By: Blonde Two
I love tractors.
I may have said this before. If you remember, one of my goals before we Blondes set off for Countryfile Live last weekend was to find a tractor to drive. Well, I didn’t quite manage that but I did get to sit in the driving seat of one, a big, blue, shiny New Holland one!
It was early o’clock in the morning, the showground hadn’t opened to the public but the tempting smell of bacon and coffee was already pervading the air.
Blonde One and I had wandered down with the lovely Ellie from Ordnance Survey to get some photos of ourselves by the giant Countryfile Live gate and were enjoying that experience when I spied, opposite us, a beautiful blue tractor. We had to go over of course and Ellie was just taking some more photos when I spotted a gentleman in a tweed jacket also taking photos of us. He looked very friendly so I waved at him and he came over to say, ‘hello’.
This gentleman turned out to be James who was, by Blonde coincidence, in charge of the New Holland displays at the show. When he uttered the words, ‘I’ve got the key, you can get in if you want.’ I nearly melted with excitement. It was great inside, for once I was in the driver’s seat, which was good and bouncy, there was a navigator’s seat for Blonde One (its ok she knows how to read a map) and no end of buttons and levers (my favourite button was the one with a snail on it for going really slowly). Unfortunately driving this blue beauty was not possible (it is rude to run visitors over) but I had a fabulous time and was pleased to note that I knew why there were two brake pedals (not one for each Blonde). I have just done some calculations and last time I drove a tractor was 30 years ago, that occasion involved cabbages, a wall and a near miss.
James, as it turned out, was not only in charge of the New Holland tractors, he also had a combine harvester on site. There are few things that I regret in my life, but I have a feeling I am going to regret this one. When James very kindly came over to the Ordnance Survey dome later that weekend to invite Blonde One and I to sit in his combine harvester, we only had time to look at it. It was a magnificent (and definitely Blonde) beast with any number of steps to climb to get inside. Sadly our lift to dinner was waiting for us and we didn’t have time. It’s not every day that someone with a brand new combine harvester actually does offer you the key, really Blonde Two, what were you thinking?
Yes, I do remember the song, but not being an ardent charts follower I can’t remember who performed it, but better to let that remain rather than Google. I’ve never driven a tractor but have often been in peril from them – for the latest incident see my last post “Picking the Bones out of Winmarleigh”