A hello, a thanks, and a question...

[Canis Varg]

Hey all!

 

Just to start off by saying hello and making an appearance on the site, I’ve been sneaking about in the shadows of the forum for a few months now, looking at various topics of interest, and gaining a fair bit of knowledge in the process. The site is fantastic, with a rich ensemble of members that obviously know their stuff!

 

I'll soon to be entering the industry by starting a course later this month at Riseholme Agricultural College near Lincoln, under the watchful eye of Neil Rowbottom, and using the resources on the site have made the fundamental PPE purchases required. I would just like to thank everyone here for providing the website/forum, and this excellent pool of knowledge!

 

Out of curiosity though, I’m just wondering what other peoples experiences are when stepping out into the industry by themselves for the first time. I know obviously I’ll be taught the basics while on the course, but I wouldn’t mind listening (reading?), and learning from other peoples experience in that area?

 

Thanks again!

 

Canis

[arbwork]

Welcome, good luck and enjoy your journey

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

hello and welcome to our world

[Tom2020]

Hi and welcome to the site

 

You look familiar Is your nick name Loz by any chance if so Try and guess who i am,

 

If not Have fun at Riseholme

[Canis Varg]

Thank you for the warm welcome chaps! It’ll be a bumpy ride I’m sure but infinitely enjoyable too, really looking forwards to it (if Lincoln can sort out my accommodation! )!!

 

Hey Tom, that is correct man, I am commonly known as Loz at Riseholme; how did you see through my bearded disguise!

 

At a guess though, (despite the mushroom avatar ) are you by any chance the chap who turned up for the taster day at Riseholme a month or two back? Other than that, I’m sorry; my memory is severely compromised thanks to fine herbal...

 

Cheers!

 

Loz

[David Goss]

Welcome:thumbup:

 

To answer your question of first experiences doing this kind of work well my first day was an eye opener. I was being shown around a forest by the boss with him explaining where we will be working, what we will be doing etc and we see this landy parked up at the side of the track. The boss knows the owner and stops for a chat, which very quickly turns into my first experience of outdoor work. The landy owner turns out to be the gamekeeper who has recently shot a big red deer and was just about to call for help getting it in the back of the landy, so the boss offered to help and obviously i had to show keen and got out to give a hand as well. The gamekeeper had also just gutted it so there was a mess of blood and guts all around. If you have ever tried to shove a huge dead and bleeding red deer in the back of anything then you will know it aint pleasant! i was pretty well covered in blood and guts cos the new guy obviously gets to be at the back pushing up with gravity doing its work on all the nasty liquid stuff.

Even though i was covered in blood and just shoved a dead animal into a landy, 20 years on i still remember it as the best first day of work ever and i have never looked back since. Love what i do and hope i can do it for another 20 years although things hurt a lot nowadays i wouldnt change it for the world.

[Tom2020]

Yh that was me mate, Have fun at Riseholme. For the price of the course and what i was going to get out it not for me im afraid i wish you the best of luck my man.

[Canis Varg]

Hey David, Thanks for the welcome!

 

Not the post I was expecting to be reading at first, I was thinking something more along the lines of 'turned up for work, shown the ropes' ect. Kinda glad that wasn’t the case now, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about your first days experience! I hope I have something similar (in excitement, not the blood ) to look forwards too! Cheers again man!

 

Tom, hey! I knew I wasn't loosing it! It’s a pity that you won’t be returning later this month; I fear that the course will be full of adolescent youths, with the idea that arboriculture is ‘playing with chainsaws’, and not actually take the course with any seriousness...

 

Ah well, as long as they don’t deter me from my goal (best in class! ), I shouldn’t have to worry I guess!