Steven,
I much enjoyed reading the interview with Mr. Cooper. I have known and worked with a number of English craftsmen in my own trade, blokes like Cyril and fast Phillip. After so many years at it, it seemed common for some/many of them to lose a bit of their enthusiasm at the bench. Not that this is indicative of Englishmen in particular, but over familiarity with a process can give rise to certain struggles for any master tradesman. It can become a bigger challenge than just getting the "angles and dangles" correct, though there certainly seems to be overlap. Varied experience, time at it, the age one lives in, luck, are all contributors to the psyche of the artisan. Ron Cooper appears to have maintained a vitality and freshness in his thinking, and mix that with the history, and it is a tasty "cake". I venture these are signs of a well chosen and successful career. Thanks, and good job in getting the interview posted, and congratulations to Ron for reaching the point where what he'll be doing is having more fun.
Dennis Young
Hotaka, Japan