all derive from its similarity of leaf-shape to other trees. The common name was originally 'sycomore', probably from confusion with the fig tree Ficus sycomorus. The Latin name A. pseudoplatanus translates as 'false plane maple', and the tree, which is a member of the maple family, has been known variously as the great maple, and, mostly in Scotland, as the great plane tree. To add to the confusion, in America plane trees are known as sycamore! Thank goodness for Latin names to bring a little clarity.

The sycamore was probably introduced to Britain as an exotic import in the sixteenth century, and was initially an uncommon exotic. It was noted in Gerard's Herball of 1633 that sycamores were planted to grace the 'walkes and places of pleasure of noble men, where it especially is planted for the shadowe sake'. Although sycamores do cast deep shade, the reference to 'shadowe' probably indicates the confusion that existed at the time with F. sycomorus, which was commonly planted as a shade tree in its native Middle East.

Once established in Britain, the sycamore spread rapidly across the country, proving to be hardy in almost all habitats and soil types. It is a hardwood tree almost uniquely resistant to salt spray, and so was often planted round exposed and coastal homesteads, especially in Scotland where it was valued both as a windbreak, and for cooling shade for the dairy. Widespread planting in the eighteenth century established a large population of sycamore in Britain, and it proved to be a rampant coloniser, its prolific 'helicopter' seeds spreading and growing freely to the extent that for many years now it has been regarded as a weed tree, but the tide is turning; Although the tree is still unpopular in towns for its slippery leaves and honeydew that marks cars parked beneath, and equally unpopular with some rural conservationists, some redeeming features have been found. Many still fight the invasion of ancient woodlands by this muscular invader, but it has now been discovered that the plentiful fallen sycamore leaves decay quickly and actually help to build a healthy soil by encouraging earthworms; furthermore, many flower species associated with ancient woodland will also thrive under a canopy of sycamore; and finally that the huge number of aphids supported by each sycamore tree are a valuable food source for insect-eating birds, especially in the challenging habitat of the town.

As the sycamore is a fast-growing hardwood, it can be coppiced on a short rotation for carving, turning and working. It is favoured today for kitchen tables, rolling pins and wooden spoons for the same reason as it was used historically for turning bowls and skimmers for use in the dairy; the wood is fine-grained and easy to clean, and carries no taint. It will also stand up to the daily scrubbing and washing necessary in the dairy, or the kitchen. The wood also continues to be favoured by turners for bowl-making, as it is fine-grained, easy to work, and does not warp, although the hard, creamy-coloured timber is not as interestingly-grained as other woods.

Finally, there is a fascinating West Country tradition that I have read about, but not yet seen or tried, whereby sycamore leaves are used to bake Easter 'revel cakes'. These are baked sitting on the leaves, which leave a clear leaf print on the bottom of the cake. In some areas the leaves are also associated with the baking of harvest cakes, which were taken out to the harvesters in the fields. An old version of the new, ecological, biodegradable plates, perhaps!

Carolyn Brightwater