Adam visits Spoontown

Adam took along his recording kit to take vox pops at Spoontown; a green woodworking and associated crafts gathering in Kent. This time he spoke to event instructors who were there sharing their knowledge and expertise. He even managed an audience with the mayor of Spoontown herself, so stick around for that towards the end.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:19

Adam, we're back. I haven't seen you for a while, mate. Where you been? Here, there and everywhere. Belgium, Kent. So Kent, that sounds interesting. What was in Kent? You know, it was Boon Town. Well, yeah, I think the title of this uh podcast of this episode sort of gives it away a little bit. Better put that on silent. So, yeah, so this is just a bit of a preamble to tidy up. Adam actually uh went down to Spoontown, which were which was at the end of July in 2026, in as you've just said, mate, in uh Kent, wasn't it? Yeah, it was just last weekend and now we're here at Spoonfest. Yeah, and and if you enjoyed Adam doing his uh Vox Pops up at uh the Northern Bowl when he when he grabbed a few of the participants, I think you did something similar down there, mate.

SPEAKER_06 1:04

Yeah, yeah. So we're instead of uh nabbing any random people, I thought I'd uh talk to some of the people who teach uh courses down there and to give a flavour of if you were thinking about going to Spoontown, you can get an idea of what some of the courses you can do.

SPEAKER_02 1:24

What to expect. Again, similar to what you did yeah.

SPEAKER_06 1:27

Exactly. Because there are a lot of courses at Spoontown and they're incredibly varied.

SPEAKER_02 1:32

Right. So so uh as this as this uh episode proceeds, you'll hear Adam Adam introduce himself live at the event and you'll you'll hear all the background noise and everything. But we're just doing this, uh just to give you uh a little bit of background on the people that he grabbed hold of. Uh so if you run through the people that you spoke to, Adam, they were gonna come up in this episode. So there's the star of the show is uh the mayor of Spoontown. You managed to get a meeting with the mayor of Spoontown. How did you manage that?

SPEAKER_06 1:59

Did you I had to book it in advance.

SPEAKER_02 2:01

Back and as though, would it?

SPEAKER_06 2:04

Yeah, and that's Jill, who uh yeah, Spoontown is her baby. Jill Swan, that isn't it, mate. Yeah. Yeah. And so we we had a little chat about Spoontown and all of that. And then uh yeah, and then I talked to some of, as I said, the the tutors, such as Martin Hazel, who does his little play beads, um, and uh we're testing out like Bronze Age tools as well. His interview is very much in the style of Martin Hazel, so good luck understanding it, everyone.

SPEAKER_02 2:34

It's um it's sort of a Monty Python type interview. But but and I I've known Martin for a lot of years, and Martin initially started off with basketry, he's done quite a lot of basketry and he's he's gone onto the continent and um and learnt tech uh you know Galicia in Spain, you know, tech techniques from all over Europe. So yeah, and then then and yeah, and now we just spoke of it.

SPEAKER_06 2:57

There's uh Diana um who is an art teacher by trade. Diana Brook. Diana Brook, yeah. Uh uh art teacher by trade, and she was teaching uh I think lino cutting.

SPEAKER_02 3:10

I th I think when I saw a picture, I think it looked like it were line on printing.

SPEAKER_06 3:13

Yeah. Um yeah, they had a whole whole setup of art supplies for lino cutting. There was a laser cutter. Yeah, they're they're really chuffed with that. Like, oh we've got laser cutter, we're uh doing all sorts of stuff. Um and uh yeah, I think we're using it to engrave things. Uh so they were very artsy. Um attracted to Rachel Bainton, who um largely spoon carver. Um she's uh yeah, one of the rise up and carvers.

SPEAKER_02 3:42

I'm hoping to actually go up and see Rachel. I've had I've had my tentative uh inquiries and I think she's up for chatting because because I think Rachel, uh like you say, she does uh the online spoon cabin, but I think she runs a spoon club up there, so it'll be interesting to to see how that uh how that operates. Uh I'll grab a chat to Rachel.

SPEAKER_06 4:00

Uh talked to Georg Schulter who came all the way over from Minster. Um and he is a yeah, jeweller copp copper smith. Um so he was uh yeah doing a lot of copper things and uh he brought a lot of really fascinating things which he'd made, one of which you you've got, haven't you? What'd you get?

SPEAKER_02 4:22

Uh I got a praying mantis made out of copper, mate, which is absolutely fantastic. I'm really pleased with it. I'm I'm so pleased with it. But uh we we continue to get feedback and we've had his first negative feedback, and a bit of it was from George, and that is that the cow to stand when it's Yorkshire versus Yorkshire our accents. So we've got we're gonna cap we're gonna persevere because we're gonna get them talking with Yorkshire accents, but no, uh it's different when it's Yorkshire to Yorkshire. I do try to slow down when I'm talking to people that aren't from Yorkshire, but I I can probably understand what they mean.

SPEAKER_06 4:57

Yeah, um Georg's is a good example of the the the where the different things available at uh Spoontown. And he's also doing it here at Spoonfest. It's it's not just carving spoons.

SPEAKER_02 5:10

I mean, yeah, he's making them out of copper. I think I think it I I've been looking across, mate, and it looks like it's very popular as well. Yeah. So yeah, that's George Georg. Let's say it's Georg's.

SPEAKER_06 5:20

And uh I spoke to uh Aaron Hetz Hetzeroni, I think is uh sorry Aaron, if I got that wrong, probably have.

SPEAKER_02 5:26

We're terrible with surnames, aren't we? Well here's another one that was uh literally listening to our podcast on the way on the way to here and uh we're having a bit of fun with our Yorkshire accents. Yeah, yeah. And he's actually learned that the the the evening meal is like everybody should be saying it's your tea, innit?

SPEAKER_06 5:43

Yeah, it's funny. I've I've talked to him quite a lot this weekend and he keeps um uh dropping things which he's uh picked up from the podcast as well. How do you know that? Because like you mentioned it in the podcast. Oh wow. Yeah. Well but it proves the words getting spread back, isn't it? Yeah, and he is uh famous for his uh little s snails and scoops. He's a spawn carver, isn't he? Essentially, yeah. And he was carving forks, I believe. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:08

Um although se secretly since I think I'm I think I've actually seen Oren doing mugs, but I'm gonna I'll I'm hoping to get a chat with Oren sometime. You'll we'll do a deep dive. Yeah. So it was there, was it? Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 6:20

The last person I've got on my list. Oh, this is also not in or any order, I asked.

SPEAKER_02 6:24

It is because you said Jill first. Yeah, you're safe, mate. You're safe.

SPEAKER_06 6:28

And then uh yeah, the last person on here is that Jan Haam, who is uh from the Netherlands. And that's Jan Haam Tebrugger. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And he was doing a variety of things, including his famous uh scoop carving. And his minimuks.

