Northern Meet Thanks

[peds8045]

Just got back from a very wet but thoroughly enjoyable two days in the Lake District. I would like to offer my sincere thanks to Wayland and the other people who organised the event.

The central catering was excellent as were the demonstrations in leathercraft and flint knapping, all delivered enthusiastically in some trying weather conditions.

It was great getting together with like minded people and enjoying a beer or three round an open fire. Met some nice people who further enhanced the weekend, thanks Alan and Stella.

Will definately be going on future meets...thanks again to all who made it enjoyable :You_Rock_

 

[JoshG]

Yep, completely agreed.
I just got back and i'm knackered, but although the weather sure tested us it was a great weekend. Eric's workshop of dreams was certainly one of the main attractions and Grooveski's flint knapping demo was awesome. Big cheers to everyone who went, even though I didn't get to meet loads of you And also thanks to Razorstrop for showing me the basics of fire by friction using a firebow and running_bare for helping me get a fire going on a soggy morning.

 

[Razorstrop]

Just want to say thank you to every single person I met/shared a beer with/spent time with and learnt from this weekend.
:You_Rock_

I wont mention anyone by name for fear of leaving someone out, but you all know who you are.

Lets make sure that we do this again, and again, and again.


Let it rain
Garry

 

[running bare]

I can only reiterate what has already been said unfortunately i missed the fire bow demo yesterday as swmbo wanted to go for a wee walk!( about 9 miles ) got to hand it to grooveski for his persistance in demonstrating flint knapping in the rain
well done mate. and as for eric what a star. he makes leather craft look sew easy! (sorry couldnt resist that one ) I swear blind his tarp was trying to be a kite on more than one occasion.. It was my first meet and i can guarantee that it wont be my last... must remember to put waders on my kit list to everyone that organised it and everyone that made it a great weekend :You_Rock_ just a pity i had to get back for work

tom

ps. josh never did ask how did you get there and back? i never noticed any transport.

 

[JoshG]

I can only reiterate what has already been said unfortunately i missed the fire bow demo yesterday as swmbo wanted to go for a wee walk!( about 9 miles ) got to hand it to grooveski for his persistance in demonstrating flint knapping in the rain
well done mate. and as for eric what a star. he makes leather craft look sew easy! (sorry couldnt resist that one ) I swear blind his tarp was trying to be a kite on more than one occasion.. It was my first meet and i can guarantee that it wont be my last... must remember to put waders on my kit list to everyone that organised it and everyone that made it a great weekend :You_Rock_ just a pity i had to get back for work

tom

ps. josh never did ask how did you get there and back? i never noticed any transport.

My dad dropped us off and my mum picked us up, it was a shame my mum came early or I would have certainly had a go at making a sheath. Oh well, next time!

 

[wanderinstar]

Yes fantastic weekend, This was the first of many, hopefully. My lad had the time of his life. pestering me now to get him registered. Who an I to argue. See you all soon.
Thanks Wayland for a great weekend.
Ian.

 

[bilko]

Thanks to all of you for making such a great weekend. It was well worth the journey.
i am so glad i went as there were many firsts for me.
I have now learned the basic principles behind bow drilling of which i shall be practising. I have now slept under a tarp in my bivi. Iv'e now cooked my meals on my trangia which was starting to become an expensive paperweight!. I even managed to chop some wood with my sfa ( never used an axe before ) and found out some very usefull knots ( i always overlooked knots but they can make a difficult task easy if you use the right one ).
Ooh, iv'e now found out which knife i want - the EKA W11 ( iknow, needs and wants ). Also i had never been to Cumbria and i must say it's astonishingly beautiful! It's amazing how much you can learn by using your kit in the right enviroment for 2 days and i was pleasantly suprised at how willing everyone was to help out and give advice.
I shall be attending as many meets as possible in the future.
Thanks
Ian

 

[spoony]

Again fabulous weekend, big thanks to wayland for sorting it, hope its the first of many. Also big thanks for some great tucker, celery aint that bad really,(cheers Scruff). Was all good fare and really enjoyed the breads. Recipes please.

Huge thanks to Eric (PM me you paypal and ill send a send a few quid your way for the leather used for the sheath). Met some great folk, and hope to meet you all again in the not to distance future. Big thanks to Dave and Pete top guys and helped make the weekend a good un for me, and who also got me my first ever fire by friction, and also a big thanks to Razorstrop for my first solo effect which produced a cracking ember if i do say so, thanks to grooveski for sitting in the pouring rain teaching us the basics of flint knapping.

Thanks to ODC for helping me sort the firesteels, but once again another thanks to Eric, for the time and effort and bringing an entire workshop, for being patient and taking the time (nearly all of his) to teach us ....well everything really is there anything this guy doesnt know??? Cheers Eric hope to meet up again soon,

Cheers and hope to see you all again soon, hope I haven't missed anyone out. If I have was good to meet you. Hope everyone got home OK, I know some of you had quite a journey back.

Spoony

 

[Scally]

Sorry guys i was down to come but a urgent family commitment came up and unfortunatley not been around to send email from about thursday back around now (dad termially ill been with us four extra years ) still with us but he has his off moments sorry i didnt get but it sounded brill.

