FINED FOR TOO SLOW HALF-CENTURY
Perhaps there ought to be a new entry in the Guinness Book of Records? The Most Cars Queuing behind a Tractor. In which case, Jake Fear of Somerset ought to be an early contender. Bit of a costly business because when Jake notched his half century, 50 vehicles line-astern behind his tractor and trailer laden with beet on the A39 near Glastonbury, he was pulled over by police and slapped with a £190 fine and 3 penalty points for ‘driving without consideration for others motorists’. Oh, and they also noticed a badly worn tyre and added another £50.

Personally, I would bracket inconsiderate tractor-drivers with all those lycra-clad cyclists riding three abreast in their garish logo splattered outfits oblivious to motorists in their wake. At least the tractor has a licence plate and any culpability can be actioned – whereas cyclists have to take no test, nor are their machines tested formally for roadworthiness.

‘NAKED’ ARIENS
Like many of us, Dan Ariens went to bed on 23 June thinking Britons would vote to stay in the EU. He awoke on Friday to find out it had swung the other way. One of his first calls was to his finance office, directing staff to hedge against further declines in the pound reports US financial journal, Investors Monthly. "We’re a little naked on that," said the CEO of Ariens, "because it was kind of a wait-and-see situation." Ariens, with sales of about $700m in 2015, owns and operates the former Countax factory in Oxfordshire producing lawn tractors for the UK and other European countries. "The value of my (UK) business just dropped," Ariens added.

SIZE ISN'T EVERYTHING
A report in the US press reports that the American house is growing. Today, the average new home encompasses 2,500 square feet, about 50 percent more area than the average house in the late 1970s, according to Census data. This expansion has come at a cost - the American lawn. As homes have grown larger, the plots they’re built on have actually got smaller—average area is down 13 percent since 1978, to 0.19 acres. And this is data on new homes. No one is going door-to-door and lopping off front lawns. The report suggests the shrinking lawn is actually an economic compromise.  Americans want bigger houses, but since every additional square foot increases the cost, homebuilders are keeping prices affordable by cutting off lawn acreage. Perhaps it’s also a reflection on the drought affecting many States in the West. Billboards dotting California’s highways insist, ‘Brown Is the New Green’.

RECRUITING?
Post Chilcott many suggestions have been advanced as to future career-options for Tony Blair including one that “. . . he is only fit to be a second-hand lawnmower salesman”. Imagine the scene “No, no we’ve sent in the inspectors, there are no hidden rocks, stones, projectiles, concrete blocks, sprinkler heads, or foreign objects on your lawn that this fine pre-owned cylinder mower won’t handle, but any problems, remember this dealership is with you – whatever”.  Mind you at £2 million a day, his pay rate might be a tad above the budget for most dealers.