Monday 7 July 2014

This year's ladies' tractor road run had

145 pink ladies

 

Hot pink crochet hot pants (just how many dodgy visitors is this blog going to get now?)

A new tractor partner (Fran from Cry Mamma)

Rain for the first time. Proper rain.

 

New tractors. Very new tractors!

New marshalls and keen supporters

Waiting for help after a 'break down'... (user error!)

Laughter, lots and lots of it

Pride at completing another road run

Money from complete strangers

Picnic in the sunshine with good friends

Tears

And above all, gratitude.

Tuesday 9 July

Yes, I went AWOL for a little while. Just didn't feel like blog writing. Too much going on in 'real life' to sit down and write a decent post. But I'm back with some sunny and above all, pink photos!

Normally on a Tuesday I'd try and do my Ten Happy Things, but as I had such a happy day on Sunday, this blog post is going to be about that - I figure a whole day of happiness counts as Ten Things!

Last Sunday was the 10th ladies' tractor road run in Norfolk, and my fourth time of taking part. Normally in the run-up to the event I have several practice sessions, including one with L. who drives our Fendt tractor. But life's been so busy lately that I'd only managed one and that was on the farm itself, and L. and I didn't manage to go out together either. Fortunately her tractor is easy to drive, a bit like an oversized car really, so she was okay, and on the day itself we drive down to the airfield for the start which is always a good way of boosting your confidence.
On Saturday evening 14yo and I spent a couple of hours adding pinkness to the very masculine tractor - what does he make of it...?! We left the balloons off till we got to the airfield, as they tend to pop quite easily. Afterwards we had a nice BBQ and I finished my pink crochet bunting, and we had an early night. I woke up with nervous energy and all the disasters that could possibly happen going through my head. It didn't help that we overslept and that L. wasn't sure if she could make it. But she turned up at 8.30am and by 9.30am we were packed up and ready to set off:

We're having a bit of a heatwave in the UK right now and it was a very hot day. Sun hats, sun cream, bottles of drink all at the ready... On the way to the airfield we met a convoy of other tractors who'd all set out from one location so we joined them and it almost felt like we were doing a road run already! We arrived with plenty of time to spare and by the time I'd reversed the tractor into position I felt on top of the world - I remembered how to drive this tractor and I could do it!

We spent an hour or so admiring other tractors and catching up with other pink ladies. This outfit was my favourite one, I think she sewed it herself.

And at 11.30am we were off. As we were about 3/4 towards the end of the convoy, we had to wait about 20 minutes before we could go but it was worth it. The route has been the same each year I've taken part and people along the route now know to expect us. They sit on their driveways with tables, chairs, picnics, drinks, balloons, banners and flags. It's such an amazing sight, you just can't help but smile all the way through.

Harleston was the usual emotional rollercoaster. You think you're not going to cry - I mean, it's my fourth year, surely by now I'm used to it? But no, as soon as you see the first pavement lined with people and they start clapping and cheering, your bottom lip starts wobbling. It's hard to explain what makes you cry, but I had tears running down my cheeks from start to end.

B. was marshalling again and it's lovely that to know I'll see him along the route. He also has my camera with him so he can take a few pictures of me:

You can just about see the bunting here - every year I make some new decorations which can be used over and over again.

The lunch time stop was much needed, but was very hot with very little shade. On the tractor I was fine, as you have a bit of a breeze, but sitting down in the sun was just uncomfortable. L. started saying she wanted to go home! (I wouldn't let her).

After lunch we did the offroading part which I find uncomfortable - all the other tractors have their wheels in the ruts, but because I have narrow front wheels, I can't do that. I'm always glad when we're back on tarmac, although this year wasn't too bad as it's been quite dry the last few weeks.

Pulham St. Mary was amazing this year. The Pennoyer Centre had laid on vintage pink teas with proceeds going to Cancer Research, and there were so many people cheering us on, I almost cried again.

Before we knew it, we were back at the airfield:

I switched off the engine and told Annie, who organised the whole event and was handing out our medals, that I'd enjoyed every second of it.

Time for the group photo - a sea of pink:

160 pink ladies, each with their own reason for taking part. Annie always says thank you to us for taking part, as without us there wouldn't be a road run. Without Annie, there wouldn't be a road run either.

Just want to finish with what I put on Facebook on Sunday night. I'm already looking forward to next year.

"loved, loved, LOVED every second of the pink ladies road run today - the sunshine, the people along the route having picnics and waving, the crowds in Harleston, the tears in Harleston, my surprise visitors at the picnic, the breeze on your face as you're driving, the Norfolk summer landscape, meeting another Dutch pink lady, feeling I've never driven the tractor so well, raising money for a good cause, and above all, gratitude."

Wednesday 12 June

120 pink ladies

As I haven't got much progress to show for my WIP Wednesday (just a few more pink and lilac ruffles), I thought I'd talk a little about the ladies' tractor road run that I am making this outfit for.

 last year's outfit

Some of you will know that for the past three years I have taken part in a tractor road run for ladies that is being held every year in a village near B. A few years ago while on holiday in Holland, I spotted a tractor for sale in a farmyard. Not thinking anything of it, I pointed it out to B., who promptly made me drive past the farm again the following day, got out and sat on it. The owners were on holiday (a neighbour wandered over to see what was going on!), but we put a note in their letterbox saying we were interested. Although I didn't expect to hear back from them, about a week later we received a phone call and after some negotiation B. had actually bought it off them. Three weeks later we hired a lorry and set out to collect our Fendt. A rather unusual holiday souvenir!

