Field Archery News UK - October_November 2016

OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2016 In this edition: * NEW! Pip Bickerstaffe joins us! * FULL 2016 South West Challenge Results * Update! The UK’s 1st fully disabled access field archery course! and so much more! Photo: Paul Harrison Pictured: Steve Hipgrave @ Tavistock Company of Archers

New Features Shoot Reports 10 - 11 “PERSPECTIVES” 6 - 8 Spirit of Sherwood 07.08.16 18 “ARCHERY ON THE BIG SCREEN” 22 - 23 Black Arrow FAC 21.08.16 by David 1066 30 - 31 Oakwood Bowmen 14.08.16 26 - 28 “The Properties of Bow Woods 40 - 42 Fort Purbrook Company of Bowmen Commonly Used in Longbows” Open Field Champs 13 & 14.08.16 by Pip Bickerstaffe 46 - 49 Liberty Archers 23 & 24.08.16 50 - 51 “Queen B’s Archery Tales” 52 - 55 Ballands Bowmen Major Archer by Margaret Rickard Memorial Field Shoot 23 & 24.07.16 58 - 59 Pines Park Archers 11.09.16 Regulars 62 - 64 Toad Hollow Archers 27 & 28.08.16 20 A Cartoon or Two for You! 68 Broadland Bowmen 21.08.16 32 - 33 Del the Cat’s “Bowyer’s Diary” - 70 - 71 Wolfstar Archers 14.08.16 Musings on Bow Making 78 - 79 Birkhill Bowmen F.A.C. 07.08.16 by Derek Hutchison 83 - 88 2016 South West Challenge - 55 “The Rounds Round-Up” FULL RESULTS Quick Shoot Fact File 90 - 92 Aurora FAC 03 & 04.09.16 71 “The Rounds Round-Up” Quick Shoot Fact File Updates 72 - 73 “NFAS Shooting Styles: American 12 Stacey’s Mountain Trike 2016 Flatbow (AFB)” by Stuart Moody 36 - 38 “My Visit to King’s Lynn Field Archers 74 - 76 “A Journey in Archery” and their New Disabled Accessible by Mitch Vaughan Course” by Sue Kenworthy 80 - 82 HOODS AND MAIDS 66 - 67 The Azincourt 600 Archers Tribute 89 “Spirit of Field Archers” by OH Boyd by Sheron Vowden Quizzes & Comps! Photography 31 Answers to Aug/Sept Quizzes 24 - 25 ADAM BROWNING 43 Aug/Sep Caption Competition Winner 45 JASON QUINN 44 Word Search 93 PAUL WILLIAMS 51 Anagrams 94 PAUL HARRISON 2

Welcome / welcome back, to FAN UK magazine! For those of you new to Field Archery News UK - welcome! For those of you returning … hello & thank you for your ongoing support!! This is your online magazine dedicated to covering all aspects of field archery in all its forms with the intention of bringing together in one place all individuals, clubs, archery societies & associations, fans, suppliers, products and more to celebrate our wonderful sport! It is also the intention of FAN UK to include as many varieties of archery as humanly possible to enable all of us interested in archery as well as shooting to see and gain some knowledge about traditional and modern versions of our sport - perhaps to the point that we might give them a go! To that end I would like to encourage people to share their experiences and information about all types of shoot from all associations and societies, to cover the range from field to clout and roving mark with everything in between. We are so very lucky that archery has such a rich heritage and FAN UK would like to celebrate and broaden knowledge of this as an ongoing goal moving forward so if you have information, pictures, stories or events to share then please do get in touch - it’s not just field archery we’re interested in (but we kinda like reporting on, developing and celebrating field and so will never lose sight of that, so worry not!!). We have been very lucky in this edition to have received some more target-style field shoot reports which is simply fantastic, thank you to those clubs for sharing types of shoot some of us may have had little or no knowledge of - especially as regards the rounds and scoring; there are certainly some shoots that I would love to try out thanks to these reports!! To all of you lovely readers, I would like to say a huge THANK YOU - without you I would not be continuing to do this so again I thank you for making my endeavours worthwhile :-) Please share what I am trying to achieve with as many interested parties as you can - that way we can continue to grow the archery family across the board and share as much with each other as possible without excluding anyone :-) Don’t forget! If YOU would like to contribute - be it shoot reports, club contacts, photos, event calendar inclusions or other articles - we would be delighted to hear from you! Please email: [email protected] to do so. For the love of archery, field and all!, and the wider archery family & community :-) Thank you & I do hope that you enjoy this issue - Hels, Creator & Editor. The Editor reserves the right to edit any submissions received. 3

Field course on a shoestring If your club has to share its space with football, rugby and cricket teams you will know what it is like setting up, clearing away, storing equipment and with the ever present worry of overshoots and lost arrows. After over eighty years of being shunted around from sports field to sports field, in 2014 Scarborough Archers acquired its own land. How club members cleared the land, dug out a car park, spread eighty-five tonnes of hard core by hand, laid paths and planted hedges and trees is a story in itself but not part of this tale. What is relevant to this article is that the area came with its own woodland; overgrown with brambles and nettles, but an exciting prospect for the closet field archer. The club had no history of field archery but I had, having set up a course in the 1970s in mature woodland which surrounded my school, Ingleborough Hall, in the Yorkshire Dales. The idea taken from an American archery magazine of that period. The significant cost of setting up a new home for the club meant there was little or no money available for new ventures but, with our very first open day scheduled in May, we were determined to introduce field archery. So, with machete in hand the first of our members plunged into the jungle, returning covered in cuts and scratches with torn clothing and the thousand yard stare of post-traumatic stress…..“It’s a jungle out there…”. It was several weeks before we found poor Cedric, his bones picked clean. (Cedric was the club’s president, so no loss there then.) To get the shoot off the ground in time for the open day we slashed three lanes into the jungle from a central spot; set up protective back-stop walls from turves and soil left from the car park excavations; begged some bits of styrene sheeting from the local builders’ merchant, bought two 2D animal targets and set up the third lane with 3D styrene rats left over from a Halloween party. 4

Our little field shoot was a resounding success, the Visitors loved it and queued up to have a go. Then we had a stroke of good luck: David and Natasha from Wild Geese Archers turned up. David’s grandma had seen our open day advert in the local paper and passed it on to them. They just happened to have their bows with them and, very generously, spent the afternoon demonstrating field archery to visitors and club members. Not only that, a couple of weeks later David and Natasha arrived at our shoot with four old but very serviceable 3Ds which they donated After over eighty years of being shunted around from sports field to sports field, in 2014 to our embryonic club. From that point onwards we were, as they say, good to go. And that, dear reader, is the first part of our story. To find out how we financed and developed our field shoot into a course of twenty archer. The club had no history of field archery but I had, having set up a course in the 1970s 3Ds, many of which were home made by in mature woodland which surrounded my school, Ingleborough Hall, in the Yorkshire Dales. talented club members and how we became Scarborian Field Archers, a constituent part of Scarborough Archers, please read the next The significant cost of setting up a new home for the club meant there was little or no money edition of this fine magazine. traumatic stress…..“It’s a jungle out there…”. It was several weeks before we found poor Cedric, ABOVE LEFT - Open day: Visitor Katherine shot one of our rats (she is now a club member). ABOVE RIGHT - Visitor Thomas proudly shows off his shooting skills (now a junior member of the club). 5

Spirit of Sunday Sherwood 7th August Open 2016 by Karen Critchley. It was a gloriously sunny day for our shoot on 7th August which was a very special day indeed. For the first time in our club's history, we were able to welcome crossbows to our open shoot. This was all thanks to the hard work done by Dan Melladay who had worked tirelessly with our land owners (the Forestry Commission) to grant us a permit to allow crossbows in our wood. 9 archers with crossbows came to shoot with us on the day which made a total of 200 archers (full attendance) across all shoot styles. We would like to thank all of the attending archers for their continued support - especially the ones that travelled such a long distance to our shoot. We were also pleased to welcome Stacey and Mark Service to our shoot for the first time and, thanks to the generosity of the attending archers and our club members, we were able to raise £172 for Stacey's Mountain Trike Wheelchair Fund. Many thanks to everyone that made a donation. Every penny helps! As a club we couldn't have wished for a better day - sunshine, lots of laughs, a minion on a rocket and lots of cake! Thanks again to everyone who came and for your lovely comments. See you all again soon. AFB Gents Club Score Spots Ladies Club Score Spots Sam Ward Albion 678 3 Mandy Smith Independent 582 2 Andy Betts Artemis 660 6 Sue Walker Harlequin BHs 542 2 Ian Evans Windrush 658 5 Mary Jones Artemis 540 2 Roly Bee Phoenix FA 650 4 Mary Todd Wyre Hall 504 0 Andrew Stevenson Independent 598 2 Jayne Fletcher Pines Park 494 1 Jason Wynne Cobra 578 6 Rachel Kenny Cobra 380 1 Rob Jones Independent 546 1 U16B John Dawkins Hanson 534 2 Nathan Jackson Legbow 490 2 Colin Hanson-New Centaura 514 1 U12B Paul Fretwell Legbow 408 1 Luke Wynne Cobra 562 3 Mick Stansfield Independent 368 0 BB Gents Graham Holmes Nemesis 748 8 Chris Robson Wyre Hall 732 9 Roger Hands LEFA 732 5 David West Pines Park 730 4 Jamie Smith Independent 716 10 Richard Corrigan Black Sheep 706 4 Mark Brookes Cobra 682 4 Mick Dews Pines Park 668 4 Barry Buckley Pines Park 664 5 Phil Johnson Paget de Vesey 656 2 Martyn Nazaruk Artemis 642 3 John Eddleston Olde Delph 616 3 Mick Newell Castle Bowmen 604 2 Kevin Wesley Pines Park 600 2 Paul Atherton Stonebow 590 3 Steven Gray Albion 584 6 Paul Cullen Pines Park 580 2 Liam Blakeley Stonebow 558 0 Shane Barratt Harlequin BHs 554 2 Jason Reilly Pines Park 522 1 Sam Broughton Albion 474 2 6

