What’s with all the Dragonflies?
Odin of Radstock
Let me hand you over to the man himself, Odin.
No, not that Odin. Not Thor’s dad, the big bearded guy with the Ravens. No, this is a little guy, Odin of Radstock. His real name is Odin Boltonites Radstockensis. I’ll let him tell you all about himself, he likes doing that, often.
My names Odin, I'm an Odonate, and I live in Radstock. Not Radstock the mining village in Somerset, although I've got loads of cousins there. I'm Odin of Radstock Lane in Reading (some might say Wokingham, but that's another story).
So why the Blog?
I'm glad you asked. Steve wanted to share some of the things he’s seen and done since the World went bonkers because of some Covid thing. People working from home, nobody going out, toilet roll becoming a thing to stock up on, and don’t get me started on people and pasta. It was all crazy, and seems like a lifetime away. To think that for the little humans that started Nursery school this year, it WAS a lifetime away. Well, people had to do something while all locked up together.
Steve is used to lock ups, he should be anyway as he’s the guy who locks up Radstock school every night, and fixes stuff when it breaks and that includes the humans. He's a big bloke so you can't miss him. Usually has a t-shirt on that could make you giggle, the latest being about chickens and lava and unstoppable dinosaurs. You need to see them!
He's got some Doctor thing in fixing broken humans but doesn't want to work for the NHS. He does have one of those loud motorcar things with a nee-naw sound when he's in a rush to get somewhere, and runs a medical company called Beyond First Aid with his wife Charlotte.
He worked like a madman during those lockdown things. Stopping people from running out of the red stuff, keeping their pumps running, and even helping a new little human into the World in Mum and Dad's back garden. I guess that's why he always has blue gloves in his pocket... Eew!
But that's not why I'm writing this, Oh No! This is about the other things he does. You see, Steve, or Mr B as some of the locals call him, is a chippy, and I don’t mean the sort that asks if you want salt and vinegar on them. He’s more like a Chippendale had a child with Ikea. Like that David Picciuto from the other side of the pond, Dainer Made from the other side of the globe, or even Jesper from the much closer Denmark. They’re all off that Tube thing Steve keeps talking about.
Norm was so grateful for Steve’s advice, he gave him a signed photo. N.B. That’s a MUCH younger Steve watching Norm sign the photo
It was during the first Covid Lockdown that he decided to turn the scrap yard that was his car port, in to a workshop, or Mancave if you will. "Give me something to do while the rest of the planet goes crazy" I think he said. Well, one thing lead to another and before you knew it Norm Abram was knocking on his door for advice.
He now makes and sells small tables, desks, serving trays, toys, you name it. If it's made from wood, he'll pop in the Mancave, take bits of former trees, make loads of sawdust, and create something awesome, and the best bit, he usually uses reclaimed timber. So there are no trees cut down to satisfy his creative urges. Pallets have been made into furniture, old shelving units have been made into coffee tables, and there has even been walking sticks, trays, and jewellery boxes made from an old bureau that was heading for landfill, and an old set of stairs is now in his living room as a coffee table.
He can restore your old items too. Strip old paint off, repair any damage and give it some TLC to bring it back to life.
So, if you need wooden things made, fixed or adapted, get in touch with Mr B. and tell him Odin sent you.
