Mike Abbott marked his leaving from Brookhouse Woods with a party in September. Chairmaker Ben Willis, who wrote for the first issues of Living Woods, gave me a lift to the Herefordshire woodland, where Mike’s old apprentices and friends were meeting to help him transport some of the shaving horses and benches to his nearby home. I found the campfire evening quite hard, with so many people asking how I am, and had to escape to my tent quite early. In the morning I confessed how difficult editing is proving to be, and Mike, who helped so much with the title’s launch, was generous in suggesting it may be time for change. His own transformation was aided by Crunchie’s horse and cart, followed by a crowd including Will (below, left), who is to take over Mike’s woodland workshop.

It was great to meet so many of Mike’s assistants, and to…