Yesterday the 100th person learned to scythe with me. Counting the people I’ve taught at the Somerset and Cumbrian Scythe Festivals and while abroad it’s a lot more than that but now 100 people are mowing after coming on one of my scythe courses. This course was for a group at Grinton in the North Yorkshire Moors who want to look after their churchyard, I’ll write more about it once I’ve all the photos. Since they booked as a group I can’t say which of them is the 100th but I’m sure they’ll be happy to share the glory.
What I’m most proud of is that, in all those hours of training I’ve only ever had one student cut themselves. Safety is a priority for me on courses and I’ve developed a set of methods and systems for beginners to use so they are safe when working with and handling the scythe. I’m very precise in my teaching to ensure you learn those methods during the course and they become habit. The single accident happened when a student decided not to follow my method for sharpening the scythe and promptly nicked his finger. Fortunately it only needed a plaster and he quickly returned to working in the way I’d shown. It was a good lesson for me and the other students that day that my method is effective. I’m a bit disappointed to have had even that tiny mishap but students since then say it sounds much more plausible and impressive to have used only one plaster and they might not have believed if I’d said none!
