Ashes to four-posters

WITH some delight, I read the piece about native ash by Mark Griffiths (‘). Some years ago, I commissioned a cabinetmaker called Christopher Whitehouse to make a very fine table and several three-legged stools from a fallen ash tree. Later, another storm brought down an ancient cedar—this he made into three handsome four-poster beds and a vast blanket chest. Far too often after a storm, trees are cleared away without a thought. Even the smaller branches can be made into logs. As the old poem says: Ash logs, all smooth and grey, burn them green or old; buy up all that come your way, they’re worth their weight in gold.