Signs you are dealing with a 'Rooter'

barneygumble99

I remember years ago, at silage, there were some rough farm houses we foddered in. I remember one in particular being in the kitchen and the washing line went from one wall to the opposite, right above the kitchen table. The farmers wife was dishing out the food anyways and it came to the potatoes, still in their jackets in a saucepan, they were still quite hot and maybe stuck to the saucepan and after a bit of hand burning, she took down an underpants off the washing line to use as a glove. Not many spuds were eaten that day. Would be common enough also to be given an alcoholic beverage with your dinner in some farmhouses.

PoorFarmer

barneygumble99 wrote: »

I Would be common enough also to be give an alcoholic beverage with your dinner in some farmhouse.

It was a bad house that wouldnt give you one. One particular old man used to have the water trough near the pit packed with pint bottles of Guinness and Harp for us.

CloughCasey1

Jb1989 wrote: »

Could been a hot iron from the fireside.

Thats experience talking id say ; )

Sacrolyte

The lads at the silage might get a shower of rain and there would be 4 or 5 tractors and trailers a harvester a loading shovel and maybe a mower outside the local pub for hours. Then there might be a Clearance and the circus convoy would move on. Simpler times

Dickie10

Have to say the contractors we get there coming here since mid 70s , i only remeber late 80s onwards, but id say they were top of here game at the time, i have a picture here when my father let out 20 or 30 acres to them , the picture of two New Holland yellow combines going in to start harvesting, ones without a cab but very big machine even today, that was around 1977 no later. Seen a picture taken around 1990 of thier silage outfit, big john deere 33 series pulling silerator and 2 Fiat 110-90s drawing in. also had a ford 6600 drawing, would have been the ;last few years of timber trailer. they definitly had self propelled class by 1994, and full fleet of jogn deeres drawing in all red rock and ruscon trailers. always had proper farm jcb loader too even in 80s.

I know of a place it took 4 combines,nearly 3 weeks to cut 9 acres of barley....this was less than 5 years ago



The ould lads about,made out a threshing machine would have been quicker!!

Dickie10

Deleted User wrote: »

I know of a place it took 4 combines,nearly 3 weeks to cut 9 acres of barley....this was less than 5 years ago



The ould lads about,made out a threshing machine would have been quicker!!

what was going on?

20silkcut

PoorFarmer wrote: »

It was a bad house that wouldnt give you one. One particular old man used to have the water trough near the pit packed with pint bottles of Guinness and Harp for us.

The contractor that used come here years ago had a theory that if a house had more than two chimneys you wouldn’t get well fed.

Bigger farmers were stingier with the grub.

Dickie10

Dickie10 wrote: »

what was going on?

A string of break downs,one of those combines managed about 7 feet before throwing leg out through the block,

Another done one and half rounds of the field,before plumes of black smoke took over

Another bearing or something went,that took weeks at local fabricators to take out


I think the last one done the vast majority of it....i bought some of the straw for there,e8 a bale off the field,god knows if il ever see that again




Tillage wouldnt be the big concern about here,just seems the worst dose of hardship tbh,lads hauling 40 year old combines out and spending weeks getting em ready and still end up with breakdowns....but they love it!

zetecescort

was only a child at the time but the silage crew got the bacon and cabbage here at 8 in the morning one year, presumably due to a breakdown. Was in town with my mother a couple of years ago when we met one of them and it was the first thing he said to her, "Do you remember the day we got the dinner for breakfast"

zetecescort

whelan2 wrote: »

Aye am going to save the fertiliser bags for the pit. Pit is 120ft by 60

would be some sight to do it in the local teams colours

Dickie10

patchwork quilt culchie style!

Danzy

20silkcut wrote: »

The contractor that used come here years ago had a theory that if a house had more than two chimneys you wouldn’t get well fed.

Bigger farmers were stingier with the grub.

Heard the same hear in Cork from a lad.

Always brought up to feed the crew and always do.

One night a few years ago, a fierce drunk young lad came up to me in the pub, arm over shoulder saying you fed me last year, again and again. Fuppubg surreal.

PoorFarmer

Odelay wrote: »

Got called in for tea one day....rat trap tied to the leg of the kitchen table with baler twine....

