I should share this, because much of it was shared with me- and it has helped me enormously. I've been building these things for less than a year, and I now find that each new instrument I finish plays like a real guitar. For the love of Gitty, some of them may even be saleable... Anyway, here goes.

I was initially shy of showing my builds to my friend S. Not only is she a skilled carpenter and fully qualified boatbuilder, she does not suffer fools gladly either. But she was really…

One day last summer I was driving down the hill to the local market town for bits and pieces. Saw a 'bike down in the middle of the road, so stopped and asked the chap in black leathers if he was OK. When he turned I could see he was my age-ish- late 50s, grey beard, that sort of thing. "Fine" he said, "only had this thing a couple of days", so I drove on. Got to town, parked, and burst out laughing. My wife, I thought, is luckier than she knows. There was a chap who may not have ridden a…