Thank goodness for...

Thank goodness for a pair of fantastic blokes from the north east who came to help out a damsel in distress.

Andrew (top picture) and Michael (next picture) have been working together for twenty something years. They trade as Northumbrian Craft Pottery and were the two chaps who I travelled to Germany with the other week. I've known them a few years now but as with so many people when I first met them they scared the life out of me. They are a pair of very big characters, cracking jokes ten to the dozen, larger than life and they seem to be popular with everyone. They have I now know, hearts of gold and are a pair of gems.

They turned up at my workshop yesterday morning and after tea and a catch up blether they very quickly filled the little space up to it's roof with pots. They divided up the jobs, pugging / weighing / throwing / removing pots and off they went. They made short work of the one hundred and thirty or so pots that have been giving me many sleepless nights and did it with constant banter and good humour. Thank you so very very much you two. It was great having you around but I am now utterly exhausted!

These two throw, and by gum do they throw. I took a little, very bad quality video. This is Andrew making my mugs, bear in mind at this point he's made about 3, it's a wheel he's never used before, a shape he doesn't usually make and clay that's nothing like he uses. It took one minute, start to finish. Ok he wasn't impressed that I filmed that one as they got better from then on in but it'll give you a taster.