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Earlier this arvo I was outside Ma's, pretending to be a bicycle repair-person, when a strange man hove into view in command of a vintage Fordson Major. Strange man turned out to be Uncle Will, showing off his most recently restored tractor.
"Go on," he said. "You used to drive them all the time..."
'All the time' actually parses out as 'on and off in the school holidays when Pa could be persuaded I wasn't going to break any expensive machinery'. Breaking myself was never a consideration. If duffers best drowned, etc.
So after something like a thirty year break I am back in command of someone else's tractor and trying very hard not to reverse it into the scenery or any of the quite expensive cars that are all carefully parked right in the way.
I am also in command of an idiot grin and laughter that you can hear from the far end of the paddock over the sound of the engine.
Only after I have failed to break it or anything around me do I discover that the thing used to belong to grandfather (Will's dad), so I guess that would be three generations steaming around on the thing over time.
"Go on," he said. "You used to drive them all the time..."
'All the time' actually parses out as 'on and off in the school holidays when Pa could be persuaded I wasn't going to break any expensive machinery'. Breaking myself was never a consideration. If duffers best drowned, etc.
So after something like a thirty year break I am back in command of someone else's tractor and trying very hard not to reverse it into the scenery or any of the quite expensive cars that are all carefully parked right in the way.
I am also in command of an idiot grin and laughter that you can hear from the far end of the paddock over the sound of the engine.
Only after I have failed to break it or anything around me do I discover that the thing used to belong to grandfather (Will's dad), so I guess that would be three generations steaming around on the thing over time.
AA book of the new sun
Dec. 8th, 2012 08:39 pmI like to avoid 'Today I did...' posts for much the same reasons that I avoid the Telegraph supplement - in certain broken states of mind they're just no fun at all.
However, today I abetted Ma in guerilla tree-planting and got to ask a bloke in a hardware shop for 'fork handles'.
Hardware-bloke didn't boot me out of his nice shop, but instead suggested I tryWest Midland Farmers Countrywide[1] in Bourton. Which was odd. I still feel like (even more of) an effete imposter in places like that. As if someone in a Tattersall shirt is going to beetle up and go 'Oi! You in the fecking climbing boots! Put that down and bugger off! There's nothing for you here!'
On the other hand, you can't beat shops that smell of chainsaw oil and cattle-cake.
[1] Which, I don't know. A great wedge of my childhood certainties vanished when WMF, Midland Shires Farmers and Aubrey Rees of Cirencester vanished when I wasn't looking. I mean, I remember being up at Reeseses with the parents (fetching hydraulic oil or parts for one of the I-H tractors) when someone steamed into the place going 'Concorde!'. Everyone piled outside to watch the pointy-and-smoking aircraft from the future howl overhead on final approach to Fairford.
I've written before about the feeling that something is actively removing the things I think I remember from the collective understanding.
However, today I abetted Ma in guerilla tree-planting and got to ask a bloke in a hardware shop for 'fork handles'.
Hardware-bloke didn't boot me out of his nice shop, but instead suggested I try
On the other hand, you can't beat shops that smell of chainsaw oil and cattle-cake.
[1] Which, I don't know. A great wedge of my childhood certainties vanished when WMF, Midland Shires Farmers and Aubrey Rees of Cirencester vanished when I wasn't looking. I mean, I remember being up at Reeseses with the parents (fetching hydraulic oil or parts for one of the I-H tractors) when someone steamed into the place going 'Concorde!'. Everyone piled outside to watch the pointy-and-smoking aircraft from the future howl overhead on final approach to Fairford.
I've written before about the feeling that something is actively removing the things I think I remember from the collective understanding.
Tractor-pr0n
Dec. 20th, 2011 01:56 pmRather inspired in exactly the wrong direction by ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
steer opining that children have no business understanding the mechanics of flax production, I discovered the following Youtube gem.
