Bradfield Woods – Suffolk group 06-12-15

Simon Lamb was talking me through gypsy flower making.

If the Hazel is too wet it does not curl as these pictures hopefully demonstrate.

This was a drier piece so you get the curls. He reckons the normal flower has 500 cuts!

He has coloured the flower to order with food dyes.

It was Sue Holden’s birthday so most people brought food to share and birthday type snacks.

This was salted crispy kale

I'm not sure what Sue was showing the kitchen staff.

Eric was not sure either!

Well it all ended up in the two Dutch ovens.

On the way home I stopped off in Frating, Essex and called in on Malcolm Ruffell an ex chairmaker and now a basket maker that I met at the Fenland show at the end of August.

I could not fail to notice his dining room table – a massive piece of London Plane (aka Lacewood) 2” thick at least.  Surrounded by his own chairs.

Close up of the stunning ‘lace’ pattern. The sister piece resides with Nick and Katie Abbott – it’s a small world!