In search of stripy lawns

I’ve had my mower a long time. It broke around 10 years ago when some little pins that linked the drive to the motor hub sheared off. My first repair, using the metal bits of treasury tags I had lying around was not successful, but my second attempt using steel nails worked a treat.

I got the lawn mower out last week, what with the grass starting to wave in the breeze. I had a look underneath to see how my repair was holding up. The repair was fine, but the bearing that holds the metal blades (lumps of sharpened steel that whizz around at amazing speed and cut the grass) seems to have collapsed. I can move the end of the blade up and down a worryingly long way. And since these parts are very close to my ankles when I’m mowing the lawn, I thought a new mower might be in order.

The mower has arrived. It turns out that mower technology has not moved on a great deal, but the new one does have a roller at the back. This means that I can get the same “striped” effect that you see on posh lawns and tennis courts. I hope it lasts as long as the old one did.