In no particular order: Ploughing! Bicycles! Roadless 4WD Fordson Major! Boiler suits! Startling bobble hats! Roll bars are for silly feckers!
steer opining that children have no business understanding the mechanics of flax production, I discovered the following Youtube gem.In no particular order: Ploughing! Bicycles! Roadless 4WD Fordson Major! Boiler suits! Startling bobble hats! Roll bars are for silly feckers!
Drug of the nation, etc.
Sep. 13th, 2009 09:20 pmThat sodding Nature Valley advert, right?
i) World's worst alleged Welsh accent.
ii) Tractor used without roll-over bar in clear contravention of relevant legislation[1].
iii) Carrying passengers in that trailer's pretty dodgy, too.[2]
You useless townie shitwits.
[1] The Agriculture (Tractor Cabs) Regulations 1974.
[2] The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.
i) World's worst alleged Welsh accent.
ii) Tractor used without roll-over bar in clear contravention of relevant legislation[1].
iii) Carrying passengers in that trailer's pretty dodgy, too.[2]
You useless townie shitwits.
[1] The Agriculture (Tractor Cabs) Regulations 1974.
[2] The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.
Retro-future-chappism
May. 22nd, 2009 11:11 amhttp://www.hovertrans.com/projects_george_wimpey.htm
... Being a set of images that feature sheds, hovercraft, chaps in scruffy pullovers smoking pipes at a tricky problem, 4x4 tractors and marine navigation lights.
What's the word for pictures that make your brain resonate? Those. Yes.
It's like... You know the way that Ballard's Vermilion Sands accurately describes a certain mode of permanent resort-life that you sometimes get a glimpse of when you're standing on the edge of the sea and there's no other bugger about? As if reality's shifted a bit and you can see things as they are, not as people think they should be.
... So these pictures accurately describe a mode of getting on with stuff that you can see when reality shifts a bit and things like focus groups and shops that can't spell have vanished.
... Being a set of images that feature sheds, hovercraft, chaps in scruffy pullovers smoking pipes at a tricky problem, 4x4 tractors and marine navigation lights.
What's the word for pictures that make your brain resonate? Those. Yes.
It's like... You know the way that Ballard's Vermilion Sands accurately describes a certain mode of permanent resort-life that you sometimes get a glimpse of when you're standing on the edge of the sea and there's no other bugger about? As if reality's shifted a bit and you can see things as they are, not as people think they should be.
... So these pictures accurately describe a mode of getting on with stuff that you can see when reality shifts a bit and things like focus groups and shops that can't spell have vanished.
Stop as you mean to go off.
Jan. 1st, 2008 05:17 pmWatched the new year arrive through a haze of odd beer in the absolute quiet of the Cotswolds. (Well, just off the edge of the escarpment. I've mellowed in my old age) Very fine indeed.
This AM, we pottered in the direction of the Aged Ps via the Pontlarges. Traffic in the other direction was largely a procession of vintage tractors. I was presented with a rather nice saw and left pater fiddling happily with Google maps (aerial picture version).
I am reminded once again that applications for Viable Paradise are open again.
The estimableorogeny explains why you should go.
This AM, we pottered in the direction of the Aged Ps via the Pontlarges. Traffic in the other direction was largely a procession of vintage tractors. I was presented with a rather nice saw and left pater fiddling happily with Google maps (aerial picture version).
I am reminded once again that applications for Viable Paradise are open again.
The estimable
orogeny explains why you should go.Modern life is, well, rubbish.
Oct. 28th, 2007 05:56 pm"And what is it you do for a living?"
"I'm, um, in computers."
"Oh, dear."
... Which is a just and appropriate reaction.
Odd but excellent sort of a day. Pottered round a set of fields, one somewhat oddly-shaped because it was going to be the site of a service station on the M5 and one with lumps in where a bomb had hit it; inspected a variety of sheds, most of which were filled with gladdeningly strange and/or ancient kit; fondled a couple of tractors... And then hoovered down tea and cake while discovering bits of the history of the other side of the family.