SPEAKER_02 6:43

And uh yeah, him. Yeah, so yeah. So those are those are the people that you can look forward to. Yeah. Um and please go and check them out on their Instagram feeds and what have you. They're all really, really good craftspeople. Uh that's why Adam's picked them out. So I'd encourage you to go and see.

SPEAKER_06 7:00

Yeah, maybe if he can handle the technological side, you might tag them in the the post on Instagram.

SPEAKER_02 7:06

Yeah, yes, Adam, I will. Yes, of course. So, yeah, so this is just a little preamble. So, from from the next voice you know, it'll be Adam on site coming in and then introducing these uh people he'll speak into. So, uh enjoy the episode. Hello. Shalom.

SPEAKER_06 7:21

Shalom.

SPEAKER_01 7:23

Hello, Oren.

SPEAKER_06 7:24

Hello, hello.

SPEAKER_01 7:25

How are you doing? I'm feeling great, a little exhausted after a long day. Yeah, it's been a little warm.

SPEAKER_06 7:30

Yeah, uh I join you in the same little carving circle, but uh I've just been talking to uh Rachelin. We've got a little little enclave of carvers here, carving into the sun sunset.

SPEAKER_01 7:43

Yeah, it's beautiful.

SPEAKER_06 7:44

Yeah, and uh yeah, how's how's your day been today?

SPEAKER_01 7:48

Um it's been really good. We had a great class. Um without anybody noticing, we were teaching instead of spoons some some.

SPEAKER_08 7:57

No, no, I'm gonna put it in advice.

SPEAKER_06 7:59

So uh right, I'm I'm cancelling this episode. Oh we've got to start now.

SPEAKER_01 8:04

Yeah, maybe do a uh beeped version over this or something so nobody hears me saying forking.

SPEAKER_06 8:09

Yeah, yeah. Can you do that, Richard? Just uh bloop it out when he says uh fork. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 8:14

So I I I think this is gonna be a thing. I think it's gonna catch on. People are gonna be uh yeah, they're gonna be stabbing things with the end of their spoons.

SPEAKER_06 8:23

So uh what what happened in your course today?

SPEAKER_01 8:25

We uh started with the blank. Well, I started most of the blank, cranked it out a little bit. I I did a little demo on it showing over um how I how I access. Sorry, that Deborah's being loud over here.

SPEAKER_09 8:45

I like to put this in. It's just diabetic audio.

SPEAKER_06 8:50

This is the what happens at festival.

SPEAKER_09 8:53

Can I do that? Yeah, it's always hard to concentrate.

SPEAKER_01 8:55

Right, yeah, yeah. What happened on your course? Yeah. So what I did is I started out by uh showing a little bit how I axe out and the importance of the grain orientation in a fork. Did you tell them about the falling asleep part? No, that we'll get to later. Oh, yeah, one of the students uh saw the video of how to do the fork on uh on Zed Outdoors' uh YouTube video in your garden, Deborah. That's right. And she said she fell asleep in the middle of the video. So she came on to the course and understandably, honestly.

SPEAKER_09 9:29

It's two and a half hours. You fall asleep when you're looking.

SPEAKER_01 9:34

I apologize for all these guys. Anyhow, let's get back to important parts. So she wanted uh in-person class. The class was a three-hour class, so it was just as long as I was. Yeah, it was a little bit more uh entertaining, I hope, in person. Um so we learnt a lot of little tips on how to uh carve spoons and the importance of the little details and a few tricks that I have learnt uh after making so many of these. Um and uh we got quite a few really nice uh forks out of the class. So I hope some people are gonna be going back to carving forks again and spreading the word of this uh new uh cutlery style. So yeah.

SPEAKER_06 10:25

Is that the only thing you're teaching this weekend?

SPEAKER_01 10:27

So uh tomorrow morning, which is gonna be uh Saturday morning, I'm teaching mushroom spoon. So this is a spoon with like a mushroom finial that kind of grows organically out of it. Uh it has a lot of intricate stopcuts to make some complex little maneuvers in it. So uh that's gonna be tomorrow.

SPEAKER_06 10:52

Oh, excellent. And uh what what has been the standout moment of Spoontown for you?

unknown 10:59

Very nice little.

SPEAKER_01 11:00

I think it's probably the dog show. There was uh Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 11:03

Do you want to describe that? We've not mentioned. Oh, hello. Welcome to Tunes and Spoons, Brooke. See you tomorrow. Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:11

Yeah, anyway, yeah, the dog show. What was that? Um what was what what did they call it? There's a there's a sheepdog trial. It was really interesting. Um he did uh go off to a lot of different stories about I don't know if a bit of politics and a lot of little things.

SPEAKER_06 11:30

Well, he was an entomologist. He's also an entomologist. He was telling us a lot about uh the the the flies and flies and yeah, a lot of maggots.

SPEAKER_01 11:39

There was a lot of interesting stories, but the dog was really impressive, and she sat there uh waiting for his command. It was it was something. Yeah, so that that was that was a highlight of my day. That and of course the the food at uh Spoontown is is is is really great. I love it. Oh, the pasta's very well. The pasta today was fantastic, yes.

SPEAKER_06 12:01

And uh yeah, is uh there anything you're looking forward to tomorrow or someday?

SPEAKER_01 12:07

Well, uh the spoon the spoon carving circle, um I think that's what you call it when you pass a spoon on to the person on your left. That's not the one um that's on Sunday, but yeah, I remember that as a highlight for me from last time. It was a lot of fun. So um yeah, I'm looking forward to that. I put a snail on every single spoon. It was freaking great. Yeah, that we we do wake up early here and do some uh morning warm-ups. Um that was really nice. I am looking forward to waking up uh properly tomorrow and doing some stretches before carving all day. So thank you, Aviv, for for doing that. Yeah, super.

SPEAKER_06 12:47

Alright, I'll I'll leave you to your evening. Thank you very much for talking to me.

SPEAKER_01 12:52

Well, appreciate what you do here.

SPEAKER_09 13:01

Right.

SPEAKER_06 13:02

Okay. We've got some diegetic audio in the back. Just just add some add some uh experience uh or whatever. We it lets the listener know that we're in a a busy area. So hello Rachel. Hello Adam. It's been a long day today. How's it been for you? I am absolutely toggled. Have you been spending time with Martin Hazel? That's uh out of his dictionary.

SPEAKER_04 13:29

Yeah, I I struggled for the right one. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 13:31

What what have you been doing today?

SPEAKER_04 13:33

I just talked this afternoon and uh I find teaching just exhausting. Um a little bit too much of my mental and uh I think it's adrenaline.

SPEAKER_06 13:42

Yeah, what what what is it you've been teaching?

SPEAKER_04 13:44

I was doing finishing finishing spoons. Um not really finishing cuts, but yeah, we we started with a blank that I provided and then of a really nice wood that was ready for finishing cuts.

