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Essex Bodgers Walled Garden Meet

APTGW - Essex Bodgers Meet Sat 6th July

Arvoisat puukansalaiset - (Dear wood citizens)[Finnish]

News -  by Wendy of the Wool:
The garden was in blooming full form on our last meet up which was wonderful to see.  The weather was mostly kind to us, we had some sun, we had some cloud, we thought it was going to rain at one point but it didn't.
We welcomed newcomer Henry this week who got stuck in and worked on a lovely handle for his hammer (excitingly he's also a beekeeper who builds hives!)
Ranger Dave worked on a scoop, Bowl Mike worked on (surprise surprise) a bowl, Steve worked on a spoon and a kuksa. Rich made a tiny spoon and a butter spreader and Wendy worked on a woolly picture inspired by seeing the aurora at the Bodgers Ball.  Mr Wilkins kept us all in check with his banter and brought along various books about carving and whittling that he's had a hand in helping put together.
General japery and chat was enjoyed by all and we saw a red kite soaring over the garden and some of the group spotted a woodpecker too!

Words Of The Week, Brought to you by the Knight of Day:
Tithe - A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organisation or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more recently via online giving, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural produce.

Regular Bits n Bobs:
If you have them, bring your lathe, shave horse, and any other fun equipment. We have a few chopping blocks and one kuksa horse, so if you can bring your own please do. Note for those with Lathes, our floor space is mostly concrete, so treadles may not be able to be pegged down.
Our meets don’t just have to be about making wood chips, we encourage members to bring other crafts to the meets, be that spinning a yarn, weaving a basket, making a tool sheath from leather or bark, and even decorative methods for our wooden items. Feel free to showcase your other craft skills as we are interested in sharing and learning a wider range of skills as we grow as a group. If any members would like to lead a session of various crafts for the group, possibly a paid one day course, please get in contact with me and we will see what we can arrange for the future.

About the venue:
The venue has toilets, kitchen, and is accessible to wheelchairs. I will supply teabags, coffee, sugar and cows milk. Please bring your own non dairy milk if needed. If anyone wants to bring biscuits, cake, snacks to share that would be nice, but bring your own lunch, bowl/plate, drinking vessel, and cutlery please.
Members have suggested a contribution for Tea/Coffee a few times, so I have decided to ask for a contribution of 50p. Obviously if you bring all your own bits, there is no need to chip in.
Free secure parking is available within the walled garden. Follow the main driveway all the way down, past the public car park and the “no unauthorised vehicles” sign, then the Walled Garden’s big gates will be on the left. Toot your horn to let us know you’ve arrived.
See site map, and map links at bottom of page.

Hope to see you there, and please contact me  if you have any questions.
Richard Roberts - Group Coordinator APTGW Essex Bodgers

APTGW Membership:
Our meets are free of charge to members of the Association of Polelathe Turners and Green Woodworkers.
Non members are welcome to join us a few times to see if it’s something they’d like to pursue further. We then ask that folks join the APTGW. It’s only £20 per year and membership runs from January to December each year.

Join the APTGW here: https://www.bodgers.org.uk/joinus

For just £20 a year you get:

  • A quarterly Gazette with news views and articles on all aspects of green woodworking.

  • Attend the UK Bodger's Ball always held in mid-May (this is chargeable, but a bargain!)

  • Win prizes for your creations at the many craft competitions at the ball

  • Connect with other Green Woodworkers, tool makers, rural crafters.

  • Learn new skills in a variety of length courses.

  • Attend and participate in the Annual General Meeting which is held at the Bodgers Ball

  • Vote on how the organisation progresses and elect, or even stand for the committee!

Here is a "what 3 words" ink to the location: https://w3w.co/sizes.soup.puddles
Google maps link to location: https://goo.gl/maps/f6rYfb92p6n43Uz99