The things we (bank-dwellers) have to do

My electric Flymo hover mower stopped working three weeks ago one minute after starting to give the lawn its first cut of the season. Since then, of course, we've been a-cruisin', so the grass has had plenty of time (and rain) to grow to a seriously untidy height. I took the machine apart as much as I could, but I knew that it wasn't worth spending more time or money on it. I'd already recently had to re-fibreglass the plastic hood (?), and that was now falling apart.


So today I bought a replacement: a Ransomes petrol rotary mower, on wheels, non-self-propelled. I haven't used a petrol mower for years, since the ancient Qualcast (it's about the same age as my car - and that's 40 this year) became too difficult to start. The "new" machine (it's second-hand) starts first pull and is a joy to use. No cables and extension leads and circuit breakers to worry about now! With its 18" cutting width it's made short work of the long grass: I've mown the whole lot - and the grass in the middle of the driveway - in an afternoon.


A boating connection: it has a Kubota engine, as do many modern narrowboats.



(edited to include photos)