New Member - Elder and the Musician

[John S]

Hi folks, just found this excellent forum and I thought I'd introduce myself.
I live in the Peoples Free Democratic Republic of Eccles Lancashire.
I'm a Musician by trade playing mostly GHB (Great Highland Pipes) Though I play and make other trad/early instruments.
My particular interests at the moment are Elder (Smbucus nigra) that I've been collecting and seasoning for a couple of years and the common reed(Phragmites australis) that I use to make musical Reeds for my pipes and other instruments.
Elder is a wonderful material and some of the long thin 2>4 years old branches I've seasoned have an SG of 0.82 (when kiln dry) the hole down the middle and slight conical bore make it ideal for making Flutes and Whistles.

Season’s greetings

John S

[jakunen]

Hey John,

Welcome to the camp! You'll find lots of friendly guys and gals here, every oen with a different opnion. :lol:

Enjoy your stay.

[TheViking]

Hello and welcome to the forum. :wave: We're all a friendly bunch.

[tomtom]

Welcome Aboard :wave:

[bambodoggy]

Welcome to the mad house Matey.....you won't meet a nicer and friendlier bunch of bushnutters!!!! :wave:

[leon-1]

Welcome to BCUK John, good wood to have an interest in, it has medicinal properties as well as being good for fire by friction :wave:

[John S]

Thanks for the welcome folks and have a good New Year.

TTFN

John S

[Moonraker]

Bienvenue John. Nice to have you here.

In my research I have seen elder wood (Sambucus nigra) used for similar purposes back in the Medieval period, probably for a lot longer too I suspect. There is much folklore associates with elder too :-)

There is a nice web site on elderberry mythology here:

Myths & Legends of Black Elderberry
(http://www.paghat.com/elderberrymyths.html)

Interestingly it is associated a lot with death, faeries and bad spirits which may be related to the toxicity of all parts to both humans and animals, unless properly treated. But also used as a protective icon to protect stored food from the devil!

[jdlenton]

Jump in the water's lovely I've not been here long and its great

Happy New Year :wave:

[Paganwolf]

G'Day John great to have you here :wink: an uncle of mine used to play the pipes i just love the magical sound they make, im off tomorrow to buy another didgeridoo in fremantle to add to my collection, happy blowing and welcome :wave: PW