Tuesday 15 July 2014

Electricity.

Two funnies to make you laugh this morning.

Electricity was late coming to our village and even later coming to our farm which is quite remote from the village and over two or three fields.  The farmer thinks it reached our farm around 1946 or 7. (before that it was oil lamps).

The farmer's father, Bert, and his dear friend and neighbouring farmer, Ammy (short for Ambrose) were intrigued by the whole idea.   They spoke to a farmer at the Auction Mart, discussing whether or not to buy one of these new-fangled electric fences to keep cattle in or out of an area.

'I'm not spending good money on one of those daft things,' he said. 'Nobody in their right mind would expect one thin bit of wire to keep cattle out.   I'll buy more posts and rails and keep building fences - cheaper in the long run.'

After much discussion Ammy and Bert decided to give electric fences a chance and bought one to try between them.   Ammy put it round a piece of woodland he wanted to keep the cattle out of.  Bert stood at the switch while Ammy knocked in the stakes and threaded the wire through until he got back to where Bert was standing.

'I'll tell you what, Bert.   I'll stand here with my hands on the wire and when you switch it on, I'll tell you just how long it takes for the electricity to get round to where I am standing.   Get your pocket watch out and you can time it.'  

Need I say more?  I find the story quite heartening - sounds just like me and my computer sixty odd years later!

Now a question for every gardener amongst you.   How is it that blackbirds (2 this morning) can manage to negotiate raspberry netting and get at the ripe raspberries, but can never find their way out again, so that the kind-hearted farmer has to lift the wire and shoo them out?

Friends T and S are equally bird-friendly, so much so that yesterday when T was picking their ripe strawberries for lunch and putting them in a box just behind him, he turned to find a blackbird perched on the box, helping himself!

11 comments:

Gwil W said...

That's a really funny story!

The blackbirds remind me of a trick you can do with a 1 ltr plastic water bottle. With a sharp pair of scissors cut round the bottle so it is in two pieces (at a place 3 or 4 inches from the top). Invert the smaller piece and jam it into the rest of the bottle. Place the bottle in a pond. Fish will swim into the bottle but they can't figure out how to get out again.

Heather said...

Love the electricity story. Blackbirds are so cheeky. One comes right into the garage each morning when Dick is gathering his bird supplies to stock up the feeders.

Cro Magnon said...

My Tayberries are now finished, so they can search around to their heart's contents.

Maureen @ Josephina Ballerina said...

Laughing in Maryland!

Joanne Noragon said...

Two priceless stories.
I took the netting off the raspberries a little early. The only birds inside were the wrens, and I couldn't bear their fluttering to get back out.

sonia a. mascaro said...

Funny the electricity story.

Your banner picture is gorgeous!

jinxxxygirl said...

So funny . I never knew they had trouble finding their way out after they got in... Ofcourse many people are smart in one respect and dumb in others..... so perhaps it applies.. Hugs! deb

Hildred said...

Instant electricity!!! The story heartened me a little, knowing that men, amazing creatures that they are, sometimes are flummoxed by something new.

Barbara said...

That's the very best electric fence story I've ever heard! I had to share that one with the Boss. But, oh, poor Ammy...I'm sure he never forgot that experiment. Yee-ouch!

Sheila said...


James Herriot would have loved
that story.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Glad it made you all smile.