Llangynidr is a small village on the back road from Crickhowell up tp Brecon, you can go over a very nice old narrow stone bridge and on up to Bwlck. We lived in a three bedroom council house that was in a small group of Hoses there. Two pubs, a village stores, and The village hall situated by the playing field. The garden we had was small and had been left wild for a year or so before we moved in, full of cutch grass it took some digging and clearing, but I got it tidy. The front just lawn and out the back my new Workshop, with just enought room to grow a few veg. I was still working on the canals, and at that time I had one of their Lanrovers, It was brand new and fitted with a winch. This run off the gear box. The drive shaft for the winch was joined with a link that had a shear pin in it. Shear pins are to stop any damage being done if the pulling load is exceeded. We had a pot full of spare shear pins, has this overload often happened. I only had two other lads working with me then. Both good workers and reliable. we worked well together. I got very dissatisfied with how things from the local office were run. One of the jobs that came up was on a huge beech tree, on the base of a steep slopeing field running down to the canal bank, on the opposite side to the tow path. First we needed the farmer that owned the field to give us permission to go onto his land, and next I needed to get hired a go tractor with a Boughton winch on, These winches could pull twenty ton provided you had a good ground anchor. But when I went to the local office to ask there if they would hire one, I got, ",what do you need that for, you got a winch on the lanrover." They did not have a clue. I was not going to put any one in danger by trying to pull a mountain over with an horse. I had to go over thier heads and striaght through to the main engineer in the Gloucester office, I was not popular. Paul Tullet, the Main engineer wa a very practicle man and a good knowledge of just how jobs should be done, and done safe. We got or tractor, John Powell a local contractor was great, he came any time he was needed. Several other jobs like that always caused a problem. Around the end of those three years I had started getting outside work, doing this in the light evenings and week ends. so much work came that I thought if I asked at the waterways if I could work a three day week, I would manage this. But no, came the answer, I could resign was what I got, so I did. That`s when I went back selfemployed. I worked my notice and contiued to do my other work in my own time, then when my notice with them was coming to an end, so too was my private work, I did not have a lot linned up. It did worry me. Down to just a day or twos work, I was wondering if I had bit my nose off to spite my face. Well that evening when I got home my Phone rang, no mobiles then, just a landline. It was the Glanusk Estate office, The office secretary asked if I was able to call into the office at 9,30am in the morning of the following day, Yes, This was a God send. I went to the office, there to meet Lady De lile, we went together down through the stable block to were She had her new house built, "Jubilee lodge." This is a nice house on the grounds of the Old Estate Mansion house, looking out across the Usk valley to the Black mountains beyond, such a beautifull setting. The lady wanted a fair bit of tree work doing around the garden, so asked me to Quote a price for the Job. I was left there to work this out while the Lady went back to the office. After about an hour I had a good Idea what it would cost, writting every thing down on a sheet of paper, I costed every tree individually. Back to the office to see The lady and give her the Quote. She looked at it, Went very quiet, then came, " David, my word this is expensive, " my reply, " Well my Lady, when I worked for you. You had all the expences to pay, Tractor fuel, tyres and ensurances, My wages plus holiday pay, you had it all, Now I have all that to find." The lady just looked up, Quiet right, point taken, when can you start." I beathed a sigh of relief, got the job. I did a load of work for the Estate from that time on, I even had all the dead Elms to remove, Branch wood went for pulp and firewood, The timber to the mills. There was a big demand back then for Pit timbers. Chocks and cover boards, used in the pits, cover boards used with the road rings to stop stone and debis falling on miners and the chockes with the dutty jacks at the coal face. This all came to an end with the miners strike of the seventies. Going back now to my woodturning, I was doing more and more, every evening in my shed, I`d start with a big block of wood, but end up with an egg cup. I had the wood to waste, but this was not wasting it, it was practice, learning my trade. I began to be able to turn items that were saleable. At this period in time, My friend James Mcpherson had started a crafts fair in Brecon, It was on every third Saturday of each month, there were lots of Craft fairs starting up around this time, Abergavenny, run by Brian, this was on the second Saturday of each month. I had been supplying James with timber boards for cabenet making. He saw my turning and said to come along one of these Saturdays and take a look at the fair. This I did, It was when I first met Don White, a brilliant woodturner. We clicked right away, got talking wood, and soon I had arranged for him to meet me at Llanarth Estate, I had bought some stunning Accasia logs, eight altogether, a fair volume of timber. We, Do and I agreed to meet up in a lay-by near Abergavenny, drive on along to Llanarth and the wood where these Accacia logs lay. I had a chainsaw mill then, an Alaskan mill, with a 090 sthil each end of a chain mill bar of 48 inches long. This was powerful, Noisey, heavy, dirty hard work. That day we put 5 gallons of fuel through those machines. At the end of that day my head was ringing. Don went home with a van full of boards, 4", 3," 2", and 1", all that beautiful full yellow with dark streaks in. I sold Don more timber on a few occasions and we became good friends. One time when I delivered some ash boards over to his workshop just out of Bristol, I satyed with him there for the day, He taught me so much, in that day I learned more than all the months I had been trying on my own, My work improved 100%. Don had stopped attending Brecon Crafts fair, so Jame asked if I would take over his table. It was a good chance for me to see, if my work would sell, and yes it did, the first Saturday I attended and the first iten I sold. £12.00, this was Great. I now had work that would cover all the wet days where I was unable to get out in the woods. Brecon was the start of my adventure into turning. More on that tomorrow.