SPEAKER_06 13:59

Excellent. So so like the they brought uh spoons which are like half the colours. No, no, no, they didn't.

SPEAKER_04 14:05

I didn't save myself and their work for success.

SPEAKER_06 14:08

I provided them with the biggest. Whoa, but that yeah ten out of ten for that course. That's dedication to teaching.

SPEAKER_04 14:15

Yeah, but yeah, we have name name labels too.

SPEAKER_06 14:18

Yeah, wow. So uh how did that go for you?

SPEAKER_04 14:21

Well, I enjoyed it and the feedback that I had was positive, but I think often they just give positive feedback.

SPEAKER_06 14:28

Um it's hard to send them up. They're just very polite here. Everyone is just too polite and too non-so that's uh right, okay, okay. And uh do you teach anything else?

SPEAKER_04 14:39

Uh tomorrow tomorrow I'm teaching something called make it your own. So I'm not entirely sure what it's gonna be.

SPEAKER_06 14:46

My plan was that we're so you're making the lesson your own. You're leading by example.

SPEAKER_04 14:50

They might they might have a totally different idea about what that's gonna be from what I thought it might be. Well, okay. I thought it might be just come along with problems-ish areas that you're struggling with, right? And we'll have just a small group and um see if I can solve your problems. Um I don't know what the exception is that's what it's gonna be. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 15:11

Ah, wonderful. And uh I imagine this isn't this isn't your first spoon turn, is it?

SPEAKER_04 15:16

It's not my first rodeo. No, it's only my third one. I didn't manage the first two because timing-wise. It's um at the beginning of our school holidays. Right, okay. When a festival's first start and you're not aware of timing, so you have to do a bit of juggling to make your diary fix. Um but yeah, three years and um and it's what makes you keep coming back? Um the company. Yeah, it's one of the UK festivals that uh a lot of people from Europe come to.

SPEAKER_06 15:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 15:48

Um and that's uh got a good group of people that are hanging with.

SPEAKER_06 15:52

Yeah, I mean we're we're uh in in good company. We're sitting down right now with a lot of people and almost no one is from this country, are there?

SPEAKER_04 16:00

We've got Swiss, we've got East German, we've got American, we've got Belgian, Belgium, um Israel, Palestine, um, all sorts as well as us.

SPEAKER_06 16:15

Yeah, and that that's just here in this little group, yeah, yeah. There's uh a lot of people here and there's there's no aminosity or anything like that.

SPEAKER_04 16:26

Everyone's getting on chill, friendly, generous community. Yeah, sharing each other's tools, um humour um or not.

SPEAKER_06 16:37

Beers or not, yeah, yeah, and wood chips. So what what has been the the standout moment for Spoontown for you in general? This maybe just this year.

SPEAKER_04 16:50

Um thus far? I really enjoy just putting together breakfast over a gas over. Doesn't quite like um yeah, and sharing sharing.

SPEAKER_06 17:05

Yeah, it's more or less continuing the life. It doesn't really compare to like talking to three people over line on online, does it? It's actually spending time with them. Talking online and building that relationship first is just awesome. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 17:18

That was a reference to Rise Up and Calve.

SPEAKER_06 17:21

Oh yeah. I believe that maybe you might be getting a visit from uh John to talk about that. So I I have some questions about that, but I shall leave that for him. Okay. So I'll I'll leave the the listener asking questions as to what Rise Up and Calve may be. Yeah, of course. That's a teaser.

SPEAKER_04 17:39

That's what you might do on these things.

SPEAKER_06 17:41

Yeah, yeah, it's a teaser. So yeah, tune in next time and uh you yeah, you find out about that. Alright. Thank you very much, Rachel, for talking to me about your your day and your time at Spoontown.

unknown 17:53

Thank you.

SPEAKER_06 17:54

So, hello Diana. Hello, Adam. Welcome to Spoontown.

SPEAKER_03 17:59

And um what are you doing here? I uh been doing printing. So I know it's a bit kind of off piece because it's not green woodworking.

SPEAKER_06 18:08

But um It's alright, you're talking to someone who's teaching blacksmithing. We've got coppersmithing. It's all part of spoon spoon type.

SPEAKER_03 18:17

So we're looking at branding, so we've been kind of um getting people to think about their branding and then applying it to um relief printing, and then we've been putting it on uh packaging and boxes, and um, we've brought the laser cutter with us this year. Whoa, that's fancy. So we've been putting it onto Bodger's bib, which which has been a bit kind of unheard of, maybe.

SPEAKER_06 18:39

I didn't know you had the laser cutter. Oh, I might come have a play with that. It's fantastic.

SPEAKER_03 18:43

It is great, and it uses less energy than it does to charge my phone battery pack. So it's insane. So we've got a laser cutter in the field. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 18:52

I really, I really like how uh expansive, I suppose, maybe I'm not sure that's the right word, but your courses in a you do an awful lot, really.

SPEAKER_03 19:05

It's I I don't know how uh uh uh phrase it, but it it sounds really But it's quite nice if people come and they don't really know what they're gonna get. Um and then tomorrow, so tomorrow I've got a whole day session and we're gonna look at the different types of lino and the different kind of um qualities that the surfaces have that you cut, and then we'll print it. We've got nice ink, we've got um Hramfield ink, which is a Welsh ink. So we're like, you know, we like to represent, um, and then we'll print it onto bags and uh envelopes and prints and t-shirts and whatever. If you if it stands long enough, it'll have a print to print on you.

SPEAKER_06 19:46

And so yeah, just for a bit of context, what's your your your background? Because obviously this isn't very woodworking, it's very arty.

SPEAKER_03 19:52

It is so my my my degree is actually in furniture making back in the day. Um and then I've been 34 years as an art teacher. Um, and then this is just brings me out the classroom and to get to teach adults and get to teach people who want to learn. People who listen as well. Yeah, don't do it all most of the time. Um and it gets me in this community, which is a really, really lovely community. Um, so it is yeah, it's really nice to be back. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 20:23

So uh this isn't your third Spoontown, is it? This is my third Spoontown. What makes you keep coming back? And don't say Lee.

SPEAKER_03 20:30

No, not Lee. Um I really it's just a really nice community, isn't it? And then when we go to which one do we go to? We go to Bowl Gathering, um as well, which is also lovely, which is not quite so far for us because it's actually in Wales. Um but the people that you know, and it's great just to kind of you have so many hugs when you arrive and you see men hugging men, and that's just awesome. And yeah, we'll kinda we'll keep coming back time after time.

SPEAKER_06 21:00

So what do you think your highlight the spoon town is?

SPEAKER_03 21:04

Um the highlight is seeing what people put what they produce and how pleased they are, and then and I've just seen the lady in there who's doing basketry, and she was with me last year and she said she's gone home, she's bought the kit, she loves it, she's still doing it. So to inspire people to do to carry on doing it is great. And apply the knowledge, share the love.

