© Crown copyright. All rights reserved. Licence number PU 100034184.

There's an extra letter box just created in Loweswater but you can't use it for posting letters. 

An art project that perhaps owes more to "Care in the Community " than "Art in the community" !

Chain Saw Carving can't be that difficult can it ?

At the bottom of our garden, on the side of the lane to Gillerthwaite,

is a large tree stump just crying out for some love and attention to save it from the woodman's axe.

We salvaged the three upper trunks for our winter wood supply which has left a rather awkward base.

A conversation with a professional wood carver came to nought after I described what was remaining.

However we did end up with a few ideas . . .

Enter, stage right, our new neighbours who have picked up on an old photo they saw in the Kirkstile Inn

and decided to re-name his property "The Old Post Office" Gillerthwaite.

Mayson's old postcard above names the location, the grey picture shows the words "Post Office" on the gable end of their house.

It provided the inspiration for the next set of plans . . .

Perhaps a postman bear and a pillar box . . .	. . . or the bear with his Post Office van.

After discussions with our neighbours it was time to bite the bullet and set to with the chain saw !

- - - o o o - - -

I would like to say at this point that what you are about to see was real . . . it did happen.

The guy doing it was doing it for the first time . . . but he's not good on life-like art.

No safety net was in place during the whole of the performance.

The basic shape emerges.	The post van, looking more like a Land Rover.

The post box develops out of the second part of the stump.	Remember to do the back as well.

Stop while you're ahead !

I felt we had reached a suitable point to move on and start painting . . . first a pink undercoat.

Change of paints a day later to the final colour.	True pillar box red with rear detail as well.

Time to stop I think . . . before we get carried away.

I hope it makes a nice house-warming present

for the residents of "The Old Post Office" Gillerthwaite.

	- - - o o o - - -     Do send me your pictures of your visit to the red post box. I'll try and publish them here.   These two youngsters who are up on holiday, stopped to see it whilst out walking with their grandmother Joan and her dog Max.   Thanks for sending the photo Joan . . . RmH.   - - - o o o - - -