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Author Archives: stevetomlin
"Thus it was when Grandfather harvested"
Before Steve returns with news of adventures in the Czech Republic, here’s some from Denmark. Knowing our interest in scything, our hosts in northern Denmark pointed out an old photograph (below) in the local paper promoting a haymaking day using old methods, tools and machinery. Undeterred … Continue reading
Dawn mowing at Brantwood
Sally Beamish, Estate Manager at Brantwood, the former home of John Ruskin and perhaps the most idyllic house in the Lake District, invited the north-west scything group to a dawn mow of a lakeside haymeadow which is at present cut … Continue reading
Posted in scythe festivals & events, Scytherspace
Tagged brantwood, cumbria, meadow, scythe
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Sharpometer
One of the keys to efficient, easy mowing is a sharp blade acheived through peening and sharpening with whetstones. But how sharp is sharp? This year for the Somerset Scythe Festival there was talk of having a peening competition which, … Continue reading
Posted in peening & sharpening, scythe festivals & events, Scytherspace
Tagged peening, scythe, sharpening
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Mowing in the Czech Republic
I’m heading off this week on holiday – to go mowing! Christiane and I are driving to Valašské Klobouky in South Moravia, close to the Slovakian border to take part in a volunteer project run by Kosenka, mowing and making … Continue reading
Posted in scythe festivals & events, Scytherspace
Tagged czech republic, hay, hay making, kosenka
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Russian Snaths
The production company for ‘Anna Karenina’ have decided they want 30 extras for the mowing scene with Levin. At the beginning of the week I was commissioned to make the straight Russian-style snaths for everyone. Since time is short and … Continue reading
Cumbria Scythe Weekend – Team Mowing
The Sunday of our Cumbria Scythe Weekend was a group mowing day for members of the ‘North West Mowing Group’. This is mostly folk who met when I was teaching at the Scythe Festival in Elterwater last July. We meet … Continue reading
Posted in scythe festivals & events, Scytherspace
Tagged cumbria, hay making, mowing, north west, scythe festival, team, yellow rattle
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Cumbria Scythe Weekend
What a weekend! Under glorious blue skies I spent two fantastic days of mowing at Sprint Mill near Kendal. On Saturday I ran the second of my ‘Mowing with an Austrian Scythe’ courses for a group of 6 students. This … Continue reading
Posted in scythe courses, Scytherspace
Tagged beginners, hay making, improvers, learn to mow, learn to scythe, mowing course, refresher, scythe
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Rust cleaning
It’s summertime and the living is a bit hectic but exciting with all the current scythe goings-on so not much time for making. Charlie and I are getting close to finishing the cleft-oak signposts and, when I get a spare … Continue reading
Extra Extra!
In amongst all the other goings-on at this year’s Somerset Scythe Festival was a woman searching out extras for a scene in the new Anna Karenina film starring Jude Law and Keira Knightley. By all accounts there’s a scene featuring … Continue reading
Posted in scythe festivals & events, Scytherspace
Tagged anna karenina, film, movie, scythe
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Haystack Race
Almost forgot, the ‘Haystack Race’ was won by Simon Fairlie and Mike Ingram of ‘Team Pitchfork’. What the winning time was, or how a winner was even chosen is beyond me.
Posted in scythe festivals & events, Scytherspace
Tagged haystack, race, scythe, scythe festival, somer
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