BB (continued) Sunday Score Spots Club Gents Michael Patchett Black Sheep 466 0 Gary Bramley Pines Park 418 1 Ladies Julie Moseley LEFA 612 2 Lynne Harrison Centaura 592 3 Jacqui Johnson Paget de Vesey 586 5 Stephanie Noble Independent 530 1 Jackie Brookes Cobra 530 5 Vikki Harrison Frankley BM 516 1 Elaine Unwin Centaura 502 1 Shelagh Newell Castle Bowmen 468 1 Harpie Johal Harlequin BHs 420 0 Becci Birch Frankley BM 398 2 Theresa Smith Pines Park 390 1 Dawn Cullen Pines Park 372 0 Jan Robinson Centaura 316 0 Sandra Reilly Pines Park 268 0 Nicola Chapman Independent 162 1 U16B Casey West Pines Park 640 3 sunshine, lots of laughs, a minion on a rocket and lots of cake! U16G Lorna Brookes Cobra 660 4 Emily Noble Independent 596 2 Megan Mapin Pines Park 522 0 Niamh Reilly Pines Park 462 1 Katie Cullen Pines Park 294 0 U12G Elinor Jones Olde Delph 688 5 Alanah Reilly Pines Park 462 4 BH Gents Ladies Stu Bradley Duvelle BM 648 4 Emily Smith Independent 684 4 Adie Bradley Duvelle BM 642 1 Natasha Hood Lyme Valley 614 4 Tim Jones Olde Delph 630 2 Helen Harris Artemis 606 2 Steve Hall Phoenix FA 578 1 Trish Jones Independent 588 1 Joe Ward Albion 556 2 Sam Haynes Harlequin BHs 574 1 U16G CL Amy Spencer Harlequin BHs 494 1 Ladies CL Jane Hunt Lyme Valley 790 14 Gents Liz Holmes Nemesis 760 6 Mick Anderton Frankley BM 868 18 Paula Kimberley Pride Park 688 8 Jack Witton Frankley BM 842 17 FS Scott Ball Charnwood 782 10 Gents Gus Gramauskas Olde Delph 754 8 Larry Hood Lyme Valley 734 8 Martin Barratt Harlequin BHs 732 6 Stan Unwin Centaura 612 5 Richard Pearson 100 Yards 718 6 Barry Withers Independent 542 0 Victor Thomas Harlequin BHs 700 4 U12B HT James Stephenson Stonebow 402 0 Gents HT Ladies John Allen Wyre Hall 708 6 Gayle Spencer Harlequin BHs 592 6 Paul Caddick Duvelle BM 702 5 Karen Watkins Frankley BM 590 5 Lewis Chuck Duvelle BM 672 6 Ruth Hanlon Cobra 526 3 Chris Moon Robin Hood LBM 658 4 Julie Bacon Harlequin BHs 512 0 Glen Hampson Poulter Guys 632 4 Jean Horwood Riggwelter FA 508 2 Chris Wilkinson 100 Yards 622 6 Emma Thompson Albion 474 0 Bryan Allen Harlequin BHs 618 4 Chrissie Bratton Toft Hill 462 3 Craig Kelly Independent 618 3 Anne Moon Robin Hood LBM 452 1 John Hall Cobra 614 2 Carole Evans Poulter Guys 424 3 Graeme Hicklin Poulter Guys 596 4 Victoria Stephenson Stonebow 354 0 7

HT Gents (continued) Club Score Spots HT Ladies (continued) Club Score Spots George Hampson Poulter Guys 590 3 Carolyn Wesley Pines Park 274 0 Nigel Bratton Toft Hill 584 2 Joolz Caddick Duvelle BM Non-Comp Neil Gilbert Pines Park 568 1 U12B Alisdair Constable Phoenix FA 566 4 Dylan Thompson Albion 474 2 Stewart Bigrigg Albion 562 0 David Stephenson Stonebow 458 3 Bruce Walton Stonebow 522 1 U12G Harry Thorpe Owlshead 510 0 Amber Thompson Albion 424 1 Jonathan Chapman Independent 506 2 LB PV Ladies Gents Jill Haynes Pines Park 600 3 Paul Bailey Albion 596 4 Kay-Leona Hodgkinson Artemis 552 3 Mark Peet Centaura 590 7 Anna Ley Independent 492 3 Marc Thompson Albion 588 4 Wendy Young DW Longbow 462 2 Pat Morrow Pride Park 576 1 Louise Fox Robin Hood LBM 430 1 Chris Myers Owlshead 534 2 Chrissie Harley SVYF 414 0 Rob Hickey Pride Park 498 2 Lynda Stevenson Independent 382 0 Andy Thorpe Owlshead 430 0 U12B LB Ptolomy Ley Independent 382 3 Gents UL Richard Davis Kings Norton TA 688 1 Ladies Nadeem Shabir Kings Norton TA 642 2 Yazz Proctor Lyme Valley 762 10 Dave Wood Robin Hood LBM 640 5 Wendy Horobin Artemis 746 8 Jon Rudge Paget de Vesey 620 4 Janine Swift Independent 690 10 Tom Wood Independent 610 2 Stacey Service Broadland BM (Retired) 376 1 Mark Tarbuck DW Longbow 606 1 U12B Steve Osborne Pines Park 594 3 Harry Smith Gawthorpe For.s 652 6 Keith Harley SVYF 552 1 U12G Dave Riley Robin Hood LBM 550 3 Kiera Cullen Pines Park 594 3 Matt O'Connell Windrush BM 550 2 XB Bob Davis Artemis 546 0 Gents Tony Whitehouse Independent 542 0 John Horobin Artemis 916 26 Graham Baker Robin Hood LBM 524 2 Cameron Brindley Lyme Valley 886 27 Ian Connerton LEFA 506 0 Cliff Kirkman Harlequin BHs 884 23 David Barker Duvelle BM 500 3 Ray Bell Cheshire Oak 880 23 Graham Woodhouse Pines Park 460 1 Michael Sawyer Kings Lynn FA 868 20 Ron Pickering Pines Park 454 2 Nigel Lavender KLFA 838 16 Roy Fox Robin Hood LBM 446 1 Steve Brown Woodend FA 820 17 Chris Collins Lincoln LBs 442 0 Richard Cope Frankley BM 794 12 William Lees Pines Park 378 0 U12B Aubrey Perrin Lincoln LBs 302 2 Logan Chapman Kings Lynn FA 774 14 Sean Wilson Stonebow 284 0 Rob Ley Independent 246 0 UL Gents Martyn Cotterill Woodend FA 948 33 Joint 1st Tony Hunt Lyme Valley 948 33 Joint 1st Kevin Howlett Independent 908 24 Lee Gardecki Black Sheep 896 22 Ivan Swift Independent 880 22 John Whitehead Cobra 864 18 Colin Street Independent 856 17 Nathan Smith Gawthorpe For.s 818 12 Finlay Newman Harlequin BHs 808 14 Lofty Rooke Broadland BM 800 9 Chris Proctor Lyme Valley 792 8 Peter Nettleton Independent 784 13 Nick Yeates Duvelle BM 776 10 Stephen Ayscough Harlequin BHs 772 5 Wayne Chandler Pines Park 612 3 Phil Wathall Pines Park 546 2 8



“Perspectives” I asked some fellow archers the elusive question: could they try to explain just what our amazing sport means to them? Here is one of their replies ... When posed with this piece, I initially thought we field archers would all share a common response, that we all enjoyed being out in the woods, shooting arrows at 3D bears in the woods enjoying the company of our peers. But when I considered it a bit further I began to realise that we’re all bringing something slightly different to the mix. I, like many others no doubt, bring with me parts of my younger self; the young lad watching enrapt as Robin Hood split the arrow in glorious Technicolor; the frustrating experiments with bits of privet branch and garden canes. The misspent youth nose-deep in Tolkien and glued to screen when Crow the Elf fired hundreds of arrows in British cult movie, Hawk the Slayer. It’s that part of me that wanted to be that fantasy archer as a teenager that dabbled in what’s now labelled LARP. Some thirty-something years ago I got a “re-purposed” Slazenger flatbow off Jack Belcher, who showed me how to shoot when I was up at his house in Stacksteads. I shot off a few arrows on the moors at the back of his house; next thing you know, I’m dressed in Lincoln green, wearing a chainmail shirt and leather jerkin, and shrouded in a deep green hood. It’s one thing dressing up like an extra from Robin of Sherwood, but it’s quite something else when your doughty band of archers is volleying arrows across a wooded vale over an enemy shield wall and a mass of dark garbed monsters! Halcyon days, perhaps not you’d call field archery, but it certainly sowed the seeds for something that sustains me today. Skip forward almost thirty years, a career, a family and a realisation that time is ticking on and there’s got to more to life than the daily grind. I stumble upon an Archery ‘Have-a-go’ session. Wow. It all comes flooding back. And next thing I’ve signed myself and my son up to the local target archery club and we do a beginner’s course. And here they try to un-teach the shooting styles I picked up in my youth. “Don’t cant the bow, we’re not in Hollywood now. Get your hand under your chin, you’re kissing the bloody arrow man!” I wanted to go traditional, put down the sights and weights. I was told to get an English Longbow as Flatbows were a bad idea, no-one shoots them. I did, under duress, and outside we went to shoot. And shoot and shoot and shoot at the same target at the end 10

of the field aiming about 15 in the air above it. The magic started to flicker. I needed some advice. I asked some fellow archers the elusive question: Talking to my brother who had removed himself to the other ends of the country some years could they try to explain just what our ago, he conjured up images almost out of my youth. He talked about woods populated with bears, wolves, half-seen deer all waiting to be shot by fun loving folk, who shot whatever bows they liked, who were open to different shooting styles and yes, if I wanted to start enjoying archery again, try shooting field archery with an NFAS club. I decided to track Jack Belcher down, see if I could get a flatbow off him like I had in my youth. Well, sadly Jack had passed away, and only then, when I did a bit of research, did I discover that my mate’s dad was something of a legend in field archery circles, winning countless trophies, introducing the Howard Hill style American Longbow to England, taught Rex Oakes & his son Jim how to make it, amongst many other things. I found the last club he was in, Sabden Fold Archers and set off for Pendle Hill. That was about a year ago. Since then I’ve scrambled up and down the steep sided woods of Sabden Fold, shooting one of Jack Belcher’s old Hill style bows, and yes I do cant the bow, kiss the arrows off and I miss and shatter arrows on hidden stones and tough old trees. But I love it. In twelve months my son and I have shot in about 20 Open and League Shoots in the North West. I’ve met some really great people, some free with advice and tips, some quick with a quip, but all of them welcoming and warm. To my knowledge I think I’ve come last in every shoot I’ve been in. I struggled to keep last place in the Welsh Champs at Draig Goch this year, but my rival shot more 16’s than me, so I managed to maintain my place as the Atlas of the AFB table, stoically supporting everyone above me. I made passing reference to my son James. People say we try to mould our children to be like us, we pass on our likes and dislikes to them, and it is said we try to relive our youth through them. Oh dear, that’s me. My 11 year old son is a Tolkien fan and a traditional archer. We both shoot Hill style American Longbows, the difference is James brings home the “bling” and, to be honest, he doesn’t mind if he comes home empty handed. I’m not winning any medals any time soon, but it doesn’t matter to me, being out in the woods, with my bow, my boy and buddies, well that’s to the local target archery club and we do a beginner’s course. And here they try to prize enough for me, from my perspective anyway. Hollywood now. Get your hand under your chin, you’re kissing the bloody arrow man!” Pete McGiffen, one shoots them. I did, under duress, and Sabden Fold Archers. 11

