Hi

I got so carried away with my ‘night pads’ story last week that I forgot to mention I was going to East Surrey Woodturners last Monday, which caused some consternation. Sorry Richard!
It was a great evening, with a great crowd, thanks folks (especially Liz, who emailed to say that she’d tried doing things ‘my way’ and it had already improved her finishing).
I enjoyed the day on many levels; East Surrey was the club where I gave my very first club demo, over twenty years ago, and it was great that some of the members were still there. I also caught up with one of our stockists (now retired), who will be celebrating his 90th birthday later this year. Great to see you looking so well, Gordon. And it was also near the area I grew up in, so it was a real trip down memory lane!

Although we’re constantly busy, it’s been a quiet week for questions. I still get the odd question that surprises me, as I either haven’t heard it before, or at least not for a very long time. And I don’t mind repeating questions, usually because I forget I’ve already included them, but also because we get new readers every week, who haven’t seen them before.
But this week I’m going to return to a recent favourite theme, which always gets a good response – unusual uses for our products!

I heard from a beekeeper (looking forward to meeting you at the Weekender, Cameron!) who had been using Lemon Oil to restore the insides of drawers on a table. He’d read that some beekeepers use lemongrass to lure bees to their hives, so he gave it a go. In his words “So, I put a little on a pad which I put inside a small envelope, (stops it drying out too quickly and keeps aroma longer) and hey presto I had 2 swarms into the bait hives. The bait hives with commercial lure were ignored by the bees.”
Cameron is also to blame for the dreadful pun about getting ‘Freebees with Chestnut Lemon Oil’.

We already know that our Spirit Stain is quite multipurpose; as well as timber, it works on a number of porous substrates including cloth, paper, leather and more. We were introduced to a new use this week…
John W bought some of our Spirit Stain, and kindly sent these pictures showing how he had used it—to, in his words, “tidy up the front of his house”. It looks like quite an undertaking, but he reckons it only took a day, and he’s very happy with the result. Our Spirit Stains, he says, are far more effective than water-based brick dyes.
We did have a slight concern, that the stains on their own aren’t waterproof. A downpour of rain could make them run, which would spoil the effect. I suspect the stains will have soaked far enough into the brickwork that this won’t be a problem, but I wouldn’t have been doing my job properly if I hadn’t pointed this out (pointed… get it?!). John has applied a coat of silicone sealer, which we hope will do the job.

Finally, this week, something a bit closer to home. Our colleague Mary is diabetic, and has been since a very young age. She’s seen many changes in the tracking and treatment of the condition in her time. A recent innovation is the FreeStyle sensor, a small device which attaches to the upper arm and monitors the wearer’s glucose level. A great leap forward from perpetual finger pricking to draw and test blood.
The sensors are worn for 14 days before being changed. Usually. Mary caught her arm on the side of a door today and pulled it off. They come off easily, to avoid harm in such situations, but it seems a shame to just throw it away, especially when it’s a new one. Superglue to the rescue! The sensor is very lightweight, so just the tiniest amount was needed, and it’s fixed in place. CA Glues have, after all, been used to seal wounds in an emergency, and we were dealing with unbroken skin. The oils secreted by the skin will naturally loosen the glue quite quickly, so all is good!