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| The Friends of Ferguson Heritage Ltd.- the Current Magazine |
Every member of FoFH receives three issues of the high quality, glossy magazine each year.
The content is always inspiring and interesting: the magazine alone is worth the membership subscription. Here are some of the main items in issue 32, October 2004:-
Front Cover:
Call them road runs or tractor treks, for many they are an essential part of the fun and camaraderie of owning and collecting vintage and classic tractors. Our reports this issue start on page 26.
Inside the front cover: the editor has a nice little piece about a MF35 standing in for the Mold Fire Brigade in a Tug of War at a show in North Wales. I’m not going to tell who won: you’ll have to read the magazine.
Back Cover:
Looking immaculate at the Ballymena Steam Rally 2004, this 1974 MF135 is the pride and joy of Brian O’Reilly of County Down, Northern Ireland. You can read about his very thorough restoration of both the tractor and the cab on page 10.
Newsline
| Angela Shear, fund raiser for the Guide Dogs for the Blind, receives a cheque for £160 from Bob Butlin, chairman of the Warwickshire and West Midlands group, while Venny the guide dog is obviously keen to receive David Brooks’ MF35.
Well done, Warwickshire and West Midlands group; it’s good to see tractor enthusiasts supporting such a worthwhile charity. |
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‘Enginuity’ on display at Llandudno
(pages 8,9) Amongst the exhibits at the Llandudno Transport Festival, Stephen Watts found Paul Young’s ‘stretched’ MF35. Stretched to accomodate a Perkins 6 cylinder 110 hp diesel...
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A Classy Restoration of a Classic Tractor Brian O’Reilly of Ballymartin, Co.Down, is the proud owner of of a 1974 MF135 tractor, which he acquired eight years ago and has now completely restored. Its history is fully known and the original instruction manuals, log book and maintenance schedule have all survived. On pages 10 and 11 Brian tells us the story of his classic Massey-Ferguson. |
The amazing Harry Ferguson- part 3 continued (pages 12, 13, 24) Your web editor is enjoying this series, reproduced courtesy of Express Newspapers. If you wonder why Harry Ferguson is admired so much, read this series. It's in the magazine: see the membership page, and get your own copy. |
The Somerset Tractor Show Pages 14 and 15. This show is in February: England’s position in the Northern Hemisphere means that February is not a good month to be strolling around the paddocks, so it’s a good thing that this show is held indoors! Peter Sherbourne also tells us that the FoFH stand had a prime position near to water, heat, and electric kettle- sounds like a good plan to me. Gee Burnside was at the show, and tells of the French made Hotchkiss spotted there. |
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At the show was a Fergie fitted with a very rare exhaust-powered balloon inflating attachment. |
| HAMMER MILL This mill is capable of grinding complete sheaves into cattle feed and can also be supplied for stationary use to be driven by electric motor or other means. Output over 1 ton per hour when milling. Will elevate feed up to 40 ft. Using ¼inch screen and oats 14/17% moisture, output is 28½ cwt. at 20 hp. |
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From the B.S.Bird diary 50 years ago As Christmas approached half a century ago, the management and staff at the Massey- Harris- Ferguson dealer in Gloucester, B.S.Bird & Co., were preparing to send out a handsome little gift to their customers of a 1955 pocket diary. I didn’t get one (I was only eleven at the time). What a cracking diary! Most of it is reproduced in the magazine, and on the left you can see just one of the 40 illustrations reproduced in our magazine (not to mention lots of other information from the diary). If you’re not a member, and you’re thinking of buying a back copy of the magazine, buy this one (if there’s any left). |
Ploughmen come back for more in Germany (page 23) Norman Tietz tells us that after a highly successful first FoFH ploughing course for Ferguson/MF owners in Germany in 2003 (see issue 30, page 10), the two day event was repeated again in April, with a very satisfactory result. |
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the clever arrangement for heating the cab is more clearly pictured in the magazine.. |
 | Beat this! (pages 24-25) That’s the challenge from the FoFH North-East Scotland Group after they took on an attempt to assemble a Fergie from its main units in less than 90 minutes. Hugh Black describes how they did it with time to spare for a tea-break. |
Battling up Edge Hill Looking at the seven illustrations in David Brooks’ description of this road run on pages 26 and 27, I just had to show you this one (cropped a bit). |
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Ruthin Annual Tractor Run (page 27) The name "Sunshine" appears inside this wheel, and Stephen Watts tells us the significance as part of his report. How do you find the time for all this stuff, Stephen, shouldn’t you be working on your Treever? |
On pages 28 and 29, The National Road Run, held in Ulster this year, is described and illustrated by George McAleer. With over 550 tractors present, there was plenty to describe.
On page 30 Rob Gourlay reports on the Duns road run, which (appropriately) had a lunch stop at the Hungry Snout Reservoir, while on the facing page, old friend John Burge drives a MF35 in the Kirwee Rally, New Zealand.
Australia’s fire-fighting Fergies
Two pages further on, John Burge has re-appeared in Western Australia, in the company of fellow enthusiast Geoff Chantler and Fergies that take on bush fires.
Then there’s Junior Ferguson, interesting letters in the Post Bag, Club News, the book review, etc., etc...
That's the end of my quick run through the magazine: there's plenty more in there if you take a stroll.
Three issues a year, all free if you're a member... Take a look at the membership page.
