This weekend I've been on a bookbinding course. I enjoy writing my inner thoughts in a well crafted book so I think I would get even more pleasure if I had made the book myself.

<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/castle-poppiessep16.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-3864" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/castle-poppiessep16-200x150.jpg" alt="castle-poppies(sep16)" width="200" height="150" /></a>The course was held in the <a href="https://www.lincolncastle.com/heritageskillscentre" target="_blank">Lincoln Castle Heritage Skills Centre</a> which is directly opposite where the poppies have been laid out (today was the last day). It is a superb facility and the course introduced us to producing bound pamphlets using a variety of traditional Japanese patterned bindings. Some were quite straightforward whereas others were very complex.

The two days flew by but learning a new skill is exhausting and there were several occasions when my mind went blank after concentrating for long periods. I was unsurprised to find I was the only man on the course. The tempo of the course meant that we all achieved our first bound within a short period of time.

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I really enjoyed the course, the interaction with the rest of the group, and learning a new craft. It's a skill that Jane never tried (she experimented with most arts and crafts) and therefore I'm not competing with her or following in her footsteps - I did it for me which, I think, is an important step forward.

So what's next? Well in a perfect world I'd start churning out the handmade books for Christmas presents but don't hold your breath.