As of today (30-09-16) I am proud to announce that the £5000 target to enable fellow field archer Stacey Service to purchase a mountain trike so that she can attend more shoots has not only been hit but has been exceeded!! This is terrific news and we shall catch up with Stacey and husband Mark in the next issue to update everyone on the progress of the trike purchase and adaptions that need to be made. In the meantime, we'd love to thank EVERYONE that has contributed to the fundraising - there have been items donated, auctions and collections held and there is even a boxing match going ahead in November to raise funds as well as a very special sporting auction so there are even more people to thank since last time as well as some who deserve ANOTHER mention - so here goes … Paul Provins - for driving the fund raising so hard, travelling to shoots and collecting everywhere he has been this year AND for donating a soon-to-be-auctioned at Sotheby’s piece of sporting memorabilia. NFAS National Champs Auction (over £600) & Collections (over £200) - items donated to the auction by Karen Freeman, Phil, Simon Wright, Skippy Hammond, Jim Grizzly Kent, Nicholas Mitchell, Norman Radcliffe, John Pryke, Lawrance Wiles, Richard Hornsby, Joyce Morgan, Jo Healy/Dee Dee Rayner, Shire Archery and Gus Gramauskus - my apologies if I forgot anyone, Mark. Graham Harris from Clickers archery shop, who donated a £75 gift voucher which was raffled at the Broadland Bowmen shoot & raised £98! Lee Ankers is a bowyer that has pledged the proceeds of the next bow that is ordered from him will ALL be donated to Stacey's fund! Jas Sutherland, fellow Broadland Bowmen member, for his sponsored Boxing Bout in November! NFAS National Champs Auction & Collections £84 raised by Excaliber Archers at their shoot from their raffle! Aurora FAC, whose donations at their open shoot got us past that last thousand milestone - a special mention to Linda Lehane who made fifty five egg cosies that all sold out! Thanks to the folks at Toad Hollow Archers’ August Bank Holiday shoot that raised a stonking £120! Two special thank yous to Ken Scott who donated a demijohn of shrapnel and to Mike Broom who told Sheron to donate his South West Challenge refund to Stacey. Big thanks to everyone else that donated. Avalon Archers, who raised £45 at their shoot! £172 raised at Spirit of Sherwood! £72 from Holmbush! 12

Graham Harris from Clickers archery shop, who donated a £75 gift voucher Lee Ankers is a bowyer that has pledged the proceeds of the next bow

“Welsh Champs 2016 – Trials and Tribulations” by Dave Wilson. Draig Goch Field Archers was resurrected in 2012 after a 10 year hibernation. We restarted life in a beautiful woodland above Colwyn Bay, Bryn y Mawr with just 4 founder members. Sadly after 18 months the woodland's owner passed away and we were asked to leave in order that the estate be sold. We were so lucky to quickly find our current home near to the village of Rhuddlan, with easy access to the A55 and with several campsites nearby, the location is ideal. Covering 45 acres, our current home is a beautiful native-filled woodland with a large central area of mature Beech and several smaller copses made up of Yew, Birch and Holly. This gives a great variety of both lighting and space to lay a Championship grade course. In 2014 we obtained a grant from Sport Wales to buy targets/backstops and equipment as well as financing coach training. In 2015 we organised our first club shoot which was well received and attracted over 80 archers over the border. This threw up some logistical issues around car parking but on the whole everything went very smoothly. Putting on a champs shoot was my dream as we had such a lovely new home and also the shoot calendar was crying out for more 'National Champs' type shoots. We approached the NFAS for assistance initially and although they were willing to help out it would be on the basis of them 'running' the shoot from an admin perspective and our club would receive a 'set-up' fee similar to the 3Ds and Nationals arrangements. (It was considered by certain individuals that we didn't have the resources or experience to cope with such a large shoot!) To cut a long story short our committee declined this approach and decided to 'go it alone' anyway. In November the shoot was booked into the calendar for the 16th-17th July which was, at the time, a completely blank weekend. We sat down to plan the event in the December of 2015 in order to give ourselves time to organise everything. Now we are only a small club with less than 20 members and so our first challenge was whether to lay 2 courses, one for each day. Our vision was to emulate the old Scottish Champs at Parton, an amazing and very popular shoot (badly missed!), with one course of 3Ds and the other paper faces. This 50/50 format was considered the best approach to take giving 2 completely different courses for the weekend. Sadly after weighing up the logistics of marshalling two course simultaneously over two days we decided this was being over-ambitious and to just stick with one course made up of 40 x 3Ds. So the challenge was how to organise a weekend shoot and provide a course on Day 2 which differed from Day 1? Well - again with thanks to Alan Turnbull of Auld Braidlie for his idea from the last Scottish Champs - we decided to reverse the course for day 2, changing some of the targets around and moving pegs. To do this we decided that we should make each target a walk-back to avoid the nightmare of designing a course which was safe to shoot whilst having walkthroughs. We decided that a figure of 8 format for the course with catering in the middle was the way to go. This would avoid a pet hate of mine which is having to come in at lunchtime and walk out again afterwards which wastes time. This meant that archers would walk past catering twice in the day, stop for a shorter break and also avoid the usual queuing up for food which wastes a lot of time and puts a huge strain on catering staff. I arranged for my sister to do the catering as it is her forte and 14

proved to be the right choice in view of the remoteness of the catering area! We also realised that for the numbers expected (up to 200) we would require additional toilets and washroom facilities both at catering and the meeting area. We also needed to provide car parking as the hardstanding around the main building would not be sufficient for up to 140 cars (our estimate). We decided to approach local farmers/landowners to secure a field nearby. We finally obtained an aerial view of the woods from Google Earth and used this to mark out an initial plan of how the course would be laid. Where possible we would utilise the existing pathways as the backbone of the course to minimise the amount of groundwork. Finally we decided which size targets would be placed where in order to give a variety of shots and not have too many similar consecutive placements. This completed the planning phase. Aerial view of the Putting on a champs shoot was my dream as we had such a lovely new home and also the shoot calendar was crying out for more 'National Champs' type shoots. We approached the NFAS for woods We also decided to have some shoot patches made to commemorate the shoot and also have To cut a long story short our committee declined this approach and decided to 'go it alone' anyway. trophies which were worthy of a Champs. The trophies were designed and provided by Mike Penrose 17th July which was, at the time, from South Wales and made from Welsh Slate, a fitting memento for those winning their class. The first batch of patches sold out within an hour of opening registration on the Saturday of the shoot! We had to get more produced! (we do still have some left). We sat down to plan the event in the December of 2015 in order to give ourselves time to organise 2016 Shoot Patch From February to the end of April was spent building the course, whether to lay 2 courses, one for each day. Our vision was to emulate the old Scottish Champs laying shots and checking for safety and maintainability (with a at Parton, an amazing and very popular shoot (badly missed!), with one course of 3Ds and the other small membership we didn't want to be cutting and strimming paper faces. This 50/50 format was considered the best approach to take giving 2 completely continually leading up to the event). After several changes we finally arrived at what we felt was a Champs course and continued shooting this with all styles of bows to make sure we hadn't missed anything obvious. how to organise a weekend shoot and provide a course on Day 2 which We then turned our attention to advertising the shoot and the booking process. We decided to make the shoot a pay in advance booking back to avoid the process, accepting payment by Bank Transfer, PayPal or cheque. We used our website to post details for entry and also for local We decided that a figure of 8 format for the course with catering in the middle was the way to go. camping and accommodation. This would avoid a pet hate of mine which is having to come in at lunchtime and walk out again By May we were already up to 50% full - the only bug bear being that the Southern Champs had appeared on the calendar for the same weekend! Bookings still came in steadily until finally we had 160 entries for each day! 15

To assist with the booking in process I had come across a spreadsheet developed by Simon Edwards which enabled entering names and bow class and club and then allowing peg allocation, shooting order and the printing of labels for score cards through the same medium using the data entered only once. Simon very kindly sent me a copy of this which we are very grateful for, we have incidentally since developed this further to produce score tables for each day with an overall winners list! This saved considerable time and effort, particularly with the scorecards. The weekend of the event arrived very quickly! Gladly we only had one cancellation one week prior to the event and on the day just one no-show (due to illness). Our only admin headache was that several people decided to change bow-class without letting us know which meant that the scorecards which were colour coded had to be changed at registration! Overall the shoot went well, with an 11am start Saturday proved to be a very wet and windy day, playing havoc with scores and archers complaining that the course was too hard for them! (it was a Champs!). It also meant that the field we had hired for car parking couldn't be used and so cars were parked along the road outside the woods. We had a hard job convincing people they should really leave the warm dry shelter at catering at get back to the course! Gladly Sunday was a glorious day and scores were, on the whole, better. We finished around 4pm each day. On the Sunday we held a raffle and raised £250 to be divided between RNLI, the Air Ambulance and our landlord's chosen charity St Kentigen's Hospice. Thanks to everyone who bought tickets and supported such worthy causes. The lessons we have learnt for future shoots are more to do with the course set up rather than those of admin, things like targets being deliberately turned to make it harder for the next groups (yes that did happen several times!) and we will Our 8’ Grizzly! carry the feedback received both good and bad forward into next year's shoot. Generally the walk back principle worked well though some complained about having to walk the extra distance! We may decide to set two courses as we originally planned, as long as we can arrange the infrastructure and get the manpower. We may also provide camping too which was requested by several people. The fact that we are having a shoot next year probably demonstrates that it was a great success. We look forward to greeting you all next July. 16