SPEAKER_06 21:28

Excellent. Well, thank you very much for talking telling me about your course. My pleasure, Adam. Right. I'll catch you later.

SPEAKER_03 21:37

Thank you for uh we'll have a chat there. No, that's good.

SPEAKER_06 21:42

Hello Jan Han. How how how are you getting on?

SPEAKER_07 21:46

Yeah, great. Yeah, we had a great pre-fest and now uh this is the second course for uh today. First day of Spoontown.

SPEAKER_06 21:55

Yeah, what what what so you you're a tutor here, aren't you?

SPEAKER_07 21:58

What what have you been Tutoring. I've been tutoring uh beginners for the prefest. So I took them along a uh three-day journey. Is that beginning to spoon carving, is it? Yeah, beginner spoon carvers. And what I do today is uh we make straight spoons. In the morning, it was specifically aimed at beginners. So I uh teach them uh a simple step-oriented way to create a spoon to liberate them from templates and other people's problems and shit, so they can develop their own way of carving a spoon. Independence in a five-step method. So, yeah, that's what we do. We draw very little, we make we just mark indications with a pencil, and then we do the design with knives. We make them small so uh we don't need axes, and we can be direct and quick so we can make more. So we we make uh three or or or more uh uh blanks and then uh take it from there.

SPEAKER_06 23:11

Oh wonderful. So uh how many times have you come to Spoontown now? This is my third, I think.

SPEAKER_07 23:19

Am I correct, Pina? I don't know. I think it's probably the third. Hey guys, what what do you like about Spoontown? What makes you come back? That's a that's a great point, actually. Uh Spoontown is the most gentle, most welcoming, warmest. Uh yeah, it's a it's a great environment to carve. Yeah. And uh because it's organized so well and so friendly, yeah, that radiates through the whole thing. So it makes it easy for me to be uh friendly teacher as well. So usually I'm very grumpy, but not here.

SPEAKER_06 23:56

Wow, thank you. And if people want to find you online, how can we do that? Have a look at some of the things you make. What do you make? You haven't said you're teaching spoon making, but yeah.

SPEAKER_07 24:07

I make wooden things. I'm a product designer, that's my uh my trade, and a teacher. I've always been a teacher. When I was 18, I was a craft teacher, and then uh I became a product designer. Uh then I have taught product design in several places in uh Holland. And uh I don't work for bosses anymore. My company is called Hout van Boma. That's not easy for Brits to say or to write. But in on Instagram, I'm Spoon Carver because I'm an early adopter. I'm I'm I really suck at doing Instagram, but uh I do have a cool handbook, Spoon Carver, so people can remember that one. Excellent.

SPEAKER_06 24:52

So uh have you got any more teaching to do whilst you're here?

SPEAKER_07 24:55

Yep. Uh tomorrow I have two fully booked courses. One is of about scoots, as I call them. Scoops, those are side branch uh scoots, and that way uh yeah, they are fun to make, they're quick and easy, and they are very in educational, so because you can make varieties and uh and have fun with them. And then in the afternoon I will do mini mugs. Mini mugs is a very nice alliteration. I make them mini because mini is quick.

SPEAKER_06 25:28

Yeah, I'm I'm seeing a theme with all the things you make uh small, simple, easy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because I I'm also imagining accessible as well. Like it doesn't take much skill to get to there.

SPEAKER_07 25:43

No, and one more thing, I'm uh totally against people buying all the best tools before they ever have done anything. Uh it's a tendency, I think. And uh it's because, like Tina says, many people think they can learn carving by osmosis from uh having nice tools. And I'm not against nice tools.

SPEAKER_06 26:04

Yeah, I was gonna say, Kev, you're in Dutchie Garanton.

SPEAKER_07 26:08

But uh I I encourage people to work with the tools they have in the first place and then take it from there, and then I'm sure there will be uh a time when they need Adam Ashworth stuff.

SPEAKER_06 26:23

But uh right. Well, thank you very much for telling me about what you're doing here at Spoontown. It's my pleasure. Thanks. I can see Nico's just brought over his chocolate uh Christmas uh birthday cake, that's it. And he's got a lot of it. I might go pinch some of it. Yeah. Alright, thank you. Hello Georg. Lou. How are you doing? Welcome to Choons of Spoons. What why are you here? What have you been doing?

SPEAKER_08 26:50

Uh I'm teaching copper smithing, metal smithing, silver smithing, stuff like that.

SPEAKER_06 26:55

That's not a spoon, but it's definitely interesting. So what what what exactly am like copper smithing?

SPEAKER_08 27:03

Yeah, I sneaked into the spoon wall with a copper ladle.

SPEAKER_09 27:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 27:07

Um so it's uh it's a my design of a of a label where you connect like a bowl-shaped copper piece with uh wooden handle.

SPEAKER_06 27:16

Yeah, I've I've seen I've seen quite a few people walking around with uh with ones that have done them, but they're they're really quite something. I I suppose I should take it back, but they are spoons, they're just not wooden, and it's not wooden spoon town, it's just spoon town. So I suppose every right you should be here.

SPEAKER_08 27:35

So uh it's blacksmithing. Uh yeah, well, yeah, I'm not one to talk, am I? I think um I think maybe that's the the the perfect transition. I think many people have like a little bit shy or fear to do blacksmithing because it's hot and dusty and you need it needs some strength and everything. And uh the copper smithing, I think it's a little bit uh easier because it it's the same technique, sort of blacksmithing, but it's you can hold it in your hand so it's a little bit more comfortable for the people, I think, to start with. So maybe ideally you start with copper smithing and then you're back.

SPEAKER_06 28:14

And yeah, it's always interesting looking at your store because you've got so many different like hammers, stakes, just tooling in general. It's it's so intricate, and uh yeah, but some of the things that you've brought along with you that you've made, uh the the praying mantis, I think, because that's fantastic.

SPEAKER_08 28:33

And uh I think you don't yeah, that's another thing. I'm I'm really a tool merch, so I really love to do have a lot of tools and I collect them, I have them, I use them, and I like to use another tool for every little step, but you can also yeah, all you pretty much need for copper smithing is like a little bit wood to create a form and a hammer to pound it. And um, you can also do it really basic, but it's also I I find it really nice to have like a lot of tools for it as well. And and it's not just for ladles that you teach making, is it? No, no, I'm I'm not like um um uh limited on ladles. I also like to do like ginkgo leaves or any leaf shape uh flower something.

SPEAKER_06 29:22

So there are a few techniques like fold forming and and it's one of those things which at first it looks quite simple, but the more you look at it, the more you realize actually it's not. There's a very fine beauty to these little ginkgo leaves that you do.

