OKAY!! I give up!! I clearly misunderstood that basteln had a 'tinkerer' connotation, rather than a 'competent craftsman' one. One of you (quite rightly) tells me that 'culture' doesn't do things, but 'people' do. I agree, though that doesn't deny the influence of culture on the people who embrace it. My thoughts really go back many hundreds of years, to the mediaeval guilds, which originated in Northern Europe. Guild membership was the key to practicing most trades. There's a little bit of that still around in the UK, where professional organisations (e.g. medical and legal) use their influence to restrict the number of people entering their professions, thereby keeping themselves scarce so they can charge their customers what they like. It has its good side, too, in that employing a guild member gives some kind of guarantee. I had assumed that Germany, as the cradle of the guild organisations, must have an even stronger tradition of this kind - especially in view of the reaction of my customer. Of course, he was only one example, and so my logic is flawed - "The Aristotelian fallacy" I think it's called? Good basteling to all! Bill (who's a right "Basteller", as far as folding boats are concerned - certainly no competition to Pouch Boats!) ____________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.co.uk address at http://mail.yahoo.co.uk or your free @yahoo.ie address at http://mail.yahoo.ie ######################################################### Foldingboats Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside Foldingboats or Foldingboats archives without author's permission Submissions: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscriptions: [EMAIL PROTECTED] #########################################################
