ALMOST 40 people went along to Blue-ginger gallery and café in Cradley, near Malvern on Thursday evening to listen to local greenwood expert Mike Abbott's talk From Robin Hood to Gandalf.

Twenty years ago Mike Abbott and his wife Tamsin moved to the county of Herefordshire. Since then Mike's green wood chairmaking courses have continued to flourish, he has created wonderful workshops at home in Halmonds Frome and in the woods and he has written and self published two books Living Wood and Going with the Grain.

To celebrate 20 years of living here, Mike presented an evening of slides, film and conversation based on his life playing and working in the woods.

Living Wood – a slide show of Mike's journey from a childhood playing in the woods near Bristol in the 1950s to becoming the respected wise man of a flourishing traditional craft in the 21st century.

Going with the Grain – a collection of short films describing the techniques Mike uses in making his green-wood chairs.

The fascinating evening concluded with a question-and-answer session.

As part of its current exhibition Beast and Beauty, Blue-ginger is hosting workshops, maker demonstrations and talks by the exhibiting artists and other guests.

On Thursday April 24 at 7pm, Mike's wife Tamsin Abbott, stained glass illustrator, will be giving a separate talk "A Window on my World" about her life, inspirations and craft and how lucky she feels to have found such a beautiful part of the world as this.

Tamsin's work is inspired by the beauty and drama of the British countryside and she creates her stained glass panels using traditional methods.

The exhibition Beast and Beauty was set up and co-ordinated by Tamsin and brings together artists whose work is motivated by fairytales, folklore, animals and the land.

The exhibition Beast and Beauty runs at Blue-ginger Gallery, Cradley, until May 11. For further detail about events please see www.blue-ginger.com or Malvern Gazette listings.