Here in Crete we have a fairly large collection of jalopies – most of them still on the road. Some of them go back forty years and consist basically of a rotovator without the blades with a seat and trailer on the back. Later they joined the front engine to the trailer and then we had, hey presto, the first jalopies. Here is one . . .
Early Crete Greece Jalopy
Interestingly in a village not far from where I live is a lovely old blue jalopy. I dare not guess at the age, but it is on the road and in daily use by a very mature farmer. It is painted blue and it goes pretty well, if not fast.
The Bouncing Bright Blue Jalopy
As I said, it is indeed in daily use. In the field beside the above picture the farmer was tilling his land and loading some wild greens in the back for his family to eat.
Fetching greens for his family
In the dictionary it says that a jalopy is an old vehicle – more or less – not a shining vintage car. So there we have it . . .
I love stuff like this… If I had one of these I would drive it with pride… I have a 1969 and a 1971 landrover so the word jalopy is not ‘new’ to me.. :O)
Mine’s Here
Tom
Ha! Fabulous choice for J. My husband would get a kick out of seeing these great jalopies…
The jalopy must be a great invention and very useful! thanks for showing.
I’m with Tom, a great chocie.
Great shots of the jalopies. Thx for popping by and commenting on my J post. Have a wonderful week.
That blue one reminds me of the car in Mr. Bean’s tv show.
I have two entries this week,you can check it out here and here.
That blue jalopy is really neat.
I wouldn’t mind having a jalopy like that for my daily wanderings.
Bear((( )))
l couldnt think of much with a J…so am amazed at everyones inspiration
O I have traveled in a few jalopies in my time!
the good old trikikla – now i know what they’re called in english (jalopy – a good literary word!)
WOnderful jalopies! Somehow, they blend beautifully with the surroundings.
I jsut found your blog off your comment on Dina’s blog. I’ve always wanted to see Greece… now I’m going to dive into your archives!
Cheers,
Laurie
Oh my gosh, it’s a TRAG!!! Thought I’d never see one again. When I came to Heifer Ranch (www.heifer.org) in Arkansas as a volunteer in 1996 the Livestock Dept. was still using a few already very old TRAGs. TRansportation for AGriculture, designed for Third World farmers. I’d have to pull the cord about ten times with all my might to start the thing, but then it would GO, even with tools, haybales, animals, and/or people in the back. I used it for years and literally drove it into the ground–it broke in half one day (but was welded back together!).
You can see a similar TRAG, the red one, at http://www.lightfootcycles.com/history.htm.
Gee Ray, I’d love to help harvest your olives some year. What method do you use? I help my nun friends/neighbors harvest theirs for oil, but they pick them one by one. Not many trees but very time consuming.
Shalom to you in Crete. Thanks for the jalopy!
Hi Dina,
Thanks for the Trag info. I have never heard it called that before. Here, in Greek, they are called Trikiklas. The English word is jalopy.
As for the Olive picking – you can see my story here at:
http://crete.wordpress.com/2008/01/11/olive-harvest-ours-anyway/
and you can come any year you like, just email me through the about page on this blog.
All the best
Ray
Oh yes, my hubby would love these.
Oooh, lovely! Jalopy!! I have some wonderful pictures of old jalopies, but I didn’t think to include that one – very creative. I salute you!
The weather looks so nice where you are!
I’d love to drive around in those vehicles…
Just my style…
those vehicles are so cool. :O
Oh, I do like that blue jalopy! What a great J word! : D
My uncle in Archanes had a jalopy and when we were littles, he took us for a ride. It was fun. You brought me so many memories.