Introducing Myself

["David Calderwood" <DavidCalderwood@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Very many thanks for such a warm welcome Lesley and Ann.  Yes I know Nigel
Owen in Yelvertoft, an amazing person.  Indeed I have purchased almost all
of my stone from his yard.  Although it sounds a little disloyal I was
rather hoping to find a cheaper supplier of Portland stone straight from the
quarry in Portland (gulp, just realised that Nigel might be reading this)!
However when my wife and I were down there a couple of weeks ago no one in
the Tourist Information Office in the lighthouse could help.

Ann, you paint a beautiful picture of stone carving in the Colorado
Mountains!  At the end of last year I took early retirement and Rita (my
wife) chucked in her job and we bought a campervan.  It's a modern version
of the old VW campers which were so common back in the sixties.  In the
eight months that we have had it we have spent a month touring France and
Spain and a further month going around the South of England (hence our visit
to Portland).  The prospect of Colorado is glorious but a little too far I
fear!  How interesting that you teach blind people, I have a friend who was
born blind and he went through blind school and did very well for himself -
he isn't just an old hippie like me!

While we were touring France we discovered a village which held a stone
carving competition every August.  I made enquiries to see if perhaps I
could enter but it was restricted to "professional sculptors" and they also
insisted on seeing a model of the work prior to entry.  That didn't suit me
because I never know what is going to come out of the stone, I find that is
part of the joy - watching to see what happens.  Only once did I ever force
the issue and I lost!  The stone was kind enough to permit me to redeem the
situation and it has become one of my favourite pieces (I call it "gut
feeling") and spend many hours sitting and feeling it.  These days I work
with the stone and we both end up happy!

So thanks again to you both for such a brilliant start to the list.  I'm
happy to talk and talk and ...

David

"If work is such a good thing, why don't the rich grab it all for
themselves?" (Brendan Behan)