Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha

 Chuffin heck. I seem to have gained a bit of weight. 

Fun at the park today. I found a wobbly mirror in the wood. 

More pics tomorrow. Bed time. Toodle pip.  ilona

New Holland TF78 Elektra Combine Harvester

Not long to wait now. This is the make and model I will be driving. You don't need to watch the whole video.

My birthday treat. Super excited. 

This will be a lot of fun. Do you fancy having a go. Here is a link to the web site. 

Catch ya later. Toodle pip.   ilona

Testing

 Here we go again. They are never going to let up. Everything has got to be 'smart' these days.

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The chief executive of British Gas has called for smart meters to be made "mandatory" in every UK household. Chris O'Shea says the move would mean the nation is on track to hit net zero targets, although the energy measuring devices remain unpopular among some homeowners.

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I reckon I am smart enough to make decisions about what I want to do, and what I am going to do. I can study options, and I can decide which choices I am going to go with. Or I can reject all options and do my own thing. 

So this is my declaration. This is a test post to see if the changes to my background colour has worked. 

Have a nice sunny day. Toodle pip.   ilona 

A lorra lorries

 Sunday. I arrived at Lincoln Showground at around 7.30pm and was able to get in the field to park as many people were leaving. Found my spot along a hedge. It was too early to go to bed, so I walked into the entrance. No one was around to take any money at that time. I have never seen the Showground that full before, except when the Lincolnshire Show is on. Over 3,500 trucks had managed to get there. Apparently, I was told later, that a lot of trucks and visitors didn't even make it into the Showground. The roads all around were chocablock with traffic. Total chaos it seems. It was a good idea to do the Burton canal event first, then go to Lincoln later in the afternoon.

I came across these trikes inside an exhibition Hall. Had a chat with the owners. These cost about £30,000 each. They are all so clean, you wouldn't want to go out on a wet day then have to spend ages polishing them up.  

After an hour of finding my way around the show I went back to the car and to bed. The view through my windscreen. I didn't know there was going to be a firework display. 

Followed by a drone show. Then everyone who had stayed till the end came back to their cars and drove out. Except the few who were having a sneaky car or van camp, or had dumped their cars and gone off somewhere else. 

I was awake at seven, and cars started rolling in. I have a pair of binoculars in the car so while I drank my coffee I scanned the car park to see if people were starting to queue at the entrance to get into the show. I thought I had better make a move and so packed my food and drink into my backpack. It started off with two queues, one for those who had paid online, and those paying with cash or card. The online queue was miles longer and still they kept piling in. They opened that gate first at 9am, and our queue opened at 9.30. They should have been opened hours earlier. People were getting fed up with waiting. I chatted with people next to me, which passed the time. 

These are my photo's. I had to stop taking them, too many, I have enough. This type of work with cranes fascinates me. I wish I had started driving earlier than 27. I would have liked to progress onto crane work. I did a bit of it, driving for an owner driver on brick and block work, with a Hi ab crane. 

You might guess why this caught my eye. 'Daughters', YEAH. 

There were a lot of trucks from Ireland. It must cost a fortune to take them off the road, clean them up, and bring them over here. 

The Daf's are looking a lot like Scania's these days. Years ago they were completely different. 

You don't seem many of this style of cab in the UK. Mostly companies get them as a show piece to advertise their business. 

Some American trucks find their way here. Shipped over by fans. 

Oh dear, can you give us a push to get us out of this mud. Two pushing seven watching. 

Some smart fleets. Love the artwork on these removal vans. 

I was speaking to one of the drivers at BM Transport of Ireland. He said the boss is very keen to present a clean fleet and all the drivers are encouraged to add personal touches to their vehicles like extra lights and bull bars. There are over 100 in the fleet, and 30+ were at Truckfest. Check out their web site for some smashing drone shots. 

EM Rogers always have a nice fleet at Truckshows. They have been going for many years. Check out their web site to see them unload top of the range cars out of the back of the trailers. 

Take a look at the history of Loane Transport. Started in 1928 by Victor A Loane. 

WH Malcom is a long standing transport company. They are into everything transport, rail transport, and construction. Check out their web site. 

Excellent job. Polished up a treat and blacked up tyres. 

A very friendly young man approached me for a chat. Guess what, he knew my name because he watches my videos. How nice is that. I will call him Mr something or other because he doesn't want to be identified. He tells me he is from Redcar, and is car camping, same as me. Good eh! Nice to meet you. 

It was time to go. The heat (sun) and the noise was becoming a bit too much. Throat was dry from endless chatting. Fairgrounds, air horns, music blasting out from some of the trucks. Enough. Let me out. 

Thanks for popping in. I need to get off this computer and eat. 

Toodle pip.   ilona

Shopping on the canal at Burton

My Saturday out. After nattering with the ladies magnet fishing, I went to the church where my Uncle Stan is buried to check in with him. Yes, I know he is not there, but Burton is a trip down memory lane for me. I called into a shop on Horninglow Road to say hello to someone who I knew at School. I was more friends with her sister, Celia, but I call in to get the news. The shop has been passed down through generations. They sell everything for the garden and pets. A real old fashioned shop. I bought a big bag of cat litter. Then I walked to another shop which is run by my cousin, to say hello there. I drove up the road to where I used to live with my mum and brother. The estate now is packed with cars. Really different to when we got the bus and walked everywhere. I drove past the flat where I used to live, it's still there, above the cafe. 

My main purpose of going to Burton was to visit the floating market on the canal. I pulled into Shobnall Marina and asked for directions to Shobnall Playing Fields where there is a big car park, close to the canal. Oooh, this looks exciting. 

Lovely sunny day for a stroll along the canal. Maybe pick up a bargain or two, or a treat. 

The smiley cheese lady. Yes, I couldn't resist it. 

I like this kind of market. What a nice life to trundle up and down the waterways, selling your wares. 

I waited till later on when there wasn't so many people about to make a short video. 

What did I buy? Tasty cheese of course. 

There are so many different flavours about these days, it's hard to keep track of what I have already tasted. This list will help. 

Check out the Cheese Boat Facebook page. Sue is one busy lady. 

This flowery hat caught my eye, got to have it. 

Cool eh! It was made for me. Check out Blue Adeline Crafts. Fantastic web site, she makes some lovely crafty things. 

Some of you may be wondering why I am suddenly spending money, when I have had a lifetime being frugal and penny pinching. Because I have always lived within my means and mostly bought what I need rather than what I want, I now find that I am no longer skint. Spending my money with independent traders is my way of paying back. We need to keep small businesses going. 

On with the story. Before I left Burton I wanted to take a look at my Grandma's house in the very small village of Dunstall. Grandma Blanche and Granddad Walter brought up four boys and one girl there. I used to spend my summer holidays there. I loved it and wish I could have stayed. Six weeks wasn't long enough. The freedom of roaming the countryside has stayed with me, hence the job I did, and the walking and travelling I do now. I am a country bumpkin at heart. 

The cottage is no longer a small cottage. It is going through a renovation which will double the size of it. I sat outside in my car for a few minutes remembering. I drove away with a heavy heart. Nothing stays the same. 

Saturday night I arrived at Lincoln Showground. They let me into the field parking area when everyone was leaving. I found a space along a hedge and bedded down for the night. 

Tomorrow is TRUCKFEST. 

We'll catch up soon. Toodle pip.   ilona