Albert will Fix It

Angie gave up on me today just like my dear old John Deere did just before Easter - both were built in the same year. I was able to repair Angie by the end of the day but not the John Deere.

I am in a UK based Facebook group concerned with Turmeric (see previous posts). It's a massive group of now 37,000 + growing at over 100 new members a day. Luckily Blip members who don't venture on to any other social networks, will not be aware of how unpleasant it can get on most sites at some point. The Turmeric UK group administrators, I think all women, are absolutely ruthless not only in throwing out anyone using bad manners but also in stopping all threads that deviate a single degree away from the subject of Turmeric. It can be frustrating as most people in the group are human and/or animal health conscious and have suggestions involving closely related issues. However I, and I think all the members, appreciate it being kept so focused.

However, the Admin ladies are not insensitive to the problem and have declared Friday as "Feel Free Friday" to allow members to discuss off-topic things and socialise a bit but with the rule that it stays clean and polite. This Friday I had been asked by one of the  Admin ladies to post a Youtube video of Donovan singing Mellow Yellow - a colour that keeps being mentioned in the posts as Turmeric often causes, temporary, nicotine-like, fingers if not careful: There then followed hours of 50+ y.o. dancing over the digital airwaves,  recounting their teenie love for the Bay City Rollers and the like. I think only two of us knew who Leonard Cohen was! Later followed a question from a member in Australia asking if there were members not living in the UK - there followed a tidal wave of replies from across the globe. It was a fun day and had actually started on Thursday evening.

Naturally, Angie was mad at me for spending so much time on the notebook. I did manage a morning walk with Flash while she and Luna rode out. Flash is no longer able to enjoy these "walks" even though pain-free and as much as he feels duty bound to protect them. He simply hasn't got the puff and without a spleen, probably too few blood cells. Did do some tidying up in the garden and late afternoon took a trailer load of garden waste to the compost yard, followed by getting over a kilo of organic Cheddar from the shop in Benningen. Dogs came along for the drive and we also did a walk on a new, if rather unexciting, track alongside growing cereal fields. Luna doesn't like staying on track!.

On the way home stopped off at the small but very well thought of agricultural machinery dealers in Hawangen who are Case/Steyr agents. As it was 18:00 the gates were closed exactly as I drew up. Had to look over the fence and could see there was nothing suitable for me. The two oldtimers had registration plates which means they are in for service and not for sale. The tiny 1958 Fendt Fix on the right was an absolute technical masterpiece in its day, comfortable, best power/weight ratio, quiet engine - you name it, it had it. How things change, simply comparing height to the red Case rear wheel.

As I walked in the door at home, Angie said friend Albert from Erkheim had phoned and left a message to call him back. He is THE John Deere fan in the area but also has a number of oldtimers including a Lanz (later bought by John Deere) Bulldog one of the first tractors ever built. In Bavaria, most people refer to tractors, even the latest 2016 models, as "Bulldogs".

I tried Albert but engaged. It was now 19:00 and time for the 45-minute weekly farming/rural TV programme everyone has to watch. So did so and they showed amongst others a tribute to "Lanz Leo" a Bavarian character of great note who died on Easter Monday. A few years ago they did a series of a trip he did from here to an oldtimer meeting near Venice with one of his many Lanz Bulldogs - a 500km, 5-hour journey in a car. They needed two weeks. I don't think Leo and his partner had often been outside the county let alone Munich or a foreign country and had never seen the sea. They are both elderly, very ill, somewhat obese but the salt of the Earth. If you can do try watching this video summarising the journey, even if you can't understand the language. It's the best advert in the world for having a Europe, as free of borders as sensibly possible.  Simply the scene of them walking down a beach to touch seawater for the first time and not even being able to bend down to reach it is moving.
When they reach the meeting, Leo, especially dressed up, gets down from the tractor to meet the welcoming committee and his trousers fall down.

Once programme was over, tried Albert again and got through. he told me off for not phoning him about my John Deere problems and he will be sending around the boys to sort it out - I am not allowed to sell it but it will be repaired, he informed me - better the devil you know, he said.

So thanks Albert for sorting me out - it's good to have "deere" friends.