Old Pond publishing days

Maize silage campaign DVD by Chris Lockwood advance information

The Maize Silage Campaign, Chris Lockwood. DVD, approx 83 minutes. ISBN: 978-1-908397-01-0. Now in stock at Old Pond at £16.95 inc. VAT.

In his twenty-one years of maize harvesting, Suffolk contractor Robert Self has seen all sorts of seasons from the very dry to the impossibly wet. Film-maker Chris Lockwood captured the vagaries of Robert’s final campaign, 2010.

This proved to be a reasonable year but even so the contractor had to deal with a variety of crop conditions, as Chris shows in the programme. He starts with an introduction to Robert Self’s enterprise and his machines. Then he focuses on the clamp, with a JCB Farm Master loader and tractors rolling the clamp. Later in the DVD we see another method for storing silage with a look at an Ag-Bagging machine.

There is some grass work at the beginning of the season and some late maize drilling followed by the harvesting of a tall maize crop on hills close to the river Orwell. In the workshop a continuous programme of maintenance is required, and we take a look at the setting up and sharpening required each day during the season.

We see how Robert opens up a field and works at night foraging and clamping. There are details of road transport with custom-made trailers and a look at the history of John Deere foragers. Robert’s own model is a 500hp JD 7400. The year concludes with the contractor’s last-ever field, a late crop planted as the second crop off the field after a previous cut of grass.

Chris Lockwood filmed the widely acclaimed Combine Harvesters DVDs and more recently The Rubber Track Revolution. He writes for Classic Tractor and other magazines.

Paul Metcalf's revised beekeeping DVD advance information

A New Introduction to Beekeeping, Paul Metcalf. DVD, approx 114 minutes, ISBN 978-1-903366-95-0. Now in stock at Old Pond at £19.95 inc VAT.

Paul Metcalf, a beekeeper for over 60 years, has updated his best selling instructional DVD in this new comprehensive introduction to beekeeping.

As well as clear demonstrations of hive management throughout the summer cycle, there are new sections on choice of hive and equipment, as well as the latest advice on disease control.

Honey-making DVD advance information

Honey: a Beekeeper’s Guide, produced by William Smith of Great Takes Television. DVD, approx 115 minutes, ISBN 978-1-908397-06-5. Now available from Old Pond at £19.95.

A unique DVD for beekeepers, devoted entirely to honey.

Starting with removal of the honey supers from the hive, the DVD describes how to extract honey correctly, different honeys from different nectar sources, production of creamed and clear honey, how to prepare and present honey for show and sale, plus a demonstration on making mead.

The DVD is beautifully narrated by Radio 4's Susan Rae.

Liebherr 586 and Volvo 350F at Carrara

Earlier this summer we accompanied Steven Vale to Carrara, Italy, to film in a couple of marble quarries where some serious wheeled loaders can be found working. On the first day the machine of greatest interest was Liebherr’s largest wheeled loader, the 586.

We were kindly allowed access to quarries owned by Giulio Vanelli, the third generation of his family to run this privately owned concern. Site foreman Claudio Mazzi looked after us with the help of translator Adèle Iliovits.

The wheeled loader comfortably handles blocks of 24-27 tonnes and, at a value of 3,000 euros per tonne for first-class marble, good handling is important. However, some 70% of the marble is rejected, and at the lower end of quality the value is only 70 euros per tonne.

The footage will be appearing in Steven’s DVD Massive Wheeled Loaders to be released by Old Pond next year. Meanwhile Steven’s book, Walking with Giants: Europe's massive earthmovers has been printed ready for publication in a month’s time.

As the first photographs show, the Carrara area is certainly striking, the mines dwarfing the equipment. The machines shown are Liebherr 586 2 plus 2, Volvo L350F and Liebherr 974 Litronic.

There are more photographs, principally of Hitachi machines, in the blog of 30 October.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

Old Pond book publishing schedule August-December 2011

The publication of Ron Creasey, the last of the horselads, previously announced for autumn 2011 has been delayed until spring 2012.

