Carpentry Projects
Heroes at Highclere
Heroes at Highclere https://www.treecarving.co.uk/wp-content/themes/movedo/images/empty/thumbnail.jpg 150 150 Simon O'Rourke Simon O'Rourke https://www.treecarving.co.uk/wp-content/themes/movedo/images/empty/thumbnail.jpg September 29, 2018 February 19, 2019
We're sure you can't have missed that this week was the anniversary of 9/11. Certainly my social media feeds were full of people paying tribute to all the servicemen and law enforcement (human and canine!) who had willingly sacrificed their wellbeing, and even lives, to try and save others.
Whilst it is always sad to remember, it is also a beautiful thing to pay respect and honour, and here at Simon O'Rourke Tree Carving, we were honoured to pay tribute ourselves last weekend to another group of servicemen.
For readers outside the UK who may not have had the same media exposure, September 1918 marked the beginning of the end of the First World War, culminating in the Armistice two months later. In this centenary year, we have already had many events, appeals, fly bys and exhibitions happening all around the country to honour the men and women who have selflessly served our nation, and this event we were just at was just one fantastic example.
The Earl and Countess of Carnarvon of Highclere Castle (many of you will recognise it as 'Downton Abbey'), chose to open their grounds for "Heroes at Highclere": a charity weekend, honouring those who have served and fundraising for charities related to our armed forces. Part of this weekend was the unveiling of an airman sculpture Simon was commissioned to create for this event, and we were invited to be there for the event.
It was an honour to be there in person at Highclere during the event, and as well as getting to unveil the sculpture, we were also able to take time to enjoy the exhibitions, planes, food, good weather and wonderful atmosphere as well as meet and talk with the families of those brave soldiers who lost their lives when their planes came down on and around the Highclere estate during World War 2. What a privilege too, to have been the one commissioned to create this piece honouring so many brave men and women who served during the world wars and in those 100 years that have followed – even more so, that it is housed in such a beautiful and iconic setting as the Highclere Estate!!
As well as the airman sculpture, Daniel, our carpenter and workshop manager, did a beautiful job of creating 3 benches based on the tail plane of a P38 aircraft; one of the types of aircraft that crash landed on the Highclere estate during World War two.
He thoughtfully designed the benches in a way that he could incorporate some pieces of shrapnel from the plane by using clear acrylic tubing for the legs, but sadly there was not any suitable shrapnel from this plane available at the time and so he used small pieces of shrapnel from the B17 aircraft that had also crashed there instead.
This actually ended up being the perfect combination as not only did it include more of the planes that had crashed on the estate in the design, but, on the day of the remembrance service and sculpture unveiling we actually met the family of the pilot of the B17 who had sadly died in the crash. We were so humbled and honoured to meet them and they absolutely loved the benches.
As well as the joy of seeing the completed pieces in their new home, and the fun of being able to take part in the heroes weekend, participating in this way also leaves us humbled and thankful for the men, women and animals in our armed forces and law enforcement. We hope that others who visit the castle and see our Airman and benches, will not only enjoy the artistry, but also take a moment to pause and reflect on their significance…
For those who would like to see the airman in situ, he will be on the lawns overlooking 'Heaven's Gate' at the back of Highclere Castle for the foreseeable future. (Admission charges apply, please see the Highclere website for details)
November gets going with a bang!!!
November gets going with a bang!!! https://www.treecarving.co.uk/wp-content/themes/movedo/images/empty/thumbnail.jpg 150 150 Simon O'Rourke Simon O'Rourke https://www.treecarving.co.uk/wp-content/themes/movedo/images/empty/thumbnail.jpg November 15, 2017 February 19, 2019
Well, what a month so far and we are only 2 weeks in!
The month started with Simon and Dan finishing off the Oak Plinth that Dan made and Simon engraved, for the Senydd in Cardiff….
….Now that it's actually there and installed and it's had it's big reveal we can actually talk about it publicly! 🙂
Basically, we were asked as a company to create a wooden plinth for a beautiful chair that was generously being donated by some students in Flanders, Belguim, as a gift to the Senydd, to celebrate the life of, Hedd Wyn, a Welsh-language poet who was killed on the first day of the Battle of Passchendaele during World War I. He was posthumously awarded the bard's chair at the 1917 National Eisteddfod, and it was felt fitting to make a chair from Oak found at the site where he fell 100 years ago.
The plinth was being made made from some Oak sleepers, found in the grounds of Hedd Wyn's historical family home in Trawsfynydd, North West Wales, and we were honoured to be approached by the National Trust to make the plinth for the chair to sit on at the Senydd.
Needless to say all went well and Dan and Simon did a wonderful job.
Here is a picture of Dan enjoying the unveiling of the chair and plinth at the Senydd last week.
The other very exciting thing for November so far has been the wonderful Story trail that Simon has written and created for a community group in Ellesmere Port.
The story for the trail was written by Simon a couple of months ago, and once approved by the group, made into a stunning wooden trail that you can follow around the woodland.
The grand unveiling for the trail is on Saturday 25th November in the afternoon and people are very welcome to attend and to even lend a hand with tree planting if they so wish!
Please contact Andy, the group co-ordinator on the Facebook page below for more details.
https://www.facebook.com/meadow.park.942
That's all for now, but details of where you can see Simon carving over the next few weeks up until Christmas are available here:
https://www.treecarving.co.uk/public-carving-dates-november-and-december-2017/
Have a fab few weeks everybody and we'll be back soon with some Ho Ho Ho! 🙂
ONLY 40 SLEEPS TO GO!!! So get those Christmas orders in quick! 🙂
Simon, Liz, Dan and team at Simon O'Rourke Ltd.