WE
BOUGHT A LORRY TODAY! (FEB 2001)
From Northcote Tales 1984 to 2009
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 long wheelbase
“safari” 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.
WHY A LORRY
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!
WHE'RE OFF
We took the little red
Subaru truck and by 2pm we had arrived at Garstang, Lancashire. 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 recently 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.
EXPLANATIONS
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!
Picture of THE lorry
and trailer and horses is at Novartis later in the year!
Ends
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copyright KS
800 wds