I did bag one or two pictures, but it was a paying attention sort of afternoon, rather than a standing behind a camera one. The interesting ones are the two views of a something bolted to the wall of the old forge. (Note that this really is an old forge, as the pile of tools will attest, rather than some stockbroker-belt twattery.)
Then there was chilli, arm-waving and fireworks round at Andi & Mel's. All very fine.
"I'm, um, in computers."
"Oh, dear."
... Which is a just and appropriate reaction.
Odd but excellent sort of a day. Pottered round a set of fields, one somewhat oddly-shaped because it was going to be the site of a service station on the M5 and one with lumps in where a bomb had hit it; inspected a variety of sheds, most of which were filled with gladdeningly strange and/or ancient kit; fondled a couple of tractors... And then hoovered down tea and cake while discovering bits of the history of the other side of the family.
I did bag one or two pictures, but it was a paying attention sort of afternoon, rather than a standing behind a camera one. The interesting ones are the two views of a something bolted to the wall of the old forge. (Note that this really is an old forge, as the pile of tools will attest, rather than some stockbroker-belt twattery.)
Then there was chilli, arm-waving and fireworks round at Andi & Mel's. All very fine.
Words that need to die soon
Aug. 21st, 2007 10:04 am'Boasts' or 'sports' when used to signify that an object has or contains another object.
As in 'This PC boasts a gigabit ethernet interface'
As in 'This PC boasts a gigabit ethernet interface'
Have I bothered the populace about uk_jon's internet-wireless-thingy, Brierly Hill 90201 recently? Probably not. Choice cuts from Sevs, TRS-80 and someone/thing called 'Asobi Seksu' which is just bloody marvellous. 'Shimmering' and 'Epic' are two good words, and 'pliers' a bad one. They're probably all over the popular press and doing children's AM telly even as I eye up the next bottle of Hoegaarden, but there we are. I'm old and drive a Saab so know nothing of popular culture. Which is why I'm otherwise listening to a Brian Jonestown Massacre retrospective and some My Bloody Valentine rarities. The Wire cover is just excellent, but then I'm the sort of sad bugger who'd have been very happy indeed if there'd been a Loveless vol2. And indeed 3, 4 and 5.
And now the fellow's got an elljay, you can bother him about playing Swarf or something.
I was reminded of an eventful trip to Bristol Zoo in the early seventies, and the seeming ubiquity of nylon clothing. Psychedelic grundies and a dog driving a model train seemed to dominate. Thank NatSemi I came to my senses and was wearing natural fibres and DMs by the time I discovered 4000-series ICs. These days, a nylon t-shirt is sold on its superior wicking performance, but it's still an ugly shade.
Oh, Depeche Mode are this subculture's version of Genesis. If I never heard another (post Vince Clarke) track of theirs again, I'd be rather pleased.
(Good Lord. The Pipettes manage to sound exactly like Big Audio Dynamite.)
There's this big old house in the middle of the village of Stone on the A38 outside of Bristol. It looks like it would have been a coaching inn, or at least a reasonable simalcrum of one, but had been boarded up for at least a year. I presume a developer is waiting 'til it falls down under its own steam so Executive Houses may be built on the remains, which is a terrible shame. On the other hand, where on earth would I find the money to buy and fix some rambling old pile with startling views of both Severn Crossings, two nukes, both Purtons and Aust?
Wandering further, we find the lost venue behind The Retreat in Montpellier, parallel Cheltenham. It's bigger than I remember.
uk_jon's internet-wireless-thingy, Brierly Hill 90201 recently? Probably not. Choice cuts from Sevs, TRS-80 and someone/thing called 'Asobi Seksu' which is just bloody marvellous. 'Shimmering' and 'Epic' are two good words, and 'pliers' a bad one. They're probably all over the popular press and doing children's AM telly even as I eye up the next bottle of Hoegaarden, but there we are. I'm old and drive a Saab so know nothing of popular culture. Which is why I'm otherwise listening to a Brian Jonestown Massacre retrospective and some My Bloody Valentine rarities. The Wire cover is just excellent, but then I'm the sort of sad bugger who'd have been very happy indeed if there'd been a Loveless vol2. And indeed 3, 4 and 5.And now the fellow's got an elljay, you can bother him about playing Swarf or something.
