It was the first Saturday in October and a crisp autumn day. I took the bus from Edinburgh along by the coast to a small town called Tranent to participate in a basket weaving workshop. Generally categorised as an old-folks activity, traditional handcrafts are actually, in fact, just that. My twenty-something year old self showed up to the given address and found there a small gathering of ladies well past their forties, each holding a cup of tea. All the boxes ticked? Yep. However, as an unashamed fan of aformentioned pensioner-style pastimes, I really enjoyed my time there.
The sun came up enough that once the morning had passed, it was surprisingly warm. We therefore decided to relocate ourselves from the workroom and place ourselves and our willow outside for the remainder of the day. Provided with endless cups of tea that were drank mostly out of politeness to our host, I concentrated in silence enjoying listening to the real, live BBC radio 4 happening around me.
To watch something that you are making grow right in front of your eyes through a meditative passage of time is a satisfaction I wish everyone could have the good fortune of experiencing. My own final basket is one called a 'Mudag' style. It's woven but not yet photographed... looks a bit like an egg.
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