 

[Grooveski]

Excellent weekend. Cheers to Waland and compliments to the chefs.

My head's a turmoil of all the stuff learned, all the idea seeds that have been sown and all the names to commit to long term memory.

Wasn't that wet , I'd just forgotton my hat . A big sheet of polythene would let the light through while keeping the rain off the blood. Next time we'll all bust some rock together, regardless of weather, I look forward to it.
What a really sound bunch of folk, pleasure to have met you all.
Came away with more projects than I went with for sure, can't thank everyone enough.
Over two, under one.....

 

[Graham_S]

thanks wayland, that was a fun meet :You_Rock_ .
interesting drive there, thought i was going to die on that fell road. but the trip home was quicker (only took me 5 hours)
met some old and new friends, ate some good grub (many thanks to the chefs), had some good blethers around various fires.
granted it was like camping in the somme, but i managed to stay mostly dry.
next meet i'm definatly packing my bench stones though, i'll probably need them .
and best of all (for my bank manager) i managed to not buy any of waylands wonderful knife blades again (if you see them you'll understand the problem. they're works of art)

 

[Grooveski]

and best of all (for my bank manager) i managed to not buy any of waylands wonderful knife blades again (if you see them you'll understand the problem. they're works of art)

I resisted them too, right up 'till the last minute.

 

[Goose]

Thanks to all, we had a great time. Jodie finished her sheath as I called her to the car so the timing was good!Thanks for that Eric :You_Rock_
Jodie now has her eye on one of Waylands blades but doesnt want that to be her first in case she spoils it!
So I may be pushed into making my own soon

 

[Razorstrop]

Goose, fantastic, I'm glad the young lady had a such a good time.
I succombed to one of Waylands blades as well literally as i was leaving the site, btw I am assuming you had a decent time too

Grooveski, I'm still looking for that knapping session, am going out to get the shaft of the spear tomorrow , also still interested in going to the middle of nowhere place


So any suggestions when we should do it again yet?
Mr Strop

 

[sparks]

thanks Wayland :You_Rock_ i am looking forward to the next meet already i hope that burl is ok for your project.

thanks to all for passing on there skills from eric's leatherwork to razorstrop and his fire by friction
that was a great meet

thanks adam

 

[redcollective]

Yep thankyou to everyone who demonstrated and shared their amazing skills. Thanks to Jim and Garry for their advice on the bowdrill, despite being all smoke and no fire I'm going to give it a crack this weekend once I've found a suitable bit of twig for the bow (or unsuitable, - I'll give anything a bash!). Thanks to to Eric for his patient and generous leatherwork demo - I'm sure there'll be more that a few new sheaths and stropps being made in the North over the next few months!

It was a pleasure to meet you all. Good company, good curry, and oh yes - good Cumbrian weather ;-)

Stu

 

[spoony]

oh quick question to the lady who had made the bread, it was in dough form and you helped yourself, how did you make that??? TIA

 

[outdoorcode]

Another big thanks to Wayland :You_Rock_ Had a great time and it was great to put some faces to names.
Eric, your a star, your leatherwork tutorials were spot on, I'm still amazed you got all that gear in 1 van Grooveski have you dried out yet from your flint knappping demo's, which were great as were the various fire drill demo's

Really look forward to meeting you all again at the next meet

Andrew

 

[Wayland]

Well Debs and I got back from the Mud Meet last night and I'm looking at the back of a van full of wet canvas.

Time to take stock.

First of all I have to thank all of you who turned up in spite of some very challenging weather :umbrella: . Without you there really would have been no meet.

As most of you know, I had an ear infection which rendered me deaf in one ear and reduced hearing in the other. As a result I was able hear less than half of the conversations around the fires and I have a very poor grasp of peoples names or handles. I do hope I did not appear ill mannered at any point.

Great thanks have to go to Led, Scruff and their team of assistants. I well know from experience the hard work that goes into group cooking so well done to all of you.

Eric...... Well what can you say, you are a one man show and a genuine all round good guy.

Firelighting by friction is tricky enough in dry conditions but Razorstrop had a troop of apprentices smoking away with great effect so respect is due.

The award for persistance under adversity has to go to Grooveski. Watching you demonstrate flint knapping with a river dripping from your brow was an inspiration to us all.

Pat on the back for Andy (Outdoorcode) too, for quietly hanging around in case anyone needed pulling out of the mire.

Thanks must also go to Tony, who was not there. Without this Forum we would not be able to communicate and there would have been no meeting. If you haven't used the big blue button yet, consider that.

There are lots of other people who just got on with stuff and helped out where it was needed. I know if I tried to name you all it would end up as "the guy with a hat" and things like that. So you all know who you are and I would just like to say it is easy to be a bushcrafter in fine weather. You all proved yourselves better than that.

 

[led]

Just like to add my thanks to those I met, it was good to put faces to names. Special mention must definitely go to Wayland for the time and resources he and Debs put into getting the whole thing together - thank you both (hope Scadie is happier back at home now!), and also to Eric for his unbridled energy and enthusiasm despite the pouring rain.

Spoony: I'll post the recipe for the bread later when I have time.

Scruff: I'm absolutely gutted that I had to leave before being able to have some of your ham shank for lunch. Hope the thumb's healing OK.