Evening Brett,
Sorry for not getting back sooner but had foreigner on this weekend.
Well this thread is getting interesting, I can not believe Unicorn Oak had made it to Virginia USA. The chap must have long deep pockets to afford it and ship it. It is expensive stuff, that's why I was convinced that you had been quoted for it because of the extraordinary amount.
Well now it`s time to fill you in on Unicorn Virgin Beltane Oak.
There is a lot of history and tradition and mystery surrounding this stuff.
I only know of 3 mills that stock it and two of the mill owners worked for the oldest mill before setting their own up, so they carry on the traditions. I deal with George who is the owner of the StarShake Mill at Eccking, George is now in his 70`s and has forgotten more about timber than most people ever know. He also has an evil sense of humour.
The Mill itself is very "Old School" it has the original Saw Pits that were in use in Victorian times. Before the mill was there, lime kilns and lime pits were on the site and that’s how the area got its name. Google Earth the area it’s just SE of Lancaster , between Rye de Cuel Abbey and Bentham. (The Lime kilns belonged to the Abbey in the Middle Ages) The area is called Eccking Lyrer ( Lyre from the lime connection)
As I have said George is a real old character, he has an unfortunate surname, Boolocks,( make a joke of it at your peril, you will never get best discount or best quality if you do). He is very proud of his name as tells any one that will listen that there has been a Boolocks as sawyer at Starshake for at least 8 generations and that there is talk of Boolocks in the area back to Medieval times.
It’s a shame you can’t come up and meet him. I have told him about you and the job and the Oak and the price. He said he would sort you out in 5 mins. He too says that at that price they are either taking (you can imagine) or it’s Unicorn, but he doubts that, as its rare stuff. I digress
Enough of the history lesson and the old characters of the north back to the timber.
As I said I know of only 3 saw mills that have it and they carry on the traditions so it’s stored in the same way and in the same place in each mill yard. Its store in the East end of the yards between the 16`long and 2` short pole wood that is used for making stands. If you came up to see George he would give you a tour of the yard and show you all the old ironmongery that they still keep and all the timber. They still have galvanised steam buckets with lids, bet you can’t get one of those anywhere these days. After the tour he would take you to the unicorn and explain the history and the special way it was harvested etc. (If he liked you he would sell you some, if not you could whistle. George told me he likes to sell to the young uns, the uninformed, the inexperience and the unknowledgeable, young uns .He like to give them a hand and teach them some life lessons about timber and business.) He would tell you that its rare stuff as its only cut out of 3 groves on the side of Longridge pike. That it is only harvested on the Eve of Beltane. That’s its only cut down by virgins with hand saws and axes and that it can only be felled after the Unicorns had stopped grazing for the evening. He would the charge you £200 a cube and laugh himself silly as you paid !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Regards John
[big grin] [big grin] [big grin] [big grin] [poke]