August
Know Your Diggers, Paul Argent. Paperback 104 x 155 mm (landscape), 96 pages inc. 45 photographs. ISBN 978-1-906853-81-5. £4.99. In stock

October
The Working Horse Manual 2nd edition, Diana Zeuner. Paperback 245 x 189 mm, 256 pages inc approx 260 photographs and line drawings. ISBN 978-1-906853-42-6. £24.95. In stock
Walking with Giants: Europe's massive earthmovers, Steven Vale. Hardback 280 x 220 mm, 320 pages inc. 400 photographs. ISBN 968-1-906853-83-9. Due early October £29.95. In stock
Ipswich: the changing face of the town, David Kindred. Hardback 280 x 220 mm, 176 pages inc approx 320 photographs. ISBN 978-1-906853-95-2. Due 22 October. £19.95. In stock

November
Roadscapes II, Alan Spillett. Hardback 210 x 290 mm (landscape), 160 pages inc approx 180 illustrations. ISBN 978-1-906853-99-0. Due early November. £24.95. In stock

Spring 2012
Ron Creasey: the last of the horselads, William Castle. Hardback 234 x 156 mm, approx 208 pages inc. line drawings and 39 photographs. ISBN 978-1-906853-96-9. Approx £19.95.
The Ford Transcontinental, Patrick Dyer. Hardback 210 x 265mm, 144 pages inc. approx 195 photographs. ISBN 978-1-908397-10-2. £19.95.

Old Pond DVD release schedule August-December 2011

August
The Pea Files, Stephen Richmond and Jonathan Whitlam (Tractor Barn). DVD approx 100 minutes. ISBN 978-1-908397-03-4 £16.95 inc VAT. In stock

September
Deadliest Roads, The History Channel. 3-disc DVD set, approx 6 1/2 hours. ISBN 978-1-908397-05-8. Due 24 September £19.95 inc. VAT. In stock

October
Looking at Logging Part One, Pete Connock and Martin Phippard. DVD approx 75 minutes (CP Productions). ISBN 978-1-906853-97-6. Due October £16.95 inc VAT. In stock
The Maize Silage Campaign, Chris Lockwood. DVD approx 90 minutes. ISBN 978-1-908397-01-0. Due early October £16.95 inc VAT. In stock
International Harvester Tractors 1906-85, Stephen Richmond and Jonathan Whitlam (Tractor Barn). DVD, approx 75 minutes. ISBN 978-1-908397-08-9. £16.95 inc. VAT. In stock

November
Classic Tractor Review, Stephen Richmond and Jonathan Whitlam (Tractor Barn). DVD approx ?? minutes. ISBN 978-1-908397-07-2. £16.95 inc. VAT. In stock
A New Introduction to Beekeeping, Paul Metcalfe. DVD approx 114 minutes. ISBN 978-1-903366-95-0. £19.95 inc. VAT. In stock

December
Honey: a beekeeper’s guide, Paul Metcalfe. DVD approx 70 minutes. ISBN 978-1-908397-06-5. £19.95 inc. VAT. In stock
Special Transport, Gertjan Houtman. DVD approx 70 minutes. ISBN 978-1-908397-09-6. £16.95 inc. VAT. In stock

Alan Spillett's new book of truck paintings Roadscapes II advance information

Roadscapes II: Landscapes of the Road, Alan Spillett. Hardback book, 160 pages with 180 illus., ISBN 978-1-906853-99-0. Now in stock at Old Pond at £24.95.

Artist Alan Spillett’s paintings of lorries have mostly been commissions from people who wanted a particular vehicle depicted for a personal connection. His scenes range from the days of the horse-drawn carriage to the trucks that thunder up and down our roads today, and are the work of a ‘jobbing painter’, he would have you believe.

Yet these paintings capture much more than just the vehicles and their colourful liveries. They depict life on the road throughout the seasons, capturing to the full the experiences of so many drivers. In each picture, the lorry is the star turn and the background is the stage – often dramatic depictions of exact locations that are the workplace of the lorry driver: the countryside, landscapes of the road, and street scenes as well as the cafés that help to sustain them. An ERF artic loaded with bricks following the old coach road from Fishguard to London, passing near the original line of the road where the mail coach ran a couple of hundred years before, or an AEC MkV 6-wheeler and trailer fleeting past the Ardlui Viaduct at the top end of an autumnal Loch Lomond – these are strongly evocative images.

