Last evening we had a visit from the ladies of the St. Ola SWI and their smart gentleman driver who did a grand job of reversing safely into the yard. The weather was also on our side.
We had tea, coffee and shortbread laid out in the gallery and Michael had done a stunning job in the workshop. He placed several things on his bench showing various stages of the process and had mounted pieces on the lathes. We placed a few pieces at various stages of oiling in the gallery and had the album of photos showing a snap shot of what Michael has made over the last year.
The ladies split into 2 groups, 1 going up to the workshop where Michael chatted away explaining a few things, while the others had a cuppa and browsed the gallery. I explained the inspiration from Neolithic pottery and wall decoration found at the Ness of Brodgar, the embellishments Michael uses on some pieces (silver staple, leather, carving etc) and how we sourced trees. After about 20mins the groups swapped so everyone saw the whole process.
We really enjoyed seeing some familiar faces we have not seen for years and also some new faces. Michael had his photo taken with a few of the ladies, we thanked them for choosing us for their summer visit and before we knew it they were away for high tea at The Smithfield in Dounby. Thanks guys and hope to see you again.