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

Everything is now back to normal in the woods. The film crew has left after six weeks of filming for the new craft series that will be coming out early next year. Phew.

I have to say it was with great relief that we finally took off the radio microphones for the last time. It's been quite an overwhelming experience with long hours and lots of redoing everything from a different angle. However, at least craft techniques are all about practice so perhaps that was no bad thing!

I can't say too much about the content yet but rest assured the readers of our newsletter will be the first to know when the BBC go public on the series - exciting times for us and for the apprentices. And despite being more tired than I've been for many a year, I really enjoyed the whole experience.

Two-Handed Axes (Flying Through The Air)

A benefit of the filming is that we have been spurred on to finish projects that have been ongoing for some time. That means we now have a 'proper' axe throwing arena and target ...

Longer-standing readers might remember that we started axe-throwing a few years ago with the Swedish double-bitted two-handed overhead axes, but we were short of suitable targets. Well, we now have a huge softwood round hoisted in position with an official competition spec 'regulation' target painted on to it. From exactly 20ft (and all going well) the axe lands cleanly into the target with a very enjoyable thud.

The pictures above demonstrate an excellent bulls eye (although sadly not the one that was filmed for the TV series). This 'sport' is surprisingly satisfying when all goes well and after protracted negotiations with my ever-patient insurance company we've now arranged cover for guests to have a go at axe throwing as a side attraction during future courses - not compulsory of course. There are a simple set of rules but absolutely no axe catching or live target practice is permitted!

Sweet Chestnut Fencing And Gates

Another project we've managed to get sorted out is the cleft sweet chestnut gates and fencing around a new and bigger car park at the top of the field above the woods.

The sweet chestnut should last for years and we think it offers an appropriate handmade green woodworking first impression on arrival. It also means guests and visitors no longer need to park at our home and therefore I no longer need to worry about children and pets being damaged or damaging guest's cars.

So, whether you're visiting for a course, a wedding, a corporate event or a private party, we now have ample parking with just a short walk down to the venue, and the track we've laid now means there's decent disabled access too.

Bodgers' Shelters

We've also built and erected 3 'bodgers' shelters' in the woods now, which I'm rather pleased with. These are equipped with their own pole lathe and horse and are great for anyone looking for a bit of solitude and total immersion in the woods. What I'm hoping is that these will prove popular with people camping with us next year, who might want to come and practice skills learned on one of our courses and who want a place to call their own for a few days. That will certainly be an unusual holiday option for those who have learned to enjoy green woodworking, art and craft.

Certificates And Tools: Buy Now!

Finally, the postal strike is causing many of us grief and delays can be annoying, so if you're planning on giving one of our 'open' gift certificates to someone for Christmas, getting ahead of the game and ordering it now might be a good move! We can post them now, valid for 12 months from Christmas.

The same applies to tools as well ... the earlier you order the better, not least because I import many of them to order.

However, if you don't get your shopping done early, don't forget that our instant gift certificates can be downloaded every day including early on Christmas Day morning. Yes, we did get a couple of these last year!

It's strangely quiet here now the film crew and the apprentices have gone but I'm sure I'll get used to it again. That's it from me for now but I'm pleased to say that Carolyn is back with 'tree of the month', so read on!

Guy and the team

Tree of the Month - Field Maple - Acer campestre

A lucky combination of weather events over the last few months, lucky unless you fell for that 'barbeque summer' ruse and decided to holiday at home, that is, has resulted in a spectacular display of autumn colour with the first nip of cold weather.

Quick science bit. As I'm sure most of you know, the gorgeous reds, oranges and yellows of autumn are caused by a process that is triggered by the shorter, colder, darker days that seem to close in so suddenly after the autumn equinox. All those beautiful colours have been in the leaves all the time, but were masked until the autumnal breakdown of chlorophyll. This intense green pigment, a vital part of the process of photosynthesis, is the strongest of the many pigments that are present in leaves all year. In autumn, chlorophyll breaks down as photosynthesis slows and stops, revealing other leaf pigments, especially the red and purple anthocyanins. These actually become stronger in a fine, bright autumn such as we are enjoying now, as they derive from the sugars still being produced by the action of sunlight on the leaves, which build up in the leaves as the flow of the sap slows down.

So, autumn is here, the colours are gorgeous, and who are the stars of the show? Pretty well all the members of the maple family, including those beautiful little Japanese acers, will be looking lovely; but out in the woods, fields and hedgerows, the star performer is the field maple. This tree is common throughout Britain, and has been identified through the pollen record as one of the principal native species of our ancient 'wild wood'. Field maples have been here since the decline of the last ice age, arriving a little later than the hardier natives like birch, pine and oak, which were already widespread in Britain by 4000BC. The field maple established as the British climate grew warmer, and it still favours a warmer climate today, being most at home on southern chalk.

In the countryside, field maple is commonly found in old hedges, where it is a useful indicator in assessing the age of a hedgerow. If you recall, hedges planted as a result of the Enclosures Acts were generally single-species, of thorn; field maple has not been widely planted as hedging in the last 200 years, until it reappeared recently in the trend for mixed native hedging. Field maple in an old hedge, then, indicates that it is either a remnant retained as a field boundary after the wildwood was cleared, or it was planted over 200 years ago, probably of wild stock from a nearby wood.

The characteristics of field maple that make it a good hedging plant, that it takes well to being regularly trimmed or laid, plus its decorative qualities, mean that it was used in gardens for formal planting, or even topiary, although beech or hornbeam are more commonly used today. It also makes a very attractive standard, and if left to grow and mature it makes a beautiful tree, up to 26m tall, with a dense, rounded crown, and of course, that beautiful autumn colour.

As it has been here for a very long time, the Field maple is embedded in the art, craft and culture of Britain. Field maple leaves, with their distinctive rounded lobes, were a common decorative motif for medieval woodcarvers and stonemasons, and can be seen in roof-bosses and pew-ends across southern Britain. The timber from field maples is fine-grained, strong and attractive, although trees have not been planted for timber for many years, and trees of timber-producing size were felled and not replaced as other types of maple became readily available.

It is a craftsman's timber, once widely used for musical instruments, and most favoured for harps and fiddles. It is commonly used for all parts; 'Fiddle back' is the name for the rippled grain of maple favoured for the back piece of the violin. The renowned violin maker Antonio Stradivarius used maple for his violins, and was the first to make the bridge, supporting the strings, of maple. Going further back, field maple harps have been excavated from a Saxon burial mound, and even found as part of the treasure trove of Sutton Hoo.

Other craftsmen, especially bowl turners, still value the beautiful timber, particularly for making goblets and mazers, those ceremonial drinking vessels that were historically used for rituals and celebrations; in fact the field maple was sometimes known as the maser-tree. Most sought-after by craftsmen is the most decorative 'birds eye maple', which is formed when masses of shoots - epicormic growth - develop from gnarled, bulbous bosses on the trunk, producing timber with a swirling, figured grain, peppered with many dark 'eyes'. The word mazer was originally used for this growth on any tree, before becoming specific to the maple, and the vessel made from it.

To end with, while we continue to enjoy this extraordinary autumn, I suggest you get yourself to Kew, Wisley, Stourhead, or your favourite wood or arboretum, and search out the lovely field maple and all her cousins, and revel in the colours and smells of autumn - right now.