Black and blue hands



      One of our friends, a retired farmer who loves a quiz, showed the boss and I these two implements with the inevitable suffix of 'what do you think these are?' Obviously we hadn't got a clue but both of the tools had been made by the local blacksmith from scratch or by adapting a broken but existing tool.
      On the right is a strawberry planting trowel; make the hole, drop the plant in and get your hand out of the way quickly, before Dad stood on your hand as he firmed up the plant in the ground. Over a great many rows your hand was going to be stood on quite a few times no matter how quick you were.
      To the left, a plough blade cleaner, but then we all knew that didn't we.