A dressed stick

This is one of the sticks my dad made and won prizes for. One of his winter hobbies was “stick dressing”. He had to find a good bit of hazel and straighten it. Then he’d choose the sheep’s horn to shape and carve. He carved collie dogs on the horn for his shepherd friends. He was commissioned to make one for Robert Hardy, the actor in the original TV series “All Creatures Great and Small”. He won cups at the shows in the Borders and Northumberland and judged as well. This is one he made for my mum with a Scottish thistle. I have 8 or 9 sticks. Mostly he sold them or made them for gifts. The local regional council asked him to make one each for Charles and Diana for their wedding but he declined.

Staying in today as it’s too cold and wet now. I had a phone consultation with GP and have an appointment for an X ray on my ankle next week. It’s expected that it’s “just” osteoarthritis and nothing wrong with the metalwork in my ankle.

Book group all enjoyed the Colson Whitehead book. I was the only wimp who couldn’t face the racism and child abuse based on a true story set in Florida though I could appreciate it was well-written and worthy.