Hi Brian B , it was a whisky barrel from Scotland. It seems to have been painted with something on the inside. probably where the oil came from or as GB BUDD suggested earlier, from old plants which I should have thrown away. The barrel is watertight to about 4” from the top so I don’t need to line it. I did consider a lining but the barrel is very big and it would have been difficult to hide the liner at the top and there would have been so many folds to deal with. Anyway it seems to have settled down. Thanks for all the suggestions. June
