– The tractor shook so badly that the turn signal fell off on the road – Dagsavisen
Whose: Svein Kirknes (63)
Why: Have driven from Trøndelag to Finnmark and back home with tractor and horse trailer
You have driven 400 miles on a 60-year-old tractor, how many local journalists have interviewed you?
– It has become a lot, yes! It was popular here, five or six.
Has it gotten to the point where people recognize you on the street?
– They will do it soon!
The tractor is ancient, has there been much that has broken on the trip?
– The tractor shook so badly that the turn signal fell off onto the road. I had some tools with me, so I screwed and arranged, I fixed the turn signal with silicone and tape, it was great!
Quick summary, where did the trip go?
– From Stjørdal to Nordkapp over to Kirkenes, through Finland – but they only spoke Finnish there – so I took off at Karigasniemi and into Karasjok, where I was tried out for a Sami festival with a joike concert. It was nice to listen to! Then I went south again. I’ve been invited to dinner, given diesel in the tank and taken a sauna with people I’ve met on the road.
Do you like being a bit of a celebrity?
– Yes, it’s just pleasant! And then I have a message, I’m collecting money for the Children’s Department at St. Olav. At the back of the horse-drawn carriage I have a poster where people can tip money.
Horse trailer, tell!
– I bought it in Svolvær and have refurbished it. I have washed it clean and painted it, put in a roof hatch, side hatch and done a lot inside. Now I have both a bed and a kitchenette.
Back to the fundraiser, it sounds nice to drive off and hear them baking you tipping you money!
– The phone probably beeps, yes, but it’s so noisy in the tractor that I don’t hear anything while I’m driving.
What do you get in on a good day?
– A couple of thousand individual days, then people honk and wave. And then I have Lura with me, then!
Your lady?
– She sits in the front. Before I got to Mosjøen, a lady stopped and said “I think that lady should be allowed to sit in the carriage!” But it’s just a doll.
Are you planning more trips?
– I am going to Trondheim at the end of August to survive the money, and then I have been offered to drive down to the Czech Republic to visit the factory that made the tractor, a Zetor 3011 1961 model. By the way, I visited someone on Mosjøen who had 250 tractors, but he had never put one that was like mine!
Cool! Now we have some quick questions: What makes you happy?
– That’s when I meet people and everything goes as it should.
Which book has meant the most to you?
– I rarely read, sometimes I read newspapers and then I look at the phone.
What do you do when you poop?
– Goes on a fishing trip or to the pub.
Who would you be stuck in the elevator with?
– It doesn’t really matter who I had stuck with, I think the person would have been nervous anyway. But I know that this is not dangerous, if you open the hatch in the roof and get into the lift room, you can forcibly run the lift. A lift never falls down, it has brake pads that are automatically engaged.
Then I’d rather stick with you!
– Yes, thank you for that, you!
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