Many thanks to Matthew Jevons for the following write up of the last meeting and to Bert and Fred for the pictures.
I was not well enough to come to the last meeting but will be there in September.

At the start of the meeting Bert gave out one or two ‘parish notices’.
A reminder of the fish and chip lunch 4th October.
Also the sad news that Bob Mann who was admitted to hospital with a suspected stroke recently, has been diagnosed as having a tumour on the brain.

Chris Withal brought in a piece of hornbeam and turned an attractive little bowl. When finished, the wood looked similar to box wood, with its very tight grain. He had a lid made for another project made from cherry wood, the contrast was very pleasing to the eye.

Paul Hunt in his usual way brought in half a tree that he had had in a bag for a year or two.
Paul found the lump of wood on the ground in a car park, he thinks it may be mulberry.
It had one or two burrs on it which he thinks will make a pleasing flower vase. By the end of the day, it was beginning to look good.
The bark was very deep in places and he decided to stop, so it could be sand blasted to remove the remaining bark and allow it to finish drying out.

He then put a piece of chestnut on the lathe, however, after a little while he decided that the grain was such, that he was never going to get a decent finish and as it was the end of the day, packed up.

Fred Taylor demonstrated pendant making using his own method with his home made wooden attachments to the chuck jaws. The demonstration proved to be very popular with many people crowding round to see how he did it.

-= Dawn Royall brought along her little lathe and made lace bobbins. Denise Goldberger then started to make a piece of lace using her bobbins.

Keith Leonard brought his pole lathe in, which proved to be quite popular to have a go. I think most of us felt that we weren’t in a rush to give up our electric motors in favour of foot power, but it was interesting to have a go.
Keith put a stool and two bowls on the table to show what he had made with the pole lathe.

The speed turning competition was to make an egg cup. Pat Hughes won the prize of half a dozen eggs.

Our next meeting is on Saturday 13th September and we have Gerry Marlow with us for the day.

Matthew has it on good authority from Jenny Starbuck that he is a very good turner and also very amusing!!?

We have also been invited to show our talents at the summer fair on Saturday 20th September at Kemsley Primary Academy and I have copied part of their letter to Dawn as follows.

Quote
We would be absolutely delighted to have you attend both of our upcoming fairs, and here are answers to your questions;

1. Size of pitch - this is perfectly fine - our Summer & Autumn fairs are always held on the school field

2. Generator - you may bring a generator to use but we must have your insurance details before hand including public liability

3. Site Access Time - 9am entry and cars onto the field is allowed - other stall holders will be able to gain access from 10am

4. Christmas Fair - this fair is held mainly indoors with our grotto set up in our woodland hut - I will leave it up to you whether you would prefer in or out!

Sales - a 'turned' item is just perfect for our raffle donation - a unique prize thank you

Your products look fantastic and I am sure will be a fantastic attraction.

Many thanks for your interest in our school and I look forward to meeting you in September.
Kind regards,
Jo
Unquote

The other fair referred to is their Christmas fair. Details of that event to follow nearer the time.
We will have a small lathe running from a small generator that Dawn is providing as an added attraction.

Sales of goods are open to all of us and a percentage will be donated to the school fund. However, if you want to sell some stuff you must be there yourself and be responsible for your own sales and taking away unsold goods at the end of the day.

The address of the school is
Kemsley Primary Academy
Coldharbour Lane
Kemsley
Sittingbourne
ME10 2RP

Also don’t forget the fish and chips and skittles day on Saturday 4th October. The price is expected to be the same as last year. We would need to know numbers by the next meeting and your choice of fodder. Mmmm yummy.

I think that is all I have to tell you for now so looking forward to seeing you all on the 13th.

Graham.