You Call That A Knife?

To avoid enforced redecoration during the COVID-19 lockdown, Barry Stoffell digs into his antler box to fashion a truly personal companion

- Barry Stoffell

By the time this article is printed, readers will likely have been in a state of self-isolation for some time, confined to quarters for the common good. For many of you, this will have started as something of a relaxing novelty, using the enforced downtime to get enthusiastically stuck into books unread, jobs undone and packets of biscuits uneaten.

But before long the inactivity starts to bite and cabin fever sets in. You find yourself reminiscing about the “good old days” when you could go to the supermarket any time you liked. More biscuits are eaten. Then your partner undertakes an audit of the half-full tins of paint in the garage and begins to drop heavy hints about redecorating the spare room.

The devil makes work for idle hands and if you don’t find gainful occupation for yours soon, someone will almost certainly put a paintbrush in them. The good news is that if you’re a deer stalker — or there is one in the family — salvation is at hand.B S

Every stalker I know has an “antler box” — a collection of cervine debris that has gathered dust for some time, awaiting the rainy day when they would be turned into all manner of useful household items. With self-isolation, that day may have arrived.

Diversion