The Baynhams

-I love to learn new skills.

-I have done many night classes over the years, Yoga, Water colour painting, Guitar, Swedish Body massage, Reflexology etc.

- I remember as a child following my Dad out into the garage and watching him as he soldered, changed plugs, repaired punctures and made things like desks and shelves for our bedrooms.

-I have a burning desire to work out how things work and get great satisfaction from learning how to make or fix things.

-I rarely allow Byron to get anywhere near our tool box and insist on having the first go at DIY in the house!

This Valentines night we sat down to a nice steak and a good bottle of wine. Byron passed a piece of paper across the table to me. On the paper was a message...

"I am sending you back to college"

Byron has arranged for me to join a small group of people to be taught how to make our own musical instrument, in my case a guitar!

This isn't just any old course you could do anywhere. It is being run by a man called Strato Anagnostis who lives in Toronto and is a world renowned instrument maker. He was apprenticed under one of the top four instrument makers in the world and established the Tasmanian Kaleidoscope Factory in Tasmania in 1989 where he made intricate wooden kaleidoscopes. Some of his customers included Pope John Paul II, the Dalai Lama, The King of Nepal and the Sultan of Oman.

He now lives in our local area with his family and our kids play tennis together on Friday afternoons. He talked recently to Byron about his love of instrument making and that he would love to teach a small group of people this skill. He has decided to try a set of 10 classes about four hours each time and Byron put my name forward.

So far there are two other people interested and it should start over the next couple of months. It won't be cheap as it will require about 120 hours of tuition to make the guitar and I will have to buy the materials as well. It really is an amazing opportunity because Strato is obviously a very highly regarded man and it is just luck that we live local to him and heard about this fantastic course. I am so excited!!!

I have just found a photo of Strato and his wife that I took this time last year at our St Patricks day party. I think his son was just about to have his hair sprayed green!

Roll on the start of this new adventure!!!