I was in fact tempted to reply by letter to the editor of revolutions, but since he presumably reads this anyway, it will save me the postage.
The writer of this article argues that he had a job where many of these expenses (in time or money) had to be borne by himself, and this was simply the way it was expected in his job, and therefore (self employed) wood turners shouldn't charge for this time etc., lest otherwise we end up with clubs not being able to afford demonstrations.
I would hold against this. Firstly, a business is an undertaking where the customers and the business both benefit from the work undertaken. If the turner can only charge for part of his time/expenses, then ultimately he will go out of business. In fact, if he can only charge for expenses, but not make a profit, the same happens.
Secondly, I am not aware of many modern businesses who get away with not reimbursing their employees for expenses in full (mind you, justified expenses!).
Thirdly, the author argues that if clubs had to pay for all of this, then the membership fees would go up, and he even gives an example of, I believe, 32.50 for a given club size and number of demonstrations. Now I do realize that many club members are retired and therefore have reduced income. However, if you compare this number to what golf clubs or other clubs charge for membership, then I'd think that wood turning is a very affordable hobby.
Plus: at least one of the clubs I am a member of charges separate fees for demonstrations, on the day. If you don't want to pay, or you cannot afford it, then reduce the number of days you're going.
Yes, we all have to live within our means, but that should not mean that we should deprive the few of us who make a living out of wood turning from their income. In fact, I believe this would be very detrimental to wood turning in the long run.
Plus: there is competition here. If one turner charges 200 for a full day, and another charges 250 or 300, then the one with the higher price will have to show something extra, something special, so that clubs will want to pay that premium to get him on their premises. It's like tickets for concerts. If you want to see the Rolling Stones, you have to fork out £100 or more. If all you can afford is £10, then all you're going to get is the local cover band. They're probably good, but they're not the Rolling Stones. And they also want to make a living.