heritage

To most people 'heritage' means The National Trust, castles, museums, and perhaps morris dancing or other local tradition. However the newly formed Heritage Crafts Association highlights the unique contribution of makers and craftworkers to our cultural legacy. Do follow the link on the right to register as a supporter (it's absolutely free). Makers of traditional products as diverse as trugs, besoms, hurdles, baskets and scissors need our support. Most of the items these talented craftworkers produce are sustainable in the best sense; using local timber and materials they manufacture on a small, personal scale, and the things they make have an inherent beauty and practicality that can last for generations rather than being discarded and replaced at a whim.

I use the bowl and spoon above every day at breakfastime. The bowl is wonderful to hold, cradled in the hand with the thumb supporting it securely. It's a replica of an Elizabethan porringer that was found at a dig near the Globe in Southwark, and the spoon is inspired by German medieval illustrations. Both items were made by Robin and Nicola Wood of Edale, just a few miles away from where we live. These are truly sustainable pieces; made by a 'Robin-power' pole-lathe from local wood they should last far longer than comparable ceramic bowls.

Both Mike and I have our own individual bowls and spoons - you tend to become very propietorial! They are just as practical, if not more so, than ceramic and metal versions. They wash easily in hot soapy water, and the wooden bowl is naturally insulating when you eat hot meals. They don't tend to break if you drop them either. I think I may follow an ancient tradition and ask to be buried with my bowl and spoon.

It seems a shame that some of our makers, such a Sheffield scissors company, are going through hard times trying to compete with cheap imports. If only more of us would take a little longer to think about purchases and choose to buy products made in the UK that use local skills rather than rush off to B&Q or department stores to buy the cheap, inferior versions from abroad.

We need to broaden our concept of heritage to include traditional skills or we will lose them.