At our May pub night, having done my stint on the door, I was presented with the opportunity to join the assembled throng in the bar and dungeon space and ‘feel the vibe’. Boy, was it lively! Had a long chat with Richard, caught up with Michael, squeezed into the dungeon space (which was packed!) – about the only thing I didn’t get to do was have a chin-wag with DJ Fradge.
What I did get to do, though, was to spend some time watching our amazing Boot Black 13 in action. To say that I was enthralled to see him plying his craft is a significant understatement – I was quite mesmerised by the processes he uses to pamper leather. In fact, I cannot recall anyone else who is so obviously in love with leather. Here is a man who is totally dedicated to his craft, and Boot Co. is seriously lucky to have 13 – lucky number for him (we hope) at the IBBC in Chicago, and lucky for us.
I must say that now feel somewhat guilty that I only spend minimal time maintaining my leather bits and pieces, and intend to rectify that situation. In addition, I recently found a bag (not mine) containing a number of leather accessories in rather desperate need for some TLC, so will have to get stuck into that. These items came with the house, and down sizing has been something of a journey of discovery, both through my own things, many of which have not seen light of day for (a lot of) years, to boxes of ‘stuff’ tucked into all sorts of niches and corners – oh boy! Anyway, all I can say is that it’s a process and a work in progress, and it all takes time. One just has to keep chipping away at it, and hope the end comes into sight soon – hope springs eternal!
In the meantime, I will simply reiterate just how lucky BootCo. is to have 13 – love your work mate! Look forward to seeing you all at Attention on June 6 in the downstairs bar at Sporties.
In Leather Brotherhood,
Yours in Leather Brotherhood,
Frank Croucher,
Mr Qld Leather, 1999.
