Tractor Fayre 56825 Schmitt

The 2nd part of my trilogy “sad things that German’s do” is to detail (to my eternal shame) my attendance at a local tractor gathering (known as a Treckertreffen) in the village of Schmitt, in the Cochem-Zell district of Rheinland-Pfalz. I shall avoid the obvious gag here about “I used to be a tractor fan, but these days…”. On getting out of the car, we were greeted by a musky pong of fried onions, bratwurst, wood smoke and diesel fumes, to the strains of John Denver’s Take Me Home, Country Roads (I kid you not). This set the scene nicely for an exceptional period of trudging around a large field looking at tractors, in various states of rusting and agriculturally-accelerated decay. For a mundane a rather utilitarian vehicle, they certainly do have a variety of forms; one could say almost endless.

At the tractor fayre in 56825 Schmitt, owners and tractor enthusiasts (especially vintage or classic models) come together to show their machines, take part in orientation rides, and socialize with others who share an interest in agricultural machinery. The Treckertreffen in Schmitt features a healthy array of tractors (and some vintage cars) on display and group rides organized by local tractor clubs such as the IG Treckefreunde Schmitt/Eifel. On the day I attended this  included rather unsafe elevation in the bucket of some Leviathan tractor, which affords excellent views of the local countryside and an opportunity to void the rectum at the same time.

Biker Gathering, Musikschmiede Kail

The following 3 blogs are examples of how people from Smalltown, Germany live out their joyless existence in their bleak heimat, mostly trudging around in mud outdoors in cold weather, neurosing over war- and post-war artifacts long since obsolete. In this instance, the gathering was in June 2025, so there was no mud but plenty of trudging. The mud will come later, I promise. 

The scenic village of Kail on the Mosel in Germany, the Musikschmiede Kail / Café zur Tanke hosts a distinctive bike-enthusiast gathering, rooted in classic and small-displacement motorcycle culture. The event over the weekend of 19–21 June 2025, drew riders and vintage bike fans from across the region.  The centrepiece of the weekend was the “50-er Treffen” held on 19th June 2025 (Fronleichnam/ Corpus Christi holiday), with yours truly in attendance. This free meetup focused on mopeds and 50 cc bikes; lovingly referred to in local scene circles as “Fuffziger”; where owners could exhibit their machines, browse a parts market, and connect with fellow riders. Later on, there was live music from the cover band Sound Convention. Nearby camping options were available for those who wanted to stay overnight. For such a small village, there were quite a few people knocking around, and on this occasion they had good weather for it. 

Activities over the weekend also included casual rides, gatherings around the classic machines, and a Saturday (21st June) Biker-Day with additional live music and food. The relaxed atmosphere at the former café-and-garage turned cultural meeting point gave riders a chance to enjoy scenic Mosel roads and local hospitality. There is also a metalworking forge from the old garage, with a collection of grizzly-looking hand-tools. Over the years Musikschmiede Kail, run by Jutta and Jürgen, has fondly become known as a regular meeting point for bikers, offering a mix of event programming, food, live music, and a welcoming setting for motorcycle enthusiasts.

https://musikschmiede-kail.de/

Masquerade Artwork (1979)

I have such fond memories of this strangely occult and pagan-themed book, which I remember leafing through with amazement whilst at Junior school. After decades mostly out of the public eye, the iconic treasure from Masquerade resurfaced on the market and now belongs to a collector once more. In November 2025, Sotheby’s offered the same golden hare at auction again. The pendant originally sold for £31,900 in 1988, but this time it fetched £82,550, well above its pre-sale estimate. It was bought by a private collector in Great Britain.

Masquerade is a beautifully illustrated puzzle book created in 1979 by the English artist Kit Williams. At first glance it looks like a whimsical fairy tale about a small hare named Jack who travels through a dreamlike world, but every page is quietly doing something else: hiding clues. Williams embedded riddles in the paintings, borders, and lettering so that careful readers could piece together a set of directions leading to a real, physical treasure.

That treasure was a small golden hare pendant, made of 18-carat gold and decorated with jewels. Williams buried it somewhere in the English countryside and announced that whoever solved the puzzle in the book could claim it. The idea captured the public imagination. Hundreds of thousands of people studied the illustrations with magnifying glasses, looking for patterns, hidden words, and visual jokes that might reveal the location. After nearly three years, the hare was found in Ampthill Park in Bedfordshire, though the circumstances of its discovery later caused controversy, since it was revealed that the finder had been tipped off rather than having fully solved the puzzle as intended.

The book itself became a cultural phenomenon. It essentially invented what is now called the “armchair treasure hunt,” a genre where readers try to solve elaborate puzzles from home using only what is hidden in a book. Even today, Masquerade is admired not just as a clever game but as a work of art, full of intricate, symbolic paintings that reward close attention.

Kit Williams, the creator of Masquerade, was born in 1946 in Kent, England. Trained as an artist, he wrote and illustrated the book entirely on his own, combining traditional painting techniques with a love of riddles, myths, and visual storytelling. After the success of Masquerade, he went on to design elaborate mechanical clocks for public buildings and continued working as a fine artist, producing detailed figurative paintings in oils. His reputation rests largely on how he merged art, story, and puzzle into a single experience, turning a picture book into one of the most famous real-world treasure hunts in history.