It's a Rum Life!

Some readers might be interested in my idea for a series of books about the incidents that have influenced my life!
Even my wife Ruth will admit "it has not been boring!"

There are five books planned covering different stages; they are not very long books and full of "connected" incidents. Some are very funny, others are weepingly tragic. The experiences could well be of help to folk encountering their own problems!
In an endeavour not to bore you silly with this intro we will go straight into a short story from Book Four ( from the year 2001) as a taster! This one is all about "family relations".
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WE BOUGHT A LORRY TODAY!       (FEB 2001)

 We bought a lorry today!

 Terena and John had been on at me for some time!  

“When are we going to get something to pull that trailer?”

    The trailer is not exactly a normal horse box. Its 20feet long and 8 feet wide. It is 9 feet high inside and must weigh over a ton. Previously it was used to carry the wedding carriage and one horse. It will also take about 120 bales of hay (3.5 tons). The trailer was basically all we had at the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre to cart anything about. It was being used only very locally at present pulled by the centre’s agricultural tractor.

   The land rover that used to tow it had been specially converted. It had a 3 litre Ford Essex v6 petrol engine that did 28mpg running without a trailer and 9mpg with THE trailer and full load.

BUT it would pull it! In top gear too.

 The land rover died of rust worm several years ago and we just did not have any funds to replace it.

   After a land rover and trailer hit the national headlines earlier this year by running off the road near Doncaster and derailed an express train killing a large number of folk, we have been thinking again!

   A lorry was what we really needed. Something with a large capacity engine and not expensive.

I had seen one advertised in the Farmers Guardian. But it was in Lancashire.

   Foot and Mouth was all over the West Country and North West at this time but not in Lancashire!

If we were going to do anything it had to be quick.

A week or so passed and I said nothing, could we really afford £500?

   Friday arrived and John was day off. They both tackled me again so I told them about this lorry.

Within the hour we had phoned and it was still there. We are very democratic here at Northcote!

The majority decision was go for it if it is any good at all!

  We took the little red Subaru truck and by 2pm we had arrived at Garstang. By gum it is hilly up there. Right on the edge of the Moors almost on the way back into Yorkshire we found the mill.

   The Lorry had been used for local deliveries but they had been encouraging farmers to collect for themselves more and more.

   It was a "curtainsider", 16-foot body but the cab was filthy. Inside that is.

The lorry ran well, big 6-cylinder engine and its maintenance record was up to date despite not being taxed for six months. It was out of test too, but I suppose you can’t have everything for £500.

  We did the deal, loaded the little red truck into the back of the curtainsider and drove home, (about 300 miles).

  We hadn’t had time to tell my wife Ruth! She was the wage earner in our marriage!

She was expecting me to be at home and coward that I am I asked John to phone her and explained that we had been delayed.

   He explained it like this.  “We’ve been held up.”

Ruth,”held up where?”

John, “In Lancashire.”

You can imagine Ruth’s tone, “Lancashire!!” she choked” “Where are you now?”

John, “Well somewhere south of Ferrybridge on the A1.”

John was not one to let it all out at once.

Ruth, “What are doing on the A1?”

John, “Well Keith is driving a lorry!”

Ruth, “A Lorry? What on earth is he driving a lorry for?”

John, “Well we’ve bought it.”

You can imagine the explosion at the other end.

“What do you want a lorry for?”  or words to that effect followed.

John, kindly finished with something like, “Keith will explain when we get home,”

Before the phone at the other end was dropped loudly!

  The explanation was relatively easy after I had the rest of the journey to think about the “problem”.

“Well you see,” it went; “ John and Terena………….. and finished with something about the Land rover wrecking the express train and us not wanting to do something similar!

   All seems to have ended well so far as in March, Novartis at Immingham approached us to do a display at their summer celebrations in July and sent us a cheque for £400 in advance!

   In fact it has been a good thing as we have been to three displays using the lorry and trailer and even managed to dislocate my shoulder at one in the process!

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copyright ks  758 wds

Tomorrow I will sort out a picture of the lorry in action with its trailer and explain why Ruth was so "explosive"!