Tine again for the annual Tractor Day at the Myckleby historical society. This year the skies were a bleak grey already in the morning, even if the rain held off until the afternoon. It didn’t dampen the enthusiasm to head to the Myckleby parish and wander around the old cars, the local produce, the flea markets, and, of course, the tractors.
It was quite a crowd despite the weather. Local farmers and their families mixed with summer guests and the odd German tourist that had managed to find their way here, or just stumbled upon it accidentally. “Lantmännen” caps, fleece jackets with hiviz trimmings, and ear protectors with antennae, mix with flipflops, hipster man buns, Fjällräven raincoats, and selfie-snapping smart phones. To still their hunger and quench their thirst there are hamburgers, hotdogs, and freshly made waffles with jam and cream, and coffee for sale in a barn for next to nothing.
Myckleby church is perched on a hill and the cemetery and access roads, where the cars are displayed and the local produce is on offer, slope steeply away from it. Makes for some interesting perspectives. The tractors are parked in a long row out in the field below. There are ignition ball engines (tändkulemotorer) thumping away and spitting out smoke rings while their proud owners, oil can in hand, keep them going and eagerly answer questions from curious passers-by.
This year there is a row of ride-on mowers lined up with the tractors. A young kid, sitting on one of them declares that the cutters have been removed so now it is just as much a tractor as his dad’s Massey Ferguson.
Three distinguished looking gentlemen in white shirts, ties and pressed trousers are on a small stage playing rockabilly. The audience is enthusiastic as their band keeps the beat with the ignition ball engines down by the tractors. This year there are a bunch of carolean soldiers with canons and tents camped over by the edge of the woods. Unclear what they are doing there but they add to the spectacle. Maybe they are there to keep the peace?
The clouds darken and the rain begins but it held up for long enough to make yet another successful Tractor Day at Myckleby on the east coast of Orust on the west coast of Sweden.
