I remember when.............

[Renaultman]

And I remember after going to YFC, - fish was 6d and chips were 3d. I could only afford chips! Total less than 4p. I think that's what they call inflation!

Was A beer on the local then fish and chips when I was in YFC probably about 13 14, got there one night and found it was cancelled, scrounged a lift back to the pub, only to find Dad wasn't there, but some of his mates were, who kindly filled me up with beer. Neither me nor Dad were popular when I got home.

 

[colhonk]

I can remember when I got 3 gallons of petrol and 1p change for a pound.

 

[colhonk]

I can remember when Mars Bars were 7 old pennies,

 

[betweenthelines]

If there was a broken straw bale left in the field after we loaded up the trailers, Dad would set it alight as we left.

We always told him it was dangerous. He always ignored us. It always caught the hedge alight.

 

[two-cylinder]

First crops combined here were cut by a contractors M103 bagger, he was cutting wheat in road gear and we couldn’t change bags fast enough, just hold it in place open the slide and slam it shut, bag full!
Some years later we had a 103, filthiest machine to drive as the dust came straight up in front of the driver. But we could never get it to cut as fast as old Jack could!

Yes both the M103 and Class SF were filthy machines, probably why their makers lifted the drivers platform up for the 133/135 and Matador?
It was far better to locate the driver to the left as MH/MF and Ransomes did

 

[Oliveau]

Now that harvest has started here, it's just made me think a bit. My neighbour is a good [youngish c. early fifties] farmer and by and large works on his own aided by 3 big NH tractors & a Manitou. The only help he has is for autumn sowing. He uses a neighbouring farmer as a combining contractor - tracked Lexion with a header from here to breakfast time- and he basically supports the combine for the whole season with 2 big trailers & when I say big, I mean big, like 18t capacity. Most of the farmers here send their grain to the local co-op stores. The combine basically runs until the small hours of the morning [not this year because it KEEPS raining!] They have a driver change about teatime, which set me thinking. Do these guys stop for meals - I don't think so, which gets me to the point of this canter:

Late 60's, early seventies there would be 3 combines, a 12' Senator, a 12' Mercator and the old 10' Matador, plus acouple of corn cart guys and we'd all stop at 5.00 and sit down for tea, perhaps with the baler boy if he was in the same field. A very sociable time - a chat and a respite from the heat & dust, and then the combines would have a few grease nipple attended to.

One of our fields had a line of what we called 'cherry plums' - little yellow plums I suppose like Mirabelles, and they were always ripe at harvest time, so if we were in that field at tea time we'd back the combines right up to the hedge and stand on the back to pick the plums.

How things have changed, and I'm now just a silly old fart with lots of memories, but glad that I don't have to farm nowadays.

 

[Lazy Sod]

I remember using a Fordson Standard (model N) to turn hay with a Massey Harris Dicky swath turner.

 

[colhonk]

I remember when eerrrmm I remember when eerr, can`t remember what i remembered

 

[JWL]

I have a job to remember what I went upstairs for, although if it's dark it must be bedtime

 

[dowcow]

I'm not actually that old, but one of my fondest memories will always be driving the old Massey 185 home with a large load of small straw bales behind. Taking it very steady because the old men scoffed at roping on. No lights with such a tractor either... no doors or mirrors but a tatty canopy over the top. And there I was merrily trundling along for a couple of miles only a little over walking pace smoking a cigar after a long hot day kinda realising that the days of doing this sort of thing were coming to a close.

 

[Exfarmer]

Now that harvest has started here, it's just made me think a bit. My neighbour is a good [youngish c. early fifties] farmer and by and large works on his own aided by 3 big NH tractors & a Manitou. The only help he has is for autumn sowing. He uses a neighbouring farmer as a combining contractor - tracked Lexion with a header from here to breakfast time- and he basically supports the combine for the whole season with 2 big trailers & when I say big, I mean big, like 18t capacity. Most of the farmers here send their grain to the local co-op stores. The combine basically runs until the small hours of the morning [not this year because it KEEPS raining!] They have a driver change about teatime, which set me thinking. Do these guys stop for meals - I don't think so, which gets me to the point of this canter:

Late 60's, early seventies there would be 3 combines, a 12' Senator, a 12' Mercator and the old 10' Matador, plus acouple of corn cart guys and we'd all stop at 5.00 and sit down for tea, perhaps with the baler boy if he was in the same field. A very sociable time - a chat and a respite from the heat & dust, and then the combines would have a few grease nipple attended to.

One of our fields had a line of what we called 'cherry plums' - little yellow plums I suppose like Mirabelles, and they were always ripe at harvest time, so if we were in that field at tea time we'd back the combines right up to the hedge and stand on the back to pick the plums.

How things have changed, and I'm now just a silly old fart with lots of memories, but glad that I don't have to farm nowadays.

