Forget Paris-Dakar, here is Cowlinge-Saillagol

So why travel from England to France? Pa has deep attachments to both places. He has lived in Cowlinge Suffolk (http://www.cowlinge.suffolk.gov.uk/) for nearly 30 years, but over the last 10 years has spent increasingly longer periods of time in France, first near Djion, and more recently refurbishing a house in Saillgol and its attached Moulin (http://www.viamichelin.fr/web/Cartes-plans/Carte_plan-Saillagol-82160-Tarn_et_Garonne-France). The tractor is needed over in France for various agricultural projects, what better way to get it there than to drive?

Who can question this desire, roll on London Bridge.

The lifetime of a trip: one oldish man and his old tractor.

Which ever way you look at it, this is going to be a journey to remember. Ever since I can remember our Pa has been twiddling with electronic gizmos, building, drawing, inspiring us all with a practical and creative grasp of life, such that no challenge is insurmountable. We have all listened spellbound to family stories of him manufacturing explosives and building inventions much to the peril of his brother, who on many occasions came off worse from his experiments, or who perhaps, was an invaluable, though not indivisible part of many of those experiments. The infamous tree explosion springs to mind here. Who needs all their fingers anyway?. A life lived as though it could end tomorrow, hence the need at nearly 70 years to take an ancient tractor some 700 miles from Suffolk to rural Midi Pyrenees. His four children (us) are introducing him to the world of blogging, with the Eurotractor blogspot, as a present on his 70th birthday, and also because this feat needs to be recorded in a truly modern manner. Please don't kill yourself (or anyone else) en route, instead, Cassez une jambe! (As we are sure they say in French theatrical circles....)