Old Pond publishing days

Looking at Logging Part 1 DVD by Connock and Phippard now in stock

Pete Connock and Martin Phippard of CP Productions have now completed their 90-minute DVD Looking at Logging Part 1. It is available from distributors Old Pond Publishing at £16.95 inc. VAT. Details and purchase here.

Ipswich the changing face of the town new book by David Kindred in stock

David Kindred's latest book, Ipswich the changing face of the town, hardback, 176 pages including over 300 photographs, is now in stock at Old Pond Publishing at £19.95.

The Classic Tractor Review new DVD advance information

The Classic Tractor Review, Stephen Richmond and Jonathan Whitlam (Tractor Barn). DVD, approx 100 minutes. ISBN 978-1-908397-07-2. Now in stock at Old Pond at £16.95 inc. VAT.

Just what is so special about classic tractors? To provide an answer Stephen and Jonathan show us a wide range of machines built from the 1960s to the 1990s at work on farms. Among the great names here are Ford, Massey, County, John Deere, Case IH and David Brown.

Special features include a farmer’s hay harvest using classic tractors from the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s. There is also a tour of the 2010 National Ploughing Championships where many classics were in action.

Classic tractors belong to the golden years when manufacturers competed keenly to keep pace with advances in agricultural equipment and machinery. At the same time, tractors became more stylish and comfortable – a pleasure to work with. Although technical sophistication increased it was still at a level where owners felt able to resolve problems themselves rather than relying on a specialist. The rewards for the producers of successful models came in their buoyant sales to farmers at home and overseas.

A final test of whether these are true classics is whether they have stood the test of time. So many of the tractors in this programme have, and in the process gained an iconic status.

The models shown are: Massey Ferguson 35 • Massey Ferguson 135 • Ford 4000 (6X) • Ford 4600 (7A1) • Ford 4600  (7A2) • Marshall 804  • John Deere 6400  • David Brown 990 Implematic • David Brown 780 Selectamatic  • Ford Force 5000 (6Y) • Ford 6600 (7A2) • International Harvester 956XL • County Super Four • County 1184TW • County 974 • Roadless Ploughmaster 75 • Roadless 118 • Massey Ferguson 3630 • Ford 8630 • New Holland TS115 • New Holland 7840 (late example) • Ford 7610 II (AP) • John Deere 4020 • Case 1594 • Case IH 1594 • Leyland 384 • Same Jaguar 100 Export • Lamborghini Formula 135 • Ford 7810 II • Massey Ferguson 390 • Massey Ferguson 8130 • Many different classics from the 2010 National Ploughing Championships • Ford 5030 • Ford 7840 SLE • Massey Ferguson 362 • Case IH 1056XL • John Deere 2450 • John Deere 4850 • John Deere 7810.

More programmes by the Tractor Barn duo Stephen Richmond and Jonathan Whitlam can be found here.

Colony Xia at the Suffolk Punch Trust

Spent a really pleasant afternoon at the Suffolk Punch Trust today. Good weather, plenty of Suffolk horses grazing and an informative visitor centre. Back in August this year you can see a blog about the orphaned Suffolk foal Colony Xia and her foster mother Lil. Today's visit was so that we could catch up on Xia's progress. She is still suckling and due to be weaned in January at six months of age. The stallion shown in this group of pictures is her sire Besthorpe Achilles.

Walking with Giants and The Working Horse Manual - new books in stock

Walking with Giants: Europe's Massive Earthmovers, hardback book by Steven Vale is now in stock at Old Pond at £29.95.

The Working Horse Manual second edition, also newly available from Old Pond, is a softback edited by Diana Zeuner, price £24.95.

Tractor Barn's new DVD on International Harvester tractors is in stock

International Harvester Tractors, DVD by Stephen Richmond and Jonathan Whitlam is now in stock at Old Pond at £16.95 inc. VAT.

Deadliest Roads DVD now in stock

IRT Deadliest Roads Season One, The History Channel, 3-DVD set, approx 6½ hours. ISBN 978-1-908397-05-8. Available now from Old Pond at £19.95 inc. VAT.

Lisa Kelly overcame exhaustion, fear and unwanted attention when she became ‘the first lady in India to drive a big truck’. And what a place to drive it!