Two future pink tractor ladies

I had got 'caught up' in the ladies' road run a few times as they drive almost past B's house, and I promised B. that if he did the tractor up, I'd actually take part. This may sound less impressive than it was - I'd never really driven anything other than an ordinary car before. B. spent the winter lying underneath an oily tractor in a draughty barn, and come July the tractor was restored to its former glory and I'd had several practice runs. Although initially nervous of driving on my own, I had a great time on the day and determined to take part the following year.

My second road run

That was a few years ago, and the collection of tractors has grown with almost one for every year. When B. turned 50, he bought a John Deere on American eBay and had it shipped over. In the meantime he'd bought a lorry as well so we could actually transport the tractors if we wanted to go to any rallies. A year later and he found a very small French tractor (a Semiac, in case anyone's reading who knows about these things!) which meant a trip down to Somerset to fetch it. And this weekend we're off to Wales to go and pick another one up (a Bolinder Munktell). Our criterium for adding tractors is that they have to be unusual - all of these have never been imported into Britain and there probably only are a few of them in the country.

The baby of the family, in restoration phase

The tractor road run started 10 years ago and was the brainchild of Annie and John Chapman in order to raise money for charity, in this case Cancer Research UK. I don't think they ever expected it to become as popular as it has, but in ten years more than a quarter of a million pounds has been raised and this year we have 160 ladies taking part. All of us have a cancer story to tell. In my case there are several, although the main reason was and is my own mum, who has battled and conquered first pancreatic cancer and then breast cancer. B's own mum suffered from breast cancer for years before passing away shortly before I met B. My grandmother-in-law survived breast cancer twice. A good friend from WeightWatchers was diagnosed a year ago and after treatment is now doing well. A customer of B's died earlier this year, two years after being diagnosed with breast cancer.

Learning to plough

Some people are lucky, some are not. But we want more people to be lucky. In fact, lucky shouldn't be a word that comes into it. Cancer should not be that dreaded word, but should be treatable. There is a long, long way to go before that is realised, and it will need a lot more research. Research costs money. So, if you enjoy reading my blog, if you have a cancer story of your own to tell, if you want more people to feel grateful that their partner, parent, child, loved one is still with them, then please consider making a donation. Every little bit helps. My JustGiving page is linked on the right.

400 tractors at the National Vintage Tractor Road Run in Chepstow at Easter

Thank you...

Wednesday 5 June

Although I'm always knitting, crocheting and/or sewing a project, I don't often show them on here. Not sure why that is - I think often I don't have the patience to take beautiful completed project photos and write up a post about it. So, in order to show a bit more crafting, which was, way back, the original reason for starting this blog, and to post a bit more regularly, I'm going to try and post every Wednesday about my Works-in-Progress or WIPs as they're known in the crafting world.

I can't tell you too much about this crochet project, as it is my outfit for the Ladies Tractor Road Run in July. Yes, it is pink and garish and hideous, but that is the whole point of it. It is ruffly and silly, it is eating up yarn and it seems never ending at the moment. But I tried it on tonight and it is looking good so far. I'm hoping to have all but finished it by next week.

And that reminds me, I must get a JustGiving page up for the road run. This year is the 10th anniversary and I've heard we've got more than 160 entries so far - last year was 120 or thereabouts. I can't wait!

Thursday 23 May

Blog Every Day in May - The best compliment

Repeating a compliment someone has paid to me doesn't come easily. I do it sometimes, but it always feels a little like showing off, boasting, not modest enough. And I've been thinking all day about what compliment made me most proud and couldn't think of one that really stood out. Of course there was the time 14yo wrapped the cowl I'd knitted for her, around her neck and said it was exactly as she had imagined. The time B. said a cake I'd made was a prize-winner. A compliment I got paid about my teaching style earlier this week that is still making me glow with pride, because I enjoy teaching so much.

But just now, as I opened up the computer to write this post, it suddenly came to me which compliment made me incredibly proud. It was a few years ago and it was when I took part in the ladies tractor road run for the first time with the tractor B. had bought on eBay in America.

I had practised with it for hours. The other tractor we own is much more like a car to drive, but this one has a hand clutch and I found it so hard to get my head around it. I understood what to do, but it didn't come naturally. We'd been out together, I'd been out on my own on a few short runs. But I was nervous of driving it 20 miles on my own.

 

The whole route is marshalled though, and when I was turning left at a junction, one of the marshalls put up his thumb to me. After the run he came up to me and said 'well done you, you must have driven it before?' so I told him no, it really was my first proper run and he said I had driven it very well. He knew what sort of tractor it was and he knew what it was like to drive it. 

The whole day is an emotional rollercoaster - really good fun but very poignant too. But that compliment was the highlight of my day, and two years down the line, I'm still proud of it.