Bit of radio silence, as every weekend from early November to late October was filled with all manner of busy-ness. Not only did a set of my friends get married in New Orleans, but I was asked to take on the role of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg at the Dickens Fair, held in South San Francisco for the five weekends prior to Christmas, including the Thanksgiving weekend. Needless to say, a lot of busy work to be done, but what might surprise you is the lone opportunity that I had to use my shoemaking skills was to repair a tear in a pair of leather riding breeches that I was able to purchase online. I’ve never been quite so happy to know how to round close leather, as it made the tear (which looked more like a cut, to be honest) practically invisible. But, now that Dickens is done, I’ve got a new project on the bench, and I hope the writeup will wow you when you read it…stay tuned. In the meantime, a shot of me and Queen Victoria, courtesy of Philip Pavliger, just to prove that I’m not making it all up!