Tin Man

I managed to nip up to Garrigills traditional blacksmiths forge to see Dave earlier in the week. 

I say 'nip up' it's a three minute walk over the bridge and turn right, not much of an effort really and it made me feel a bit guilty for not having been up a bit more.

Dave was buzzing with the news that he now has letters after his name David Johnson AWCB, which is Associate of the Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths.
I spent a few minutes listing other more insulting possibilities for AWCB (which you have to do for the comedic value) but as Dave wasn't laughing and because he is a much bigger and stronger bloke than I am with many dangerous looking hammers, in fact one of the largest collections of hammers I have ever seen (which he may have been reaching for) I decided that mockery wasn't the best idea and so  deftly swung conservation conversation in a different direction.

 I thought a hammer was the ultimate DIY tool in such that you can use it to hammer a thing in, or to hammer a thing out, (hammering out usually takes longer and makes more mess, but does always work in the end). Hammers as we know can also be used to make things flat. This is sort of related to hammering things out but is usually a purpose and not a side effect.

I hadn't realised that actually you need different hammers for doing different things, even though you use them all in the same manner which is...well hammering.
I know it may seem strange to those of us with only a few hammers that you need different hammers to make things a different kind of flat but I trust Dave and his knowledge of hammering things flat is more than mine or yours will ever be.......OR PERHAPS NOT!

Dave is sorting out his second and third forges this summer and he hopes to be able to give day workshops to people on the basics of blacksmithing (is that a word?). 

I like the idea of that, I know loads of people who would just love to spend a day in a forge making something and learning about hammering things flat in different ways with different hammers, possibly myself included. And what a brilliant present it would make for the non specific gender person that has everything. A day at Thortergill forge working in a traditional blacksmiths.

I may keep an eye on that one, of course I will be wanting mates rates for my day.

I have noticed my readership rising, so if any of you would like some traditional black-smithing done, if your castle gates are damaged, or your 14th century leafwork is a little dull, if you need any traditional ironwork or if you want to see about a day at the forge get in touch with Dave and tell him you came from the Arse End of Nowhere, and perhaps you may actually come here for a day and see it for yourself.

You can find him here http://www.thortergillforge.com/

I can't believe I'm doing this!

Way back when and in yonder olden days I wrote this:

http://arseendofnowhere.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/leek-people.html

I admit that there was some mocking in it, and that perhaps I associated leek people with the elderly of the working mens club and memories of grandad.

Two weeks ago I was put on my guard when I met Mark in the George and he was speaking of how while being slightly open minded with the effects of Black Sheep Ale on the brain he had somehow joined the leek club.
 
Dougal, (on a hunt for members) had sneaked in and got him to commit to a membership while Mark himself wasn't quite aware of what he was joining.
After hearing this and having some fun mocking Mark I decided that I had to be very careful when I was around Dougal for the next few weeks.

This was all going very well until a few days ago when I saw Dougal in the George and he was telling of how he had bought the show leeks but many people had dropped out of the club leaving him out of pocket. 
Now, you have to understand, this is a small community, and Dougal is a nice guy. He tries to get involved in things in the village and he is never offensive , opinionated or rude.....and there he was.....with his sad face.....I wasn't going to...........Nope...not the leek club........BUGGER......IT.....!!!!!!!

I did it....I said I would join, and as Mark knows once the words are out you cant take them back. 
I do wonder if Mark sobered up as quickly as I did after uttering the words "I'm in"? 
I must ask him because if he did and a leek club membership really does get you suddenly sober then I should start selling them in packets, in pubs. "Before you drive home buy your leek club membership" Instant sobriety!

I now have 6 leeks that I have to grow. I know nothing about leeks but I have a problem. I have a competitive nature and both Kasha and Kieran have been mocking me for many hours. I think I may have lost some kudos with my girlfriend and all of what little street cred I have with my son. But I'm competitive.....I know that there will be information about leek growing on Google.....but I don't want them to find me looking.....

Mildly Moist

This is the river at Garrigill bridge on a normal day

This is the river after a night of rain.

That tunnel runs underneath someones house!

It's just a memory now

It's been a busy time, quite a while since I have blogged and it turns out I am even coming under pressure to write when visiting the George and Dragon.
It's a strange thing how people who live in the village may have to read a blog about the village to find out what wonders are happening in the village.
I may have to start a newspaper.

Most of the snow has gone. You can catch sight of a little of it (if you look hard at the picture) on the higher peaks as you drop down into the village, but apart from the odd summer hail shower the weather here has risen by a whole 2 or 3 degrees and there are a range of people coming through wearing fancy dress of totally opposite extremes. 

Right now my weekends are filled with people wearing the thinnest of skin tight lycra and a florescent impact hat or multiple layers of waterproof oilskin based wet weather gear with walking poles and a wooly hat, all of them asking where the public toilets are.

I was remembering the snow as a kind of adventure. In particular the road out of the village in the picture above. 

There was one particular morning as I raced toward the top of the hill at a fair speed because to stop is to get stuck and to brake is to go sideways, when over the crest came another car going at a fair speed because to stop is to get stuck and when coming down a hill to brake is to end up anywhere.

I remember having a flash of thought that we had a clearance at the point we were going to pass of about 6 inches. Easy to navigate on a light bright dry day with control of the brakes and the ability to slow down. Not so easy coming up and in the case of the other car coming down a thickly covered snowy bank at 60mph unable to turn the wheel or apply any kind of braking. 

There was a flash of all this knowledge and a second flash that the person in the car coming down had been having exactly the same realization, and so feet down on the accelerators in an act of unspoken and mutual trust we hurtled toward each other at a combined speed of about 120mph and in a flash of shared knowledge we passed with inches to spare.

Winter is just in the background now. The tourists are coming through all of them wishing they could live here and all of us understanding that you wont make it unless you have the bollocks to keep your foot on the accelerator and trust the person in the car coming towards you. 

Oh...by the way, tractors stop for no-one!