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Just saw this in a local online news article: https://www.devonlive.com/news/celebs-tv/antiques-roadshow-musical-penknife-bbc-9626091?utm_source=mynewsassistant.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=embedded_search_item_desktop I dont think I’d want to be battoning with that :)

Hi All, We’ve been trying to catch up with our gardening following the extremely wet winter and spring. One of the jobs I’m facing is to tidy and trim right back our large clump of pampas grass in the back garden. The plant has totally engulfed the section of garden where it is placed. In the...

Last week, our club (Windwhistle Company of Archers) had a roving marks shoot, and one or two of the members used whistling arrows for a bit of fun. I’ve never made a whistling arrow (well, not on purpose…) before, so I thought I’d give it a go. Here is the result - a test shot into our safety...

Hi All, Yesterday SWMBLT and I went to a local auction with some friends from our village. There was a lot of dross, but I bid for and bought this box of chisels and the like: I was quite happy to get some tools at a very good price - super cheap. All of the items need sharpening of course...

Hi All, my interest has been piqued to try and grow some skirret - Sium sisarum. It’s a medieval vegetable in the parsnip family, which produces long, slim white roots. These roots are evidently quite sweet and can be eaten raw or cooked. The small white flowers are apparently sweetly scented...

Hey Tony, what’s this “Gift Upgrade” stuff all about? Cheers, Bob

Hi All, The missus suggested we had a go at this, and it has worked out very well. All you need is: 1. A sunny windowsill. 2. A small plant tray or low-sided pot, with about an inch of compost in it (homemade for super cheapness :) ) 3. A packet of dried peas - 60p in our local supermarket...

“Ben Fogle: New Lives in the wild”, Channel 5,starting at 2100. Will is described as a “true British caveman”. Unless he has moved, the “secretive patch of woodland” he shows to Ben Fogle is across the road from his house :)

Hello All, Just a quick post to wish all of my fellow English a Happy St George’s Day! The missus and I will going to the pub at lunchtime (retired! :) ) - outdoors, but in the sunshine. All the best, Bob

Hi All, We moved down to the rural south west two and bit years ago now. It sounds daft, but I had no idea just how dark the garden and sheds etc would be at night. One night, shortly after we moved in, I arrived home on the KTM, and on switching the bike off I realised I couldn’t see...

Hi All, I've done another one :) A weekend course in Box Making at Williams & Cleal Furniture School. They are only a few miles up the road from me in Lydeard St Lawrence, in Somerset. For those who aren’t that keen to read all the text, here are a few pictures of my part-done/finished three...

Hi All, Just a quick report on my weekend. I spent it learning to make a piece of fine furniture (a bench stool) at Williams and Cleal Furniture School, up the road from me in Lydeard St Lawrence, in Somerset. For those who aren’t that keen to read all the text, here are a couple of pictures...

Hi All, Well, here in our Somerset garden we’re into soft fruit harvesting time. We have blackcurrants, redcurrants, gooseberries, raspberries (with some wild strawberries mixed in), and rhubarb in varying quantities. It has been a good year so far.... Hugh (Big Red) has posted recipes for...

Well, rather than turning the compost heaps as I'd planned, I was surprised when our longstanding firewood log order was delivered last night. Thankfully the weather today was cooler, damper, and less sunny, as moving/splitting/carrying and stacking the wood is quite a hot job to get done, even...

Hi All, the missus and I have built a fairly good sized set of three composting stalls in a dark corner of the garden. Over time we have put a lot of garden and kitchen green waste of all sorts in them, and turned them round between the stalls every few months, as I have seen advised. However...

Hi All, I need help to make a decision! I have carved a pair of pheasant heads, one cock and one hen. I intend them to go on as walking stick handles. They are just about done, but I can’t make up my mind about what I should do about the eyes. As I see it I have three choices: 1. leave the...

Hi All, [Mods- If this is in the wrong sub forum, please move as required] My missus has started selling some of her leaded glass etc in local fairs and galleries, and might be interested to start selling some stuff on-line. She has mentioned Etsy as a possible method, and so we would be very...

We had our chimney swept today, and as a celebration we’ve now got a nice big fire in the fireplace - the first of the season! It is so nice to come into the room with the lovely warmth and light show that the fire gives. It is also a nice payback for work done to fill the log and coal store...

Hi All. I’ve been trying to get a nice mid-green, sort of leaf coloured leather dye to use for some projects. So far I have one water based dye that is very dark green (think holly leaf), and one Fiebings ‘green’ pro oil dye, which seems to turn out rather copper sulphate-y blueish green. Both...

Hi All, I have become sucked in by some basic woodcarving. I need to chase around an incised step and clean it up. I have tried quite hard with knives and palm gouges, without great results, but ideally I think I’d really like a small in-cannel V gouge, i.e with the bevel on the inside of the...