Brisbane Wood Show Sunday Wrap

It was really a flying visit – fly up, taxi to show, eat, sleep, back to show, taxi to airport and home!  I’m certainly not going to complain getting the opportunity to get so another wood show however – one a year isn’t enough (for me!). Sunday, like Saturday flew past.  It seemed a bit quieter, but still had plenty of visitors, conversations etc even so.

The place I stayed out turned out to be a complete dive.  That’s the problem with booking accommodation online – if you don’t know the destination, you have to rely on what you see on the web, and there was a marked contrast between what you could see in the photos, and reality.  Of course you cannot tell from photos whether power points actually work, whether there is an electrical short in the desk lamp, if there is a fridge right beside the bed that doesn’t stop running all night (and cannot be switched off), or even if the kitchenette sink tap has water in it.  Needless to say, I didn’t hang around the following morning, and arrived at the show at 7:30am!  Oh well, it was an experience.

Back to the show, and I had plenty of time before the doors opened to catch up with lots of the different stands.  Just walking past the building, and you could smell the aroma of wood coming out the louvers. Going back to my little shed is going to seem a bit strange after having so much ‘shed’ full of woodworking to wander around.  I’ve no idea where Stu’s Shed is going to lead in the long run, but it is a fascinating journey whatever the destination, both traversing over traditional paths to take one still very new and underpopulated (blogging & podcasting), while still observing the very large footprints in the paths of the great woodworking evangelists.

Picked up a reasonable amount of the Solomon Ebony (although I had to be conscious of my weight limit for the plane home).  In fact, the ebony caused a bit of an issue at the airport – when I checked my bag in, the counter staff were aware that I had some of the ebony in my carry on bag.  When I got to the security section however, they were very dubious why I would have pieces of timber in my bag (2″ square, 1′ long, waxed ends), and kept asking what it was for.  How many times can you say it is for woodworking projects before it sinks into security that it is for woodworking?  It probably should have been in the checked in bag, but when you don’t have an ulterior motive, you don’t always see the implied threat from something you see as an innocuous object.  It was all approved in the end thankfully.

Another fun show under the belt, and getting to attend one out of the state was a definite bonus!  Not sure if I will have an opportunity to attend Sydney, but if the offer arises I’ll be jumping at it!