Simon very kindly sent me a copy of this which we are very grateful for, we have incidentally since https://twitter.com/NewsukField developed this further to produce score tables for each day with an overall winners list! This saved https://www.facebook.com/FieldArcheryNewsUK/ Don’t forget to visit the FAN UK website too for updates, shoot dates & photographs: http://fieldarcherynewsuk.wix.com/fanuk 17

NEW FEATURE: \"ARCHERY ON THE BIG SCREEN\" by David 1066, Delamere Field Archers, Cheshire. Throughout the decades, Hollywood has had more than just a passing interest in archery. The studios have churned out hundreds of films (some good and some quite forgettable) featuring bows and arrows in some form or other. In the future issues of FAN UK we will be reminding you of some of these, and also dredging up some you will have definitely never heard of! \"ARCHERY ON THE BIG SCREEN\" No. 1 \" ROBIN HOOD\" (United Artists 1923) Silent Starring: Douglas Fairbanks, Wallace Beery, Alan Hale and Enid Bennett. CAST Robin Hood Douglas Fairbanks Sr. Prince John Sam DeGrasse Sir Guy of Gisborne Paul Dickey Maid Marion Enid Bennett King Richard Wallace Beery Little John Alan Hale* *He would reprise this role in 1938 in Errol Flynn’s version of Robin Hood. This is the first serious attempt to feature Robin Hood on celluloid and for this, Hollywood used their biggest heartthrob of the day, Douglas Fairbanks Sr. The result was a movie that bowled over with its sheer exuberance and technical wizardry. Almost entirely financed by Fairbanks himself, it cost over $1.5 million to make – a vast sum in 1923. At a new studio in Santa Monica, art director William Buckland built the biggest sets ever conceived for a silent picture, including a gigantic castle with 90 ft high walls, which needed 500 workers to construct. Many of the action scenes surpassed any Fairbanks had ever done before, with hidden trampolines being used to give more lift to his leaps, including one across a 15 ft moat! 18

Arrow Art - the creative side \"ARCHERY ON THE of field by David 1066, archery: These arrows are the product of a very talented field archer named Steve Parry. We wanted to know what had inspired him and he told us - “A little while ago Kev (a friend and fellow archer) asked for ideas on a grey and orange themed arrow… well - I ‘kinda’ borrowed the idea after finding a picture of a King Barred Snake.” “I ended up making these ‘snake bite shafts’, matched to my Striker TDR bow.” When asked how he felt they had come out Steve said: “I’m feeling pretty stoked as I've not painted shafts before!” Santa Monica, art director William Buckland built the biggest sets ever conceived for a silent picture, I was inclined to agree - hence this article - as I think you’ll all agree that they’re terrific! Thank you Steve for letting me share your creations :-) (Pictures provided by Steve Parry.) Hels, the Editor. 19

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Black Arrow FAC: first open shoot 21st August 2016 - by Cherrie Peabody. Amid great excitement and apprehension we arrived at our wood early that morning - we have only had our wood 5 months and the amount of work that has been done by our members and a few friends is astounding. Many of our members have not been involved in open shoots, either shooting or helping, so it would be a big learning curve for them; they put on a brave face and got stuck in setting up the catering, admin, checking the course, arranging parking etc. etc. and then welcomed 48 archers to our wood. All were soon absorbed in the buzz of coffee, tea and bacon butties, our visiting archers were clearly keen to see our wood and try our shots. Our marshals got all the groups on their pegs ready for a 10.30 start. Twice round 20 targets awaited our visitors, we decided we wouldn't stop for lunch as it would ease the load on catering. As the first groups came in for their tea break it was clear they we enjoying themselves, lots of compliments were heard. Everything went really well, we received lots of good feedback from our visitors, and our members were clearly proud of what had been achieved. A big thank you to our members, you did a great job, we are proud of you all. We would like to thank all who came along and supported our first shoot, we are aware that there are a few things we could improve - we are working on it. After clearing up and packing everything away we finished the day quite weary, but we are all looking forward to the next one, hopefully next spring. We would also like to thank you for the messages you have sent since the shoot, we are so glad you enjoyed yourselves, we are looking forward to shooting the course ourselves this weekend. AFB Ladies: AFB Gents: Sue Walker Harlequin 502 Matthew Wynn 100 yard club 588 Sam Ward Albion 580 Martin Hampson Poulter Guys Bowmen 574 Jason Peach SVYF 564 Colin Hanson-New Centaura 488 Joe Ward Albion 470 Mike Ward Forest of Arden 466 HT U12 Girl: Emily Doyle Lyme Valley 174 22

HT Gents: HT Ladies: Steve Hepburn Hawk Archers 696 Angela Kirk LEFA 494 Brian Simcox Bowmen of Salcey 634 Carol Evens Poulter Guys Bowmen 424 James Johnson Independent 598 Debbie Suthard SVYF 410 Craig Kelly Independent 588 Amanda Burgess Bowmen of Salcey 398 Roy Binding SVYF 586 Tammy Elliot-Williams Forest of Arden 298 Adam Dring Lyme Valley 578 Barry Buckley Pines Park 570 Barry Cheadle SVYF 534 Glen Hampson Poulter Guys Bowmen 534 Ron Pickering Pines Park 534 Nigel Suthard SVYF 530 stuck in setting up the catering, admin, checking the course, arranging parking etc. etc. and Neil Gilbert Pines Park 520 Pete Whieldon Harlequin 520 George Hampson Poulter Guys Bowmen 512 Adrian Doyle Lyme Valley 500 Vaughan Griffith SVYF 496 Sigy Seagreave Harlequin 494 Dave Barwell LEFA 454 Bernie Francis SVYF 428 Andy Flint Stonebow 426 LB Gents: Harry Bennett Albion 414 Steve Osborne Pines Park 524 Graeme Hicklin Poulter Guys Bowmen 412 Rob Cross Hawk Archers 482 Mark Epton Pines Park 400 Tony Whitehouse Independent 476 Nick Yates Duvelle 278 Bob Davis Artemis 450 David Barker Duvelle 440 we are working on it. After clearing up and packing everything away we LB Ladies: Jayne Fletcher Pines Park 412 PV Gents: Paul Bailey Pride Park 532 Bob Miles Dragonfly 422 23 23



Photo: Adam Browning

The properties of bow woods commonly used in Longbows. Over the years I have given a large Over time we have used yew from can be reliably offered by Yew, number of talks and demonstrations several European sources as well as wherever it might have come from. on Making Longbows, Longbow If you feel that you “must have” a Yew yew from several parts of the Pacific Design and performance etc. In the North West Coast of America. Most bow then as long as you do not expect process of giving these talks people of this wood was, to be honest, too much of it and definitely do not frequently ask me about the different unremarkable in its properties as a pay too much for it then you might bow woods that are commonly used, bow wood, with a few notable not be disappointed. In my experience what their properties are and what exceptions. The pieces that made most people do not genuinely find can be expected of them. So in this the best bows were, on the whole, that a yew bow actually delivers what article I hope to be able give an the harder and denser wood with no they had hoped and expected of it. overview of what you can expect of more than 12 -15 growth rings to the It really is not that special in the long different bow woods. I have selected inch. We have had wood with as many term, it used to be the best we had, some of the best known and most as 50 or 60 growth rings to the inch but that was at a time when there widely used bow woods. Whilst there but this wood was very light in weight was plenty of good Yew to be had are other woods in use this is more and had no life or performance, in and when it was worn out you could down to what people can get hold readily get another one. Horace Ford spite of looking near perfect, this of rather than what they might wood did not make good bows. We used to get through at least one choose to use. have had other wood from immature competition bow per year, at the Yew trees where there were a lot of small moderate draw weights he used, The wood most commonly associated knots and pins in it and this wood was we do not know how many practice with the English Longbow has to be tough, but lifeless as a bow and was bows he wore out each year as well! Yew, Taxus Baccata to give it’s Latin “not to be recommended”. Most of European Yew of that quality is very name. Whilst English Yew was used the wood of this nature came from much a thing of the past, unlikely to historically, when suitable material Italy! So the woods to avoid are be replaced anytime soon. could be found, it was far more either immature trees or ones that Lemonwood commonly imported from all over grew incredibly slowly, as a result of Probably the most common bow Northern Europe. In fact one Spanish poor nutrients in the soils. The best wood in everyday use is Lemonwood. Family has been recorded as sending wood comes from logs around 8 – 12” It is a South American tropical over 4 million bow staves into this from the bole of a tree and not the hardwood that might best be country over an 80 year period. We branches. The branches tend to twist described as being “Beige” in colour. certainly got through huge amounts badly and make poor bows. Not a bad description in other ways As a Company we have decided that of Yew in the middle ages, to the either! On the plus side a lemonwood extent that the major reason for the we will only use Yew in the core of bow is relatively cheap and will decline in use of the Longbow as a our bows, if at all. The reasons for this perform consistently well for a military weapon was the lack of are simply that, in the modern world, reasonable period of time, in many availability of suitable materials. people expect to be able to buy a bow cases better than a comparable yew One of the main reasons we needed that they can expect to last and bow. It is a good starter bow as it is so much Yew was that bows were perform for a number of years. This a relatively easy bow to shoot with not, in fact, long lived and the bow is not something we can guarantee moderate performance which makes was very much regarded as a with yew bows. There are always it forgiving and not too critical to consumable item, becoming “shot exceptions but as a general rule Yew master. For indoor archery and the out” in a relatively short time. bows are not, and never were, long middle distances outdoors a lived and few of the heavier bows can With the Heavier “war bows” certain lemonwood bow is hard to beat. experts maintain that, from personal reliably be expected to see out the When you get to the longer target experience, even the very best bows warranty period and still perform as distances, clout and roving and the when used for practice every day, well as they did when new. People longer field archery shots you are expect more of a wooden bow than would last no more than around likely to begin to see the limitations a month or so. This is certainly of the performance you can expect supported by my own experience of from a Lemonwood bow. yew in the heavier weight bows. As a We make a range of Lemonwood Company we have probably made bows and in simple terms “you get more bows over 100lbs draw weight what you pay for” in performance and than any other bowyers and with a longevity. At the bottom end of the goodly number of these being Yew range we make a simple self-nocked we do have some experience to fall training bow, also very popular with back on. It is certainly true to say re-enactors and older children. These that Yew is a softwood and even the bows are made with a backing of harder and denser pieces, which A selection of pieces that were off-cuts hickory sapwood, typically we will put make the best bows, have a limited from the sides of laminated bows, a piece of hickory heartwood in the working life. using a variety of bow woods. core and Lemonwood makes up the 26

