"I have been thinking about how to translate some of the themes into cloth. A journey lends itself to the process of weaving, in this mechanical act the progress of a thread can be followed as it traverses the warp on the loom, back and forth, under and over, slowly revealing a bigger picture. Like a story a journey has a beginning, middle and end and we weave stories and stitch together events.

The theme of a journey has made me think about superstitions surrounding travelling, both European and African and in the course of my research have discovered that the colour red in many cultures is used on clothing to provide protection, it is a colour that can represent both life and death and is often embroidered on clothes to provide protection from evil spirits. I am going to experiment with using red thread to embroider elements of Freddie's journey, I have been looking at maps of both the West African coast and also shipping maps which show the trade routes the 19th century steam boats followed.

The kente cloth he had been given on a previous trip is my way of weaving into his story. Kente is a West African cloth made by sewing together narrow strips of woven cloth to make a larger piece of fabric. These have a ceremonial and symbolic meaning and are highly valued.

In the letters he wrote home to his wife Nellie, Freddie is constantly reassuring her about his good health, the good weather and the ease of passage, but in reality going to Africa on a steam ship was a journey fraught with all sorts of dangers."

Back in the day a hooper would work alongside a cooper to fit the metal rings on the outside of the barrel. In more recent times, the cooper has taken on this process, bending the wood and fitting the hoops himself.

Not many distilleries still have coopers these days, so Ger really is a living piece of history. Here’s hoping he passes on his skills, so the Buckley family can continue to be a part of the Jameson distillery Cooperage for generations to come.