All Revved up

20th June 2025

The eagle eyed of you avid blog followers, will have noted the comment by my cousin currently residing on the east coast of Australia regarding the “keeping” qualities of my father inherited from his father and grandfather. All three of them would turn their hands to all manner of practical things and make, mend, adapt and create. Boy could we do with their help in all corners of Pollards Mill. This particular family story had not reached my ears prior to Catherine’s comment but I’m sure you can imagine how delighted I was to hear that Bumpa had made a wheelbarrow entirely from bits and pieces, odds and ends of stuff he had squirrelled away. That is, almost entirely. History relates that he needed to purchase the plug for the base of the barrow. He wanted to be able to use the hole, which said plug fitted for draining any little bits of stuff not suitable for keeping 😂 . Genius.

Imagine my surprise and delight when another chip off the old block, in another far flung corner of the world, not only confirms the story but he has evidence. Richard and I have had the pleasure of spending some absolutely glorious time with my father’s middle brother on Lake Kennisis in Canada. We have seen the evidence of his research into mosquito irradiation around the cottage on the lake and the subsequent mosquito collection of each year’s cull, proudly kept in his store room … yup it’s true. So I know he too is a keeper of things … I’m very glad he kept the evidence … not so much the mosquitoes but of the famous barrow…

So Ta Dah .. here is said barrow ready to go with its proud creator and his support team.

In much younger years he had a posher set of wheels and we have evidence of that too. All revved up in more ways than one.