Because we came from a small London flat to a large house, we needed to get a lot of furniture and we didn’t have any country-house-appropriate-butchers blocks lying around, and Stevie was convinced it was essential for our kitchen.

We found one on ebay, and our friend Bernard (a cabinet maker in Swansea) spent 4 or 5 days sanding decades worth of butchers’ wear

.  See http://bigtreemumbles.co.uk/portfolio/butchered-block/.

Now we’re moving next door into the cottage, we’re back on the hunt for such things, although it’s so tiny that it’s not such an issue, but if you know of any chairs, sofas, cots or tables going, then let me know.