The properties of bow woods commonly A clean Osage Stave, like this one, is quite rare can be reliably offered by Yew, and, therefore, valuable. every time you shoot it, now that could be said to be cheap! On the down-side there is a definite end weight limit for belly of the bow. As a step up we use Lemonwood and if you are to expect the same combination of woods but good performance for a reasonable add horn nocks and an arrow plate to period of time it is wise to view 60lb as the Basic and Medieval style bows. the top end weight limit. OK, you might push it up to 65-70lbs and get The most significant improvement to a Lemonwood bow comes from away with it with a particularly good the woods used in the core. Our piece of lemonwood but typically Standard bow used Greenheart, this 60lbs is a wise practical weight limit Phil Rees drawing the self Osage bow in the previous pictures. This bow adds to the performance and also for this wood. bows he wore out each year as well! draws over 70lbs at 28” and will draw the longevity of the bow. The simple back to 30” plus. and basic bows can be expected to Osage Orange perform well, depending on usage, Along with Hickory, Osage has to be that produce bows that are hard to for around 3 years or so. Adding a one of America’s finest exports for beat for speed and longevity. More the archery world. It has a tough, core of Greenheart will not only typically it will have wild grain and knots and pins, which makes the really improve performance straight away interlocked, grain structure and but the bow can also be expected to occasionally produces some nice clean good wood both rare and valuable. perform well for significantly longer. and straight grained pieces of wood We have made bows over 200lb draw weight with this wood and it just copes with the stresses quite happily. We make both self Osage bows and laminated bows – both of which perform as well as any longbows and better than most. This has to be the wood of choice for both performance and longevity. With the hickory backed Osage bows we sometimes use other woods in the core, like Greenheart, which adds stability; and Snakewood which will add a little more speed as well as good looks to the bow. It would not be unreasonable to Osage Stave with self Osage Bow: this bow was made from the sister stave to the one you can see behind it. It is as near perfect as Osage bows get! expect an Osage bow to still be shooting well after 8 or 10 years, We also make a deluxe bow using maybe more, two hardwood cores or a thicker which makes single core of Osage Orange these these bows also perform that little bit better, incredible value for that bit longer so, as I said earlier for money … you tend to get what you pay for. or perhaps too If you take the Standard bow as a cheap? guide at £300 if it were to last for Osage Stave three years being used maybe and Osage Bow: twice a week on average that would almost a “Before equate to a cost of £1 each time you and “After” shot. used the bow. Not a high price for The bow came such pleasure? If the bow continues from the same to perform well for six years, not log as the stave you can see. unreasonable, then this becomes 50p 27

Hickory The English Longbow was, historically, Hickory Board: Typically all of our bows are backed made from yew (a wood). Yew is this is “as good as it gets” for with Hickory. Providing that it is unusual in that the sapwood is strong Hickory, clean straight grained straight grained and straight grown ension and the heartwood strong Sapwood and as you get nearer to in t it is the finest backing material you in compression, a natural lamination. the centre of the log you get the can get. Most bow woods are strong in either heartwood forming and as you get tension or compression, but not both. to the actual centre of the log you If it is also worked down to revel one will see knots in the core of the log. complete growth ring as the back of So in order to stay as true to our This is normal in any wood. the bow it adds significantly to the heritage as is practicable we should speed of the bow and it is almost use a wood that is strong in tension, This is why immature wood should unbreakable. as the backing and a wood that is be avoided in bow making, strong in compression as the belly it is always full of knots Good hickory is not easy to get hold and other flaws. of and it certainly comes at a price, of our English Longbow replica. but then that is true of all good As there are actually quite a few things. You cannot expect top quality woods that can be used to meet these in anything unless you are prepared criteria there is no good excuse for to pay the proper price. using Bamboo in English Longbows. I can see that people might be tempted to buy cheap “Garden Centre quality” Bamboo rather than pay the price for decent quality Hickory, I notice that this economy is not being passed on to the archer! This does beg the question of what the exact motivation might be to use Bamboo? Summary What I have discussed above are the best known and most commonly found bow woods. We do use quite a few more than I have listed above: some are good as core woods, some make quite good belly woods; but the properties of each can be described as being “a bit like Lemonwood” or “a harder version of Osage” etc. Each wood has strengths and weaknesses and it is quite common to see bows made from some quite Edge of Hickory Board strange and exotic materials more showing Cambium layer: commonly used as patio decking, the Cambium Layer is a fibrous layer in the tree just underneath the Bark. perhaps the best place for it in my opinion. Who needs a bow that has The fibres follow the line of been tantalised? the grain of the wood. By Pip Bickerstaffe If these fibres run straight up the If you are thinking about buying an of Bickerstaffe Bows - board, as they do on this one, English Longbow and are confused as then you know that the board has straight grain. to what would suit you then please Email: send me an e-mail or give me a ring If the fibres run across the board [email protected] and I can advise and guide you at an angle beware, that towards what should suit you best for board would have short grain in a bow backing and Website: your needs. would surely fail. Traditional archery has to be the www.bickerstaffebows.co.uk least expensive form of archery so it Bamboo is probably a false economy to buy a Bamboo is a grass and not a wood bow on the basis of cost if a slightly and many people feel that it is not dearer bow will do what you want so acceptable to use it in English much better. After all if it is only Longbows, I agree with them. costing you £1 each time you use it would it really matter if it cost you Bamboo was used by cultures in the Far East to make their bow types and, £4 each time you shot the bow? as such, it is entirely appropriate to Still less than a pint of beer! use Bamboo to make these bows. 28

Hickory Board: This is why immature wood should be avoided in bow making, it is always full of knots By Pip Bickerstaffe

Oakwood Bowmen Friendly shoot - 2 x 20 3Ds Sunday 14th August 2016 By Mel Horne, Chairman. Men's - AFB Men's - BH Men’s - HT Archer Score (Spots) Archer Score (Spots) Archer Score (Spots) Martin Lanford 724 Dave Arnold 622 (6) Paul Whitehead 680 Kevin Button 714 Alan Rogers 622 (4) Chris Osborne 570 Mark Oakes 692 John Foster 530 Elric McCloud 554 Dave Challis 612 (3) Colin Markham-Lee 474 Conrad Cook 510 Rich Davis 612 (2) Bob Bassett 436 Mark Frost 598 Men’s - CL Steve Gill 540 Colin Rose 872 Junior Girls’ U16 - BB Alan Alstin 522 Duane Williams 828 Rachel Costello 432 RJ Mitchell 494 Keith Cattermore 484 Men’s - FS Steve Gaskin 276 John Smith 716 Richard Power 608 Men's - BB Richard Narey 846 Men’s - LB Allen Dullage 740 Shawn Beckham 566 Charlie Cook 620 (8) Alfie Allen 452 Andrew Lehane 620 (5) Dan Morris 574 Women’s - LB David Baynes 442 Jane Langford 560 Olivia Morgan 464 Women’s - BB Jos Costello 484 Men’s - UL Rachel Baynes 298 Sean Quelch 876 Sarah Metcalf 184 John Heeley 826 Photo courtesy of Andrew Lehane 30

Women’s - HT Archer Score (Spots) Jan Beckham 570 Mel Horne 564 Linda Lehane 558 Clair Parfit 438 Carmel Bassett 366 Parichart Currie 318 Our next event is our Charity Shoot on September 11th 2016, all proceeds of which will go to S.C.B.U. this year (Victoria & Chris Osborne’s chosen charity). * Quiz Answers from Aug/Sept edition * Word Search: types of woodland creature! E L A D Y B I R D C I O R T Y W F G D Q A K R C X S E S L P O A D E E R E N R S O Q U R R E L D P A T E U O W K J U D E M F I K S T I G W E T B V I L R A K H C W O O D P E C K E R C I D O S A R E T A F C W A I R F B U L D J U B E B E E T L E E H N V A R E S U Q U R R L A S L F T E L O V D T P I N E M A R T E N D I S A R T V T A Z Y L F N O G A R D Y A E M O D S N E I U D Q U I R L Z R J W E A S S E G L B S A G N Z F U L N X O A D B T A O T S E U L F P E R S E N G I K E U A H B Y H O C F Y W O E S O B D O G Anagrams: types of archery target! 1. D e b D e e d R e d = B e d d e d D e e r 2. A n d a n t e B r i g s = S t a n d i n g B e a r 3. S e t I O r T o = T o r t o i s e 4. A p r i c o t L o v e r = V e l o c i r a p t o r 5. S e a r T u g S o u s = S t e g o s a u r u s 6. T a s k i n g T e r m i t e = S i t t i n g M e e r k a t 7. L e c h T o y i n g W o o = H o w l i n g C o y o t e 8. A G a r L i t L o = A l l i g a t o r 9. B r a n G n u I r o n = R u n n i n g B o a r 10. X C l i m b G i n L y n = C l i m b i n g L y n x 31

