Unusual dispersal of collection of Agricultural Bygones. Many Smallholders find that an old fashioned tool is just what they need to solve their problem.

The Old Sod has been approached by relatives on behalf of a well respected farming family who have been collecting old tools and implements for well over 50 years. Sadly they realise the collection will have to be dispersed.

They would prefer not hold an auction and lose track of a collection put together one piece at a time. Instead they would prefer to see items or groups of items pass into the hands of fellow collectors with a specialist interest in that particular area.

While the obvious answer would be to bring the collection to the next Vintage Sortouts either at Brimham in North Yorkshire or Newbury in Berkshire (Saturday October 7th) this would need temporary storage and more than the three lorries they could muster. (Vintage Sortouts could be thought of as an agricultural car boot sale where anything that might have been sold at a farm sale about 40 years ago can be bought and sold) Instead they have come up with an ingenious answer. The Old Sod has been asked to video and appraises the collection. This forms a 90-minute video or DVD of the collection as it has been displayed in the present extensive range of buildings.

Having seen the video collectors are invited to put in an offer for those items they are particularly interested in. More unusually they are also asked to explain why the family might wish this collectors offer to be accepted. Collectors putting in a serious sounding offer will be invited to a private viewing of the collection, which gives them a chance to revise their offer downwards or upwards after examining the items more closely.

The Old Sod comments. "I had heard rumours of this collection for over 25 years. Very few people had seen it and making this video was my first visit. Due to the collectors good reputation and excellent contacts most of the items were in good condition when added. Those that needed attention have been restored to a serviceable condition rather than over restored. It's a mixture of the predictable and the totally unexpected. Farm tools, Domestic bygones shepherding, gardening, barn machinery, trailed and mounted implements horse drawn implements dairying and the euphoria of rural life. There are no tractors and only a few engines on grasscutters."

01454 323109 www.oldsodburysortout.co.uk