Now that our Straw Bale Communion Table is being given official permission by the Archdeacon of Lambeth, we need a more decent top for it, rather than the old bit of MDF we had knocking around the church basement!  So here’s the new top, with varnish drying in what was earlier a sunny window!

I wanted to use the project to experiment with some ideas:  the wood is ordinary osb, varnished.  I had an idea that it would complement the straw, and that in due course, we might want to use it for flooring in the hall.  It looks nice, but there are still some questions to be resolved about durability.

Then I thought I would make my own clay to fill the routed cross.  Since we are having the garden dug up for a new water main, there was plenty to hand.  The experience convinced me to buy ready-made clay plaster when the time comes.  There are lots of little stones in the average garden, and it’s jolly hard to get it to a workable consistency.

And then it cracked – which of course, is now part of the rustic design!