Before I was born my father and his brother in law Bill known as (Crown) were ploughing a large field in Suffolk. It was not uncommon to have two tractors working in the same field to save time. This meant that the field could be finished before the winter rain set in. when it got to time for elevenses they stopped and sat down together by a hedge at the side of the field. As they were chatting and eating their sandwiches Bill said I’m fed up with these bloody teeth Denny (Bill always called my dad Denny) and took them out he then put them in the hollow of a nearby tree. He had recently had false teeth and was not getting on well with them. They finished their break and carried on working my dad didn’t give it another thought. About a year later they were both ploughing the same field again. They stopped for their elevenses and were chatting away when Bill suddenly said “I left my false teeth in a tree somewhere near here last year I think I’ll go and see if they are still there”. He walked along until he found the tree and put his hand into the hollow and pulled out the teeth. As he walked back to my Dad he put the teeth in then said they seem to fit better now finished his break and they went back to work. Bill happy with his teeth, my Dad speechless.

This story was told to me by my father.

I suspect that Bill’s gums had shrunk and that made the teeth more comfortable it does not explain why he put them in with no more than a wipe. After they had been in a tree for a year.