Wood and water

I’m really pleased with my new water feature. Something I have had in mind for a long time but never quite seen the right thing.

What I didn’t expect was the enormous delivery lorry, or the heavy wooden pallet it came on.

‘Can’t you take it back?’ I ask.

‘Sorry love we have to leave it with you too – Company policy’

So, it’s been leaning against a wall in the courtyard, rather spoiling the aesthetic, but with the energy sapping heat of the last week I simply couldn’t muster the effort to deal with it.

Today with more average temperatures and a lively breeze I decide to tackle the issue, thinking it will be good fuel for the wood burner next winter.

I’ve kept a chest of Ken’s hand tools and set to work with his trusty hammer and saw. It’s cheap wood but I’m quite impressed with myself and soon have the thing cut in half. I don’t wreck it completely, I realise it might be a project for the grandkids in the summer holidays, but it’s small enough now that I can now store it out of sight.

Then one of those overwhelming feelings suddenly hits me; handling the tools that Ken’s hands have held.

As James said in his eulogy his Dad was a craftsman, sawing wood like a knife through butter, hammering in a nail with two blows.

I always loved watching, and was in awe of his skill and perfectionism.

Sadly Ken never got to appreciate his Grandchildren growing up, or feel proud of their achievement. It’s been quite the week; first James’s singing, then both the grandkids winning trophies one for tap dancing, the other for football.

Ken would have relished his family’s successes.

I’m also sure he would have loved passing on his own skills to them. A patient teacher for whom time would never have been a problem. It makes me so sad that this opportunity has been denied.

But I will try. I may only be amateur but I’m sure that they will enjoy hammering in nails and making something out of that pallet. I want them to understand just how clever their Grandpa was before he became poorly, and hopefully holding his tools may give them a bit of a connection to their Grandpa.

Certainly those tools may be well used and probably not as sharp as Ken would have had them, but they hold his DNA and are very precious reminders of what he could achieve.

I am doing my best to honour the past but move forward, the next generations are our future.