Del The Cat’s “Bowyer’s Diary” - Musings on Bow Making: by Derek Hutchison (AKA Del the Cat on various archery forums!) I’m really trying to do the impossible here, as no amount of reading or writing will teach you how to make a bow! A couple of hours in the workshop will show you more than I can ever write. But, if I can influence the thinking as well as the practical and maybe provide some ideas it will give a perspective on what’s needed. So, a few basics:- A bow is a stick tapered along each limb with a string across the tips… simple? Not really. Why tapered? If you get a straight parallel bow with no taper, the bend is near the centre and the tiller shape is parabolic. You can try it, cut out some stiff card, or plastic sheet. What happens if you cut out a shape that tapers evenly from centre to nothing at the tip? What is the shape now? What if you go from 3” wide to nothing, compared to say 1” wide to nothing? These things are fundamental and bugged me for years. A while back I did the experiment with some polycarbonate sheet on my blog. One guy on Primitive Archer asked, why do this? We all know the answer? A lot of people said the opposite, that actually seeing was really helpful, and that is the difference, doing it and seeing it gives understanding and real appreciation. For the blog entry see: http://bowyersdiary.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/pyramid-taper-test.html That was just tapering the width of the limb which is the simple case, generally we have thickness taper which is less linear on a finished bow, but still a linear taper is a good start for roughing out. I generally rough out to between 1.5 and 2mm taper every 6” depending on what fits into the length of the bow) I use mm as it’s convenient and you can measure to one decimal place and work to thereabouts (it’s not a precision job for roughing out). I got asked, how to get a linear taper as you work on a stave. One way is to work at say 6” intervals and rasp away the belly to give the right thickness at each 6” point, then remove wood from in between these reduced areas to blend it all in. Of course one needs to keep checking and feeling. I don’t do too much measurement, but do use callipers, fingers and eye to check. One chap asked is it ok to just go down in a series of steps? No, unless they are blended in smoothly, it’s steps, corners and sharp edges where things break… it’s a basic engineering principal! Find anything mechanical that has broken and pound to a penny it’s broken at a corner. My pet hate is plastic housings that are held together with clips, the plastic clips always snap off where they are not tapered and have sharp corners at the base. As a contrast, look at the plastic clips on a bag strap, they are often nicely designed with tapers and round edges. What have I missed? The string! Doesn’t do much does it?…. Oh yes it does! Watch as a bow is taken to full draw, how far do the tips move? They come back about 9”, but the draw is 28”! The geometry of this supposedly simple device miraculously has given you 3:1 leverage, or it amplifies the movement if you want to look at it that way. It does other weird and wonderful things too. How much force does it take to string the bow? Yet how much draw weight is there at 1” draw? Where’s that force gone? Where is it stored and where could you measure it, if you were so inclined? It’s stored in the limbs of course and it could be measured as string tension. Enough about the bow we are trying to make. Why are we trying to make it? Do we want a bow? Not really, you can buy a reasonable AFB for very little. It’s about learning the skills, how to use the tools, how to appreciate the wood, gaining the experience that tells us how much wood to remove and from where, the sheer joy of doing work with our hands. The biggest thing it teaches us is patience, and about ourselves. Kids don’t make good bows because they are too impatient. I’m by nature impatient and have to work hard to leave a bow overnight after heat treating or gluing. We learn when to stop working, to slow down at the vital point rather than blundering on, and we learn how to see. There is a vast difference between looking and seeing. If you go to any museum or art gallery you will soon see people walking past things with barely a glance, that’s fine but when you get to the piece you want to look at do you really study it? Take abstract art, some people simply dismiss it, can they tell you why, have they actually looked at it? Personally I can’t stand paintings full of cherubs but I can look at the skill with which they are painted, I can look at the composition, the colour, how the clothing is depicted, the light and shade, where the light sources are. Looking at a bow on the tiller is very tricky and subjective, which is why I take video and pictures? You are trying to spot suspect areas and prevent them developing into problems. I get people sending pictures asking for comment on the tiller, the pictures are taken at an angle, from way below the bow, against an uneven background and each picture taken from a different place. Cameras, tripods 32

and lighting are easily available and relatively cheap these days. Ok, you have a camera on your phone and they are surprisingly good but that’s no excuse for taking poor pictures. If someone hasn’t the patience to take a decent picture so they can study it will they have the patience to rasp down to 13.6 mm accurately across the whole belly of a bow and blend it in? I’m really trying to do the impossible here, as no amount of reading or writing will teach you how to make One of my friends said he looks at some of the annotated pictures on my blog where it says “stiff here?” and thinks “really?”… that’s the point, he’s looking, questioning and thinking about it. So many people don’t actually thinking as well as the practical and maybe provide some ideas it will give a perspective on what’s needed. see what’s in front of them. Think of the Sherlock Holmes stories and how he infers all sorts of stuff from minute detail. Maybe it’s all a bit obsessive compulsive, maybe it needs a hint of that to make a good bow. One thing I can’t emphasise enough is keep checking it on the tiller, do a bit, check it, do a bit check it. If you can’t see any change, then pull it back and forth 20 times and video it. Get to a low brace as soon as possible, that can make a big difference to the appearance of the tiller. Don’t let all this hard work put you off, you can always adjust your expectations and bow design to suit. now? What if you go from 3” wide to nothing, compared to say 1” wide to nothing? These things are A primitive hunting bow doesn’t need a great range, ok NFAS maybe expects too much! But in the wild if you were bow fishing you wouldn’t need much poundage at all. So if you just want a quick taster or a blog. One guy on Primitive Archer asked, why do this? We all know the answer? A lot of people said the dabble to get you going, go long and low draw weight just to see what it will do. It’s the experimentation that’s opposite, that actually seeing was really helpful, and that is the difference, doing it and seeing it gives part of the fun. I still mean to tie two Hazel sticks together sometime to see what they will do. One chap was saying how his first bow hadn’t worked out. It didn’t sound like it had actually broken, so did he try actually shooting it? Did he see what it would do? Did he try heat treating it? A bow that doesn’t work out right is liberating, it allows you to experiment with nothing to lose and plenty to learn. Foot note:- The results of the sheet plastic taper, showed that tapering from 3” to nothing gave a perfect arc of a circle. Tapering from 1” to nothing was exactly the same but with lower draw weight. The parallel bow had an ugly parabolic curve. roughing out). I got asked, how to get a linear taper as you work on a stave. One way is to work at say 6” intervals and rasp away the belly to give the right thickness at each 6” point, then remove wood from in To explain the notes on the picture of the Hazel on the tiller, I’ve drawn two ellipses to fit the curve of the left limb, (using MS Paint). It needs two curves because one won’t fit well. I see people trying to use this technique drawing almost random curves with very thick lines and not really studying where the curves hit and miss the limb. Like any tool, it needs to be used correctly and it needs a decent picture in the first place! Curve 1. In black, this is fitted to the inner half of the limb, but the outer half of the limb doesn’t curve round to match. So I conclude the outer half is a bit stiff. But I don’t stop there, let’s check what happens if we draw an ellipse to fit the outer half. Curve 2. In red, this fits the outer limb, but now we see the inner limb is bulging up above the curve, bending too tightly. So I conclude it’s a bit weak. Like so much of bow making it’s really a little of each, but of course we can’t stiffen the inner limb, so we must weaken the outer. Well that’s not strictly true, we could heat treat the inner limb, but I consider heat treating and bending “advanced” bow making and the watchword should always be simplicity. Note:- As you draw the ellipse there is a square displayed enclosing the ellipse with the corners and centre of each side looked at it? Personally I can’t stand paintings full of cherubs but I can look at the skill with which they marked. The centre of the ellipse is lined up with the root of the limb rather than the centre of the bow. It takes some fiddling and practice to manipulate the ellipse, but it is a useful tool to help you see. 33





My Visit to King's Lynn Field Archers and their New Disabled Accessible Course Skippy Hammond and I have been Facebook friends for a while and when I saw that he'd announced the development of a disabled accessible course at King's Lynn Field Archers, I was delighted. Having Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome makes it difficult, painful and very tiring to walk on uneven and sloping ground, along with a tendency to feel light-headed and have a fast heart rate.... so whilst I like to rise to a challenge, some of the steeper courses have defeated me, much to my annoyance. I have avoided many a fantastic course because of it and even had an ambulance crew called out when I was stupid enough to think I would be okay! Anyway, Skippy kindly (and bravely!) invited me to King's Lynn and I took the opportunity of some annual leave to travel up from the South Coast and join him for a Sunday's shooting on 18th September. With just a postcode to go on, the SatNav found the location very easily - it's a fair distance from the road into the club ground, right in the middle of nowhere, it seems - and then all of a sudden we happened upon the club enclave. A very friendly and quite large group of NFAS archers were there, preparing themselves to shoot around the course. I quickly recognised Skippy and Tim Law, another Facebook friend. Believe it or not, I don't normally go around hugging and kissing strange men I've never met before but these two have become regular correspondents and it was so good to finally meet them in the flesh that I greeted them like old, dear friends. And any of you who become good friends on Facebook, etc, will receive the same treatment when I meet you! My husband at this point, being a non-archer, retreated back out to go and do his own exploration of the area. Next to be introduced to shoot with us was Skippy's buddy Dexter Locke, and after a few arrows on the practice targets, where Tim decided a high arrow could wait to be retrieved, off we all went around the accessible part of the course first. Skippy proudly informed me that I was the first visitor with a disability to shoot their new course. Skippy has posted up some very picturesque views of the club site on the National Association of Disabled Archers Facebook page and it's hard to believe it was once an aggregate quarry. It has been reclaimed and re-imagined as a most beautiful nature reserve; there are flatter grassy areas, some closely cropped by rabbits, a lake and slopes of low grassland, taller bushes and scrub. A plantation of a variety of woodland trees in the flatter accessible area which is situated in the drier, higher ground, is turning into a rather pleasant woodland walk. It’s here 36