SPEAKER_08 29:39

And uh I think that's it one of the hardest things to do, like really mimic nature and to give it a nice flow. Um and to really but it I can I think you can break down like any craft. It's in the end, it's just like smithing, you typically make you heat up a piece of rod and you just pound it until it has the shape you want. And I always say that metal is like play-doh, so you can get it everywhere you want. You just have to use a little bit more force um to to move it. But yeah, and yeah, it's it's you can always break it down to simple, but in the end uh that it's looking really nicely, you have to uh yeah, collect some skills and yeah.

SPEAKER_06 30:21

And and now to to bring it back to Spoontown, how many years have you been coming here? What makes you keep coming? It's just my second year. Second year. What made you come in the first place then?

SPEAKER_08 30:32

Um it's um I think the timing is nice to for people from the continent to go to Spoontown and Spoonfest because you can just do it in one go. Um it's nice for the people in my area because it's not that far, so it's really close to Dover where you usually get there with a boat. Yeah. Um it's um it has a really beautiful atmosphere. I like it that the tents are like lined up like a town, and you can walk around in the streets, see all these people doing this or that. Um and I also like it that it's a little bit more open to not spoons. It's smooth, it's um, I think any spoon or greenwood fist also deserves a few other crafts weaving, turning, copper smithing, uh and and just things, you know, like maybe on the big sheet of uh uh um um shield of like Floyd stuff.

SPEAKER_06 31:36

Yeah, and granted it is only the first like proper day, but what's your highlight of Spoon Town?

SPEAKER_08 31:42

The weather this time is really nice. And highlight the food. Like Jill's son is making a really good job there, and uh I think really the atmosphere is the absolute highlight. It's really nice to uh meet all these people, to gather with them, to hang out, to cough, to talk, to drink. It's very easy to talk to people here, isn't it? Absolutely. So you have maybe all these little groups, but you can always just join, sit down. No one's gonna tell you to go away, no one's gonna ignore you. You're always gonna be included. That's really beautiful. So I I I think the Greenwood world is doing that in general, but here it's really welcoming, so that's that's really nice.

SPEAKER_06 32:33

Yeah, I hope I hope the rest of Spoontown for you is just as lovely as it has been already.

SPEAKER_08 32:38

I'm pretty sure. It's going like that.

SPEAKER_06 32:46

Hello Martin. All right, mate. How are you doing? I'm very well, how are you doing? I'm pretty good. It's nice to see you again. Nice to see you again. I've seen you uh I've seen you a lot recently. Yeah, that's right. It's nice to see you on Terra Therma. Yeah, yeah. Last time I saw you was in Belgium.

SPEAKER_00 33:02

Yes, yes, and Belgium Belgium, of course, isn't land, it's um part of the frozen uh Arctic Circle, which you well know. Yeah. And your your listeners will know that too. Because of course, we we were at a festival which was held on the uh ice cap of Belgium. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 33:19

Yeah, I really regretted not bringing any thermal clothes. A frostbite really got to me in the end.

SPEAKER_00 33:24

It was shocking, it was shocking. It was at some stages it dropped to 39 degrees centigrade, which is uh just slightly below boiling point.

SPEAKER_06 33:33

Anyway. Uh and so um you're you're here at Spoontown and you're a tutor. What? Yeah. First I've heard about it. What what just took a wrong turn? I came out for a pint of milk, and and yeah, I just turned up here. What what is it that you've been teaching? Have you been doing pre-fest or or not? What tell me everything.

SPEAKER_00 33:56

I did a pre-town course and I uh so uh uh the the kind of thing I've come up with over the years, I teach the same thing every year, whether it's for half an hour or three days, but I just give it a different title each year. This year I called it prehistoric ladles. So what we did was we took some inspiration for ladles and spoons from archaeological finds. Um, and I mean there aren't a huge number of archaeological finds of uh organic artifacts like spoons, but there are some. So we use this book here, which you can get.

SPEAKER_06 34:35

By organic artifacts, do you mean things made from organic materials? Yes. Wood. Not not because you said a spoon, and I'm thinking organic artifact like a spoon's growing out of the ground.

SPEAKER_00 34:46

Yes, yes, no. A thing which is is produced by a human being using organic materials like wood and basketry, which is my archaeological area of interest. As you know, I've got other areas of interest, Helen Mirren's left ankle, um, some other stuff. Um, and um, yeah, and sometimes those organic things get called the missing majority by archaeologists, because we you we can we can fairly safely say that the bulk of material culture of prehistoric peoples and early historic peoples was made from organic materials, fibers, plant fibers, animal fibers, wood, basket material, you know, everything like that. And a lot of that just doesn't survive very long. No, but there are some survivors, and if you look at the survivors of spoons from, say, the bronze and iron ages, um, a significant proportion are ladles, and we took our inspiration from pictures of ladles which survive. Yeah. And we carved them from crooks, from bent bits of wood of various and that's all with stone tools, isn't it? Like they did. Yeah. Well, there are very few Neolithic survivals, but we did uh we did have some inspiration from Bronze Age stuff, and we did have bronze tools that we used. So we had some bronze gouges, bronze ads, bronze axe. I did I've got an adler, an adlers now of the I have got an antler ads uh with me, an antler bladed ads. Um but mostly we used conventional tools to be honest, spoon knives.

SPEAKER_06 36:37

And you said just a moment ago you're about to light the kiln. Yes. What's that about?

SPEAKER_00 36:41

Well, as you know, I'm a devout Catholic, and people who failed to live up to my standards of theological inquiry um have to be burned at the stake. And um some of my students have not passed the test, so we're gonna light the kiln and they can watch me set fire to my own left leg. No, actually, we've done clay beads uh this morning. We made little clay beads because the weather's decent, we've got a little bit of a warm breeze, it's quite warm. We have got special permission to light a fire bowl, a contained fire bowl with careful fire precautions, and we're going to fire these beads. We fire them in biscuit tins because otherwise you spend two hours making the beads and then looking for them. Two years looking for them, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 37:33

And these are all Bronze Age biscuit tins, are they? These are, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 37:36

So uh in the Bronze Age, uh they were eating uh in, as you know, uh, well, in in certainly in my childhood, the biscuits were made out of flint granules uh ground up with mastodon leg. Uh they were nice, you know, they lasted quite a while, but uh yeah, these are all Bronze Age biscuit tins. Uh we've got some Neolithic water over there and uh post-Roman uh dustbin lid.

SPEAKER_06 38:03

Ah, very nice. So uh yeah, and and has it gone well so far?

SPEAKER_00 38:08

No, it was one of the worst mornings of my life.

SPEAKER_06 38:11

Give over. No one had a worst morning of their life at Spoontown. It's a fantastic place.