I was reminded of an eventful trip to Bristol Zoo in the early seventies, and the seeming ubiquity of nylon clothing. Psychedelic grundies and a dog driving a model train seemed to dominate. Thank NatSemi I came to my senses and was wearing natural fibres and DMs by the time I discovered 4000-series ICs. These days, a nylon t-shirt is sold on its superior wicking performance, but it's still an ugly shade.
Oh, Depeche Mode are this subculture's version of Genesis. If I never heard another (post Vince Clarke) track of theirs again, I'd be rather pleased.
(Good Lord. The Pipettes manage to sound exactly like Big Audio Dynamite.)
There's this big old house in the middle of the village of Stone on the A38 outside of Bristol. It looks like it would have been a coaching inn, or at least a reasonable simalcrum of one, but had been boarded up for at least a year. I presume a developer is waiting 'til it falls down under its own steam so Executive Houses may be built on the remains, which is a terrible shame. On the other hand, where on earth would I find the money to buy and fix some rambling old pile with startling views of both Severn Crossings, two nukes, both Purtons and Aust?
Wandering further, we find the lost venue behind The Retreat in Montpellier, parallel Cheltenham. It's bigger than I remember.
Shameless vehicle spodding
May. 18th, 2006 12:02 amVia Jalopnik - Saab employ a set of nutters to misbehave to music. Features several 9000s and a 900. Given the way they're heaving the steering wheels back and forth, I'm not even sure they stiffened the suspension.
Meanwhile, the subtext of this seems to be "Your average 'tuning' shop wouldn't know engineering if it ran up and bit them in the arse." Found on![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
batmobiles, posted by sinibar
I'm having a bit of an unproductive week, which is a shame. I suppose after the excitement of the last couple of months, it was bound to happen, but I miss being able to crack on with stuff. I imagine I'd best find something to crack on with. Yes, that would be the correct Bill&Dave attitude.
Meanwhile, the subtext of this seems to be "Your average 'tuning' shop wouldn't know engineering if it ran up and bit them in the arse." Found on
batmobiles, posted by sinibarI'm having a bit of an unproductive week, which is a shame. I suppose after the excitement of the last couple of months, it was bound to happen, but I miss being able to crack on with stuff. I imagine I'd best find something to crack on with. Yes, that would be the correct Bill&Dave attitude.
Dear Apple
Feb. 24th, 2006 09:21 pmFuck you.
No, really. While I rather care for the idea of your BSD-based (Well, Mach kernel, BSD userland, NeXTish UI) OS and shiny machines that are more than a little reminiscent of a Sharp cassette deck I bought in 1984 when silver meant Future, I'm somewhat less impressed with the utter balls-up the latest Quicktime install has made of my Winders box. If I want your woolly-jumpered nanny-knows-best environment, I'll go use it native. It's not going to fly on a machine that's slowly becoming KDEish (only with all the useful corners filed off so I don't hurt myself. And only one screen. Where are the virtual desktops, eh?) as Cygwin takes over.
Arse!
(There's probably a sensible answer to prising Qt's fingers off the capability to play MP3s from Firefox, but I'm not seeing it just now. Normal service is for the weak.)
No, really. While I rather care for the idea of your BSD-based (Well, Mach kernel, BSD userland, NeXTish UI) OS and shiny machines that are more than a little reminiscent of a Sharp cassette deck I bought in 1984 when silver meant Future, I'm somewhat less impressed with the utter balls-up the latest Quicktime install has made of my Winders box. If I want your woolly-jumpered nanny-knows-best environment, I'll go use it native. It's not going to fly on a machine that's slowly becoming KDEish (only with all the useful corners filed off so I don't hurt myself. And only one screen. Where are the virtual desktops, eh?) as Cygwin takes over.
