Tom Newsome spoke with Tony Johnson about the Christmas Eve Tractor Run around Hebden Bridge. His sons, Ernie and Stan, wished 2 years ago for a tractor run for Christmas which has now become a reality raising money for charity. This year they are raising money for Candlelighters.
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00:00 I'm Tom Newsome, we're up at Storps Farm and we're getting prepared for the Christmas tractor run 2023.
00:07 Can you just tell us a little bit about this tractor run, when's it run and why is it run?
00:12 So it's running on Christmas Eve through the Calder Valley, we're doing it to raise money for a local charity
00:19 which is a cancer trust that supports children. We're doing it on Christmas Eve,
00:25 we set off at four o'clock and we travel down the valley through Tommerdon and Hebden Bridge in Mythamroyd.
00:32 Can you just tell us about the tractor run, how did it come about?
00:36 It originally came about through an idea from my children, Ernest and Stanley Newsome,
00:42 they requested a tractor run one Christmas, we all got together as good friends and
00:48 it started out like that and progressed into what we are now.
00:54 How many tractors are you expecting to run this year?
00:57 The first year there was around 20 and then last year around 60 and this year the possibilities are endless.
01:04 And you say it came about through your children, they must get a great deal of satisfaction to see the scale that it is now.
01:12 Oh yes, they've always been obsessed with machinery and tractors and
01:17 because we're in such a local small community they know everyone that's driving past and
01:23 enjoy the beeping and waving throughout the year so come Christmas with the Christmas lights on as well it's even more excitement for them.
01:32 And this year you're doing it for candle lighters, can you just tell me why that particular charity has been chosen?
01:38 So the past two years we've done it for the British Heart Foundation which is close to all our hearts.
01:43 This year we'd like to spread the donations a bit further afield and
01:50 obviously the Children's Cancer Trust, it's another fantastic cause that we'd like to support.