We were again invited to attend and take part in this year’s Mary Steven’s Hospice Coffee Morning, the event has a number of tables selling various items of goods for Christmas and a stall selling jigsaw puzzles at a £1 a piece. Along with these they had a couple of tables with tombola gifts, for the correct numbers drawn, The many visitors kept the tea and coffee people busy during the opening in addition they also had a good number of cakes on offer.

We were able to set up three tables, a section for the charity table sales, a section for members selling their own turned items, and a small section for Kim Brown (Ian’s Wife) in attendance with Kim’s Kraft’s selling her hand made cards and gift packages. There was a good turn out from the club with nine members turning up and helping out for the day, we were very pleased to have this additional help.

The charity table had a steady flow of people, although the event had fewer people turn up due to a couple of other events going on in Stourbridge. We had many returning customers whole purchase items from us in previous events. The charity table raised around the £140.00 with the member’s donated items, this also included donations from the members that were selling their own turnings.

Thanks from the club, go out to Paul Whiley for making the very large log snowman, which stands around 3 feet high. It was raffled off on the day and this made £48.00 for Mary Stevens.

The winner was picked out of the hat by a member of Mary Stevens Hospice staff, the winner was Steve from Halesowen.

It was a good day out with members chatting to the public and explaining about various items and different woods.

The club and its members are looking forward to the next event.

This club was asked by Mary Steven’s Hospice, who are our preferred charity, to give a demonstration of our woodturning skills to the gentlemen day unit service users of the hospice, some more of an interest as everything is normally more aimed towards women. This could turn into a regular event for the club. We have already been asked to cover another demo event in December, which more of the women will be going to. For this event we had four members who volunteered for the event, these were Steve, Ian, Brian and Barrie.
Within the event room, we had a display table that showed some of the member’s work as to what could be done with wood. Prior to starting we had nine patients who were driven in by ambulance to Mary Stevens in addition to a number of the nursing staff.
Ian started the event with an explanation of what woodturning was about and how it all started with bodgers. Once again we had Steve who started by explaining the various items of the lathe and what they are used for and also how to use them. On the lathe he demonstrated turning a snowman and after explaining about the health and safety involved for keeping yourself safe, and giving a talk about the process of turning has he worked through the process. Steve also explained how the trees are prepared and cut so that we can have them to turn. Various pieces of wood blanks were shown and the type of tools that we use.
After Steve finished his snowman, Ian took over on the lathe and showed how to make a Christmas tree with carved areas along the length of the tree. Both Steve and Ian gave a running commentary on what they were doing as they progressed through the projects.
Question were asked during the event by patients and staff a like, who also showed an interest. After this first session was completed, we stopped for a bite to eat put on by Mary Stevens.
Whilst we were having a break the other area was set up by the staff so that the painting side of the event was able to start, when this got underway we had a limited number of people taking part in the painting of the items, and also an additional lady asked if she could take part whilst she was waiting for the ambulance.
At the end of the day, everyone who turned up to view the demonstration took either a snowman or Christmas tree home with them
Thankfully, we had a number of donated items from the club members for the event.
We were thanked by Ruth and the nursing staff for the day’s event, and they look forward to the next one. All four of us would like to thank them for looking after us all day with the food and drinks to keep us going.

Report by Barrie Fisher & edited by Steve Hackett

The club took up the option of taking a trip out to the Botanical Gardens who we are hoping to develop a relationship with, so that we can acquire any cut down trees and be able to turn some items in return for them to sell.

We were there on Sunday 10th November 2024, to represent the club at the Tremendous Trees Event, to display the works and also sell items from our charity table and other pieces members had for sale.  The event ran from 11.00 till 15.00, but we needed to be there by 9.30 to unload and get all areas of the demonstration and selling areas set up and ready for the public to arrive.

The area that we had been given for use during the day was undercover and out of the elements.  It was also a large area, this area was about 30 feet square.

They also made sure that we had enough tables and chairs for us to use, of which we ended up using eight tables for the three areas that we had taken with us.

Three tables were used for the turned items that were for the gallery and were looked after by Mike and Georgie, Steve’s wife, whilst on the table they were having a good many questions about how the various shapes were produced and the techniques that were needed to produce them.  This was ongoing throughout the day, and it was good to know that the public wanted additional information.

We also had three tables for all the charity items that were donated by club members, who we would like to thank again for their effort in producing them.  On the remaining two tables, we had members selling their own items to the public.

Once again, we had Steve taking his lathe to the event along with the required tools and required wood blanks for the day.  Steve was set up in the corner of the room with plenty of room for the public and kids to see what was being done and also to ask questions during the day.  Steve was producing a number of spinning tops and Christmas trees throughout the day.

The club’s thanks go out to all members who took part in the event.

When the gardens opened we had a steady footfall throughout the day looking, buying and asking questions of everyone.

Having spoken with the people of the botanical gardens, they are hoping that this can turn into an ongoing event for both of us.  We must also take this opportunity to thank the garden staff for the hospitality that we had from them during the day and also keeping us supplied with tea and coffee along with the biscuits  and the additional hot water during the day.

