Forest Gate Forge

Greetings fine folk, bad news I’m afraid, due to a serious incident last Friday the FGLZ is closed until further notice and so we don’t have access to the forge. What with next week being half term, that means the next sessions will begin the week of the 29th, so if you could be so kind as to pass the message on I would be grateful. Thank you. ☹️

Hooray! The first sessions of term were a super great unmitigated success, anyone saying otherwise is fake news! Really jolly bunch of new students, super keen and a good laugh. I'm looking forward to them starting to produce their own ideas once they have gained the skills. To those of you who thought about having a go at blacksmithing, DO IT, whether here at Forest Gate or somewhere else, you are unlikely to regret it! Talk soon, promise.

Yet more implications for the cultural soul of this once most cultured country. 😔

Well, well, well, here we are, all the tens, 10 days from the 10th of September and the start of ten weeks of metal mashing madness! So if you ever wanted to give blacksmithing a try, now is your chance as we still have a few places left, here's what you need to know.
The classes run on Mondays 1:00 - 4:00pm or 6:00 - 9:00pm and Tuesdays 6:00 - 9:00pm. There is no dress code, but if you like it, DO NOT WEAR IT, it'll get dirty or torn or burnt and we wouldn't want that. Footw...ear needs to be stout, flip flops will not protect you from a dropped hammer or a hot coal believe me! New students make a variety of artefacts, these are the means by which we teach the basic processes of smithing. The fees for the course are £250, that includes all materials, fuel, tools and tutoring. That's £25 a session, £8.34 an hour or in other words a ruddy bargain! So come along to the forge on the day and time that suits you and we'll squeeze you in I'm sure.
One last thing, students paying the full fee at the start of this term will receive a 10% discount, mint! If you need to know more, drop me a line. See you there.
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Middle of nowhere, not quite, but long way from home!😬

*BREAKING NEWS*
I know it's late in the day, week, year, but due to ongoing domestic endeavours involving the attempt to purchase a 7.5 tonne removal lorry (I'll tell you about it when I see you), the term start dates are being postponed till the 15th and 16th of January. Apart from that, everything stays the same. You still get ten wholesome, fun and laughter filled 3 hour sessions, PPE, fuel and materials included, for less than a weekend in Ryhill. Bargain.
If your heating... is on the blink, we've got a roaring forge fire to stand by, surrounded by like minded folk, not something that can always be said of one’s own living room these days, not forgetting the buzz you'll get from hitting hot steel for a few hours whilst losing some of those festive calories!
I have the number of returning students more or less carved into my mind bone, leaving a few spots for beginners to join the mob, meaning there are only limited opportunities to hangout with the cool kids. But, whoever you are, old or new, email me if you're not sure that I'm sure I know you're attending, because I'm sure I don't, with my head being full of other stuff of late. And I do hate to disappoint.
I know it's been a long, hard wait for your fix of hot'n'spicy blacksmithing goodness, believe me, I buy my coke by the tonne! You only have to hang on another week, normal service will be reassumed and everyone gets to bathe in the welcoming glow of the forge fire once again.
Kind regards,
Sean Marshall, Metalworker.
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Missed Monday? Yes you did, no worries, its second chance Tuesday! 6-9pm come on down & see for yourself!

Put the bottle down and despair no longer, for on the 24th of April, a new term begins! And as an Easter egg to all my current & future anvil bashers, there’s now a Tuesday evening session available for even more hot hammer action! Now the not so good news. Due to Johnny Foreigner’s jealousy at this great nation’s soon to arrive independence, they have conspired to make our coke & steel more expensive. As the sixth largest economy in the world, we no longer need to manufactur...e such basic commodities, at least for domestic consumption, leaving us at the cold hearted, money grabbing mercy of the rest of the world. That being the case, the course fees will increase from £180 to £200. Now I realise that any form of price rise is unwelcome, but I believe the course still presents great value in comparison to equivalent classes assuming you can find one, with hourly costs increasing from £6 to £6.67 (£6.6666 to be exact!) But, being a kind and benevolent deity, I’ve decided the increase won’t happen till the Autumn term in September. So come one, come all, old and new students, it might be the last chance to experience an amazing craft in a friendly, fun atmosphere on the cheap!
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Enough eggs already, we know what you want, so here it is! Come and see us at the forge, 24th & 25th April.

Saw these guys tonight at the Peacock Theatre, almost unbelievably physical 2 hour performance, but I prefer the work of Kodo. More formal, less happy clappy, but all good!😃

THE BEST LAID PLANS...
JUST BEEN INFORMED BY THE OFFICE THAT BECAUSE IT IS HALF TERM, THEY'LL BE CLOSING THE CENTRE AT 5:00 SO NO EVENING CLASS!!😤😫😵 SO PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD & WE'LL MEET AGAIN NEXT WEEK, FOR SURE!

Due to the strike on London Underground today, the start of term will be delayed till 16th January, not to worry, there will still be ten sessions, just delayed by a week. Please pass this message on to someone you think may not have received it. Just to be clear, term start is now January 16th, 1:00pm or 6:00pm, so those of you who thought you might have missed your chance, you haven't! Turn up a little before hand if possible so we can get the admin out of the way. The term is still made up of 10 three hour classes at a cost of £180, a bargain if you compare it to other courses, assuming you can find another!

☹️ Due to the strike on London Underground today, the start of term will be delayed till 16th January, not to worry, there will still be ten sessions, just delayed by a week. Please pass this message on to someone you think may not have received it. Just to be clear, term start is now January 16th, 1:00pm or 6:00pm, so those of you who thought you might have missed your chance, you haven't! Turn up a little before hand if possible so we can get the admin out of the way. The term is still made up of 10 three hour classes at a cost of £180, a bargain if you compare it to other courses, assuming you can find another!

Well here we are again, fire on, hammer in hand, waiting to meet the student hoards! So come on down & enrol or just for a chat, I'm here till 6pm. If you miss today then come on down on Monday 9th, at 1pm or 6pm to see us!

So, Newham is one of worst places in the country for recycling, they obviously didn't come to Forest Gate Forge, wood & paper lights the fires, metal, well, you know what we do with that!