Jeremy Harris Posted July 12, 2019 Share Posted July 12, 2019 3 hours ago, Ralph said: Imagine mowing your own lawn! Some people live in a completely different world. True story. When we got married we sent around a wedding present list. Wife-to-be's uncle wasn't short of a few bob (hereditary peer, family lived in the same castle since 1086, etc). He rang me up asking about the wedding present list. Said he'd like to get us something decent and wondered what a washing machine was. I told him, and his astonished reply was "Don't you have a woman to do that?"... To think he used to sit in the House of Lords helping to approve our laws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted July 12, 2019 Share Posted July 12, 2019 18 minutes ago, JSHarris said: True story. When we got married we sent around a wedding present list. Wife-to-be's uncle wasn't short of a few bob (hereditary peer, family lived in the same castle since 1086, etc). He rang me up asking about the wedding present list. Said he'd like to get us something decent and wondered what a washing machine was. I told him, and his astonished reply was "Don't you have a woman to do that?"... To think he used to sit in the House of Lords helping to approve our laws. Oh I can believe it. We're basically surrounded by shooting estates and grouse moors owned by the gentry and while the ones I've met are perfectly nice the disconnect for reality is amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onoff Posted July 12, 2019 Share Posted July 12, 2019 3 hours ago, joe90 said: You can still get every spare part fir these old tractors so very maintainable. Made in India I think the parts are, they bought all the tooling or something? Just two spanner sizes to maintain them isn't it, and even come with the spanner! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onoff Posted July 12, 2019 Share Posted July 12, 2019 SWMBO just found the box of ride on mower parts I thought I'd thrown out when the MiL passed away recently. Remember doing a few trips to the tip in a brain fog and could have sworn I accidentally dumped the bits! Reminds me, must order brake pads! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Temp Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 (edited) 15 Years ago I brought an unbranded self propelled rotary mower with a Honda engine from a Belgian DIY shed. The deck is starting to rust through now but that Honda engine has been fantastic. I'd definitely go with another Honda powered rotary if I ever need to replace it. If you have an acre paddock to cut id get a biggish ride-on. For our paddock I hired a power scythe (also called an Allen Scythe) for the first cut but the hire shops seem to have stopped offering these (despite still listing them on their web site). For past 12 years I've used a Toro DH220 (19 or 21Hp i forget) ride on mower to cut it regularly. One acre takes about 80mins. Have to keep on top of it in the growing season because long wet grass clogs the grass chute making it take much longer. In theory the Toro can collect the grass or mulch it. Instead of mulching i find its best to removed the collection basket and just blow the grass out the back. It does a better job of cutting the grass that way. Being American the price of less frequently needed spare parts can be an issue. If its rough consider getting a local farmer to level it and reseed. That will make cutting a lot easier in the long term. Imagine driving down a bumpy road at 10mph in a car with no suspension for over an hour and you get the idea what it could be like. PS regular cutting seems to have killed off the ragwort that was in it. Think you have to control this by law. Edited July 13, 2019 by Temp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 15 hours ago, JSHarris said: True story. When we got married we sent around a wedding present list. Wife-to-be's uncle wasn't short of a few bob (hereditary peer, family lived in the same castle since 1086, etc). He rang me up asking about the wedding present list. Said he'd like to get us something decent and wondered what a washing machine was. I told him, and his astonished reply was "Don't you have a woman to do that?"... To think he used to sit in the House of Lords helping to approve our laws. It's quite funny isn't it - these are back with a vengeance. Did they ever go away? Though I guess that it might be more likely to be a man to doing the ironing than the cleaning in my experience (taught by the forces?). Even at home we have a woman to do the cleaning every fortnight, and there is a Ironing service round the corner called Pressed for Time. Ferdinand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpmiller Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 The decline of manufacturing leads to folk finding replacement occupations- bin washing, lawn mowing, handyman services, ironing. All on the rise locally and at prices that can't be lucrative (or known to HMRC I'd guess...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Davies Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 8 hours ago, Temp said: PS regular cutting seems to have killed off the ragwort that was in it. Think you have to control this by law. It's good practice to control it if there's a risk to horses or other grazing animals but you're only legally required to do anything if a specific order is made against you. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/code-of-practice-on-how-to-prevent-the-spread-of-ragwort Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 Out of the box suggestion: You have half an acre of land that's too rough to mow. you want to "do something" with it to stop it becoming scrub for now. Eventually it will be leveled, seeded and made into a lawn. Is that a fair assesment? If so do what I did. Treat it all with Gallup 360 or other glyphosate weed killer with a back pack sprayer. It gives you cleaner weed free ground for when you are ready to level it, costs bugger all to do, and saves you all that effort with the strimmer. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 16 hours ago, Onoff said: MiL passed away recently 16 hours ago, Onoff said: Reminds me, must order brake pads! Not sure what to make of that. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 21 minutes ago, SteamyTea said: Not sure what to make of that. lawnmower racing, 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roundtuit Posted July 15, 2019 Author Share Posted July 15, 2019 On 13/07/2019 at 10:19, ProDave said: Out of the box suggestion: You have half an acre of land that's too rough to mow. you want to "do something" with it to stop it becoming scrub for now. Eventually it will be leveled, seeded and made into a lawn. Is that a fair assesment? If so do what I did. Treat it all with Gallup 360 or other glyphosate weed killer with a back pack sprayer. It gives you cleaner weed free ground for when you are ready to level it, costs bugger all to do, and saves you all that effort with the strimmer. Yes, spot on with the assessment. I've got 5l of glyphosate ready to implement a scorched earth policy prior to levelling and seeding; I was planning on keeping things looking green until nearer the end of the year, but I could probably compromise and reduce my mowing challenge by 50% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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