The feedback that we have received was that it went down well with the public, and they enjoyed the additional aspect of having a wood turning club within the confines of the gardens as it gave an additional aspect for the visitors.

Report by Barrie Fisher & edited by Steve Hackett

We had a good day at the Sedgley Flower and Gardening Show on Saturday 17th of August.

We were a bit concerned when the day started quite slowly, but once the flower judging in the main hall was over, there was a good flow of visitors through the community centre.

There was a lot of interest in our work that was for sale on the Charity tables and on the club member’s personnel sales table containing work from Steve, Rob and Andy.

Ian spent the day selling tickets for this year’s club charity raffle, which will be drawn at the Mary Stevens Summer Fayre at the end of August 2024.

Both areas sold many items and we made £203.40 for the Mary Stevens Hospice.

The charity table was manned by Andy & Greg throughout the day, with help from Roger Sherwood.

Many thanks to those members who came along to set up, man the stands and clear up afterwards – it all makes the day pass well and makes it a jolly time for all.

Report by Steve Hackett

Well, it’s that time of year again when we are taking part in Mary Stevens Charity Coffee Morning and Jigsaw Festival, there were tables with various Christmas-themed items and a few tombola tables all for the benefit of Mary Stevens Hospice. Again it was nice to be invited along for this annual event and take part in the fundraising for the benefit of the hospice and the people who rely on it.
The stalls attending the event were showing a varied amount of items and were displayed to the best and people were able to get round the hall easily. In addition to this, a hot drink and cake stand was being used to its fullest by everyone who attended.

The weather for the day was very cold with snow being advised at some point, thankfully we had a stand inside the hall and not outside unlike the jigsaw gazebos. We had to be at the event by 9:00 to set everything up and be ready to start at 10:00 and was open during the hours of 10:00 and 14:00. The event attracted a steady footfall throughout the opening hours, although the weather could have caused a few not to show up.

We had a few of the normal crew to set up the event which included Ian, Rob, Steve and Brian, along with this we had a few members arrive during the day and help and support the event, they were, Arthur Roger S, Roger C, Paul & Barrie
A lot of turnings were as per normal donated by the club members for the charity table and those members who were selling their own pieces, gave a donation at the end of the day, out of their profits.

The club had a three-foot wood block snowman donated for a raffle, Tickets were sold at our last club meeting (Nov) and the Coffee Morning and Jigsaw Festival throughout the day, this was donated by Paul Wiley and it was appreciated by the committee for his generosity with all proceeds going to the hospice.

The ticket for the raffle was drawn at the end of the day by James from Mary Stevens Hospice. The winner was our own Elwyn Jones. The snowman raffle raised £79 for the hospice, Throughout the year the cub has raised a total of £1644.75 for the hospice over the last year, which has been handed over to the hospice.

We can now all look forward to the club’s Christmas Bash on our normal club night at Dudley College as usual.

Report by Barrie Fisher, edited by Steve Hackett

Once again, we attended this very fun and enjoyable event that was held at the Mary Stevens Hospice grounds in Stourbridge. This is the second of three events we will be attending for Mary Stevens Hospice this year. The day started with us erecting the gazebos and setting up the tables within our allotted area. Unfortunately, we had no mains electrical supply, as we have had in previous years. But we were still able to use the lathe using a generator kindly loaned to us by Ian. We set up our usual charity table, with the member’s donated items in prime position and other items for sale by members who were taking part in the event with the club.

We were also joined by Ian’s wife Kim and Steve’s wife Georgina, who were selling their own homemade crafts.

The festival itself is a fundraiser to raise funds for patient care within the hospice. The theme for this year’s event was ‘Around the World, with the hospice grounds being transformed into an immersive experience for all visitors.

The event started with a parade, which featured motorcycles, classic cars, movie-themed cars, and a Cinderella pantomime float. The parade route was around Swinford Road, Love Lane, and Oakleigh Road to make a grand entrance into the hospice grounds at 11 a.m. to officially open the event.

Once open, visitors were invited to travel around the various stalls and take part in the tasty cuisine along with the live stage entertainment. There was a Nerf gun area, Stalls and food from around the world, a Jigsaw festival, a Toybarn Hoedown party, a BBQ, cakes, refreshments, and an Ice cream parlour. Also included were a football shooter game, a children’s entertainment area and the very popular Dog Show

We also set up the prize raffle for the skittle set, Which we turned as a group at our Saturday all-day workshop event back in April. It was front and centre on the stand, we have been selling the tickets during our last two events. The tickets were on sale throughout the day, and the raffle was drawn towards the end of the event by a Hospice staff member.

The winning number drawn was 15, it was won by Leanne from Wednesfield, Wolverhampton. Leanne was contacted by Greg to let her know the good news. The Skittles will be kindly delivered to Leanne by our club member, Roger Sherwood Howles.

