Classic Plant & Machinery Magazine Vol.12 No.5 MASSEY FERGUSON INDUSTRIALS Back Issue

ell, the year has come to a close
and another is here already.
Where does the time go? They
say the economy is on the up, but I
can’t help feeling it’s still bottoming out
in some places – however, we must be
positive.
The recent news regarding JCB’s
£150m expansion plan is wonderful,
particularly on the employment
front. More orders are being taken
for machines right across the board,
which is good to see, as confidence is
growing.
It has recently been announced
that there are to be 10,000 road
improvements, which the Government
claims will cost £1.9m and lead to the
creation of 9,500 construction jobs. The
ten-year investment plan is the largest
since the 1970s, it is said.
Again, this is all positive. There is
also to be a major rebuild of the M50
and the A21 in Kent and East Sussex,
roads which have been a nightmare
for the likes of myself for decades. The
rebuilding of the A21 came to a halt at
Tonbridge in Kent and never resumed.
I was so sad to learn of the death
from illness of Grace Beba on
December 5, 2013. Her husband, Bryan,
is an excellent restorer of machinery
from near Wisbech, Cambridgeshire.
Grace was well-known for her updo
hair style and was supportive of her
husband’s work.
Also involved with Bryan’s
restorations is Gordon Carson and
his family, who live locally. Gordon
also really does his bit for the vehicle
preservation movement by running the
excellent Stradsett Rally, which he has
reinvented to a great extent. We send
our condolences to them at this very
sad time.
My fundraising to help fight prostate
cancer through the raffles during my
evening winter show tour is going well
and I hope to collect £3,000 by the end.
We will be having a mammoth raffle on
our stand at Tractor World in the Avon
Hall on March 1 and 2, 2014. If you have
any gifts for raffle prizes we would be
delighted to hear from you.