Boom and there goes another course, two more left for this year then we’ll take a break while it’s chilly in the mill and start again next March when it’s hopefully a bit warmer. It goes without saying – a big thank you to my good friend and fellow host Billy aka David Mayne who I run the courses with and if you want next year’s dates before they get generally released just drop me and email. So, back to course number 58 and Billy had Greg and Ali in his room across the corridor. Greg had previously bought work from Billy and so had decided to have a go himself, after mastering the welding he was on a roll and made six pieces of work, admittedly some of them were quite small but it might just be a course record. Ali was bought a place on the course as a Christmas present and brought a collection of victorian bottles with her. She made a flower inspired display stand for them to go on in her garden. In my room were good friends Jane and Hilary who’d travelled up from near Banbury. I’d mentioned the courses to Hilary when I met her at Staithes last year so she decided to see wether it was actually possible to make a piece in a weekend. Jane got to grips with the welding and made a balancing bird for her garden from old fire extinguishers and threaded bar. Hilary made a dog for her garden once she’d got to grips with not being able to see much through the welding masks. It’s always great to see our students surprise themselves with their capabilities (and a bit of help from us) so if you fancy having a go next year just drop me an email.