Joe/Malcolm,

We can always rely on you two to think of your stomachs!

As it so happens, we have a bit of weather improvement here so after finishing off a few essential jobs on the farm I finally got round to going over the Autoculteur.  Gave it a rub down with an oily rag and a a few minor jobs then a single pull after a two month lay off and it started.  Next need some photos for an article on it in our Ferguson Heritage magazine.  I also need to check the oil in the drive chain which has some funny metric size level stud as yet to be undone.

Another minor job that has gone to a mate of mine is a small fix on the ridging body.  One of the adjusting arms had at some time broken off and it had been welded back on in a non-adjustbale mode!  That's the French for you!!

I used to do a lot of vegetable gardening in my own and next door's garden but now the kids have flown the demand is not so great .  But the massively rising costs of food suggest that I should resume this activity.  I think maybe next year.  Joe - I will fence off a plot "over the wall" so I have a bit more room to manouever the Autoculteur and have wide rows for ease of operation.  One learns to make life easy in older (but not old!) age.

So watch this space next year folks and see the results of my labours.  We are in a very windy area so some veg are out such as tall runner beans which get blown over and dwarf French beans which have poor anchorage and tend to end up spinning round like a helicopter rotor.  I will of course have to plant a large area of carrots to feed Steve Miller's Ponys!  Corn is a no hoper here due to our lower temperatures and the wind.

John