Arse!
(There's probably a sensible answer to prising Qt's fingers off the capability to play MP3s from Firefox, but I'm not seeing it just now. Normal service is for the weak.)
Loud music in cubes
Jan. 19th, 2006 11:43 am[Poked by two people on the same day. The impetuous fools.]
Högsbo Aviation - Girl Rhetorician (MP3)
Stereolab - Jenny Ondioline (Oscillons from the anti-sun)
Evils - Little Organ Flourish (MP3)
Eläkeläiset - Hump! (Werbung baby)
New Order - Mesh (Everything's gone green 12")
Hypnomen - Fuzz and fight (MP3)
Severed Heads - Pilots hate you (Op2)
[ I'll be resolutely incurious here. However, if you wish to point me at strange MP3s - chiptunes, demoscene, drag-racing, Finnish drone-rock, cutups, extreme glitch and the like - please do. ]
Högsbo Aviation - Girl Rhetorician (MP3)
Stereolab - Jenny Ondioline (Oscillons from the anti-sun)
Evils - Little Organ Flourish (MP3)
Eläkeläiset - Hump! (Werbung baby)
New Order - Mesh (Everything's gone green 12")
Hypnomen - Fuzz and fight (MP3)
Severed Heads - Pilots hate you (Op2)
[ I'll be resolutely incurious here. However, if you wish to point me at strange MP3s - chiptunes, demoscene, drag-racing, Finnish drone-rock, cutups, extreme glitch and the like - please do. ]
Not talking about exile yet.
Dec. 28th, 2005 01:11 pmFor one lazing around and watching (for me) far too much telly, I think I have too many things in my head. One of them concerns the annual festival of 'i got' wearing a little thin, but if I don't like it, I don't have to read it. (ie, my problem, not yours. I'll deal with it. Though of course by emitting the thought I've essentially offloaded that problem. Gosh, I feel better already. Isn't this fun?)
Another one is that I think I want to go to this. Which means nailing the vestiges of a plot to the Continuing Submarine Malarkey and sending it off in a hopeful manner. On or about the first week in January. Erk!
Now, the tribes I know best are hackerdom (which is doing this right now and probably listening to a lot of humppa) and gothery. Skiffy I wot not. Seem like a nice bunch, but their festivals, customs, observances and traditions are a near mystery. I'm like one of those people you see at gigs sometimes: "Is you a goths?" [/Weebl] "No, I just like the Sisters. Take your filthy boots and hair away from me. Go on, gertcha! Or I'll set fire to the tassles on yer skirt..."
The point that I'm failing to work towards is that I don't know if there are UK versions of same I should be thinking about or if indeed the idea is a good one (I believe it is, if approached with the same mindset as WTH, and an opportunity to soak up knowledge from the people who run Making Light should be grabbed with as many limbs as is likely.)
Probably.
Another one is that I think I want to go to this. Which means nailing the vestiges of a plot to the Continuing Submarine Malarkey and sending it off in a hopeful manner. On or about the first week in January. Erk!
Now, the tribes I know best are hackerdom (which is doing this right now and probably listening to a lot of humppa) and gothery. Skiffy I wot not. Seem like a nice bunch, but their festivals, customs, observances and traditions are a near mystery. I'm like one of those people you see at gigs sometimes: "Is you a goths?" [/Weebl] "No, I just like the Sisters. Take your filthy boots and hair away from me. Go on, gertcha! Or I'll set fire to the tassles on yer skirt..."
The point that I'm failing to work towards is that I don't know if there are UK versions of same I should be thinking about or if indeed the idea is a good one (I believe it is, if approached with the same mindset as WTH, and an opportunity to soak up knowledge from the people who run Making Light should be grabbed with as many limbs as is likely.)
Probably.
