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What inspired me to be a cabinet maker

0 Comments | Forester, The; Cinderford (UK), Jul 15, 2010

Fter 30 years in business, bespoke furniture maker David Snowdon’s handiwork can be seen in homes across the Dean.

But his customers might be surprised to learn he was inspired to learn his trade while living at a nearby alternative community.

For he and wife Michele originally came to the Dean to take part in a social experiment started by the father of the well-known journalist and commentator Polly Toynbee.

And he is still in touch with some of the people who arrived at the Barn House Community in Brockweir to try to escape the rat race.

Philip Toynbee’s bid to create a self-sufficient community free from the shackles of commercialism may have only lasted four years.

But it has shaped the life and beliefs of the Bream cabinet maker and his family who are celebrating 30 years in business this year.

“In the 70s there were a lot of people coming into the country from the cities to try to create alternative societies,” he said.

“People wanted to escape the rat race and find a simpler way of life. It wasn’t a hippy community because that implies everybody was just lying around doing nothing – we actually worked really hard.

“But although the idea’s nice, these things rarely last very long because people need their own space and it ended after four years.

“Even though we have our own little house now, I still live my life by the similar principles.”

Philip Toynbee allowed people to live in the Barn House rent free as long as they contributed to the communal good.

Families had private bedrooms but shared the living spaces, chores and cooking.

Two Jersey cows provided the milk, cheese and yoghurt and they kept chickens for eggs, grew their own vegetables, baked their own bread and tried to make whatever they needed.

Any money made from gardening or other work went into a communal pot and the group shared a single Morris 1000 pick-up truck.

Sunderland-born David was ahead of his time and started the first market stall in the area selling wholefood.

“We were a self-sufficient community growing our own organic food, but back then nobody had ever heard of it,” he said.

David, Michele and daughter Joanna moved in during the 70s. Daughter Tara was actually born at Barn House which was a pacifist community during the war.

The family were there for three years before moving to St Briavels and then Bream and daughters Martha and Noa were born.

After leaving he did an apprenticeship before setting up his own business in 1980 and makes everything from bespoke kitchens to high- quality individual items.

His uses his own kitchen as a showcase for his work, most of which can be seen in homes within ten miles of Bream,

David, 62, decided he wanted to become a cabinet maker while walking through Hudnalls Wood to milk the communal cows which were kept in a field at the Toynbee house.

“I was fascinated by the trees and the idea of making something from them,” he said. “I think it is the kind of lifestyle that sparked all sorts of different ideas and everybody went off in lots of directions.”

www.davidsnowdon.co.uk

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0 Comments | Sentinel, The; Stoke-on-Trent (UK), Jul 27, 2010

> www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk Your newspaper Main office: 01782 602525 Promotions: 01782 602574 Newcastle office: 01782 619830 Moorlands office: 01538 399420 Classified: 01782 605555 Display Advertising: 01782 602525 Photosales: 01782 602547 Newspaper Sales: 01782 602525 Leaflets: 01782 602505 Editor, Michael Sassi: 01782 602540; editor@thesentinel.co.uk Deputy editor, Richard Bowyer: 01782 602762; richard.bowyer@thesentinel.co.uk Night editor, Paul Dutton: 01782 602528; paul.dutton@thesentinel.co.uk Head of community contacts, Martin Tideswell: 01782 602541; martin.tideswell@thesentinel.co.uk News editor, Rob Andrews: 01782 602545; newsdesk@thesentinel.co.uk Sports editor, Keith Wales: 01782 602548; sports.editor@thesentinel.co.uk Features editor, Kerryanne Clancy: 01782 602525; featuresdesk@thesentinel.co.uk Chief photographer, Neil Hulse: 01782 602679; photographic@thesentinel.co.uk Head of production, Charlotte Littlejones: 01782 602603; charlotte.littlejones@thesentinel.co.uk Business editor, David Johnson: 01782 602525; david.johnson@thesentinel.co.uk City council reporter, Iain Robinson: 01782 602525; iain.robinson@thesentinel.co.uk Crime reporter, Aimi Redfern: 01782 602525; aimi.redfern@thesentinel.co.uk Education reporter, Kathie McInnes: 01782 602525; kathie.mcinnes@thesentinel.co.uk Health reporter, Dave Blackhurst: 01782 602525; dave.blackhurst@thesentinel.co.uk

Plan B works a treat for trainer Goldie

0 Comments | Herald, The; Glasgow (UK), Jul 26, 2010 | by ian paul

JIM GOLDIE’S persistence finally paid off at the weekend when his Hawkeyethenoo earned the penalty that can get him into the Stewards Cup at Goodwood on Saturday.

Plan A was to gain entry by winning the Scottish Stewards Cup at Hamilton last week but that failed after the horse played up before the start and suffered a knock in the stalls before finishing unplaced.

Up came Goldie with Plan B: win the Sky Bet Dash at York and qualify for Goodwood that way. Simple. Indeed, it was, Hawkeyethenoo, ridden superbly by Kieren Fallon, swooped on the line to win the big York sprint and thus pave the way for a major bid to win the Goodwood race.

The Scottish horse is now 6-1 favourite with the race sponsors, Blue Square, and, especially if Fallon is available, the Goldie game- plan could end in another triumph.

The man himself, however, is already thinking beyond that. “The main aim is the Ayr Gold Cup and we’ll see how he comes out of this race. He has had to two quick races but I’m sure we’d be keen to run him at Goodwood.”

Hawkeyethenoo’s show was thrilling but the performance of the weekend was the stunning display by Harbinger in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot
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