Old Pond publishing days

Modern Tractors Part 2 in stock

The latest Tractor Barn DVD, Modern Tractors Part 2, is now in stock at Old Pond. For details see blog 26 January. 

Cola Cowboys reprinting

In 1981-2 journalist Franklyn Wood  joined a group of truckers taking goods from the UK to the Middle East. His vivid story told it as the trucker saw it - with all the frustrations, challenges and elation of the trip.

Cola Cowboys, Franklyn Wood, paperback, 328 pages including 8 pp photos. ISBN 978-1-906853-39-6. First published 1982, this edition due from Old Pond mid-March, £9.95.

This lively, opinionated account shows the journey to have been rough, tough, exhausting, dirty, uncomfortable and dangerous. Franklyn Wood reports that ‘in the course of the one trip we are following, seven Britons died in accidents.’

Among the physical hazards were icy mountain hairpins, unmade roads and desert sandstorms. Human hazards included Kamikaze coach drivers, robbers, mind-numbingly slow border controls, rogue police and the temptations of the drivers’ favourite watering holes.

The route led from Europe, through Turkey, Iraq (during its war with Iran) and on to the wealth and culture shock of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

The reprint has been re-set and lightly edited for a generously sized paperback edition. The original photographs are included along with the route maps.

Modern Tractors Part 2 DVD advance information

Tractor enthusiasts Stephen Richmond and Jonathan Whitlam have now turned their attention to the machines which are currently at the forefront of technical sophistication: the tractors of the last ten years.

They have made two DVDs. In Part One, released in December 2009, they tackled John Deere, Claas, Valtra, Same Deutz-Fahr and Case IH.

In Part Two they conclude with New Holland, McCormick and Landini, Fendt, Challenger and Massey Ferguson.

In each case they build up the picture by starting with the foundation models before going on to the latest variants. Stephen and Jonathan also take a look at the computer control systems used to pre-program the tractors’ main functions as well as the implements used behind and the new self-driving features made possible by satellite technology. Axle and cab suspension also comes under the spotlight as the story of the modern tractor continues to unfold.

Stephen and Jonathan have been filming and scripting videos for over eleven years. They now divide their time between running Tractor Barn Productions and operating tractors and machinery on local Suffolk farms.

Modern Tractors Part 2, presented by Stephen Richmond, narrated by Jonathan Whitlam, DVD approx 70 minutes. A Tractor Barn Production IN STOCK at Old Pond at £15.95. 

Ax Men Season 2 soon available on DVD

The Ax Men are back and they are bigger, badder
and tougher than ever.

Going deeper into the forest, high into the sky and even down into the sea, Season Two of Ax Men follows two of last season’s leading teams along with three new companies – including a team of diving loggers and another that uses helicopters to maximise output – as they race to fell the most timber during logging’s most dangerous season.  A season of fighting mechanical failures, relentless weather and difficult terrain ensues. Witness how these brave men battle the elements to conquer America’s final frontier. 
 
The entire second season will be available from Old Pond in this 3-disk box set in late February.
Over 9 hours of viewing for £19.95

The 4th Diseworth working day on DVD

Tractor Barn Productions, run by Stephen Richmond and Jonathan Whitlam, has now released their film of the 2009 event.

Working the Fields: the 4th Diseworth Working Day, DVD, approx 90 minutes, ISBN 978-1-906853-40-2, released 2010, is available from Old Pond at £15.95 inc. VAT .

 Diseworth, Leicestershire is host to an outstanding annual working day. The 2009 event, recorded by Tractor Barn Productions, was also the occasion of the Ford & Fordson Association’s national ploughing finals.

Vintage farming was represented by a horse ploughing match, wheat going through the binder and threshing drum, and five classic combines at work. The Kegworth Vintage Agricultural Club’s ploughing match fielded 82 ploughmen turning over the Diseworth soil.

Among the many tractors on view in this programme are a Ford 8730 with a Ransomes push-pull plough, Cat D8 and D4 crawlers, IH 1056XL and a Muir-Hill 121. Does were represented by a Triple D and a Dual Power. 

Two new DVDs showing Scotland's industrial heritage

Old Pond now has in stock two new DVDs drawn from the archives of the National Library of Scotland collection and released by Panamint Cinema.

The four archive films in this compilation all show aspects of Scottish steel-making in the 1960s and ’70s. Each of the films takes you into the heart of the factory to show the details of Scotland’s industrial past.

Make Way for Steel, filmed in 1966, shows the site clearance and construction of Colvilles’ new steel works at Ravenscraig and the mill at Gartcosh.

Lanarkshire Steelworks gives a historical view of steelmaking at Colvilles, recorded by assistant melting shop manager Tom Urie. The film was released in 1975.

An award-winning film from 1963, The Big Mill, shows in detail the production of sheet steel at Gartcosh and Ravenscraig.

The final programme, Fullwood Foundries, Mossend (c. 1970), shows old and new methods of making moulds and includes views around the iron foundry.

The Big Mill, DVD, approx 99 minutes, b & w and colour, released 2009, available from Old Pond at £19.95 inc. VAT

The five archive films in the second collection record a variety of enterprises from Scotland’s industrial and energy heritage. They range from 1958 to 1975.

The earliest programme, Rivers at Work (1958), shows the work of the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board.

Central Scotland (1962) is an educational programme introducing the wide range of industries which were then operating in the region.

The development and production of the Hillman Imp car at Linwood is shown in the 1963 film Young in Heart. The star is Bill (Dr Finlay) Simpson.

The Invergordon Smelter (1972) shows the conception and construction of the aluminium smelter for British Aluminium.

The final programme, The Clyde Estuary, made in 1975, traces the history of shipping and the shipbuilding industries on the Clyde.
 
