September Sunshine
In which Jack enjoys a day away from Hilltop Farm, learning the art of ploughing with Grandad.
New lease of life
Grandad decided to retire from farming a few years ago, which has given him the opportunity to take up new hobbies. The good news is that he takes me along with him. He says that he’s doing Mum and Dad a favour, by getting me ‘out from under their feet’, though I think he’s secretly glad of all the help that I give him. To be honest, with all of the little jobs that I do, I wonder how would manage without me.
New look
Grandad’s favourite hobby is doing up vintage machinery. His pride and joy is his little 35. It’s a Massey 35 and has been in the family since it was bought new. It had been neglected for a while, as it was too small to be useful for most day-to-day jobs, but Grandad has given it quite a lot of TLC in the workshop and, as he says, it’s shining like a new pin. He fixed up the engine to start with. We pulled it apart and put in new rings and liners. He then reconditioned the injectors before giving it a re-spray. New tyres added the finishing touch. When Grandad had the chance to buy a David Brown match plough from a friend, he couldn’t pass up the chance, and it was only a matter of time before we started looking for dates of local ploughing matches.
New pressures
Grandad made his debut at the Leominster Ploughing Match earlier this month. It was quite a good choice, allowing Grandad to cut his teeth in his first match without it being too pressured. It was a vintage working day, so there were quite a few folks there with Grey Fergies and Fordson Majors and so on, but not quite so many of the professional match ploughmen who we would come to know during the season. We loaded the tractor and plough on the trailer, packed some sandwiches and a toolbox, and headed there for an early start.
New problems
The plots were measured out before the competition began, so we put in the sight sticks so Grandad could open up his cop with a poker straight line. The first furrow can cause a headache; get it wrong and it can upset your ploughing for the rest of the day (and that didn’t bear thinking about). There were plenty of seasoned competitors on hand offering advice and I enjoyed seeing all of the machines at work. The day was going well until the link arm broke. Thankfully, another competitor who lived nearby was willing to lend a replacement so that Grandad could finish. I can’t wait until I am old enough to compete in ploughing matches. I can’t think of anything else that I would rather do.
Jack – Farmer in Training
Jack was born to farm. He just loves helping out his dad, and his trusty dog Meg is never far away. Farming is in his blood and bones. He has his own small flock of sheep, a few hens and some calves. He has great plans to expand his own enterprise (though Dad says he has to learn to walk before he can learn to run). He may be little but his ambitions are huge.