SPEAKER_00 38:16

No, it was brilliant. No, we had a right laugh. We were actually really productive. Um, we've got a student here, Isabel, who is uh silently burnishing uh uh some beads. So if you can get them to the right level of hardness, which is sometimes called leather hard, so it's pretty much dried out, but it's not fired. Yeah, you know, as you can see through the microphone, um, she's uh burnishing with a bone on a piece of uh horn, a piece of ranshorn, actually, and you can get quite a good finish. And before they had glazes, um they would sometimes burnish the inside of a of a vessel, a bowl or a pitcher or something, you know, get it to a leather hard level, stick their arm in there with a with a nice hard pebble, and burnish the interior. And once that becomes waterproof to a certain extent, you know, not as not as waterproof as uh you know the glaze, but but pretty waterproof. Because it's compressing compressing the particles down and filling in the gaps.

SPEAKER_06 39:27

Wow. Well, that's been uh very insightful talking to your courses, and people are gonna have fun deciphering what exactly was true and what wasn't there.

SPEAKER_00 39:38

Well, you know, I sometimes I I mean I've often sometimes I give people advice, and what I always say to them is never take advice from me. Right.

SPEAKER_06 39:48

So basically, to find out more about your course, you're gonna have to come to Spoontown and see it in the flesh.

SPEAKER_00 39:55

I would do, I'd recommend it, but don't come next week because it's not on.

SPEAKER_06 40:00

All right, thank you very much for talking to me, Martin.

SPEAKER_00 40:03

I don't know, I won't have enjoyed myself. Right, okay. Thanks a lot, mate.

SPEAKER_06 40:08

You're very welcome. Cheers. Right, we're rolling. Great. So here we are at Spoontown with the mayor of or mayoress, should I say. The Lady Mayoress. Lady Mayoress of Spoontown. Jill, how are you doing?

SPEAKER_05 40:27

I'm very well, thank you, Adam. It's lovely to see you. Really lovely to see you.

SPEAKER_06 40:31

Lovely to see you too. And yeah, I mean, Spoontown, I've only been here about 24 hours now, maybe a bit more. You've been here all week. How's it been? It's been incredible.

SPEAKER_05 40:43

Absolutely. Um the weather, of course, makes it makes an event, doesn't it? Well, it helps make an event, and um it's been hot. Hot, hot. Hot crutch part, hot. But um, yeah, we've got it's very chilled, very, very chilled this year. Well well, you just said it's hot and then it's very chilled. Well, yeah, that's true. Maybe maybe over emotionally chilled. Yeah. Um everyone, people are just just walking slowly and smiling and waving at each other like utopia.

SPEAKER_06 41:13

Yeah, and it's uh it's an important year for for Spoontown because it's its fifth birthday, isn't it? Yeah, unbelievable. Yeah, yeah. So it it's in in the the broader spectrum, five years, it's not an entirely long time, is it? What what uh and yeah, Spoontown is is your baby, isn't it? What what what what brought around Spoontown? What what was the inspiration?

SPEAKER_05 41:36

Well, I think um I think lockdown uh changed so many things for everybody, really. Uh a huge shift in uh so many people's business ideas and things. And I had time during lockdown to think um to feel properly isolated, you know, and and thinking, well, what's gonna happen in the future if this is a if this happens again, if we have a pan another pandemic and everybody's told to stay in their city or town, what what can I do here? And what I could do was have have a spoon festival in Kent, because there isn't one. And I just saw a gap in the market and thought, well, they're doing it all over the States, they're doing it all over Europe. Why don't we do it here?

SPEAKER_06 42:22

Yeah, and uh yeah, I've I've been to to all of them, I think. Yeah, and uh yeah, it's it's it's come on tremendously since the first one. Not not to suggest that the first one was bad in any way, but yeah, the the the natural progression, the evolution is yeah, I I can see it and oh it's different every year, and uh yeah, I mean we've we've not really said what what is Spoon Town?

SPEAKER_05 42:51

Well it's it's um it's a pop-up um town where there's it's not just spoons, of course. There are many other things. There's um bowl turning and and plate turning and mug turning and um copper coppersmithing, basketry.

SPEAKER_06 43:10

We've got a laser cutter here as well, haven't we?

SPEAKER_05 43:13

Because there's some mad there's some some mad things going on here, and I think it's um I like I like to keep bringing the changes and and have different new courses because not everybody, I mean people love spoons, of course, but they're not the end of the be all and end all.

SPEAKER_06 43:27

Yeah, maybe you should consider changing it to Spoon and adjacent crafts town.

SPEAKER_05 43:31

Well the the next there's there is a village at the end of uh uh the end of uh the road here called Wheelbarrow Town. So I thought we might invite them to collaborate with us. But I knocked on a few doors and nobody else.

SPEAKER_06 43:47

Oh that that's a shame. So um yeah, like uh what what has what's been the standout thing about Spoontown this year for you? Um

SPEAKER_05 44:00

Well the w the weather's been great so far and we've just got tomorrow to go, haven't we? So um I think I think that that the really um the bit of drama we had at the beginning was was um dear Sam um being taken to hospital with a with a collapsed lung. Yeah, it's quite serious. Sam Alexander, yeah, very serious. And and that really, you know, what was so lovely is to see everyone fold around him, you know, like completely envelop him.

SPEAKER_06 44:34

Yeah, uh his every need and and I think that's a standout thing. It's not just spoon tent, it's a green woodworking community, really.

SPEAKER_05 44:42

It's a green woodworking thing, yeah. People people close ranks, and I think that's what makes it so special when you know that you're camping with people um who are who are will give when when needs be. We've always done it.

SPEAKER_06 44:59

Yeah, yeah. As a as a group. And uh yeah, I think the the remarkable thing is that it's it's anyone here really would be willing to do that, really. Like obviously there's there's people here who are close friends, but everyone here is is pitching in when they when they can, which is Yeah, we're having the raffle for him.

SPEAKER_05 45:18

We're so what the one of the things about Spoontown is we ask all the uh tutors and anybody who has anything with them to give a prize uh for for the raffle, and we've been giving the money to the tree council because obviously without trees we haven't got the spoontown. But um this year I'm diverting that money uh to Sam so that we can cover his obviously he was he was unable to teach. So yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 45:46

Well, well, hopefully he makes a speech. Well, he is making a speech. He is making, yeah, he's doing well.

SPEAKER_05 45:52

He's doing very well. And and and he he's you know it's something he's had before, so it's not like it's completely unknown, a mystery nightmare. It's kind of a known. Still absolutely terrifying. Yeah, yeah, absolutely terrifying. Yeah, everybody's freaked out, but we all got over ourselves now, I think.

SPEAKER_06 46:07

Yeah, but no, that's glad, but yeah, mentioning the raffle, that's that's uh written up there on that the happenings board.

SPEAKER_05 46:15

Yeah, the happenings board. So we've got uh we've got tonight we've got uh music, just uh round the campfire sort of music, except we have we've not got a campfire, have we? We've got a fire ban on it, Ken, so that's fine. We're gonna sit around and people are going to dance in a red dress. Ah, lovely. So they look like a flame.

