Hello I'm Krestey Young and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs archive.

For rights reasons, we've had to shorten the music.

The program was originally broadcast in 2002 and the presenter was Sue up so. My castaway this week is a furniture designer. As a member of the royal family, he was brought up

surrounded by beautiful and memorable things which his parents taught him to understand and appreciate.

He trained under the distinguished craftsman John Makepiece and then went into business himself.

His love of beauty and his determination to create things that will last has always been accompanied

by a desire to earn his living from his craft.

Today nearly 20 years on, his shop is beginning to show a profit.

So the Royal Woodworker, incidentally the only castaway I believe, both of whose parents have been guests on this

program is set fair to achieve his ambition. That must be due in part to common sense

because as he observes working with wood brings everything down to a level.

He is David Lindley.

What is it about wood and working with it, David, that you find so attractive? I think ever since I sort of picked up a piece of wood.

First of all, every piece of wood is different.

The nature of the wood, the way that you work it,

the knowledge that you need to build up to use it properly.

It's a warm material, it's very tactile and people love to touch it.

That's right, and you often say to people, I know,

you sort of touch your furniture.

I mean, people who own furniture should touch their furniture to make it their own.

Yes, so often you go into antique shops and it says please don't touch.

To me the joy is to run your hands along the outside and underneath to see that the

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