b'Hi-Fi company, which was something else that waswarships, and helped rebuild a crashed monoplane going to become very useful, and I used the garagewith aviation grade Sitka Spruce. I have a big as a workshop. On one memorable night at about 3collection of odd experiences and partial skills, I am I got my arm stuck inside Martin Carthys guitaram grateful for it all, but I feel rather depressed while fitting a pickup. I eventually extracted myselfwhen I think about all the things that I didnt have using a crisp packet tucked around the soundholetime for, andexperiences that cant be passed on to to help ease my elbow out. Some time later, I toldsomeone else.Martin this story, that I was panicking and temptedI lived very near to the Cutty Wren folk club, to smash the guitar off my arm. Very quietly, hewho booked all the major singers and guitarists.said, I would have smashed you. He seems such aAt the time, guitar styles were moving away gentle guy doesnt he? from plectrums and simple chords, towards I must have seemed a trustworthy sort of personfingerstyle, then they entered the slightly random though, Martin allowed this geeky, hairy youngand unstructured world of altered tunings and chap to whisk off his most treasured possession.thumbpicks. Just about everything came from Ive been looking after that old guitar for him everAmerica - there were no commercial guitars being since. He calls it The Old Lady, and when I re- made in the UK, and most of the strings, records, polished it, he said, shes got a sun tan. music and song books were American, we were Some years later I got my hand stuck in the pocketeven re-importing our own traditional music played of a pool table, and I used the same crisp packetby American musicians. technique to escape. I really must be more carefulBut something had started to change; we had our where I put my hands.own home grown guitarists in England. Speak to My job was based in the buildings where Shortany guitarist from the 1960s and they will mention Sunderland flying boats had been made, and theThe Shadows, Bert Weedon, Davy Graham, or Eric Hovercraft was invented and built just along theClapton and Peter Green. Each of those made the road. I obtained some lovely mahogany from oldguitar a little more desirable and accessible. You could work your way up though Apache orKirkham Workshop A few years later and back working by myself. I still have that same tuner, it is Me using the Wadkin router. I bought this for the Pack Leader guitars, so it must haveanalogue rather than digital, which makes been 1978. The machine is obviously not running at the time, as no one in their righta big differencemind would go anywhere near it without ear protection. I look about fifteen.28'