Young in Heart, DVD, approx 100 minutes, colour, released 2009, available from Old Pond at £19.95 inc. VAT

Know Your Chickens - new book advance information

The ninth title in Old Pond's 'Know Your ...' series, like its predecessors, is a pocket-sized paperback which gives clear information alongside recognition photographs. It is aimed at novice enthusiasts of all ages.

Author Jack Byard deals with 44 breeds. He describes their distinguishing features and colour variations. In his concise text he talks about each breed's origins, history, characteristics and typical uses. He includes a glossary and details of comb types.

Jack Byard's selection shows a wide range of birds which will inspire the reader to develop a further interest in poultry and poultry-keeping.

Know Your Chickens, Jack Byard, 96 pages including 44 photographs, publication March 2010, £4.99, Old Pond Publishing.

Breeds shown

1   Ancona
2   Andalusian
3   Appenzeller
4   Araucana
5   Australorp
6   Barnevelder
7   Belgian d’Uccle
8   Black Rock
9   Brahma
10 Cochin
11 Croad Langshan
12 Dorking (top right, silver grey)
13 Dutch Bantam
14 Faverolles
15 Golden Phoenix
16 Hamburgh
17 Indian Game
18 Ixworth
19 Japanese Bantam (middle right, black-tailed white)
20 Jersey Giant
21 Lakenvelder
22 Legbar (bottom right, cream) 
23 Leghorn
24 Lincolnshire
25 Maran
26 Marsh Daisy
27 Norfolk Grey
28 Old English Game
29 Old English Pheasant Fowl
30 Orpington
31 Pekin
32 Plymouth Rock
33 Poland
34 Red Jungle Fowl
35 Rhode Island Red
36 Scots Dumpy
37 Scots Grey
38 Sebright
38 Silkie
40 Sumatra
41 Sussex
42 Vorwerk
43 Welsummer
44 Wyandotte

New titles January-July 2010 - provisional schedule

Old Pond Publishing
Provisional Publishing and Distribution Schedule January-July 2010

January
Working the Fields: the 4th Diseworth Working Day, Stephen Richmond & Jonathan Whitlam. DVD, approx 90 minutes. ISBN 978-1-906853-40-2. £15.95 (Tractor Barn Productions). IN STOCK. Details blog 13 January.
The Big Mill: Steel in the West of Scotland, National Library of Scotland. DVD, approx 99 minutes. £19.95 (Panamint Films). IN STOCK. Details: blog 13 January.
Young in Heart: Scottish Industry in Action, National Library of Scotland. DVD, approx 100 minutes. £19.95 (Panamint Films). IN STOCK. Details: blog 13 January.

February
Modern Tractors Part 2, Stephen Richmond & Jonathan Whitlam. DVD, approx 70 minutes. ISBN 978-1-906853-32-7. £15.95 (Tractor Barn Productions). Details: blog 26 January. IN STOCK
Ax Men Season Two, History Channel. Three-disc DVD set, approx 9½  hours. £19.95. Details blog 25 January.
New Century New Power, Peter D Simpson & Toy Farmer. DVD, approx 60 minutes. ISBN 978-1-906853-41-9. £16.95

March
Know Your Chickens, Jack Byard. Paperback, 96 pages including 44 photographs. ISBN  978-1-906853-30-3. £4.99. Details: blog 10 January.
Cola Cowboys, Franklyn Wood. Paperback, 328 pages inc. 8 pp photographs. ISBN 978-1-906853-39-6. £9.95. Details: blog 1 February.

April
Leyland Tractors, Stephen Richmond & Jonathan Whitlam. DVD, approx 70 minutes. ISBN 978-1-906853-26-6. £15.95 (Tractor Barn Productions).

May
The Long Haul Pioneers: a celebration of Astran International, Ashley Coghill. Hardback, approx 350 pages including 350 photographs. ISBN 978-1-906853-33-4. £tba.
Combine Harvesters Parts 1 and 2, Chris Lockwood. Two DVDs approx 90 minutes each. ISBNs: 978-1-906853-34-1 (Pt 1); 35-8 (Pt 2). Each DVD £15.95. Two-DVD set £29.95.
Ice Road Truckers Season 3, History Channel. Four-disc DVD set, approx 10 hours. £19.95.

June
Massive Dipper Dredgers, Steven Vale. DVD approx 70 minutes. ISBN 978-1-906853-36-5. £15.95.

July
DAF at Work: 2800, 3300 & 3600, Patrick W Dyer. Hardback, 144 pages including approx 200 photographs. ISBN 978-1-906853-37-2. £19.95.
Know Your Donkeys, Jack Byard. Paperback, 88 pages including 44 photographs. ISBN 978-1-906853-31-0. £4.99.
Know Your Buses, James Race. Paperback, 96 pages including 45 photographs. ISBN 978-1-906853-38-9. £4.99.

Two more books out of stock

Two more books have this week gone out of stock at Old Pond, both due to be reprinted early 2010:

The Veterinary Book for Sheep Farmers, David Henderson

The King of the Norfolk Poachers, Charlotte Paton.

I Walked by Night and The Rabbit Skin Cap reprinted

We have received fine reprints of two classic rural books edited by Lilias Rider Haggard. Publishers Coch-y-Bonddu Books have published facsimile paperback gatefold editions, including the unforgettable illustrations by Edward Seago. Each book costs £19.95.

I Walked by Night, first published in 1935, is the book whose anonymous 'author' Charlotte Paton researched for the Old Pond book The King of the Norfolk Poachers. It is an account of the unruly life of Frederick Rolfe.

The Rabbit Skin Cap tells the story of Norfolk countryman, shoemaker and poacher George Baldry. It was first published in 1939.

Both books are available from Old Pond Publishing.