My old Lawn Tractor won't start...oh, this is my first post too

So
Hello Steemit world.
I live in Suffolk, England, have a small consulting business, a bit or property I look after and maintain, including our amcient wattle and daub, lath and plaster place here, some kids, and time is flying and I go to the gym, and like Pam Ayres said "oh I wish I'd looked after my teeth"
blah, that's me....so now I can talk about machines, money, crypto, politics etc etc. I'm looking forward to getting stuck in to steemit and see how it goes.

I bought this old thing from the side of the road a couple of years back, for £150 ( minus the £20 the guy gave me for my old dead mower that I was replacing).
I love it, although it's very noisy ( I wear foam ear plugs when I'm on it!) and bumpy, and some of the guard has rusted away etc.
But...It's built like a little tank, all metal, and will no doubt run forever.

Last week I couldn't start it at all though, and just had a "click" when I turned the ignition.
Yikes....Turning to this 'good ole boy' in the states www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmXEbJDXRPY
I followed his idiot proof guide on troubleshooting.

First, I borrowed a multimeter from my neighbour.
Checked the battery...that's all good ( reading of 12.73 volts)
Checked the cable from the + to the + on the solenoid with the multimeter again....still >12 Volts.....OK
Took the -ve off the solenoid. and got my son to check from the battery-ve to the solenoid -ve while I turned the ignition

ah...that might be the problem.

Now, getting the damned solenoid off was a bit tricky.
Those bolts have not been touched for probably 20 years, and getting to them is pretty tricky.

Still, I took the petrol tank off ( that was easy)

( I've stored the tools in there for when I come back to it)
and undid all but one of the bolts, and knocked the solenoid out.
Here is the solenoid in place.

I'm doubly sure it's the solenoid now because I shorted it when removing the first bolts, with the spanner, and the starter motor engaged a bit. Also, my flipping hand engaged a bit from the shock too....so, best to disconnect the battery first!

Righto. Now, I have a solenoid on the desk, and I'll order a new one, put it back on, and let you know if that fixes it.

Hopefully it will, and I can do some cutting before my hernia repair op in a couple of weeks, which will put me out if action ( mower wise) until at least mid June....I'll write some posts on that too....ouch!
There's quite a bit of grass to cut

now...if anyone has any ideas about what to do with the rabbits I have at the top, that would be most welcome...but that's another story

And all that hedge, which I planted as 'whips' 10 yrs ago, I'll be 'laying' that this winter....Suffolk style, and I'll post that work too.

Thanks for reading my first post :)
Any comments or questions or hellos, fire them in. Ta.