Our stall was very busy throughout the day, with both the charity and member’s sale tables having many purchases. Steve kept the visitors and their children entertained with a live turning demonstration of spinning tops, which were given to the children for free. he turned over thirty tops during the event.

We were also visited on the stall by the Mayor of Dudley, Mayor Andrea Goddard. Who was very taken with Robert’s wand’s. Meanwhile, Arthur was entertaining her husband with his trick snapper game.

Overall, the Skittles raffle raised a total of £189. Along with money raised throughout this year:- The Charity table from the Summer fayre £447; The Sedgley flower show £97.00; plus some wood sales of £39.00. So we will be handing over to Mary Steven Hospice the total amount of £772.

The committee would like to thank all the members who came along to help out during the day. It does help us take some of the load off organizing and attending these event visits.

Report by Barrie Fisher, edited by Steve Hackett

This is the second year that we have been invited to take part in the Sedgley & District Community Association Garden Club, 28th Annual Flower & Vegetable Show.

Held at the Sedgley Community Hall. Thanks go to club member Richard for arranging for the club to attend again this year.

This event is held inside, so there is no need for the gazebos this time, and there is also no need to think about the weather. The door opened at 9 o’clock for us to get in and set up the area allocated to the turners. The room display was set up with the help of Steve, Rob, Roger C, Roger S, Arthur, Ian, Mike, and Barrie. We were the only ones within this room that had tables situated all around the room, in which we were able to put on a good selling display that covered five tables and included various turned items that were different for each seller.

In addition, there was the usual table space for the donations from club members that were made to raise money for Mary Stevens Hospice. Also, thanks go to Ian and Mike, who looked after this throughout the event.

The skittle set was set up on a separate table after Roger had to slip back home and pick them up; the raffle ticket sales went down well throughout the day, with the club being able to approach the £100.00 mark in ticket sales prior to the last selling day at Mary Stevens, Summer Fayre on the 2nd of September, where it will be drawn for the winner.

There was a craft competition in one of the other rooms, in which Steve, Rob, and Ian entered an item each. All of the judging of the events was done prior to the event opening; this craft event had a good many items entered. Congratulations must go to Ian for having his competition piece come in first with his rendering of Peaky Blinders Ducks.

In the main hall, where the flower competition was taking place, there were also plants and vegetables. These were judged during the morning and all awards were given prior to the general public being allowed in.

The event opened at 12:30 for the general public to have a good look around, to start taking part in the event, and to start buying items.

Arthur was in good flow again with selling his trick toys, which he sold out of all he had turned for the event. Thanks for that, Arthur.

After the opening of the flower show, we had a steady flow of people coming through, both looking and buying. We also had additional members turn up for the event to show their support.
The flower show put on a very good raffle, with over twenty good prizes on offer for those taking part.
Outside under two gazebos, the event put on a folk-type band with an area for people to sit and listen, The band put on three good sets and kept everyone interested.
We also had a couple of people who showed interest in the possibility of joining the club, so we will see if they turn up.
Overall, the event went very well and was enjoyable to take part in.

Report by Barrie Fisher, edited by Steve Hackett

The event started at 10.00 and went on till 14.30, although we had to be on-site earlier to set up the tables in the center.

The turned items that had been given to the club as donations from members took up the charity table, it was very full of different types of projects.  Alongside this, we had two further tables which took up the work of six other member turners, in addition to this we had Ian’s wife Kim with her craft cards going under the name of ‘Kimskraft`s’ displaying and selling cards for various occasions. 

We had a steady footfall of people during the day coming and going, but not that many buying even on the charity table, signs of the economic climate at present I think.

Thanks go to all members who turned up on the day to add support and encouragement to the crew who were there for the duration of the event.  Thanks also go to the members who helped set up the equipment and all those that took it down.

At the end of the day with the charity table sales and donations from members present we were able to hand £105 to James from Mary Stevens Hospice.

Report by Barrie Fisher, edited by Steve Hackett

Mary Stevens Hospice is the Black Country Wood Turners nominated charity that we raise money for throughout the year not the least at the two Mary Stevens main events per year being the Christmas & Summer fairs.

Prior to the event opening to the public, we set out four main tables to take the items for sale:

• One charity table 
• Two tables for the club members to sell their items.
• One table for Kim’s Kraft (Ian’s wife) selling Christmas cards, boxes and decorative bags along with Ian’s turnings.

Opening times for the event were from 10.00 until 14.00.

The club members gave donations from part of their takings to go towards the charity pot.

In total, we had ten members turn up for the event to set everything up ready for the opening, With additional members joining us throughout the day to take in the event and have a chat, along with our newest member Bill.

The charity table is made up of club members turned items that they have donated to the cause of the charity, this table is used as a means of getting the general public to donate the amount that they think is appropriate for the item, nearly all the time with them giving more.

During the event, we had a steady stream of visitors into the event and from the look at some of the other charity tables being almost empty, it was a good successful event for them and gives them some much-needed funds.

At the close of the event, we were in a position to hand over a further £219.70 to be added to their overall funds.