My first trip this Quarter was to one of our newest groups – Wimpole Lathers, based at Wimpole Hall. They move around the estate every month; on this occasion they were very close to the Bygone Ball location. A glorious day made it all the more enjoyable. I had never cooked sausages on a charcoal bellows forge before, nor seen Hugh Spencer with attitude.

Simon Damant and Jim McVittie organise the group and certainly keep themselves busy, Simon cut up an elm trunk to make a bowl lathe bed during our visit – no shortage of XL chainsaws in this county. Jim was busy servicing the pole lathes in operation. I have never seen so many group pole lathes before.

It is great that every group situation I visit is so different, be it type of location, resources available, group dynamics, availability of materials…