that twelve 3D targets had been well hidden until we happened upon them through the course. I had no problems with instability, as the path, despite being an unfinished track, was flat enough for my joints not to wobble. For an ambulatory person, most of the targets were not only accessible to shoot from a flat position but were also easy to walk to for arrow retrieval, although it's useful if you're of limited mobility to have someone retrieving for you so you save your energy for the important work of shooting. Of course, if the development of a disabled accessible course at King's Lynn Field Archers, I was delighted. you're a good archer you'll only have one arrow to pull from the target anyway... this wasn't always the Danlos Syndrome makes it difficult, painful and very tiring to walk on uneven and case for us; we were all shooting wooden arrows with instinctive or unsighted styles and that adds to headed and have a fast heart rate.... so whilst I the fun! Additional fun and difficulty was also introduced by only shooting from the red peg rather like to rise to a challenge, some of the steeper courses have defeated me, much to my annoyance. than going forward to closer pegs; you could do that if you wanted to, that was just our agreement. The distances varied from very close up tiny meerkats (that no one hit) to a very beautiful bedded stag on a long shot that I just happened to score an inner kill on. Of course that required photographic evidence for posterity. The pink arrow is mine, Tim also managed to hit it. Anyway, Skippy kindly (and bravely!) invited me to King's Lynn and I took the opportunity of some One of my other favourites was the swinging ducks; annual leave to travel up from the South Coast and join him for a Sunday's shooting on two suspended ducks which were knocked accidentally on purpose by Dex to make them move around more before the next person shot. I got one! The course layers are also mindful that you don't want to go looking for missed arrows in the undergrowth, so every target has a net or backstop. The twelve accessible targets are in a loop so you can enjoy a break after those, although I think if you wanted to stop for a rest from walking or standing at any of the targets, it would be fine to do so around the peg - it seemed like a very well laid and safe course - but at present, if you wanted to sit down, you'd need to take your own seat. Many of my field archer friends go out shooting with rucksack stools to sit on. I find these a bit low and sometimes have difficulty prising myself up out of them again and I'm still targets, where Tim decided a high arrow could wait to be retrieved, off we all went around the looking for the perfect lightweight but stable portable perching stool. After a very enjoyable first twelve, Dexter left us on account of family duties and after a light snack, Skippy, Tim and I headed off around the rest of the club's course. The route takes you down from the Skippy has posted up some very picturesque views of the club site on the National Association of top of the bowl to the slopes where there are some longer uphill shots, sideways cross shots and downhill ones, including a particularly challenging (Skippy likes to call it \"technical\" but I just thought it was sneaky) shot at a fox through a window of tree trunks with overhanging branches and leaves in the way too. I'm not sure if any of us got that one but after one arrow ended up in a tree and the other deflected off some twigs, I wasn't going to risk breaking another arrow, as I was already two down on my usual loss/breakage rate of none! The course became flatter as it snaked through the base of the bowl to one side of the lake. The September sun was by this stage contributing to light and shade confusion the way some of the targets were positioned, and that is very clever course laying, as I ended up hitting the crocodile behind its back leg rather than its front one. I also discovered I could temper my draw length but still 37

shoot accurately at some closer range shots on small targets (pro-kill on a skinny downhill meerkat!). You don't see it until you're right upon the one arrow only downhill tiny rat at 2m. I think those are more designed to be \"technical\" aka sneaky flummoxing shots for archers with sights on their bows but I'm still going to need practice! I'm also going to need much more practice on moving targets. I was over the moon that they'd set up the flying goose for me to have a go at; it was one I'd particularly been looking forward to. Suspended from a zip wire and let loose by another archer at the top of the slope, it descends down to and just past the shooting area in a few seconds. How fast do my arrows fly? Well a lot faster than I anticipated as I loosed way before goosey flew into range! There are some predator and prey montages, a fabulous black boar long shot over the lake and a number of quirky ones; plenty of trees to hit if you're not careful and some shots that would be better taken from a kneeling position rather than my alternative attempt at almost doing the splits. At the end of the shoot, the targets were all collected by Skippy in his 4x4 and a trailer and were all stored away safely in the container on site - it was like watching animals going into the arc two by two! It's an unfortunate fact of modern life that the targets can't safely be left out and to run a shoot requires massive effort on the part of a very few members first and last thing to set them out and bring them in. I know from helping with field shoots, how tiring this can be, so all credit to these dedicated fellows. A fabulous day of archery, fun banter and friendship was had by all and I'm very much looking forward to returning for KLFA's first open shoot next spring. Thank you Skippy, Dexter and Tim and all the other club members who made it such a brilliant day, and who made the new course possible. Sue Kenworthy, September 2016 38

“Tool Skills” … a bowyer’s yarn! Sometimes it is difficult writing as it is easy to take for granted the skills one has picked up over the years. This came home to me when watching a YouTube video of someone converting a car to electric power... he said... \"Oh, anyone could do it with a few basic tools!\" ... errr not really! It takes a good deal of basic knowledge and practical skill. When I was at school and half crowns were going out of circulation I decided to saw one in half. Keep one half myself and give one half to my girlfriend (Yeah, romantic eh?)… The thing is, I sawed it in half by hand with a hacksaw, but down the edge to give two discs, one heads, one tails! unfortunate fact of modern life that the targets can't safely be left out and to run a shoot requires 39

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Congratulations to DAVID BENNETT for his winning caption!! THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR YOUR ENTRIES, you all came up with some classics, but an extra special well done to our winner - David! All you need to do to claim your prize, our lovely mouse, is get in touch with me, Hels, via Wix Engage on the FAN UK website, via the Facebook page Private message facility or via email on [email protected], A MASSIVE THANK YOU TO OUR COMPETITION SPONSOR: \"Fake Panda unmasked in Woodland security alert.\" 43

* Word Search * Hint: you are searching for types of shoot, rounds shot and target types! H G N S I A N A I S S E H O M T P A P E R F A C E T Y U D P A E O L D E K R A M N U N A S T R B K V E D L E I F A T I F O J K U S A B I G G A M E M E N I F E O W M G S E F A R B U Q D O O D P O E L N K R A M G N I V O R U S R B U N N I E S I S A B R E L G R U S D T H I A W E K R L S B A A S P E E D S H O O T O O T U D E H S E K C E R T B A W X E I N L M Y R P D L E I F A R H R Z A G A I H A B R O E L A E Q U P W N N G T M N E A U R T N I L F S I O H W S A O P H T G E J O U E S A E B P L A M I N A R O I K Q Words to find … good luck! Clout Wand Hunter Field Big Game Roving Mark Bushman Speed Shoot FITA Field Animal Three D Paper Face Fan Bunnies Forester Flint Hessian Single Arrow Marked Unmarked 44

Photo by Jason Quinn Pictured: An amazing tree stump target @ Dunkery Field Bowmen, with one owl and two rather pesky squirrels!!

‘Once Upon a Shoot’ Liberty Archers Shoot Report July 2016 Over 200 archers braved the scorching sun for Liberty Archers 2-day shoot on July 23/24. The 42 x 3D targets offered challenges galore … and the theme of Fairy tales and Children’s Stories provided giggles aplenty; from shooting through the Cheshire Cat’s grin to picking your Harry Potter House! Saturday night’s Steak feast/party was well attended and the usual questions about Alice were asked and LOUDLY answered!!! Congratulations to all the winners, and a huge thanks to all those who attended. AFB Gents: Sat Sun Total AFB Ladies: Sat Sun Total Mark Jones 648 694 1342 Denise Rayner 598 578 1176 Jason Peach 586 630 1216 Alison Law 438 450 888 Volker Fauvel 538 586 1124 Caroline Hunt 398 466 864 Mike Cullen 564 548 1112 Nicola Maskell 468 356 824 Simon Webster 586 500 1086 Joyce Morgan 526 0 526 Charlie Hitchin 448 548 996 Bridget Bellars 464 0 464 Barry Cooper 470 506 976 Theresa Hearne 160 248 408 Peter Hunt 500 422 922 John Dawkins 464 456 920 Jas Sutherland 460 322 782 Steve Gaskin 342 328 670 Stuart Muir 298 246 544 Mick Maxen 0 532 532 Rick Bellars 528 0 528 Clive Moss 0 432 432 BB Male Cub: Kacper Muir 538 522 1060 BB Male Junior: Callum Hazeldine 550 626 1176 Jack Carr 534 506 1040 Joseph Carr 460 572 1032 BB Female Cub: Kelzie King 360 0 360 BB Female Junior: Mae Brazier 640 564 1204 Holly-Ellen Cooke 512 532 1044 BH Male Cub: Flynn Smith 588 634 1222 46

BB Gents: Sat Sun Total Andrew Burns 720 778 1498 Paul Nicholas 784 686 1470 Andy Hazeldine 672 762 1434 Colin Pearson 680 706 1386 Steve Lymath 682 688 1370 John Barcroft 706 660 1366 John Hopkins 650 690 1340 Sean Quelch 648 686 1334 Roger Blake 616 700 1316 Martin Joy 626 686 1312 Jez King 658 628 1286 Stories provided giggles aplenty; from shooting through the Cheshire Cat’s grin to picking Neil Davies 664 614 1278 Carl Tims 632 646 1278 Denzil Langford 624 646 1270 Al Morrow 634 632 1266 Bradley Hunt 560 692 1252 Loz Moseley 626 594 1220 Chris Smedley 576 624 1200 Charlie Cook 516 622 1138 Shane Barratt 550 572 1122 Jack Kernohan 556 556 1112 “ The Boy Who Cried Wolf ” Martin Brannigan 536 540 1076 Jamie Brannigan 518 552 1070 BB Ladies: Mark Hamilton 508 538 1046 Lynne Harrison 602 652 1254 Neil Scarbro 456 470 926 Vicky Harrison 556 544 1100 William Schofield 404 516 920 Bekki Birch 504 548 1052 Ady Carr 472 430 902 Francis Nash 492 558 1050 Andrew Robinson-Morris 352 520 872 Rhiannon Chamber 420 474 894 Simon Bellars 474 0 474 Johal Harpreet 434 318 752 Colin Perriss 468 0 468 Yet Wha Sutherland 216 332 548 Richard DeRoy 0 360 360 BH Male Junior: Andreas Anstee 616 656 1272 BH Female Junior : Chloe Nash 690 738 1428 Laura Haynes 540 544 1084 Amy Spencer 468 476 944 BH Ladies: Sam Haynes 728 752 1480 Lynne Ball 686 680 1366 Kiki Sessions 594 618 1212 Natasha Hood 558 532 1090 Beth Macey 510 548 1058 Sue Birch 566 0 566 “ Rapunzel ” PV Gents: Mark Peet 532 524 1056 Robert Hickey 482 572 1054 One of the many 336 486 822 Stewart Fuller “ Faeries’ Doorways ” Skippy Hammond 392 416 808 47

