September 1st, 2025

Update: August 2025

We've decided to make a few changes and have migrated from Substack. Instead we will be using this blog and a simple newsletter for once monthly updates, and ad hoc news. You can visit the website

for Chris' story, to book him as a speaker or to get in touch.

Down at the Farm

This week we harvested the first of the potatoes and were really pleased with the haul! The apples are ready in the orchard and we sampled a few of those. There are 5 or 6 different types of apples, each with a distinctive flavour. It's been a good growing year. We discovered Mirabelles this month too - these are tiny plums, the size of cherries, and they grow around Derbyshire and South of here. We have picked some and frozen others to be made into jam later.

The Shed

We've been busy at the new shed in Ripley. Membership is growing and shed activities are gaining momentum. The workshop on the ground floor is open now and the first project was bird box making. Chris helped members including a new, severely visually impaired member.

We also hosted a workshop called Text and Tools. A combination of poetry and bird box making. The poems will be laser engraved on to the bird boxes. The poetry sessions were led by a local poet, Daron Carey, who inspired everyone with his energy and enthusiasm. He honed Chris' poem, taking away notes from Chris' story and reading it to us this last weekend.

The day I went blind
I don’t remember the last thing I saw
Perhaps the clock
But back then I knew little of time’s cruel march
An angel in blue told me
My retinas were being eaten
Ravaged by reasons I couldn’t understand
The shadow of darkness
Advancing like a bush fire on the horizon
To quell the flames all I had were tears
Darkness dropping depth charges
As I descended to the bottom
Five long years freefalling
Into the chasm of catastrophe
Vision became an echo spoken in tongues
My body screaming chest pains and panic attacks
Into the void
Depression and anxiety walked me to knees
Broken by blindness
I could not rise
Then the voice of a boy
Called into my gloom
And lit a spark
Fanning the flames
I stumbled into learning to live
A life without light

The Blind Painter

Chris has taken up painting! Using mostly acrylics, Chris has spent the past fortnight working on a series of abstract works. He's already sold a few! Chris hasn't given up woodturning (he's in the workshop as I type this) but wanted to take up another creative pursuit. He's been sharing his work on Instagram.

Henry Taylor

We spent a few hours this weekend at the Henry Taylor Open Day. It was great to see some familiar faces from Huddersfield and District Woodturners, and to catch up with some of the members. Chris talked tools with Paul Wragg, MD, and we chatted with the Andy's Man Club team about the importance of the Men's Sheds movement for improving mental health. After listening to Bob, one of the demonstrators, use a ring tool, we purchased one for Chris to use. Very much inspired by Ulf Jansson, too. We met Ulf in Sweden and he's a big fan of the ring tool.

Coming Up

This is a list of some of our forthcoming events, TV and other bookings:

15 September - Touch Beyond Vision, Carveco27 September - Axminster, Sittingbourne demo3 October - U3A, Ashbourne11 November - Hemel Hempstead Woodturners15 December - Red Rose Woodturners

Thanks for reading. We'll be back again at the end of September with the next monthly roundup.

Keep on turning!

Nicola, Chris and Bamber

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