Timber fascinates me

because it is such simple and yet such complex stuff. I know, that's a contradiction. I won't try and explain. I just like timber and things made from timber. It's natural. It feels different. Artificial substitutes will never ever be the same.

I suppose I know a little bit about it. The Senior Cat was a woodworker. Like everything else he set about doing he set about learning more than just the basics of the craft. He learned about timber. He has taught others about timber too - including yours truly. I won't say I know much but I do know a piece made of Huon Pine when I see it.  I know what a "dovetail" joint is - and why you no longer need to worry too much about making them. I know what a "biscuit" is instead - in relation to woodwork. 

But my knowledge of woodworking is really miniscule compared with the Senior Cat or a professional woodman such as H...  Both of them have helped me understand timber in a way that I appreciate. It was H... who told me about a television program he had been alerted to.

"You might find it interesting Cat... not really my sort of thing but I am told there are some characters in it."

Characters? I am not a watcher of television in the normal way. I do try to watch the early evening news service but I am usually doing something else at the same time.  Still, this was on immediately after that so I left the television set on.

The program is similar to that of many others. There are a group of people competing against each other and each week someone gets eliminated. Each week they have to make something they have designed and each week they also have to pass a skills challenge. There has been a fair mix of male and female contenders. One of the definite "characters" is someone who dresses as a female and is referred to as such but.... she is definitely fun and talented. Another is someone who "works instinctively" and obviously loves timber with a passion. There is a rather quiet girl who displays some unexpected skills - even when challenged by something she has never tried before. 

So far they have had to design and make a bed, a doll's house, a chair, and carve an animal. All those things present unique challenges.

Nobody in the group is a professional woodworker so this makes it all the more interesting. I know enough about the processes involved to be able to observe the person as well as the process. How do they approach something they have never tried before? They may not be confident but are they determined? Have they got the ability to "think outside the square" - something more than just imagination?

But the other interesting thing has been to watch them support as well as compete with each other. There are "support" people there but last night I observed one competitor helping another despite the time constraints on all of them. In most competitive settings that is unusual. They all seem genuinely disappointed for the person eliminated each week - even when their own relief at not being that person is obvious. 

 I may watch the rest of the series if I get a chance but even without that H... was right. There are characters there...which may just appear in something else.