BH Gents: Sat Sun Total CL Gents: Sat Sun Total Mark Jones 648 694 1342 Mick Anderton 898 920 1818 Paul Anstee 824 852 1676 Jack Witton 585 842 1700 Andy Wells 798 726 1524 Scott Ball 780 836 1616 Michael Wells 714 772 1486 Richard Townsend 772 756 1528 Trevor Borrington 746 726 1472 Andrew Knott 714 726 1440 Martin Cane 700 702 1402 Mark Haynes 598 764 1362 John Jackson 698 696 1394 Levi Allen 630 720 1350 Steve Jenkinson 658 726 1384 Colin Rose 772 0 772 Charlie Watters 660 724 1384 Dean Brazier 670 686 1356 CL Ladies: Paul Odell 662 682 1344 Joanne Healey 722 726 1448 Roy Gerrett 646 646 1292 Paula Kimbley 640 628 1268 Shaun Cutler 644 644 1288 Jim Gilliespie 536 556 1092 FS Gents: John Chambers 526 534 1060 Hugh Stalker 776 720 1496 Peter Morgan 604 0 604 Larry Hood 624 746 1370 Dean Markham 508 0 508 John Chew 586 714 1300 Tony Fuller 0 0 0 Phil Wilson 548 552 1100 Mitch Hill 0 658 658 HT Junior Boy: John Smith 0 650 650 Jacob Hallam 650 662 1312 Terry Wentworth 622 0 622 Sean Lake 440 492 932 Jamie Currie 520 0 520 HT Gents: Dave Robinson 632 682 1314 HT Ladies: Kelly Lake 612 654 1266 Julie Bacon 666 652 1318 Paul Tucker 636 582 1218 Gayle Spencer 556 532 1088 Bernie Britton 618 582 1200 Karen Watkins 548 528 1076 Barry Cheadle 576 590 1166 Liz Nicholas 450 524 974 David Haynes 520 524 1044 Jess Markham 530 434 964 Owen Sankey 478 560 1038 Dawn Donohoe 400 452 852 Conrad Cook 418 572 990 Cathy Hamilton 402 450 852 Dexter Locke 508 478 986 Amanda Burgess 404 428 832 Steve Kernohan 494 468 962 Jane Robinson-Morris 268 402 670 Dave Sambrook 484 476 960 Julie Maibu 416 144 560 Mitch Hitchin 372 466 838 Tegan Robinson-Morris 218 226 444 Colin Bonfield 640 0 640 Lawrence Wiles 0 574 574 Colin Lightfoot 0 500 500 Ben Hearne 302 RET 302 LB Ladies: Wendy Young 424 392 816 Chris Harley 382 416 798 Julie Hawkes 408 376 784 Bela DeFreitas 372 350 722 Alex Tyler 0 554 554 Olivia Morgan 312 0 312 Jill Haynes 130 RET 130 XB Ladies: Margaret Rickard 698 736 1434 “ Playing the theme tune to ‘Frozen’ on the kazoo! ” 48

XB Gents: Sat Sun Total Cameron Brindley 904 904 1808 Ray Bell 896 904 1800 Fred Flatt 894 854 1748 Mitchell Bacon 838 904 1742 David Coggles 848 868 1716 Richard Cope 804 818 1622 Mike Sawyer 710 844 1554 LB Gents: Graham White 598 664 1262 Mark Tarbuck 616 612 1228 Jon Rudge 586 606 1192 Joseph Healy 560 618 1178 Keith Harley 552 610 1162 Phil License 546 566 1112 “ The Disappearing Cat in Alice” ... we had to Dominic Healy 560 546 1106 shoot through the plastic! Adam Browning 574 518 1092 Karl Tonks 554 534 1088 UL Junior Boy: Sat Sun Total Mark Allen 558 522 1080 Jamie White 766 786 1552 Neil Borrington 538 492 1030 Cam Ball 566 736 1302 Dan Banks 466 550 1016 Brian Simcox 522 468 990 UL Gents: Chris Whiting 524 428 952 Dan Rae 968 972 1940 Dan Sambrook 444 492 936 Martyn Cotterill 940 956 1896 Phil Rose 418 444 862 Gary Harvey 932 950 1882 Grot 408 444 852 Lee Gardecki 916 956 1872 Vince Clarkson 386 444 830 Ed Kirk 932 924 1856 Mark Brownridge 352 466 818 Luke Gill 900 944 1844 Ian Leonard 246 294 540 Simon Edwards 892 932 1824 John Lowe 0 384 384 Mark Duerden 884 932 1816 Chris Wilkinson 836 926 1762 UL Ladies: Wayne Fletcher 846 912 1758 Sarah Bacon 888 908 1796 Zach Ball 888 862 1750 Katie Fletcher 798 812 1610 Denis Tyler 876 864 1740 Karen Barnes 752 818 1570 Roger Ball 834 904 1738 Dee Brownless 658 658 1316 Tom Yates 836 890 1726 Janet Allen 756 532 1288 Sam Bruce 820 888 1708 Yazz Mercedes-Proctor 766 (582-R) 766 Richard Clarke 818 874 1692 Tom Fullilove 824 866 1690 Stan Wilding 828 852 1680 Lofty Rooke 840 838 1678 “ Baloo the Bear Stewart Fenwick 824 836 1660 from Thomas Dolinyuk 808 836 1644 The Jungle Book ” John Heeley 806 792 1598 Chris Proctor 788 780 1568 A.K.A. Oliver Clayton-Smith 0 884 884 “ Baloo’s Neil Smith 810 0 810 Corporate Graham Birch 792 0 792 Cousin ”!!!! John Jones 728 0 728 Mick Hickey 546 0 546 All photographs by kind permission of Margaret Rickard - thank you :-) 49

Queen B’s Archery Tales: “A lot ventured, nothing gained”. In July Draig Gogh held the first ever Welsh Championship. I drove down on the Wednesday with a bike on the back of my camper for three stress-free days - well, that was the plan… I'd not ridden a pushbike for over 15 years and should have left it at that but I needed a map. Owning an Explorer map for every part of Wales (and most of the country) except for the bit I was in, I needed to find a shop that sold OS maps. It is foolish to walk off into the hills of a strange place without a compass and good map. I'd intended getting one in Liverpool on my way over, as never having been to this city I'd decided to spend some time there. Arriving about 10.30, after a four hour drive, I spent over an hour trying to find a car park that wasn't multi-storey, accepted cards or didn't demand eight to twelve pound coins which neither I nor anyone else had. In disgust I headed off to Wales, under the River Mersey, where I proffered a ten pound note to a chap in the toll booth giving out change. With a handful of pound coins I told him my tale of woe and he said, in a broad Geordie accent, \"Well, you haven't missed much\"! Although I love Wales and have spent many hiking holidays there, Abergele was disappointing. On Thursday I'd cycled from the campsite hoping to find a WHS, a book shop, or a TIC. I was sorely disappointed. The woman in a paper shop (didn't sell maps) told me there was a cycle track to Conwy behind Tesco's (didn't sell maps). Only about three miles she said. Not having a map and thinking (wrongly) that Rhyll was this side of Conwy so would be nearer, I set off for a short journey. Yes, Rhyll had the map I wanted but I had to cycle a round journey of nearly 20 miles to get it. My Trek bike, with 18 gears, had not long been serviced and was going well, but a narrow, hilly farm track wasn't the ideal place to try and remember how to get my feet into the clips before I fell off and how to sort out a gear somewhere between my legs going like a windmill or not moving at all. I'd forgotten all about my knees and ended up having to walk most of the way back because the roads were so badly maintained not only did every bump transfer itself to my buttocks, the saddle also got gradually lower and lower and in the end my rear was only inches above the back wheel and I didn't have the tool to adjust the seat. This meant my legs never got out of a sharp angle and it was like riding a toddler's trike! Towards the end of my journey it was a struggle to even get over the speed humps, and I imagined what a startled lorry driver would do if a sweaty old biddy offered him a fiver to take her home - but I had my map. I sat with a coffee and planned where I'd walk the following day. Behind me a dog in a neighbouring farm barked non-stop for over two hours. When I'd first driven into the campsite field I was a little alarmed to see three sets of caravans, cars and trucks that looked suspiciously like travellers. At 7 pm, with the dog setting fair for the evening, one set of caravaners lifted the bonnet of their car and proceeded to play one of those irritating 'tuneful' horns over and over again, all the while looking round for effect. Just like home, I thought, so much for getting away from it all. A quick phone call to a couple of friends who found some campsites on line had me blubbering all over the campsite owner and telling him I'd just had a phone call from a neighbour who'd told me my husband had to go into hospital (which was true as he had an appointment the following day) and blathering on about a Pacemaker (which was also true as my husband has one fitted). It was an Oscar-winning performance and I left minus only one day's fee. The campsite my friend had suggested was much nearer the shoot ground and quite a few archers who were staying there said it was good. The owner had told me he could squeeze me in but when I drove on to the field all I could see were dozens and dozens of small tents with scores of teenagers playing football, rushing around shrieking and generally enjoying themselves. I parked as far away as I could and no sooner had I switched the engine off than a dog in the house the other side of the hedge behind me began barking. It was now gone eight and I was so stressed I could barely function. All I wanted to do was find a quiet place to camp and chill out in peace and quiet. My friend suggested an alternative and, although the place was home to over 300 mobile homes, the field at the top with caravans as far as they eye could see was quiet with no sign of movement. At 8 o'clock the next morning I went down to book in and after searching the map with the warden for over half an hour we discovered that the campsite was just off the map I'd paid £10 for and had yet to use! Fortunately one of the staff had an appropriate one, which she let me buy and, plotting a course, I set off to climb a nearby lowering hill. The weather, though overcast, was balmy and still. Crossing the busy A55 I walked uphill into dark, moist pine woods. Hearing a buzzard I stopped to change over to my 300mm lens and mid change a pair of young foxes came out onto the path about 80 yards ahead and started walking towards me. I seem to have spent my entire photographic life just missing the shot of the century because I was using the 'wrong' lens. Of course, as soon as I moved they were off. I'd followed a footpath sign but the muddy, grassy track I was on didn't seem like a permitted path but I carried on because I now had my 'proper' lens on and could see the foxes occasionally in the dark trees. The rain started very gently and for a while was quite pleasant but quickly turned into a torrent so 50