News

There I was talking about spring and now its summer - well not quite. Peter and I have just returned from a walking holiday in Scotland where we experienced 70 mph winds, driving rain, hail and winter type temperatures - what fun we had wading across swollen rivers and navigating up mountainsides in thick mist. One abiding image is of us standing in a bog eating our lunch as there was nowhere to sit and the evening we decided to treat ourselves to a night in a rather plush hotel as we couldn't bear the thought of pitching the tent and there was a power cut and so no heating, hot water or evening meal! Maybe that holiday was not meant to be!!

So it's quite good to get home and start thinking about boxes again and catch up on real life. The work on our house has nearly finished and I've decided that we are now living in a Peter Lloyd box - wood everywhere and some strange hinges, bolts - even the light pulls are a bit weird. I suppose houses are just big boxes really so it feels ok as long as Peter doesn't start lining the walls with velvet.

Peter is now catching up on commissions and happily staring out of the window. One thing is for sure, he's not dreaming of Scotland. The ring boxes continue to sell really well - I think love must be in the air as a lot of them are being bought with proposals in mind.

One of my new hens is broody and sitting on 5, possibly fertile eggs so I'm looking forward to the patter of tiny claws soon

Spring is now truly on its way and the clocks go forward this weekend so we can look forward to longer and warmer (?) days. We walked on the fells yesterday in driving wind and rain and had a picnic sheltered by some trees - it's funny what one does for pleasure! We did however see curlews lapwings, kestrels, sky larks and new born lambs which made up for all the discomfort!
Boxmaking continues at a slow pace. Poor Peter has also had a lot of work to do on the house - if it were a box with a lid he would be happy but putting up shelves and curtain rails is not his idea of fun although he has created some very interesting lamp shades and the cupboards in the bedrooms have some very familiar looking hinges..........
He has almost finished the H.M.S. Victory wood boxes which look fantastic. That is the last of that wood now and it seems ages ago that it was first delivered and the postman staggered up the path with this rotten looking bit of wood wrapped in a blanket. Peter was away at the time and I left it propped up in the hallway. Every time I walked past I had a sniff as it smelled of the sea - I'm sure I could even smell Nelsons sweaty feet in there somewhere! What an amazing feeling it was to see it standing there in our house after all it had been through! Peter has very lovingly used every single bit of the wood although he still has enough to make some small ring or cufflink boxes.I hope he has done the ship proud by extending its life in another very different way.
The hens are thriving and have started to lay again at last. The newcomers are well settled in and have asserted themselves and refused to be bullied. There really is a "pecking order" and poor old Henrietta is still at the bottom.
Ending on a positive note our protests to save the forests seemed to have worked for now and our trees are safe and there for us all to enjoy. Thank goodness for that!

Well, January is here and it really is not my favourite month. That beautiful crisp white snow has been replaced by grey skies and soggy ground. But, the days are becoming longer, the first snowdrops are pushing their way through the ground and the birds are definitely sounding happier.

Christmas is a distant memory but I'm glad to say that Father Christmas managed to deliver all the boxes on time despite some hold ups due to the snow. Thanks to all his helpers in big vans who must have had some horrible and difficult journeys but who remained cheerful and helpful throughout.

Peter is locked away in his workshop and there's lots of banging and clattering and I can hear him muttering to himself through the wall. He emerges occasionally to drink tea but then disappears in a cloud of dust. He's been looking at the remains of the wood from HMS Victory . He is very sad that it is coming to an end as it has been amazing to work with. I went into the workshop yesterday to see it all laid out and divided off into potential boxes and must admit that I thought some of it looked impossible to  make anything with. Its so gnarled, with holes in awkward places and rotten bits but no doubt with a bit of first aid and imagination he'll do it and he's hoping to get three or four boxes made with some possible little boxes from the wood that ends up on the floor.

Peter is also working on some more boxes with secret locking mechanisms which invariably cause a lot of head scratching and more muttering so I just keep out of the way.

We're off to Grizedale forest on Sunday to join the protest at the government's plans to sell off our forests in order to raise a measly amount of money. It's hard to believe that this is about to happen with something that has been entrusted to us for generations. If you would like to know more have a look at www.savelakelandsforests.org.uk and it would be great if you could add your voice to the protest.

On a happier note my hen population is about to increase as a neighbour is moving and giving me three of his hens - one of them a silky which are rather beautiful. I don't know what my existing family will think and I'm expecting a few, very unladylike fights but I hope they will all settle down and be happy together. Chris

Whoops - quite a long time since I've written in the diary despite all my good intentions. The life of a boxmakers assistant is busy and almost stressful at times - well maybe not but with a boss like Peter......

The elves are very busy preparing for Christmas and boxes are flying off the shelves at an alarming rate. The weather has kept us indoors except for the odd bit of sledging in deep, crisp snow so, unlike a lot of people, we have quite enjoyed it!

Being so busy for Christmas has meant that interesting and new box designs have been put on hold for now but hopefully 2011 will bring fresh inspiration and many happy hours will be spent staring out of the window.

We have been having work done on our house which was in danger of falling down if we hadn't done something about it and we have had some very long suffering and lovely builders who have done a marvellous job of making the house look smart. I hope to start a B&B in the spring if it is all finished in time so that will be a new venture for me and an exciting one although I really will have to polish up on my porridge making.

The very sad news is that Nelson the cockerel died last week. I don't know why, he just seemed to keel over. Perhaps he had a hen heart attack, I don't know, and as I was given him I don't know how old he was so he may have died of old age. His harem is definitely not in mourning and are carrying on as if nothing has happened - selfish lot.

On that sad note I'll sign off and wish anyone out there who might actually read this a very happy and peaceful Christmas and may the New Year be a better one for the world.

There is a definite nip in the air today and it's feeling very autumnal. Peter is starting to hibernate in his workshop and just occasionally appears covered in dust with a mad glint in his eye - I'm sure there must be a Latin name for this strange creature - boxicatum insanitus probably -  very rare and quite unusual and thrives on frequent cups of tea and the odd cheese sandwich.

Still, now the distractions of summer are over he will be designing and making boxes and working on some very interesting commissions - more on those when they are made.

There has been a lot of interest in the box making course that Peter and fellow boxmaker Andrew Crawford are holding in France next year so that is a really exciting project to look forward to during the coming long, dark winter days.If you would like to find out more about the course, have a look at Andrew's website www.fine-boxes.com

The hens are thriving but not laying very well - I've decided that they are thoroughly spoilt and just don't feel the need to produce. They have a wonderful life eating and sleeping and scratching around - a bit like boxicatum insanitus really.