FOR our October meeting we had an entertaining talk from Dr Peter Turnock, a wood turner.

Our president opened with apologies. The minutes were agreed and members were reminded of outings, including our trip to the Christmas fair at Blenheim Palace and our Christmas lunch at the Three Ways Hotel, Mickleton. In the spring there will be a visit to Bletchley Park.

Our speaker, Peter Turnock, said he felt privileged to work with wood. His passion started with making toys for his children and eventually this led to buying a lathe in retirement and teaching himself wood turning.

His talk showed how the tree’s habitat and parts could be used in many ways. These included such diverse things as rope and walking sticks to food for animals, herbs & spices such as bay and cinnamon, medicines and drugs extracted from the yew tree and fruits nuts and seeds. We were shown many different uses for wood including furniture, transport, tools, musical instruments and containers.

He pointed out that we start and end life with wood, from the cradle to the coffin, and that the greatest form of recycling is wood.

For our next meeting on Monday, November 18, our speaker will be Lorraine Middleburgh, a physio at the 2012 Olympics.