I ran a course at Malham Tarn Centre making shrink pots (probably shrink boxes would be a better translation of the Swedish, but we seem to have fallen into this translation).  The centre has been running for over 50 years and mainly accommodates students of the environment for field studies of the surrounding limestone area.  The Tarn is effectively the source of the River Aire which runs down my home valley.  There is no surface exit from the Tarn, instead the collected water runs away underground and reappears beneath the 260 foot high Malham Cove which is a spectacular limestone cliff where peregrine falcons nest.

The Tarn looked very well as I left last Sunday.

The chaps attending my course did very well making pots.  I find people enjoy hard work and the satisfaction of making something by hand:

The bandage is on a wound Liz brought into the course, thankfully no wounds this time.

The results were impressive too, here is a sample.

The sculpture is a work in progress brought along by Beverley for show and tell.  We used the stock knife to slice off a little waste wood on what was become a rather tough dry material.

It seemed rather odd working in a classroom and courtyard, it’s always the hard flooring that gets me.  Dropping edge tools isn’t an option, unlike at work where the deep shavings litter saves all edges from damage.  The horses and benches don’t react well either and I had two leg repairs to do afterwards.  A simple operation with the type of legs I have on my benches!

On my way home I felt very lucky to live in such a glorious part of the world: