What a Week That Was!

It started off well and deteriorated as it went along.

I was delighted with the reception JP and I got when we showed the National Trust our proposed Countryside and Woodland Awareness Course last Monday. The Countryside manager and three other staff came along, and we had a great time wandering around a small part of the forest.

It was in fact quite difficult to show experienced people what we would hopefully be delivering to families who were not so experienced and we were careful not to to be too condescending, but I think the end result was that the staff learnt quite a bit. The team unanimously thought that what we provided in terms of Countryside and Woodland awareness was excellent and they all enjoyed the session [quote]. So much so that the rest of the team want to tag along when we go live next year.

As the week got colder, so did work as I got stuck behind my desk for longer and longer until eventually, I came to a grinding halt. Unfortunately, I couldn’t release myself to go the planned Tribe meet in East Sussex at the weekend.

I managed to get out today. The air was crackling crisp having had overnight lows of minus 5 degrees Centigrade here in East Anglia. While many part of the country had snow, we only got a heavy frost. This made me doubly angry that I missed the weekend meet, because I like to test myself and the kit in colder temperatures.

Any early Christmas present was this Woolpower 400g zipped sweater to go over my 200g base-layer. It felt comfortable when going for a walk and with a ventile over the top, it should be warm enough at these current temperatures. I still have an additional Swandri layer if necessary.

This time of year is the time when I like to look at kit maintenance. Wooden axe handles get a thin coat of linseed oil, knife handles and wooden spoons get a coat of walnut oil and the leather stuff like belts, pouches and boots get a layer of dubbin followed by leather wax.

So, while this week was a bit of a write-off for excursions, I suppose staying in had some advantages.

Thanks for the visit.