Happy new year! Hope you had a good Christmas. We use the Christmas break to cut firewood, mend fences and dig out ditches. In the late autumn, twenty of the wonderful Forest School Campers helped us clear a sevcn-acre boggy field called the Co-op Field (Assington had a farm labourers’ cooperative from the 1820s), cutting down trees and clearing brambles. Also, the Dedham Vale volunteers came for their Christmas party here and made great inroads into the annual task of felling the conifers to allow the oak and ash trees to grow.
Our new brochure is out now and covers courses until July 2013. Here is the link for that. Otherwise, have a look at the website, www.assingtonmill.com, where you will see all the courses on offer at present in much greater detail, plus potted biographies for the tutors (you just need to click on their name).
New topics in the programme are:
v Bridge without fear, with Mike Taylor, who plays bridge competitively but aims to encourage beginners to take up the game.
v Picture framing – an introduction – Glyn Jones. From being a keen photographer, Glyn decided to learn how to do his own framing as well.
v Blacksmithing, with Nigel Barnett. You will learn the principles of the craft and come away with a small item that you will have made during the day. I have asked Nigel for another date in the autumn as the May course sold out so quickly.
v Hen-keeping is back on the agenda in June, with our new tutor Helen Perry. This is about keeping a few hens in the garden, which many people do nowadays. Apart from providing you with eggs that look and taste quite different from supermarket eggs, the birds have their own individual characters and most of us owners get quite fond of them.
v Scything for beginners. The Austrian scythe, used by our tutor Beth Tilston, is much easier to handle than a strimmer and is good for grass paths and other small areas.
v Calligraphy: I haven’t quite sorted this one out yet but do watch the website if you are interested.
We are now on Facebook, which may suit some of our students. If you would like to see what is happening here at Assington Mill on a regular basis, just tick the “Like” box and you will receive updates.
Looking forward to seeing you in the forthcoming year.
Best wishes
Anne Holden
01787 229955
07770 550570
www.assingtonmill.com