Earlier this summer I was contacted by a friend who was organising a show for his local town.

Unfortunately not many vintage tractors had agreed to come and he was asking me if there was any possibility I could show one.

My Ford TW25, who is the basis for Big John, has been sat in my shed for quite a while. I didn’t know if he would start and he certainly needed a clean.

I turned the key and he started into life straight away. It was as if I had finished working with him just the day before.

I set too and cleaned and polished him for a few hours before driving through the town to the show site.

I parked up on the brow of the hill overlooking the countryside and looked forward to having people look at what was one of the largest tractors of its time and a major work horse in agriculture for a decade.

Big John would have loved this, he would have a grin from light to light on his face and be talking to anyone that came near.

I am hoping that in 2019 I will get the opportunity to introduce more people to the real Big John.