BBC発 ： The 17-year-old blacksmith
２０２１年３月２５日（Thu.）14:30UP ： blacksmith とは鍛冶屋のことですが、黒人に対しては失礼な言い方にも聞こえる為、単に smith とか farrier を使うことが多いとも辞書などに書かれています。それにしても本記事の17歳にも注目・・・と言ったところでしょうか。（ニュースソース： BBC ３月２４日発 ）
＜原文の一部＞
The 17-year-old blacksmith going viral online
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Ben's whale bottle opener became a hit online
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Most teenagers probably ask for video games for Christmas - but Ben Perkins asked for an anvil.
Even at the age of 13, he knew he wanted to give blacksmithing a go.
Now 17, Ben has built a thriving business on Etsy and Instagram, making and selling all sorts of metalwork, from steel crucifixes to sterling-silver necklaces.
And one of his social-media posts, of a whale bottle opener, has more than 90,000 upvotes on Reddit.
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'It's mad'
"It was pretty crazy," Ben said.
"I was a bit bored in lockdown, so I thought I'd post it.
"It's mad that so many people were interested in something I made.
"I got a lot of messages from people asking for things.
"I counted over 150 messages with people wanting to order something.
"And it's mainly the whales that people have ordered.
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Ben has been making the whales in his back garden during lockdown
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"Each one is handmade - it takes around an hour to make.
"When I realised I had over 150 people wanting them, I thought that would be a challenge.
"I try to make them in batches - but overall there's a lot of material that needs to be manipulated.
"I had so many orders, I was even thinking of taking someone on."
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'Good fun'
Always interested in making things, one day Ben decided just to give it a go in his back garden.
"I dug a hole in the ground and put some coals in it," he said.
"I used a hairdryer to get them hot.
"Then I used an old piece of fence and an old chopping board as an anvil.
"I was just using old tools and random pieces of metal I found in the woods.
"It was quite rudimentary at the start - but I thought it was good fun.
"I was 13 when I started - I even asked my parents for an anvil that Christmas - and I practised a lot."
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Ben has come a long way since he started with a hole in the ground and a hairdryer
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Ben spent lots of weekends enjoying his hobby - but it was only during the first lockdown he decided to focus on the craft.
"In lockdown, I was able to do a lot more of it," he said.
"I was doing my GCSEs, then they got cancelled, which was ideal for me because I no longer had to revise for exams.
"That gave me a lot of time to get out and start working.
"I've been able to broaden my horizons from just blacksmithing - into welding, jewellery-making and even some leatherwork recently.
"My friends thought it was a bit odd at first - but once they came over and gave it a go, they saw the fun in it."
（注： 和訳は省略します。原文を流し読みして下さい。 原文サイトは下記リンクへ ）
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ロックダウンを上手く転用（？）したのかも知れませんね。それにしても器用な若者です。
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ところで、日本では聖火リレーが本日から始まりましたが、GoToトラベルやGoToイートの二の舞にならないことを願うばかりです。それよりも、もう一年の五輪延期を即断すべきでしょう。ダラダラと判断を遅らすことは、人命や経済の両面の損失を拡大するだけだと思います。
兎に角、世界中でのワクチン接種が一定数（割合）進むことと、治療薬が開発普及することが五輪等の国際イベントの開催可能条件でしょう。また、無観客での五輪などあり得ません。
＊＊＊ 下の写真は、記事内容とは関係ありません。
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