Rhododendron

This is my next turning project.

Twice a year I go on a photographic weekend with about 40 others to the youth hostel on the banks of Loch Lomond - March and November.

On the November trip there is a raffle to raise funds for a worthy cause. This year it was the local mountain rescue team who need to buy and train a new dog. My contribution was a pot I had made from a piece of Rhododendron previously salvaged from the grounds of the hostel.

A couple of the girls then damanded that I make them pots as mementos since March looks like being the last gathering. Of course they want the pots made from wood from the area to give it 'special significance'.

This meant that I had to hunt around for a suitable bit of timber before leaving the hostel in November. This caused much amusement to those watching as I was diving in and out of the huge Rhododendron bushes to retieve a suitable bit that had been cut down in a vain attempt to control it. I eventually emerged with a bit 4 feet long over my shoulder (which I had to then fit into the car along with myself, 2 others, all the photographic gear and rucksacks etc.

I am now about to start turning a couple of pots so I thought I would let you see the bark before I attack it.

You never know - I might let you see the pots as they progress (depends on how many days it takes)