This is a post to tell you about the ploughing match on Sunday 4^th April 2010  -- 10am.

Every one welcome whether ploughing or a spectator last year well over 90 vintage and classic tractors working, we are only a short way off junction 14 of the M6 (3miles)

It is at the same venue as last year  --  ST18 9LQ  and is a Charity Match

Entry fee £10 , no prizes given. (If the event is cancelled all monies will be donated to charity

 Entry includes a raffle ticket given on booking in,

 Cups and place cards as usual.

Entries To

Tom Cheadle, 18 The Uplands, Great Haywood, Staffs.  ST18 0SQ

                        Tel: 01889 882091  Mob:07870 385488

All entries to be returned by  26^th March 2010

This weekend 14^th March there is a ploughing match a few miles south west of Bridgnorth, it’s the “Morville Ploughing Match”

I am hoping to go, as a spectator, to see my old County Crawler and its five furrow Ransomes Hexatrac plough working.

It was two years ago when I went to that same ploughing match with that outfit and sold it on the spot and the new owner took from there back to his place. I have seen pictures of it out at different events but not seen it myself working again, though he has been to some ploughing matches with it as well.

This was the first time out for it five years ago when it had been newly painted, by contrast thats how it looked a year earlier when I bought it.

It had been the foundation of a scrap ruck burried for over forty years with all joints rusted solid even the rear cast wheel would not "caster"

Below is the tractor, note the Nuffield pan seat, it should have a bench seat between the mud guards, but that made it difficult for me to get on and off, so I first fitted a shallow Fordson pan seat and nearly got thrown off the back when it goes over a slight hump, (it rears and drops sudden) anyone who has driven one will know. So I found a Nuffield tractor seat as its Deep.

Here I was ploughing at home aqnd on the right it was exibited at the Stafford County Show with grand daughter Kate at the controlls.

I believe there is a number of crawlers entered they always has a specific crawler class, so it will be very interesting to see how the outfit performs.

fretaw:

This is a post to tell you about the ploughing match on Sunday 4^th April 2010  -- 10am.

 

Every one welcome whether ploughing or a spectator last year well over 90 vintage and classic tractors working, we are only a short way off junction 14 of the M6 (3miles)

  

It is at the same venue as last year  --  ST18 9LQ  and is a Charity Match

Just a last reminder of the date, if you want to enter, or are coming as a spectator.

We have one spare tractor and trailor plough available to use on the day, if you are interested ring 01785282321

So Fred, are you going as a spectator or a competitor? If you're competing are they going to have a Calcutta before the compitition? If so, maybe I can get somebody to bid on you for me. I'm naturally lucky at Calcuttas so its good karma if I take your bid. Pretty much worn out from lambing but about done here. Hope you're getting the new season of "Axmen" over there.

Jon

dogjon:

I'm naturally lucky at Calcuttas so its good karma if I take your bid.

Jon,

I'm only an old and innocent country lad, have I got the wrong end of the "stick" here, (but you are improving my education) 

Seeing as Calcutta has 15million people, I thing I would be modest and be satisfied with a hundred or so spectators, and yes I am competing.

I see looking down a list of 20 ways to get Good karma, see- (never knew what that was till today)

 Instructions for Life by The Dalai Lama ---Here are a few relevant to this thread

 2   When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

4   Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.

5   Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.

7   When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

15   Be gentle with the earth.

18   Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

Right now there is the second series of  "Ice road truckers" running and I think the "Axmen" has been running but not at a time when I'm watching TV.

fretaw:

ST18 9LQ  and is a Charity Match

So has this anything to do with the Staffordshire hoard? You should be in a position to help crash sort out his books, which according to the honourable darling are not so bad; if I heard well yesterday.

Good luck with the day and I hope the weather is what you desire.

motley:

So has this anything to do with the Staffordshire hoard?

We are not far from Stafford Castle, and where I was born (quarter mile closer) we found a cannon ball in the farm garden, that had been fire from the castle, so there could have been battles fought over this land years ago.

I dare not even suggest that we have a metal detector-ist following every plough all day, I did lose a gold ring down there twenty odd years ago, so the HOARD is most likely to be very modest. There's almost a mile of foot paths that criss-cross that block of land and its in Staffordshire. Only ever found horse shoes and the odd plough point that had got lost, but you never know, my eyesight‘s not what it used to be.

All that glitters could be gold.

Heya Fred,

#5 would be my favorite. A Calcutta is sort of an auction before a competitive event where the competitors are individually auctioned off. If you buy a competitor and he wins, the two of you split the Calcutta pot. Very common at roping and cutting competitions here. If its a charitable event, the pot is usually split between the bidder and the charity(and the classy bidder will often donate his half of the pot too). Used to be common at sheepdog trials back in the day but now that most of the competitors are hobbyists I think its kind of died out. I won a trial in B.C. in the mid 80's where my cut of the Calcutta pot was more than 3 times 1st place prize money. I also had a very good summer once supporting my friend and his youngest son at team roping events. Took folks awhile to figure out that the 16 yr old kid was a much better roper than his older brother had been so I was able to get them cheap at first. A good Calcutta is usually alcohol fueled and while the favorites usually get the highest bids, where grandfathers,husbands and wives get involved funny things can happen. Very satisfying to bid a grampa up and then drop the bid on him. Like lots of fun things here I'm certain they are illegal.

Jon