Sometimes mistakes can be expensive, waste a lot of time or be a real frustration.  At other times they can be fortuitous, as is the case here.  I had intended that this pair of spalted Hornbeam salt and pepper mills would be finished with swept tops (my most popular style), but I was tired and made a cut in the wrong place.  Aargh!  But what to do?  Do I consign both to the flames, or do I have a single mill and consign just one to the fire?  I decided the timber was too good to waste, so decided to try a new shape and this is the result – a pair of bishops, so-called because of the resemblance of the top to a bishop’s mitre.

Just one pair at the moment, so not enough for a bench or psalter, but I’m working on it.

And I suppose the moral of this tale is that whatever the mistake, we can always learn from it!

PS. If you are interested in this particular pair, then they’ll be ion sale at Knebworth House this weekend.