Must be some size of a rat if he'd walk away with the trap

theaceofspies

Odelay wrote: »

Two aul brothers near me. In the summer you can see the bare feet through the wellies. no socks. Machinery consists of an old Ford 5000 and a double bale handler for the straw off a neighbors field, that is it, no other (working) machinery. Rolling hay/straw bales out in the fields in winter to feed cattle. Hiace van driven at 15mph.

Got called in for tea one day....rat trap tied to the leg of the kitchen table with baler twine....

The rats have to be fed too

Dunedin

SuperTortoise wrote: »

You've got to remember that the old bucks are from a different time where nothing was thrown out, everything was repaired with a very limited ammount of tools, there was no such thing as heading into town to buy a new one because there was nothing but a grocery shop and a scatter of pubs in most towns, and even then there was no money around to buy anything.
.

Whilst I often heard my father say the same about no money being around years ago but they always seemed to have money to drink.

Any of the old timers will always say that there was a crowd in our local (country pub) 7 nights a week. Covid aside, nowadays it’s Friday and Saturday and that’s basically it.

Bullocks

lab man wrote: »

Drowned

The fathers cousin used to milk a few cows when lads used to leave the ten gallon cans out to be collected, he was back one morning when the cousin was finishing up milking. While spilling in his bucket of milk into the can he noticed a magpie was drowned in it. He picked him up and said "ah the poor bastard had a bad death" and wrung him like you would a face cloth to get the last few drops of milk into the can before throwing him away!

carrollsno1

Dunedin wrote: »

Whilst I often heard my father say the same about no money being around years ago but they always seemed to have money to drink.

Any of the old timers will always say that there was a crowd in our local (country pub) 7 nights a week. Covid aside, nowadays it’s Friday and Saturday and that’s basically it.

Tbe grandfather (pioneer, anti drink) used to go on about farms being drank around here over the years etc, most of those farms were only smallholdings by irish standards and in fairness if they were drinking 7 nights a week like back then a small farm like it wouldnt be long going.
Some of the finest farms around this part are ran by lads fond of a drop, whereas here it was teetotalers running the show and the farm has more or less stood still throughout the generations. My thinking behind it is that the fellas drinking needed more money to sustain their lifestyle compared to a pioneer so they had to get better and drive on the farm moreso than the abstainers who just tipped away at nothing too hectic. Also the fellas fond of a drop around here would have every inch of ground fenced, good handling facilities and infrastructure too as the last thing theyd want is to be held up in the evening if they were heading for a pint. Whereas here everythings stiil backwards and the auld fella is going until late most evenings and still getting SFA done.

Danzy

Dunedin wrote: »

Whilst I often heard my father say the same about no money being around years ago but they always seemed to have money to drink.

Any of the old timers will always say that there was a crowd in our local (country pub) 7 nights a week. Covid aside, nowadays it’s Friday and Saturday and that’s basically it.

Drink was cheap as, years ago. Even was up to the mid 90s.

cute geoge

Danzy wrote: »

Drink was cheap as, years ago. Even was up to the mid 90s.

I would not think so .Remember my first pints were 1.80 punts and hard days graft was 20 punts at the time in around 1993/94

Say my name

Dunedin wrote: »

Whilst I often heard my father say the same about no money being around years ago but they always seemed to have money to drink.

Any of the old timers will always say that there was a crowd in our local (country pub) 7 nights a week. Covid aside, nowadays it’s Friday and Saturday and that’s basically it.

The father here used to work in the local livestock Mart since it's establishment. Well a bit before in a previous set up.
But the Mart was built with canteen like nowadays and a well stocked bar not like nowadays.
Farmers would be coming ringside fully cut and bidding on stock. I'm not sure how long that lasted but it didn't last.
I think the drovers had to double as bouncers and marts going well passed midnight.

Jjameson

Say my name wrote: »

The father here used to work in the local livestock Mart since it's establishment. Well a bit before in a previous set up.
But the Mart was built with canteen like nowadays and a well stocked bar not like nowadays.
Farmers would be coming ringside fully cut and bidding on stock. I'm not sure how long that lasted but it didn't last.
I think the drovers had to double as bouncers and marts going well passed midnight.

A local octogenarian lorry man(don’t want to name him) used to run the bar. Was telling me all about it one day bringing home cattle. Was very messy at times but the place was hopping. Lads wouldn’t stand on for cattle they’d bid on and such.

