It doesn’t seem that long ago we started running these courses but somehow we’ve just completed our 50th one. I have to admit I’ve enjoyed them all and it’s partly because I get to run them with my good friend and fellow sculptor Billy (David Mayne) but it’s also seeing the sense of achievement shown by our students, most of whom have never even welded before. So, to celebrate our 50th course, Bill and I both baked a cake which we all scoffed at dinnertime and then carried on working in the afternoon. In my room were Fiona from Cheshire and David who’d driven up from Norfolk. Fiona brought some garden tools with her to make a cartoon style bird for her garden and a tree wall piece based on the yin & yang symbol for her 90 year old Tai Chi teacher. David had some firm ideas based around abstract garden sculpture and even brought a stone base to fix one of them to that he’d made himself. Debbie came for her third course on public transport and brought loads of pieces of metal with her including a motor bike petrol tank which she made a penguin from and then managed to get it home too. Finally Tom came to see us on his second visit and had asked his family what he should make so he had a wish list of various animals and insects which he steadily worked through. As ever it was lovely to see people really proud of what they’d made as they made their way home with their unique pieces of work. We’ll sort out next years dates soon but if you want to go on the waiting list just drop me and email.