"The Cooper's Tools..."

.....I didn't know that a 'Cooper' was "one who makes casks" - and 'cooperage' was the workshop of a Cooper.. Well, now I know..I should know - living in a grape growing and wine making community...

..... And so here are some of the tools which a Cooper uses - very, very old these are, and we were very fortunate to see them - only because they had been locked into a room of the Old Homestead - and some time over the weekend - the very old door to the room housing these old tools, which is never open to the public - had been vandalised..

...The old chair (or part thereof) you see there is glued to the wall with cobwebs I noted - the back of it would have made a good shot in itself, but I'm more interested in the Old Tools today...

I asked the Council gentleman who was busily replacing what was, very old door, if I could take a shot of the wonderful Old Tools in the room, which would have held a story of their own. He was fine with that - 'Ofcourse - they're Cooper's Tools' - to which I replied rather sheepishly: "Cooper's what?" (I only know 'Cooper' as a surname, or the ale in Australia...and beyond now..)

We don't know if any tools were stolen, but whatever is here now, does tell us they would be very well used - and possibly used even now, to make casks, as to make a cask would be an Art and Craft of it's own no doubt...