The Big Skill 2011

It was a lovely weekend….. again, so generously helped by the clement weather, which when it decided we had all had too much of a good thing, gave us an end of the day finale to remember!

This year went much better, and the event attracted many more people, though more could easily be accommodated.  It really is worth coming too, especially if you have kids that want to get”interactive”. There was so much Skill on offer, and so many craftspeople willing to share their knowledge, patience and time.

 

On my stand, once again, called Wool Works: The Great English Unwashed….. I had brisk business all the time selling all my second hand knits.

A teacher from Merthyr was my best customer who bought his whole school uniform from my stand.

Jim the ferret man, was here again, although Health and Safety had prevented him from allowing the public to handle his ferrets – spoil sports.

 

Kate with her wonderful working horses was one of the star attractions.  It was delightful to see a child of ten holding the long reins of an Ardennes horses weighing 3.4 ton.

Tools for Self Reliance were also at The Big Skill, with their range of refurbished second hand tools. They have successfully supplied a metal working workshop in Tanzania with our old tools,to such an extent that we now buy back the bill hooks etc that the Tanzanian workshop makes!

I spent most of my limited spare time, on the side of the river of course, and even tried my hand at Coracle Paddling!

And in the expert tuition of the Merthyr Angling Club who were giving their help and tuition to anyone wanting to try fly fishing, as well as supplying a free river guide to take anyone down the River Usk to actually catch fish! All of which I did, helped by Gareth, a memeber of  the Club.  What a treat it was to have someone changing the flies etc etc, and I learnt many new tricks, like micro fly fishing and fishing with a dry and a wet fly dropper.  It only took 20 mins to catch a fish, unlike my usual 1.5 hours.

My lasting memory will be that of a young girl, who sat for hours, with the fly tying expert on the stand Learning a New Craft.  The old and wise and the young and eager, coming together harmoniously, lost in deep concentration over the art of fly tying.

Looking forward to next year…