SPEAKER_06 46:32

Yeah. Because there is a sort of loose itinerary to Spoontown, isn't there?

SPEAKER_05 46:36

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It takes quite a bit of it does actually take quite a bit of planning to get things going. We've got the the demos, yeah, uh, which I don't know if they've been even happening, to be honest with you.

SPEAKER_06 46:48

Oh well, no, uh so Oscar and I are doing a demo in like two hours' time. We're making a Damascus with limited tools in the middle of a field. And hopefully by the ruffle we will have a finished Damascus knife if everything goes well. That's very exciting. Hopefully. No promises because I've not not made a Damascus knife like this for a long time and not in the middle of a field, so we'll see. Um but yeah, what what kind of demos are going on? What is a demo?

SPEAKER_05 47:18

Um it's just a half-hour, um, it's a half hour um demonstration in the demo tent, which we have a fixed tent for that sort of job over there. And um everybody is having a is gonna have a go of sharpening um basketry, whatever they're whatever they're doing. Um to make it to make it um interesting, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 47:41

And then I can also say that there's uh uh proper music happening tomorrow as well in McGuire. We've got a band on. A band, correct?

SPEAKER_05 47:49

Jimmy and the Riddles.

SPEAKER_06 47:50

Jimmy and Riddle Isn't Jimmy Riddle isn't a person.

SPEAKER_05 47:56

Jimmy Riddle is is uh rhyming slang for having a piddle. Oh right, okay. But um I didn't book the band, so I don't know what's going on at all. I just left that to somebody else. Yeah. And the other thing, of course, is is um my son does the does the food. Does the food for the there's a you can self-cater, obviously, but if you want to buy food, he's doing that. And that's one of the other things.

SPEAKER_06 48:22

Lovely Nepo babies are everywhere these days, aren't they? Yeah. No, no, he's it's very good food. Very, very good food.

SPEAKER_05 48:30

But he he wanted to have um he wanted to to get a a a burger van.

SPEAKER_09 48:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 48:36

And so that was one of my ways of thinking, because he'd just finished university the first year.

SPEAKER_09 48:41

Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_05 48:42

And I said to him, right, you do you're gonna do my event? And he was like, Whoa, what event? And then of course he smashed it.

SPEAKER_06 48:50

Yeah, yeah. Without having any resources. It definitely came along because yeah, his little burger van there, we can see it now, it is looking very professional. Yeah, yeah. And uh yeah, he's he's doing a good job with the food. Yeah, he's gonna be a good thing. Because often, whenever you serve him, there's a huge queue waiting for it, isn't it? And that's always a good sign, isn't it?

SPEAKER_05 49:08

And I and I it yeah, i he goes off and does takes it all over the Kent, all over different places. He's got another 19 gigs or something before the end of the summer.

SPEAKER_06 49:18

Goodness me. Yeah. So, yeah. So we're well m as you said, it it ends tomorrow. So we're we're halfway through proper Spoontown, but yeah. W what if it hasn't been already, what you're most looking forward to about Spoontown? Oh, the sheepdog trials, Timmy. The sheepdog trials, yeah. Is that where you let Martin Hazel run after sheep barking at them?

SPEAKER_05 49:43

Yeah, we've got uh we've got a whole we've got a flock of sheep in the end field. Um just through a short walk down the road. Wow. And um we've got a our local shepherd who's gonna come in. He's a brilliant, brilliant entomologist and sheep, sheep herder. That is uh I think it's gotta be a spoon carving event first. Yeah, sheep herding. Well, what's great is there's so many dogs here that they can all go down and and what see what's going on and maybe they'll learn to behave.

SPEAKER_06 50:11

That'd be good, wouldn't it?

SPEAKER_05 50:13

Yeah I think this I think the spoon circle on a Sunday is always a good thing.

SPEAKER_06 50:17

But the other thing is that the morning, Sunday morning craft market actually is is quite a big what what are some of the things that you can find at the craft market? Oh my god. Um anyone What do you want to buy there?

SPEAKER_05 50:31

Well, I've already bought a few things. I have actually spent it. You can't stop spending though. I know, I can't. Um I'm looking for some I'm looking for another two or three good spoons for my collection. Oh right. I'm quite a keen spoon collector.

SPEAKER_09 50:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 50:45

And uh and I bought a fork last year, which I'm very happy with. Very nice. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 50:51

But it's not just wooden wooden things there, is it?

SPEAKER_05 50:53

No, no, this um it's it's great having um George Schultz here.

SPEAKER_06 50:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 50:57

Uh because he's he's making extraordinary things, and there's there's uh uh there's a couple of potters.

SPEAKER_06 51:04

Yeah, well, I can see some some bowls for sale over there.

SPEAKER_05 51:07

Lovely Louise chopping. Yeah, the t-shirts are gonna be on sale over there.

SPEAKER_06 51:11

Excellent.

SPEAKER_05 51:12

Water bottles, beanie hats. Um it's gonna be interesting to see what pops up because people really do. There's a lot of secondhand tools. People bring all sorts of things. There was a guy doing axes last year, wasn't there? Like old-fashioned uh re refurbed axes sub guy.

SPEAKER_06 51:32

Oh no. Yeah, yeah. So uh yeah, what what were you looking most forward to Spoontown before it happened?

SPEAKER_05 51:39

Um, I guess the evenings, you know. I mean I I I think I it is predominantly educational. I I do I do feel quite strongly about that, but I love you know to walk around and see people um focusing, you know, that that's that's a great, a great I think it's a great thing to be able to provide to people, you know, that kind of opportunity to learn something in in an environment where everybody is learning at the same time and it's like heads down, you know, get on with it.

SPEAKER_06 52:12

Um yeah, there's this day everyone uh has been incredibly busy today. There's not been many people just wondering about, everyone's on courses doing stuff.

SPEAKER_05 52:22

Yeah, it's just mad. Yeah, it's been really like it's like a university, yeah, campus. It's fantastic. But then in the evenings, yeah, people can let their hair down and muck about a little bit, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 52:33

And and normally there'd be a a fire going, and we'd all gather around that, but as you mentioned, there's a fire then, so yeah.

SPEAKER_05 52:39

So we so yeah, fire pits. I mean we have two, two or three fire pits going um normally, uh, because you obviously can't get everybody around one unless it's a proper, proper, proper big one. Um but but that that's that's that's nice to have like a quiet fire pit, a noisy fire pit.

SPEAKER_06 52:57

I'm thinking about it. No no one's described where where are we? Where is Spoontown? No one's told us about that. What does it look like?

SPEAKER_05 53:04

It's okay, it's uh seven, I think it's seven acres, seven acre field with an adjacent car park. Um it's on a high plateau um above or behind Dover, Folkestone, um in the southeast of uh Canterbury, uh six miles, five miles down Stone Street from the cricket ground. Um so it's in so it's in a nice spot for South East England, and of course we get a lot of Dutch, Belgian, German. It's easy to drive over here.

