RDD wrote:
In message , Janet Tweedy
writes
Does anyone have any recommendations for oak garden chairs/seats?

Trying to find a nice bench and also two armchairs but has been a
slow trawl through websites etc but either the benches are (at 6oo
pounds) way out of my league or they have solid backs.

Know there must be oak furniture sellers out there but Google can
only find about three.

janet

If you would consider teak, we bought a superb 3 seater bench from
http://www.swanhattersley.co.uk. From Wyevale (sp?) circa £230 last
year; flat pack.

The Henley range http://tinyurl.com/dsndr .Extremely comfortable
for both of us ( me being 6ft+ and my wife 5ft 3) . The bench is not
too heavy so it can be easily moved when cutting lawn etc.

Our next purchase will be the Henley Duet http://tinyurl.com/79nxy
also very comfortable and you can support a parasol through the table.
Some good combo deals at the local garden centres. Circa £399
including parasol & base this year

End of season should be a good time for savings.

Good luck.

If you *must* have teak, please make sure it's Tropical Hardwood Commission
approved. Teak (and mahogany) both come from SW Asia, and the forests are
home to many endangered species, including one of the four great apes, the
orangutan. The THC ensures that all tropical hardwood sold for use in the
West has come from sustainable sources (much of it FairTrade) and has not
been illegally logged.

Buy oak - it looks just as good as teak, and the Forestry Commission ensures
it comes from properly managed woodland. The main reason it's so expensive
is because (like teak) it's incredibly slow growing.

I won't purchase anything made from a tropical hardwood unless I can be sure
of its provenance and can trace it. Swan Hattersley do *NOT* declare the
provenance of their merchandise, therefore I'd think extremely seriously two
or three times before purchase.

Get your priorities right - which do you consider more important: - you
having garden furniture; or your children being able to see orangs in the
wild? At the rate mahogany and teak forests are being destroyed, the orang
will be extinct by the time I'm 40 (I'm 29 now).

]Sobering thought, isn't it?


--
In memory of MS MVP Alex Nichol: http://www.dts-l.org/