Tough task of keeping that rusty wheelbarrow on the go

Country Living with Francis Farragher

It’s kind of strange at times the things we have fond memories of. I remember an old wheelbarrow that we had on the farm that didn’t even have a pumped tyre, just a hard core of rubber that of course had the advantage of being non-deflatable: the downside though was a distinct lack of flexibility, especially noticeable if a heavier load had to be wheeled along bumpy tracks.

Every four or five years at home, there might be a mention of getting a new wheelbarrow, as bit by bit, the old one gradually began to fall asunder – in the end being held together by a maze of rusty wires and binder twine. It put up a great battle though, before eventually having to be scrapped, giving way to a gleaming pump wheel model bought straight out of the box. The equivalent of a new iPhone arriving nowadays!

Here and there, when some old stay in the wheelbarrow would sunder, my father would remark: “Sure what can you expect, it’s as ould as the hills.” That wry observation still didn’t put any great hurry on him to buy a new one but still we all lamented greatly the passing of the old workhorse.

As we move on in life, we’re probably all a bit like the old wheelbarrow, in need of more bits of string and wire, as we try to keep the old wheel turning, but one of the gifts – and nightmares – of the times we live, is the great world of instant information.

If we’re waiting in a doctor’s surgery, or worse still, lying in a hospital bed all we have to do is to click a few buttons on our mobiles and come up with the most technical of self-diagnoses. From sore heels to dodgy knees to temperamental hips and moody gall bladders, all the information is there at our fingertips. After a while, we all get to know the more reliable websites so by the time we sit on the doctor’s couch we are armed with a wealth of medical knowledge . . . well sort of.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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