The paintings are accompanied by captions describing the context of the pictures. There are also features on aspects of trucking and truckers, photographs and poetry inspired by the life of a trucker, adding up to a fulfilling read. Alan’s images range widely through England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland – with a few from even further afield.

The paintings in Roadscapes II have not been published in book form before, and many have been prepared specially for this new book. Together they continue to reveal Alan’s lasting passion for commercial road transport, as well as the respect for the lorry drivers, hauliers and their families who have been his colleagues, friends and patrons over the years.

Alan Spillett spent the first twenty or so years or his working life in the 1960s, '70s and '80s as a long-distance lorry driver before becoming a full-time painter, portraying the subjects he knows best – lorries and the open road. Over the past 27 years he has painted hundreds of road transport subjects and, with his wife Colleen, has displayed his travelling picture gallery at steam and country shows far and wide.

Alan's first book, Roadscapes, was published in 2005. Visit www.roadscapes.co.uk to see more of Alan’s work.

Ipswich the Changing Face of the Town new book advance information

Ipswich: the changing face of the town, David Kindred. Hardback 280 x 220 mm, 176 pages inc approx 320 photographs. ISBN 978-1-906853-95-2. Now available from Old Pond at £19.95.

Ipswich, the county town of Suffolk, has hosted famous engineering companies and major insurance groups; it is a progressive town which has transformed itself over the past hundred years. Today, new buildings jostle alongside those which have managed to survive for centuries. Where horse-drawn vehicles and trams once thronged the streets, pedestrians, cars and bicycles now compete for space.

To help us appreciate the extent of change David Kindred has selected over three hundred photographs from the 1890s to today. These are arranged by area so, for example, you can see clearly the difference the architectural choices of the 1960s made to St Matthews Street or Carr Street.

Have these changes been for the better? In the 1950s the community around ‘The Mount’ was demolished to make way for the police station, Wolsey Theatre and Civic Centre. The great dock whose quays until quite recently were filled with the clamour of commercial activity is now a marina and the base of our new university.

Progress and change always come at a price. The remarkable collection of fully captioned photographs allows us to discuss whether the benefit has outweighed the cost.

David Kindred has over forty years experience as a professional photographer in Ipswich, having enjoyed a long career with the East Anglian Daily Times and the Evening Star. He has built up the town’s leading archive of photographs. More books by David can be found in the photographic books section of the Old Pond website.

 

 

 

 

The photographs in this blog, all included in David's book, are, from the top: St Matthews Street 1897; Rope Walk 1934; Ipswich from the air 1965 and 1994; the Dock 2009 and 1964.

Know Your Diggers new book in stock

Know Your Diggers, by Paul Argent, the postcard-size book for novice enthusiasts about excavators, backhoes and other contractors' machines is now in stock at Old Pond at £4.99.

Filming Massey combines

A couple of weeks ago we were down in the Taunton, Somerset area again, continuing to film Massey Ferguson machinery and implements. It was harvest time, so we concentrated mostly on combines and balers.

We said Massey Ferguson, but we actually started with an Massey-Harris model (left), a 726 owned by Mike Lawrence and Edward Jones, and driven by the latter. This has an Austin petrol engine with Newage conversion to tvo.

Dennis Burston (right) had his 1960 MF 780 Special up and running, an 8ft 6 ins cut converted from tvo bagger to diesel tanker.

The MF 31 combine (left), owned and driven by Mark Mancini, was made in Germany. We were filming on land owned by Geoff Garland, and owe him thanks, not least for keeping the rain away.

David Matravers came over to demonstrate the 1965 MF 788 (right) he owns with his son Gordon.

Finally, here is George French (left) on Dennis Burston's MF 187 combine. George says he has known the machine all its life - and we believe him!