Well I sent an email to the carpenters guild, and to the best of their knowledge the Frame France event has been cancelled. I'm meeting up with a local carpenter later in the week to show off what I've been doing (It's far from perfect, but I'm proud of it!) and to try and find out who's doing what locally and whom to speak to. Tempting as the compagnons de devoir is, I really don't have the ability to abandon my other half and spend the next 5 - 10 years touring France and learning the from the old masters (J.L. Valentin for example!).

Hello,

That's to bad really. You have a truly different model of that sort of thing there, than in the US for example, I call it the Strasbourg model, much more controlled and limited by the professionals. I hope that the organizers will get the chance to break through the barriers at some point for the sake of folk like you and me. There is one possibility short of the whole Tour de France option though and sort of along the lines of the American example and that is the courses through Dick in Metten, De. They do have some carpentry oriented programs if that interests you at all.

Well, to be fair, a little update on the shingle side of the discussion. Up till now it's gone from this,
to this,


With some of the steps in between:




It takes a lot considering all the double and tipple layering. The result with the sweet chestnut is a lot more lively and interesting and well, attractive compared to spruce or cedar shingles so even though I've come up a bit short I'll continue with the chestnut.

Greetings,

Don Wagstaff