The beauty of the old MFs was that you could pick those plums just by reaching out from your seat if the cut was not too wide
Of course you had to be going the wrong way round the field the first time to do it

 

[Campbell]

The Bamford 4 drum Wizzler. Ground breaking revolution in grass cutting, could hear the squealing gears in the next parish, then very soon the gears were in the next parish.

 

[Av Gorritt]

I remember when a “ fumble “ was ok!

Or even a "tamper"

 

[Cab-over Pete]

The Bamford 4 drum Wizzler. Ground breaking revolution in grass cutting, could hear the squealing gears in the next parish, then very soon the gears were in the next parish.

View attachment 972544

My Grandad, who sadly I don’t remember, had the first one of those in the county. He also had the first Bamford Wuffler and the first Galliagni mower in Warwickshire, all from Burgess in Warwick.

He had a new tractor from Western Farm Implements every second year and a new van each year in between.

All on 33 acres and some local contracting.

 

[Exfarmer]

The Bamford 4 drum Wizzler. Ground breaking revolution in grass cutting, could hear the squealing gears in the next parish, then very soon the gears were in the next parish.

View attachment 972544

The whizzlers were a great machine in standing grass but when it was laid would drag down a 50hp tractor with no problem. Trouble was the slower you travelled the harder it got as the machine was trying to drag the grass through before it was cut.
It was also a blade off a Whizzler which hit the safety frame of our DB 990 and buried itself staying there till we sold the tractor. The driver whose head was 6 inches away had to change his pants

 

[Oliveau]

And now a few more memories from late fifties/early sixties for 'senior' readers, just so that younger readers can see how hard work used to be:
Fortunately I was only a nipper at the time so wasn't really involved in the work, except for trying to'help'.

Picking up swathes of mown grass with a buckrake to cart to the silage pit - then the deposited heap of full length unwilted grass had to be pulled about with forks to spread & level.

Sweeping hay to a rick: The hay then had to be put onto the elevator with pitch forks, then stacked on the rick with pitch forks.

Trimming swedes by hand and loading onto a cart. Usually it was freezing cold, and one had to be careful not to mis-hit with the beet hook, because they were sharp.

Mowing kale, then loading by hand onto a trailer, which then of course had to be hand unloaded.

Fertiliser in paper bags.......

Hege trimmings had to be gathered by hand and burnt up.

A sack on the tractor seat to make it more comfortable, and another sack over the shoulders when it was cold/raining - rarely any cabs on tractors.

 

[le bon paysan]

And now a few more memories from late fifties/early sixties for 'senior' readers, just so that younger readers can see how hard work used to be:
Fortunately I was only a nipper at the time so wasn't really involved in the work, except for trying to'help'.

Picking up swathes of mown grass with a buckrake to cart to the silage pit - then the deposited heap of full length unwilted grass had to be pulled about with forks to spread & level.

Sweeping hay to a rick: The hay then had to be put onto the elevator with pitch forks, then stacked on the rick with pitch forks.

Trimming swedes by hand and loading onto a cart. Usually it was freezing cold, and one had to be careful not to mis-hit with the beet hook, because they were sharp.

Mowing kale, then loading by hand onto a trailer, which then of course had to be hand unloaded.

Fertiliser in paper bags.......

Hege trimmings had to be gathered by hand and burnt up.

A sack on the tractor seat to make it more comfortable, and another sack over the shoulders when it was cold/raining - rarely any cabs on tractors.

Mowing kale.. I had to cut it with hook then load etc

 

[Courier]

And now a few more memories from late fifties/early sixties for 'senior' readers, just so that younger readers can see how hard work used to be:
Fortunately I was only a nipper at the time so wasn't really involved in the work, except for trying to'help'.

Picking up swathes of mown grass with a buckrake to cart to the silage pit - then the deposited heap of full length unwilted grass had to be pulled about with forks to spread & level.

Sweeping hay to a rick: The hay then had to be put onto the elevator with pitch forks, then stacked on the rick with pitch forks.

Trimming swedes by hand and loading onto a cart. Usually it was freezing cold, and one had to be careful not to mis-hit with the beet hook, because they were sharp.

Mowing kale, then loading by hand onto a trailer, which then of course had to be hand unloaded.

Fertiliser in paper bags.......

Hege trimmings had to be gathered by hand and burnt up.

A sack on the tractor seat to make it more comfortable, and another sack over the shoulders when it was cold/raining - rarely any cabs on tractors.

One tractor, a TE20 on a Rex Patterson trip buckrake and one horse and cart loaded with a pitchfork leading long grass back to the pit .....

 

[colhonk]

Eeeh baaa gum, When I were a reet littel lad of 4 years old, I remember sitting on the back of our last cart horse on the day it ( Daisy ) went from the farm. Had a photo once but long gone. Those were the days.

 

[Courier]

Eeeh baaa gum, When I were a reet littel lad of 4 years old, I remember sitting on the back of our last cart horse on the day it ( Daisy ) went from the farm. Had a photo once but long gone. Those were the days.

(Phyllis and Duke...)