the News from Wareham...

tabloid style

Brother Garth Gloats!
So far this March, there have been at best only two days with anything like Spring like weather. Temperatures continue to hover around freezing, light snow and icy rain continue. Currently it is plus one C with about one centimeter snow overnight. Wareham resident Darrell is glad he still has lots of firewood stacked up, but getting sick and tired of daily chopping and stove lighting. (Readers should know that brother Garth is currently living in Indonesia, and regularly sends back images of palm trees and beaches.)

Fall Expedition Plans!
Air tickets purchased for late August to mid September trip to south west Ireland and Isle of Skye in Scotland. This long delayed trip for Darrell and Kelly includes the Catherconnell Furnace Festival in County Clare, the European Archaeology Assn. conference in Belfast (still tentative), and the completion of the Turf to Tools project at south west Skye (via Edinburgh). A total of 25 days in all. House sitter from August 21 through September 14 being sought.

Academic papers to presentations!
Self described 'independent researcher' Darrell has had two lecture presentations accepted for upcoming conferences. The first is for the Experimental Archaeology Conference 13, Tuesday May 2 (session 9B.1) : " 'Look at the BONES! Adding bone to a bloomery iron smelt" This video presentation can viewed online (for free!). The second is for the European Archaeology Assn. 2023 conference (session #729, exact date to be determined, between Aug 30 - Sept 2) : "Experiment, Archaeology & Art - The Turf to Tools Project". This session most likely also to be delivered via online video.

Chained to the computer!
February and March has seen Wareham resident Darrell huddled daily by his computer keyboard, most day for for to six hours (or more). The paper 'Look at the BONES!' has been completed to first draft form (including the endless seeming task of checking footnotes). A number of grants have been prepared and submitted to the Canada Council in hopes of some financial support for the upcoming Ireland / Scotland projects.

'Another days worthless energy spent'...
And it is that time of the year for the (often depressing) task of completing and submitting income tax details to Revenue Canada. When questioned about taxes specifically, Darrell said " It is such a pain, and seems such a worthless exercise. I always end up with a splitting headache. 2022 had one of my largest recorded gross incomes from the Wareham Forge over 35 years of operations. After operation expenses, even with my OAS, I still did not end up with a personal income that hit the poverty line. Hardly enough to even have to pay any income tax."

Cheese saves the day!
In Wareham, good quality cheese is on the menu. Kelly continues to work one or two days a week at the local cheese and specialties food store in nearby Flesherton, which is helping her finances through the dry period in theatre contracts over the winter months. Extremely icy road conditions around Grey County have intruded however, for two Saturdays in a row she has had to turn around and carefully limp home when driving was just not safe. Blame those continuing late winter weather!

Return to the Forge?
The Wareham Forge is now undertaking a high school co-op program, with 16 year old Ryan working at the shop three days a week. Ryan is from Thornehill (about an hour's drive away), so the arrangement is that he typically comes up Monday mornings and stays at Wareham through to end of work day Wednesday. Nights he bunks out in the 'Wendy House' and provides his own meals. So far the normal day for him has discussions / lectures in the shorter mornings, with forge instruction in the afternoons. He is give some time (typically 3:30 - 5:00 pm) to work on this own projects as his skills develop. Taken all together, this is more like a short apprenticeship than the typical 'busy work' provided in other co-op placements. Ryan will continue through to the end of June, with hopes of accumulating four, 110 hour, course credits.

Cabin Fever!
" The weather sure is not helping." say residents Darrell and Kelly. Darrell especially has been spending almost his entire days over this winter in the main room upstairs in Wareham. "Mother Nature has been an absolute tease this year, when she is not being a stone cold bitch, but who can blame her? Ryan's presence here for the last two weeks since his placement started has helped some. COVID remains a reality, as much as more and more people try to pretend it has somehow faded away" said Darrell, " I am SO looking forward to actual warm spring weather! "

 

Written as a response to a request for current news from my middle brother Garth, who yes, did taunt me (if unintentionally) with a dozen images of his own situation right now.