Say my name

Jjameson wrote: »

A local octogenarian lorry man(don’t want to name him) used to run the bar. Was telling me all about it one day bringing home cattle. Was very messy at times but the place was hopping. Lads wouldn’t stand on for cattle they’d bid on and such.

My father would be the same age. Back then they were all young fellas in their twenties and thirties and tough out.
I think all the staff were mostly the same age brought on at the same time. Even the women in the office were a different breed to now.
Think 'Heartbeat' in an Irish mart. :pac:
The wives of the workers had a lot to put up with too. Not many places nowadays where workers would be coming home nearly drunk with the management involved.

Jb1989

Say my name wrote: »

My father would be the same age. Back then they were all young fellas in their twenties and thirties and tough out.
I think all the staff were mostly the same age brought on at the same time. Even the women in the office were a different breed to now.
Think 'Heartbeat' in an Irish mart. :pac:
The wives of the workers had a lot to put up with too. Not many places nowadays where workers would be coming home nearly drunk with the management involved.

Must been some craic with the greengrasses then.

Jjameson

Say my name wrote: »

My father would be the same age. Back then they were all young fellas in their twenties and thirties and tough out.
I think all the staff were mostly the same age brought on at the same time. Even the women in the office were a different breed to now.
Think 'Heartbeat' in an Irish mart. :pac:
The wives of the workers had a lot to put up with too. Not many places nowadays where workers would be coming home nearly drunk with the management involved.

I was reluctantly brought on a night stay to a fancy hotel very near that mans place some years back. A prerequisite is that you go around the grounds in a bathrobe, utter pretentious boring hole! I was in mortal fear he’d go by with with a load of cattle and spot me!

kerryjack

Say my name wrote: »

The father here used to work in the local livestock Mart since it's establishment. Well a bit before in a previous set up.
But the Mart was built with canteen like nowadays and a well stocked bar not like nowadays.
Farmers would be coming ringside fully cut and bidding on stock. I'm not sure how long that lasted but it didn't last.
I think the drovers had to double as bouncers and marts going well passed midnight.

A well stocked bar back than was a tap of Guinness and another tap of Guinness and a few bottles of power whiskey and maybe a few bottles of red lemonade for the kids

kk.man

kerryjack wrote: »

A well stocked bar back than was a tap of Guinness and another tap of Guinness and a few bottles of power whiskey and maybe a few bottles of red lemonade for the kids

Oh and the bars of chocolate!

Bonzo Delaney

kk.man wrote: »

Oh and the bars of chocolate!

Out of date pink snacks:pac:

Grueller

Jjameson wrote: »

I was reluctantly brought on a night stay to a fancy hotel very near that mans place some years back. A prerequisite is that you go around the grounds in a bathrobe, utter pretentious boring hole! I was in mortal fear he’d go by with with a load of cattle and spot me!

I now know who you are talking about. That same man bailed out a farmer near here 30 years ago without any conditions attached. A pay me back when you can arrangement. The farmer in question never looked back and would choke anyone that ever said a bad word about him. That haulier is known around here for his decency.

Kevhog1988

carrollsno1 wrote: »

Tbe grandfather (pioneer, anti drink) used to go on about farms being drank around here over the years etc, most of those farms were only smallholdings by irish standards and in fairness if they were drinking 7 nights a week like back then a small farm like it wouldnt be long going.
Some of the finest farms around this part are ran by lads fond of a drop, whereas here it was teetotalers running the show and the farm has more or less stood still throughout the generations. My thinking behind it is that the fellas drinking needed more money to sustain their lifestyle compared to a pioneer so they had to get better and drive on the farm moreso than the abstainers who just tipped away at nothing too hectic. Also the fellas fond of a drop around here would have every inch of ground fenced, good handling facilities and infrastructure too as the last thing theyd want is to be held up in the evening if they were heading for a pint. Whereas here everythings stiil backwards and the auld fella is going until late most evenings and still getting SFA done.

Often think lads with an interest outside of the gate, be it another job, a hobby/sport etc often have a good way of doing things as they value their own time. When youve all day to do something you fill your day. See it with myself here in work. at stages of the month where im flat out id never even dream of looking on here etc but on days im not flat out id easily fill the day.