SPEAKER_06 53:39

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 53:39

Just jump on the ferry and you're here in half an hour.

SPEAKER_06 53:41

Yeah, I think some of them probably had a shorter journey than I did.

SPEAKER_05 53:45

Absolutely, absolutely. It's it's it's yeah.

SPEAKER_06 53:48

And it's uh Nola campfire field then.

SPEAKER_05 53:51

Nola campfield. Nola campsite, yeah. So that's K-N-O-W-L-E-R, Nola. And um they they they're a set up campsite anyway, and this is their event field that they rent out for they you they have weddings here every now and then and yeah. So it's a it's a proper campsite, so proper facilities, so uh Yeah, we've got we've got um uh a double deck of bus. A double decker bus that just sits there full of yeah, it's a bit hot today to go in there. Yeah, um, but it's um they've got eco loos, we've got hot showers, all dotted out all over the place. Guinea pigs and rabbits as well. Uh there's a few sheep coming in through and goats through the other side. They've got an owl, they've got a disabled owl that sits, goes boo at you.

SPEAKER_06 54:37

So uh all the camping essentials covered.

SPEAKER_05 54:40

Yes, everything you could possibly want. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 54:44

No, it's good, it's flat as well. It's always a bonus, isn't it?

SPEAKER_05 54:47

So uh yeah, I think uh I think it goes without say, but will there be a Spoontown next year? Oh my god, yeah. I'll do it until I drop, I think.

SPEAKER_06 54:56

I'm gonna have to. What what can we expect for Spoontown next year?

SPEAKER_05 55:01

Um oh that's a good question. Um I'm hoping to get some new uh trainers in and still see the old favourites. That's that's always a good thing. And um I think we may on the Saturday we may have a limited amount of day ticket holders.

SPEAKER_06 55:22

Right.

SPEAKER_05 55:23

That's what we're discussing, right? Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. Yeah. And so so, you know, we're we're not sure, but I've got I've got over like a you know a committee of trusted lieutenants, and we all discuss things and try and figure out. And then there's always the huge fight about what color t-shirt to have for next year.

SPEAKER_06 55:44

Oh god, that that's probably the biggest question of all, isn't it? Yeah. Oh, what coloured t-shirt? Yeah. I I can't help but notice what looking at the ones on display, they yeah, match your van very well, don't they? Pure coincidence.

SPEAKER_05 55:58

They're actually darker, you know, they're more of an ochre. Whereas the van is more chrome yellow, I think you'll find.

SPEAKER_06 56:05

Yeah. Wow, super. Yeah. But uh yeah, but it's been uh very nice talking to you about Spoon Town. And no doubt when uh John and I both meet you, we'll we'll get you get you on proper again. Have a I don't know. Mulaney will probably have some some some things to say.

SPEAKER_05 56:23

Well I need to get Mulaney down again. Um he's he's he has been, but I just need to drag him down. I know I know he you know it's it's a long old drive. I understand that.

SPEAKER_06 56:32

Well, it's the same distance for me. He lives around the corner than me.

SPEAKER_05 56:35

Right, so yeah, it's it's difficult though, isn't it? There's a long, you know. It's it's just gonna be worth it. You know, which of course it is. Oh yeah. It's worth any distance. Of course it is. I've got people here from America, Don Nelsetti. Uh he's not the only one. There's about another four here from the States. There's a guy here from California, there's a guy here from the Bronx, and he came last year.

SPEAKER_06 56:58

Goodness me. So it's not like he's even just seen posts on the Instagram which misconstrued things. He's he's been here before, he's seen it for the flesh. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's come back for a second helping. Yeah, God bless him. No, no, I joke. I I uh I really enjoy Spoon 10 and yeah, it's uh it's been a a good year so far. Maybe a little bit hot, but I I don't mind that.

SPEAKER_05 57:21

Yeah, I'm so sorry about that. We've the temperature control's broken on the I've been fiddling with the knob and it just won't turn down.

SPEAKER_06 57:30

Oh right.

SPEAKER_05 57:31

Yeah, I've got I've I've got boned lips from from smiling at people in the sun. Damn it.

SPEAKER_06 57:38

Yeah, all right. Well, thank you very much, and I'll let you go back to your mori oral duties.

SPEAKER_05 57:45

Thank you, darling. Yeah, it's lovely, lovely to chat to you.

SPEAKER_06 57:47

Yeah, I'll I'll see you at the sheep herding in 40 minutes.

SPEAKER_05 57:50

Yeah, absolutely. I'm very excited about that. Alright, thank you.

SPEAKER_02 57:59

So thank you, lovely Jules Swan, for uh bringing this episode to a close. I I I still can't believe that Adam managed to actually get an audience with the um the mayor of Spoon Town. I think it just shows you the reach that we've got here at Tunes and Spoons. So yeah, thank those Vox pops, Adam, and uh your roving reports, excellent work, mate. It it's it is actually uh surprisingly difficult to um to to corner people at these events because you don't you don't want to spoil there and jump at the event and and there's always something going on so it's done really well to capture that. I hope it gives you a flavour of the uh Spoontown event, and if you're thinking about going yourself, maybe that'll give you a little taste of what what to expect when you get there. Um it's also a a timely reminder as well, you know. Uh I I always bear this in mind. A lot of these people like Jill Swan there who's who's organising and spending hours and hours pulling a team together and doing admin for uh all the logistics for these for that in that case Spoon Town. You've got I'm I can I'm talking about the UK and then you've got Robin Wood and uh and Barn Carter doing the same at up in Aidale for uh Spoonfest. Matty Matty Whitaker uh doing the Northern Ball gathering up in Durham and then down in the south you've got Joav Cafetz and uh Will Sinclair facilitating you know these events, they'll be so lucky that if they if they weren't willing to do that, you know it there wouldn't be any of these lovely gatherings that we all think are so yeah, life enriching. So, you know, if you're thinking about sending us an out email, just remember they're not making any money out of it. Uh I know for a fact they're not. Um they just they just want to facilitate nice events for people, so we should be really, really grateful that they're willing to put their neck on the block, you know. If you if you're if you're inviting one or two hundred people on you uh onto your plot and uh you know there'll be volume from potentially getting injured. It's it's a big undertaking they're doing, so we've got to we've got to cherish these people, but you know, and we do. Er It has been a little bit of an iatis, so that's the first episode that we've actually managed to record in a while. But there's lots of things in the pipeline, I can assure you. I've been trying to I've I've I've got lots of irons in the fire. I've been really busy with um event events and event prep myself, so it it's the height of the season for the festival. So but I have there's gonna be lots of varied uh and interesting people that's gonna be coming your way, so you know stay tuned for future and and look and we'll see you in the next one. Bye.