She and her Ice Road Trucker colleagues Rick Yemm and Dave Redman were up in the Himalayas hauling across the 13,000 ft Rohtang Pass. The Canadian/American comrades had to adapt to driving low-powered, manual-transmission Tata 1613 trucks, conscious that they would have no protection from the wooden framework if they had a serious accident. ‘Matchboxes on wheels’ was how they described them.

There was plenty of scope for mishaps on narrow, switchback roads with unguarded sheer drops and kamikaze drivers. Whereas in the southern valleys the cab heat could reach 115 °F, up on the pass snow and fog were among the hazards. There were testing road conditions with rock falls, mud slides, treacherous bridges and long delays as traffic built up.

During their 6-week employment the drivers learned to cope despite illness, extreme tiredness and conflict with two of their Indian minders or ‘spotters’. In the end Lisa and Rick became solo drivers – but it was the camaraderie and mutual help of the three truckers, as well as their skill, that saw them through.

The Rohtang Pass is only open for part of the year, hence the urgency to get building supplies across. Their final task was to take badly needed jet fuel up to a helicopter rescue unit at Sissu. One of the three truckers completed the assignment. Guess which one....

New catalogues of books and DVDs from Old Pond Publishing

This year Old Pond is producing two complementary annual catalogues.

Our tractor, farm machinery and farm-related books and DVDs are in the 32-page green edition. The 16-page red version covers earthmovers, trucking and similar subjects.

There are lots of new titles in the catalogues which are now being printed for distribution on about 10 October.

You can now find printable versions of the catalogues on our website. Go to the www.oldpond.com home page or more specifically here for the tractors catalogue or here for the earthmoving/trucking version.

Looking at Logging DVD by Pete Connock and Martin Phippard advance information

Looking at Logging Part 1, Pete Connock & Martin Phippard (CP Productions). DVD, approx 90 minutes. ISBN 978-1-906853-97-6. Now in stock at Old Pond at £16.95 inc VAT.

Logging transport has a special place in the world of trucking. The vehicles are large, powerful and have to withstand heavy work day in, day out. They often operate in demanding terrain on narrow mountainous roads in rain or ice. The skills of the truckers are matched by those of the timber handlers working in cramped locations with specialised machinery.

This is the first of a pair of programmes in which Pete Connock and Martin Phippard offer an inside view of logging transport around the world. They look briefly at the history of timber extraction before taking us to Finland where a Sisu demonstrator is hauling timber close to the Arctic Circle in the depths of winter.

On Vancouver Island, Canada they show us Kenworths operated by Western Forest Products. In the southern hemisphere they have filmed truck combinations coping with the rugged terrain of Tasmania. On New Zealand’s north island they show the power of Rod Dahm’s Pacifics .

Finally, they take a look at Dai Wood’s logging operation in Wales where he uses the first Volvo FMX tractor unit sold in the UK.

For over fifteen years Pete Connock and Martin Phippard have been making trucking programmes for enthusiasts. These popular films are well researched and fully narrated. More of their programmes are shown in the Trucking DVDs from CP section of the Old pond website.

Part 2 of Looking at Logging has now been released. The two parts are available together as a money-saving set on the offers page of the Old Pond website.

International Harvester tractors DVD from Tractor Barn advance information

International Harvester Tractors 1906-85, Stephen Richmond and Jonathan Whitlam (Tractor Barn). DVD, approx 75 minutes, ISBN 978-1-908397-08-9. Available now from Old Pond at £16.95 inc VAT.

The long and distinguished story of International harvester tractors started in the United States with the Titan and Mogul. In the early part of this DVD Jonathan and Stephen pay particular attention to the Titan 10-20 and the Mogul 8-16.

Then, with footage from events and ploughing matches, as well as farm work and some stills, the Tractor Barn film-makers show a host of models to give an overview of the complete story of the International Harvester tractor.

They take it through its Doncaster and Bradford days right up to the MX220 and the New Holland based models of the 21st century.This encompasses some great names of wheeled and tracklaying models, including Farmall, the B250, B275 and B450, the TD crawlers and the 74 and 85 series. Jonathan and Stephen show not just the main models and recent influences such as Steyr, and of course Case, but also connections from the past such as Cleveland.

As in all Tractor Barn programmes, the information flows thick and fast, with detailed narration by Stephen and Jonathan to introduce a range of tractors that has been hugely influential in British farming.