Lottery stories

The Egyptians started it, and now the Warwickshire community is making sure the traditional art of woodturning doesn’t die out. At the Coombe Abbey Woodturners’ workshop in Coombe County Park, everyone from experienced woodworkers to those who have never seen a lathe before can have a go.

A National Lottery grant paid for new machinery, and now members of the public are invited to come along and try their hand at the ancient skill for free. Anyone who’s interested can have two free lessons and go away with a handmade bowl, vase or ornament. After that, they are invited to join the club.

“It’s addictive. People try it and we can see they’ve caught the bug,” says club secretary Graham Ball. The number of new members proves his point, quickly shooting up from 50 to 110. “Our aim is to bring the craft of woodturning to a wider section of the community,” explains Graham, and as members now vary from retired couples to teenagers, it seems they’re succeeding.

Members also sell their handywork to raise money for the group’s chosen charity, the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance, which last year received £1,600 from the Woodturners.

Graham thinks that the popularity of the craft is down to how quick it is to turn a lump of wood into a useful or beautiful object. “After two lessons, you leave with something you made from a piece of wood you found for free,” he says. “And it’s very satisfying to have something you made displayed in your home.”