The Grass Withers

Yesterday, I fulfilled one of my lifelong ambitions. My bucket list is that nearer completion; I may now die in peace, contented and fulfilled. What have I seen or done, I hear you ask? I visited the British Lawnmower Museum. As I entered the building and enquired regarding tickets, I half expected the man behind the counter to incredulously ask if I was aware it was all just a parody, a pretend tourist attraction. Instead, he was deadly serious. He took my three pounds, offered me a guide and instructed me where to begin. Sure enough, there were hundreds of lawn mowers of various sizes and shapes available to view, each with a helpful information card detailing its first year of manufacture and model. The museum has in its possession the world’s largest lawnmower as well as some fine Victorian examples, such as the 8" Greens Silens Messor from 1860-1930, with its patented block chain. This was a real highlight. Or maybe the 2004 Wolf Side Wheel TC32m from Wolf Garten, Germany, better floats your boat with its rare, ultra-lightweight 1st cylinder cutter & chassis completely made out of plastic, uniquely fitted with 15 blades. My own mower of choice would be the understated but quietly superior Qualcast ‘Panther’ model, which really marks the highpoint of British lawnmowing engineering. Each to his own.

Not only were the machines themselves very much in evidence for inspection, but a number of other items were available for perusal and sale. Lawnmowers & Grasscutters: A Complete Guide retails at only £9.99. The Haynes Lawnmower Manual can be bought for only £20, which claims to provide

A fascinating insight...into the history and likely future of lawnmowers. With detailed advice on how too choose between petrol, electric or push powered machines, and the pros and cons of cylinder, rotary, ride-on and robot lawnmowers and grass cutters.

Furthermore, specific manuals are may be purchased, including the Atco Commodore B14, B17 and B20, with full operating instructions. All good stuff. A Victorian advert stuck to the wall reads:

THIS Machine is so easy to manage, that persons unpractised in the Art of Mowing, may cut the Grass on Lawns, Pleasure Grounds, and Bowling Greens, with ease. It is easily ad justed (sic) to cut to any length; and the beauty of its operation is, that it leaves no seam, nor any of the cut grass upon the Lawn. Other advantages of this Machine are, that the grass may be cut when dry, and consequently it may be used at such hours as are most convenient to the Gardener or Workman,-while the expence (sic) of Mowing is considerably lessened, as more than double the work may be done with the same manual labour that is requisite with the Scythe.

Who would have thought that cutting the grass was an art from which great satisfaction might be derived? Who knew the lawnmowing world was so broad and varied, enjoying so ancient a pedigree? Of course, I was more amused by the museum’s existence than I was interested in its contents- though I did truly find it interesting. I wonder if this is how non-Christians see the gospel and those of us who attend church. What goes through the heads of people driving past our chapel on a Sunday morning or receiving a tract from a member? Is it curiosity, tinged with disdain or bemusement? Perhaps it is sympathy that we devote our lives to something so mean? Are we seen as old fashioned, clinging to the pastimes of yesteryear, unwilling to embrace the bright new world of modernity? Man in his natural state has no interest in spiritual truth. Although he invents this religion and that, gospel truth must be revealed to Him by God alone. I commend the lawn-mowing fraternity of Lancashire for their valiant dedication to their cause. Yet we who are deemed cranks and weirdos for clinging to Christ in such a godless world get the better bargain. 

"The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.” Isaiah 40:8