I am sure that we have all longed for a certain Christmas present that never materialised. Here’s my story.
I milked cows for many years and enjoyed every second of it, with two exceptions – scraping and bedding cubicles. For me, this was an absolute chore.
I was always thinking, that there must be a way of mechanising this awful job.
Then I came across the machine of my dreams – ‘The Bobman’. I was first introduced to this amazing piece of kit by Co. Down machinery dealer, Henry Porter. It really was a case of love at first sight.
The hopper at the back could accurately dispense sawdust, or a mix of sawdust and lime into individual cubicles. Meanwhile a rotating brush at the front could carry out the heavy duty cleaning operation at the same time.
The entire ensemble was built around a three-wheel chassis, with a very comfortable seat for the operator. It was petrol driven, with all operations neatly controlled by the buttons on the handle bars.
The best part of it all, was that everything worked so well. I saw the machine trialled on many farms, and it never came up short.
Still waiting for the Christmas present
Getting on the machine and using it was a bit like ‘kids and their toys’. You just did not want to get off.
Even filling the hopper could be done automatically. It was simply a case of reversing the machine into a pile of chopped straw or sawdust.
In truth, I could never justify the use of a Bobman, given the relatively small number of cows I was milking.
It still did not prevent me from dropping hints to everyone in my vicinity that I wanted one for Christmas. Alas, all of these requests seemed to fall on deaf ears.
My acquaintance with the Bobman coincided with the release of a movie ’The Straight Story’. It features a man travelling 240 miles from Iowa to Wisconsin to see his brother for the last time, driving a ride-on John Deere lawn mower. The average speed achieved was 5miles/h.
It often struck me that driving a Bobman from Malin Head to Mizen Head could be made into a tremendous charity fundraiser. Of course, the folks involved could always call-in at a dairy farm or two along the way.
In any event, I am still waiting on my Christmas box. But at this stage I would be happy to accept a scaled-down model of an iconic Bobman.
