It’s only a couple of weeks now until the 9th West Country Scythe Fair in Somerset. Prior to the festival as usual there will be a series of special training courses for people who either want to teach mowing, lead groups or simply get tuition and advice from four of the top scythe people in the country.
The course runs from Thursday 6 to Saturday 8 June at the West Country Scythe Fair, near Langport Somerset,
Cost of course, including lunch and entry to the Scythe Fair on Sunday: individuals £165; organizations £195.
Contact Simon at chapter7@tlio.org.uk ; 01297 561359
Advanced Course at the West Country Scythe Fair 6-8 June including teaching scythe use, and supervising teams of mowers
This three day course provides the most thorough and advanced tuition available in the UK today. The course is designed for people who want to to attain a high degree of proficiency, who want to teach other people or who supervise teams of volunteers.
The four tutors are:
- Christiane Lechner who teaches scythe use and yoga in Austria
- Phil Batten who teaches in Wales, the only person to score 10 out of 10 for quality in the West Country competition.
- Steve Tomlin who teaches scythe use in Cumbria and runs the Sytherspace website http://scytherspace.wordpress.com/
- Simon Fairlie organiser of the Scythe Festival and Scythe Shop
On 6 and 7 June we run you through all aspects of scythe use and maintenance in detail, with particular emphasis on how to identify faults and how to explain techniques to other people. We also cover matters such as health and safety, insurance, and organizing teams of mowers, scythe courses etc.
On 8 June in the morning you will be teaching beginners to mow, under the supervison of one of the tutors.
In the afternoon there are a number of workshops, including peening, grassland management, haymaking, mowing wheat and other grains, English scythes etc.
On 9 June is the Scythe Fair and competition, in which you should have a fair chance of reaching the finals.
People who come on this course are expected to have done a one-day beginner’s course, or else have gained some previous experience in using a scythe. Read about last years scythe teachers course
