Tractor Tuesday Mc.........

Some may remember the garden tractor saga earlier this year which resulted in us getting a new McCullough USA made one at 50% discount in July.

We were unhappy then & nothing has changed. The machine is not fit for purpose, badly designed and sloppily built. I did expect more from a company that is owned by Swedish Husqvarna for whom I have great respect and was slowly in the process of using to replace my old Stihl garden equipment.

Yesterday Angie had to abandon lawn mowing & leaf clearing when something "broke". Today I took a look. Took ages to simply clear out the mass of debris collected in & under all the pointless plastic coverings to discover a simple hook on the cable that engages the blades had broken. Something nobody or thing could influence, simply metal fatigue / cheap materials on a unit in use for 4 months.

Not prepared to go to all the trouble of loading it in a trailer & taking it 20km to the DIY store where we bought it but via email they have at least agreed to order the part under warranty but it could take a week or two. The HQ of Husquarna's distribution centre is an hour away in Ulm.

In the background, you can see a tumble drier: Hotpoint made in the UK & bought by my Dad sometime in 90's & I brought it here in 2003 when he died. Has done great service but two weeks ago, the door hinge broke after 20 years. Got on the internet & ordered the two broken parts, total value about £10 from Amazon UK. Within a week the first part arrived but the second one has gone missing in the post. Am trying to track it down - it won't be an Amazon or the UK supplying companies fault but that of some German parcel delivery service.

For the moment enough sunshine to not worry about tumble drier but mower loss a big pain.