WOOD YOU LIKE IT? CELEBRATING 10 YEARS
The founder members were David Bryant and the late Jim Stockton. We met at Plumley Village as we still do. In the early days many had little or no experience of woodturning. Now ten years later the club has come a long way and there are many talented turners in the club. Each has their own special interests.
Some create bowls and goblets, others do fine spindle work or turn decorative necklaces from exotic woods. Still more make spinning wheels and chairs and occasional tables. To celebrate we are having an exhibition called ‘Wood You Like It?’ at Knutsford Heritage Centre from 23 February – 6 March 2010, to show case the creative talents of our club members.
At our monthly meetings we usually have a skilled turner or someone from a related craft to demonstrate to members, and average 50 members. Our membership is diverse, and we have lady members too who are becoming quite talented. We even had one partially sighted member who was able to turn pretty good considering his disability.
Every month there is a creative competition for beginners and advanced turners judged by the members themselves. Along the way we managed to gain two ‘Awards for All’ lottery grants, and we are now equipped with audio visual presentation. No longer do we have to watch the turner demonstrating viewing this on a puny TV, and a radio mic is especially useful for those hard of hearing.
With the second award more recently we have acquired a small marquee and generator to power our lathes, which has helped us considerably in our community activities. We regularly attend Peover Park, Game & Country Fair, Tatton Home Farm Harvest Event and many others. Both our grant applications were project managed by David Webb who also produces our bi-monthly newsletter.
We meet at Plumley Village Hall at 7.30pm on the third Thursday of each month. In between we have occasional ‘Talk & Turn’ evenings where members are able to brush up on their turning skills. Visitors are welcome for a nominal charge to visit our club and consider joining. It is probably fair comment to say that ‘Cheshire Guild of Woodturners’ is the most proactive club of its kind in the county. With the guidance of a committee lead by our Chairman, Eric Blease, we aim to try and keep it that way. For further information phone 01565-651681.
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