Thriplow Farms Annual Report XLVIII - 2021: The Legend of Zzzelda
The year was, I would guess, 1998, possibly 1999. I was around the age of 16. A letter arrived at the farm, addressed to myself, from the boss of Claas UK. It asked me whether I would like to go to Germany, to have a tour of the factory at Harsewinkel - of course I would, never turn down a freebie. I assumed that my dad had organised this, but he claimed ignorance, and I accepted the invite.
Some short time later I was dropped off at Stansted, and took a plane to wherever the nearest airport was. There, someone took me to Harsewinkel, and deposited me in the small hotel that all the factory’s visitors stayed in. That evening, a nice German engineer took me out for a meal. This must have been incredibly boring for him, missing family time to dine a clueless adolescent. The only thing I remember really from the meal was that as he talked to me about farming (of which I knew very little), he referred often to a machine called a Plug, which was used to Plug the fields. It took me quite a while to realise what he was referring to, and I still think of it when explaining to my children yet another ridiculous English pronunciation.