THIS is the idyllic image which would have greeted you from the top of Bledlow Ridge many years ago.

The small group of farm labourers work in unison to complete the arduous task of gathering the hay.

The same task that would have then taken a couple of days, can now be completed in a matter of hours, all by one machine.

Today, the amount of horsepower lies in the engine of the various farm vehicles, whereas then, the term held a more literal meaning.

The horse in the left of the picture can be seen powering the elevator that was an essential instrument in collecting the hay.

In those days the task of gathering in the hay was carried out by all members of the family and would

be considered more important

than any other task they had to perform.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.