When I first decided on completing a Coastal walk around Great Britain I thought long and hard as to whether the walk should raise money for charity. Because I would be completing the walk in sections over a number of days and then returning home, the challenge was not as great as those brave and tenacious souls that have completed a Great Britain coastal walk unsupported, carrying their tent on their back and in a single long walk taking up to year and more in the process. So I decided against it at the time, feeling embarrassed to ask for money while I spend money on myself for fuel and accommodation.
However, now I do plan to commemorate my Coastal Walk completion with a unique gesture. In my spare time I am a wood turner, I don’t do it for a living, principally for pleasure. Most of my pieces I have given away to friends and family, Charities or sold at Christmas Fayres where I charged just enough to cover my material expenses and the stall fee. So I’m actually looking to turn about 10 bowls between now and my completion in various shapes and sizes and in various wood that I have to hand. I hope to donate the pieces to various Charity Shops with an indication as to what they could possibly sell them for. I have spoken to my friend who manages one of The Severn Hospice shops in Telford and he thinks this will be a good idea. Obviously I would hope to donate to a broad range of Charities, especially when some have seen a significant fall in revenue over these troubled times. There may be further ways I can give or donate to Charities which I am still exploring.
Through this blog I hope to show how I turn a log or tree stump into something that would grace anybody’s sideboard or mantel piece. I was thinking about doing some YouTube videos, but I am a rubbish presenter and from experience it takes an awful lot of effort and time to produce a YouTube video that is presentable. I haven’t started turning any bowls/plates/platters, vases yet as I’ve still got about 16 days of walking until I arrive in Sandbanks near Poole. As you know I’ve been stuck at Dymchurch in Kent which is in Tier 4 and very much inaccessible at the moment.
Below are a couple of photos of the bowls and I have previously turned in various woods and some in resin, which I also turned. The first photo is a mock-up my Christmas Fayre stall taken in 2018 in my kitchen. Nearly all of these on show have been sold, donated or given away. My favourite is the Constellation Bowl, it was coincidentally bought by next door neighbour.
I’ll post something more in the near future when I have thought through a few more of the details.
Walking the Coast of Great Britain 