More of Peter Gabbitass' great grandchildren come to see the Downs bench

After the visit by John in February to see the image of his great-grandfather Peter Gabbitass carved into the Downs bench, I have now welcomed three more of the poet's great-grandchildren to my studio to see his portrait.

A couple of weeks ago, Heather, Steve (aka Michael) and Heather's husband Fred came to visit.

They told me how Peter Gabbitass was a carpenter and joiner before deciding to become a poet and that the the Windsor chairs that he made at his workshop in Worksop, Nottinghamshire are now very valuable and sought after. Although he was not a rich man when he died, he left the money that he had to his gardener.

Last week, Eric and his wife Stella also dropped by. It's been real pleasure to share the carving with members of the family and to hear more about the man himself from them.

Meeting Hans-Joachim Seitfudem, master woodcarver from Bavaria, at my studio

Yesterday, my friend Jo Seitfudem brought his father Hans-Joachim to visit me at my studio. It was great to meet him. Hans-Joachim is a master carver in Bavaria, with clients who have previously included the Vatican.

Although Hans-Joachim speaks very little English and my German is very poor, Jo could translate and his father was keen to look around the workshops at Bower Ashton and to see my woodcarving tools. It was easy to see that the wood dust and tools were getting him itching to do some carving himself! He also noted how he likes older British-made carving tools such as Addis and Herring Bros.

My Opinel carving knife felt too large in his hands though; Hans-Joachim said it felt 'dangerous' to him when he used it after his own, smaller carving knife. He also likes to have the cutting edges of his V-tools swept back from the tip, whereas Jo and I prefer them to be square to the tip. Carvers generally do seem to develop a strong preference for how their tools should be shaped. Many experienced carvers that I've met don't lend out their personal carving tools for this reason - breakages and bad resharpening can ruin friendships (although I don't know if Hans-Joachim feels that way).

Hans Joachim said some very kind things about the carvings on the bench for the Bristol Downs that I've been working on recently. He also liked the 'Predator bird' sculpture that he saw in my portfolio.

It was a very enjoyable afternoon and it was very interesting to hear what Hans-Joachim had to say thanks to Jo's translating. I just wish that my German language skills were better!

Bristol's mayor visits my studio

A couple of days ago George Ferguson, the mayor of Bristol, visited our workshops to have a look at the work being produced there. He seemed very interested and took quite a few photos. Also in the group were representatives of the local Neighbourhood Partnerships and Tess Green of the local Green Party.

It was great having visitors and we got to briefly discuss the future of the woodworking cooperative that we are all members of with the mayor.

We hope that when our lease on these workshops expires in two years time, we can renew it. That would mean that we could continue renovating the nearby derelict council-owned listed buildings, so expanding available workshop spaces in them with the aim of continuing to promote local, sustainable timber use and making Bristol a national and international hub of woodworking expertise.

Without the workshops, it will be difficult for the Forest of Avon Cooperative, which has been in existence for over twelve years, to continue operating. It would also make life very tough for the twelve successful small businesses operating from them. We shall wait and see...