It was Open Monument day in town last Saturday , dedicated this year to our industrial heritage . Usually only too keen to nose in normally non-public spaces , I couldn't summon up the enthusiasm to admire the 'pancake factory's' deliveries yard or queue in the sun to have another look at the old jail's smithy .
But as I came round a corner near the supermarket , I almost cycled into this and couldn't resist .
An old shipyard run these days by enthusiasts to look after old boats and to provide apprenticeships .
It's tiny and very run-down but ingeniously cobbled together with whatever was to hand .... one wall consisted of a patchwork of old shed doors . They seemed to specialise in rehousing orphaned windows , too .
But the boat builders were all overwhelmingly keen to explain every process ,
the tools were impeccably stored , every piece of work glowed as beautifully planed and sanded wood should
and you knew that nothing would ever be wasted . I wandered about wondering if there was a vacancy for a coffee-maker /wood-stroker ...
The only snag , of course , being that , much as I love all the boats I see every day
I don't really like the water and am a hopeless sailor . The chances of suddenly getting very wet indeed are just too high .
5 comments:
Oh come on S & S,
How deep could those canals be? Courage! I'd love a job as a wood stroker so I could enjoy it vicariously through you....and coffee too? What are you waiting for?
A feast for the eyes and almost too much to look at. Shapes, colors, the brick herringbone patterned canal walk. Is that your hand print on the strokeable wood?
That's an interesting "open house" concept! Thanks for popping by my blog today. I liked your comment about twitching your nose like Bewitched! It was very apt.
If you are not keen on the water, I think a career in boating is not to be advised!
But you wouldn't need to leave dry land to be a wood stroker.
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