Stone.

I suppose my love-affair with Stone dates back to when I was billeted right next to a huge towering medieval Cathedral for several years.

The Cathedral, which took hundreds of years to complete, is entirely constructed of Stone. Every single piece of Stone being hand hewn from a quarry 42 miles away in Northampton-shire, transported, then hand carved in situ. A massive undertaking.

I used to wander around in awe, admiring the details of the tiniest bits of carving, that most people never saw. It was, and is, a miracle of human endeavor.

Later, in France, I worked with a Stone Cutter, carving medieval style  'openings' for domestic buildings (windows, doorways, fireplaces, etc). I had been taught Stone Carving at my first Art College, by a man who had worked for Eric Gill.

These days I walk past my local church twice every day. It is built of Flint, with Stone detailing.

This beautiful, but simple, corner masonry (above) is a good example of the basic work involved. Most would walk past it without paying any attention to the workmanship, but it is a lovely piece of work. It was built when all that a Stone Mason possessed was Hammer and Chisel. Every piece of stone had to be firstly shaped into a flat sided block before the actual carving began.

Stone Cutting is very satisfying, but is also back-breaking. Once the lumps of stone are cut, they need to be lifted into position, and that can be 'painful'. I'm sure that my Sciatica is partly caused by lifting crazy weights into place. We always worked in the same way as those medieval Stone Masons had worked centuries ago. No machines or hoists.