Old Pond publishing days

Demolition Giants - new DVD in stock

Demolition Giants, DVD by Steven Vale, 85 minutes plus extras has now come into stock at Old Pond Publishing, £15.95. There are more details about the programme in the blog of 8 February. 

Know More Sheep - new book in stock

Know MORE Sheep, Jack Byard's second postcard-sized guide to British sheep breeds is now in stock at Old Pond, £4.99. For more details see blog 20 December 2008. 

A fresh look at sheepdog training - new DVDs

From chaos to control!

One of the beginner’s main obstacles to training a sheepdog is that he or she has to control the sheep while at the same time encouraging the dog to go around them. The time-honoured way to do this is to use an experienced sheepdog to keep the sheep in the centre of the paddock.

Andy Nickless bases his training on containing the sheep without the need for the second dog.

In the first DVD in this two-DVD set Andy shows how his system works and gives detailed advice on: the choice of dog; choice of sheep; management of a field; what you as a handler must know; when to start training; and how to proceed.

The second DVD shows the basic training of three young dogs with very different temperaments. Andy subdues the aggression of the livelier one and encourages activity from the quieter dogs. It is noticeable that throughout the DVDs Andy’s dogs are enjoying their training and enjoying being with their handler.

Andy Nickless came relatively late to sheepdogs after a career as an industrial photographer. Now he spends all his time training dogs, producing programmes about them and running a working sheepdog website.

First Steps in Border Collie Sheepdog Training, demonstrated by Andy Nickless. Two-disc DVD set, over 120 minutes. Released 2009. IN STOCK at Old Pond Publishing. £26.95

Spraying a tractor - more filming done

Old Pond has spent the weekend filming the paint restoration of tractors with Alan Davies in Cheshire. This is the fourth visit we have paid to Alan and just about completes the filming of the programme. We covered a lot of ground, including the use of aerosols (right) to ensure that the hidden surfaces of mountings are covered.

  On previous visits we recorded most of the preparation work and also the sprying of a casting. But, picking up on some basics, Alan gave a full account of how he chooses paints, how he sets up the sprayer and how he mixes the paint (left). This may sound basic but the hints Alan gives will save newcomers a lot of grief.

Undercoating was next on the agenda (right). Although Alan is a professional car body restorer with an industrial paint booth, this time he showed how to use a garage-type set-up which will be familiar to most of us.

  Alan moved on to the finishing of an MF industrial.  Below (right) is what it looked like in 2007 before Alan started work.

After taking the radiator out of the industrial Alan masked up the bonnet.

Using a gravity-fed gun Alan demonstrated the finishing of the bonnet (right).

Another of Alan's useful lessons is how to polish out paintwork contaminated by dust or, as in this case, scratches (left).

Finally - this is what you should be aiming at: one of Alan's completed tractors.

Old Pond expects to be releasing the completed DVD this autumn. There are photographs from last year's filming in the blog 26 February 2008.

Know Your Horses - new book advance information

Know Your Horses, Jack Byard, paperback book, 96 pages inc. 45 photographs. ISBN 978-1-906853-01-3. IN STOCK at Old Pond Publishing at £4.99.

The Know Your ... series of of books are postcard-sized guides for novice enthusiasts young and old. The sixth title shows the couple of dozen horse breeds you are most likely to encounter in Britain. They include heavy working horses, diminutive ponies and everything in between from Appaloosa to Thoroughbred.

Each full-page photograph is accompanied by a statement of place of origin and current distribution as well as some information about the characteristics and history of the breed. Author Jack Byard is personally concerned that rare breeds should be preserved and he includes a short section on ponies particularly in need of protection.

The breeds included are:

1  American Bashkir Curly
2  American Paint Horse (photo top) 
3  Andalusian
4  Appaloosa
5  Arabian (second photo)
6  Ardennes
7  Barb
8  Belgian Draft/Brabant
9  Black Forest
10 Boulonnais
11 Cleveland Bay
12 Clydesdale
13 Comtois
14 Connemara
15 Criollo
16 Dales
17 Dartmoor
18 Drum Horse
19 Dutch Draught
20 Dutch Warmblood
21 Eriskay
22 Exmoor
23 Falabella
24 Fell
25 Fjord
26 Friesian
27 Hackney
28 Haflinger
29 Highland
30 Holstein
31 Icelandic
32 Irish Cob
33 Irish Draught
34 Jutland (third photo)
35 Lusitano
36 Morgan
37 New Forest
38 Percheron
38 Shetland (bottom photo)
40 Shire (cover photo)
41 Suffolk
42 Thoroughbred
43 Welsh
Ponies Needing Protection – Kaimanawa,Lac La Croix,Sable Island

Ferguson in Iceland

The Ferguson tractor first came into Iceland sixty years ago - on 13 May 1949. It became the country's most popular tractor model ever.

The director of Iceland's National Agricultural Museum, Bjarni Gudmundsson, is preparing a celebratory book, full of photographs showing Fergies working under Icelandic conditions. Income will go towards the museum's funds.

You can reach the museum at www.landbunadarsafn.is.

New Brewis Audio CD in stock

Second Helpings by Henry Brewis, Audio CD, approx 60 minutes is now in stock at Old Pond. Retail £7.95 inc VAT. For more details see blog 25 February.

Ax Men and Steiger 2 in stock now

Two new DVDs are now in stock at Old Pond:

Ax Men from the History Channel (for details see blog 21 February)

Steiger Part 2 from Toy Farmer magazine and Peter D Simpson (details -  blog 26 February)

Britains Toy Tractors 1998-2008 new book advance information

Yes, Dr David Pullen is at it again, with a third book on Britains' farm models on its way from Veloce Publishing. This one is called a pocket guide but it's going to be a blockbuster: a shade under 500 pages with 1,450 photographs. The amount of work that must have gone into this is staggering.

According to the publisher's release,'The book describes all the model tractors released in the UK, North America and Europe since 1998.' Presumably this means the Britains models released in that period, the ten years since production was transferred to China.

Each tractor is illustrated in six full photographs showing the model from different angles and the original packaging. As well as general releases, the book includes details and photographs of prototype and rare models, complemented by a catalogue describing the main features, differences, issue dates and codes of each model.

The word 'bible' is sometimes loosely applied to big books; in this case it seems that it will be completely fitting.

Pocket Guide to Britains Farm Model & Toy Tractors, 1998-2008, David Pullen. Hardback, 210 x 148 mm, 496 pages including 1,450 full-colour photographs. IN STOCK at Old Pond Publishing  at £29.99.

Ice Road Truckers Season Two DVD advance information

Ice Road Truckers returns for a second high-tension season, but this time the job takes them even farther north, 100 miles inside the Arctic Circle. They are here for a new mission: to haul the heavy metal of natural gas drilling rigs not only on frozen rivers but also over the Arctic Ocean! In just three months the drivers will earn a year's salary but they'll have to endure one of the most perilous stretches of road anywhere in the world, where jack-knifing, breakdowns and frostbite are commonplace and any wrong move could see them sucked into the frezing water as the ice gives way beneath their wheels.

It's a treacherous, bone-numbing job - just the kind of challenge that keeps this special breed of driver coming back for more.

Ice Road Truckers: The Complete Season Two (The History Channel), 3-DVD set lasting over 9 hours is IN STOCK at £19.95 from Old Pond Publishing