RollsRoyceGuy doesn’t know an awful lot about plants or gardening – in fact I would go so far as to say he lives his life, as much as he can, to avoid soil. He does however know a lot about an awful lot of other things and like gardeners, he does like to get his hands dirty. He is a fixer – and I would go as far to say that there are not many things on the planet he could not fix – including old cars.
So when I came across my dad’s old measuring tape which was tatty and had a disconnected brass measuring hook, I knew a man who could help. Andy’s tape was a leather cased, 50 foot John Rabone and Son (Birmingham) rewindable tape with a brass winder.It is model # 4011 and comes in 33’,50’,66’ and 100’ options – this 50’ was probably from the late 40’s/ early 50’s. Rabone was a specialist tool maker which went through a number of mergers and acquisitions and was eventually subsumed by Stanley tools.
Now this tape was in poor condition and had a value of about $15 but in my eyes was priceless. I knew it was in need of surgery as the business end was badly shredded. RollsRoyceGuy did a great job, it is now usable, but it is only a 48’ tape – unique!
Now when you are building a new garden having a long tape is useful. The crevice garden is about 35’ by 15’ and to estimate the amount of growth medium needed requires a bit of maths, including the length and width. Some people take garden measurements by striding out. My preferred method was boot lengths – my boot measuring 14” – hence the simple calculation of ( # boot lengths x14/12) gave the required length in feet! (nice pun?).
But having a more accurate way of measuring is not the point. The feel of the leather case in my hand, the smooth action of the brass winder still perfect after 70 or so years, the fibre tape impregnated with coal dust, knowing it had accompanied Andy 1000’s of times down the Morrison Busty mine shaft – the satisfaction of working with the same tool that my dad had used.
This is just one example of the simple pleasures that gardening gives you every day – 10 minutes of weeding, refreshing a bed – seeing the first hummer of the summer – a notocactus in flower – seeing your first mayapple.All so satisfying.
I suspect that RollsRoyceGuy got as much satisfaction from fixing the 48’ tape as I get from using it.
AndAllenGarden 