CRAFTING kitchen utensils using traditional skills was on the agenda in Barnard Castle, when a 12-week wood whittling course got under way.
The sessions, run by Colin Wilson and Sarah Morehead from Stitch Mud and Wood in Weardale, keep alive the ancient skills necessary to whittle wood to carve butter knives, spoons and just about anything.
Using lime tree wood participants are learning all the various skills, wearing appropriate safety wear including a “cut-proof” gloves and leather aprons, to carve just about anything they wish.
Each week they are working on a different project during the two-hour sessions building up to creating a wooden horse sculpture in the new year. Mr Wilson said: “It is a slow process, but there is no rush. I always wondered how long it takes to make a wooden spoon and I can tell you it’s about eight hours. It doesn’t happen instantly, but it doesn’t need to.”
The sessions are taking place at the TCR Hub, in Barnard Castle. Johnny Elliot from the Hub said: “We didn’t really advertise the course as we were inundated with people wanting to take part.
“Hopefully we’ll be looking to do more in the future.”
![A COUNTY councillor is backing a campaign to get a pedestrian crossing in Staindrop. Frustrated parish councillors in the village summoned their county council representative Cllr George Richardson to their latest meeting to discuss several issues, including the call for a safe way to cross the A688. Earlier this year their request for a crossing was turned down by the county council’s highways officers. Parish council chairman Jonothan Raper described the reasons for the refusal as “spurious” and called on Cllr Richardson to support their campaign. He added: “One of the arguments they made was there is no clear line of desire when they studied the village – well this isn’t a clear line of desire because there isn’t a crossing, people cross whenever they can. “When the lollipop person was there, one of the things I noticed was people would walk all the way down to the lollipop person to cross the road to go to the shop or to go to the school.” He added a problem of parking at the primary school is exacerbated because people are too afraid to walk their children across the road. Cllr Richardson said he had supported previous attempts for a crossing point with the first being made about 15 years ago. He added: “We went fairly well down the road with that and they looked into it. The only recommended place was where the bus stop is and to get the visibility splays, people on the other side of the road would lose their parking. “That didn’t go down well so it just died a death.” Cllr Raper said he suspected the real reason for the officers’ refusal was the cost of installing a crossing. He added that much of the cost could be recovered from savings made on not having to employ a lollipop patrol. Cllr Raper said: “A lollipop person only provides a benefit of crossing for three hours of the day. You are getting 21 extra hours of crossing time [with a pedestrian crossing].” Cllr Richardson said he would raise the issue with the county council’s cabinet member for highways, Cllr John Shuttleworth.](https://teesdalemercury.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/georgeR-120x86.jpg)
