The First Step: My Journey with Surrey Adult Learning (Sept – Dec 2024)

My true entry into the craft began with the Woodwork – Beginners and Improvers course through Surrey Adult Learning. To be honest, I was initially quite apprehensive about joining an adult learning course—I wasn’t sure what to expect regarding quality, depth, or the level of engagement required. I was also completely torn on which path to explore, endlessly researching clay throwing, glass making, horology, woodworking, painting, and drawing. As for why I ultimately picked woodworking? I don’t really have a neat answer. Perhaps a little bird inside just pointed me in that direction.

Whatever guided me, it landed me at The Henrietta Parker Trust (HPT) Workshop. Held in a purpose-built, beautifully equipped facility designed to foster both traditional skills and personal wellbeing, that evening course (held weekly once between 18:30-21:30) officially launched my woodworking journey.

Stepping into that dedicated workshop for the very first time opened up a completely new universe. Without leaving my digital world behind entirely, I simply stepped away from the screen for a moment to see what else was out there. Suddenly, I was:

• Learning to identify different wood types and understanding how seasonal moisture impacts timber.
• Developing hands-on familiarity with traditional tools like Japanese pull saws and chisels.
• Respecting the power of the band-saw, the planer/thicknesser, and grinders.

These pieces mark my very first hands-on experience with wood, where I learned how to control a chisel to carve out joints and tackle my first ever dovetails.

This image, Surrey Timbers, captures my memorable first visit to a hardwood specialist, where I was truly overwhelmed by the endless varieties and spent nearly an hour carefully selecting the perfect pieces for my first project, all while receiving excellent guidance and friendly advice from the staff.

For my first purchase, I chose Wenge and Poplar—two woods on opposite ends of the spectrum in both color and character. Only time would tell if I’d made the right call.

After spending over three decades sitting behind PCs and laptops, introducing this highly tactile, physical environment into my life was a profound revelation. It wasn’t about quitting the digital world, but about complementing it.

For anyone sitting on the fence: take that first leap. You might just discover a whole new world waiting for you on the other side.