France calling...

[VTS]

I'm registered with the chambre d'agricole as an elageur grimpeur.

 

The insurance is with AXA France. The only clause in it is i cant do landscape work/foundations.

 

Darren

[Ty Korrigan]

Hello,

Below is an extract from a thread on Anglo-info Brittany concerning costs of gardening etc. Flintcatcher being my pseudonym on this forum.

 

Birdygirl has quoted:

10 € ph,plenty,tea,coffee biscuits,sandwich,never mind the bull,most are on the black,they all refuse cheque emploi, i cut with ride on,he strims,and tidies,odd jobs also,car valeting,digging and planting veg patch, 6/7 hrs a wk,sometimes double to suit his self whatever,many brits would be glad of it,i don't know what planet Flintcatcher is on as a logging skivvy,but the reality is different for the minded individuals. End quote

 

I get a lot of jealous criticism from hard up ex-pats.

I give wood away for free and get shouted down for doing so by those without the means to benefit from my offer due to distance or transport.

The below is one of many positive responses from grateful recipients of free wood.

 

Giveaways

Free firewood! has 3 pages:

< prev

1 · 2 · 3

Re: Free firewood!

RHS35 replied on 28/01/2012 at 09:00

 

Thanks for all the free wood Stuart, i think i probably have enough for 5 years nows. Can't believe how many people are prepared to moan about FREE heating , all wood produces heat calories and if you treat it right and sweep a bit more often you will never have a problem, thanks again Clive

 

Anyway, now off into the dark and rain for my daily coin.

Ty

[normandylumberjack]

This may stir up some trouble, but where do you buy your kit?

England or France?

I would like to buy locally, but find the price too high- with no negotiation, service poor and often lacking knowledge on the products. Also ppe is slim on the ground.

Anyone know a store where none of this is true?

[Ty Korrigan]

U.K for kit, French prices are just...silly.

Postage from Honey Bros' is £25 so easy to make a saving on prices here.

Ty

[volvo]

I use parcelstogo and never had an issue being delivered by parcelforce.

[theshaker]

Can everyone check out my post ref LOOKING FOR WORK IN FRANCE!

 

I am itching to get back into the trees, I really thought after 24yrs of climbing I cold simply stop just like that but its impossible:biggrin:

 

I hope smeone points my request for work to the right people

 

cheers

[Ty Korrigan]

So,

It involved a 400km/5hr round trip to take down a dead Monkey Puzzle.

I had asked the owner to send images and to test the condition of the bark.

I was told...solid.

As the owner had failed to find a local arb to take it down despite being very well integrated so I guessed there was 'issues' surrounding it.

Sure enough, on arrival I first inspected the condition of the trunk and found a spongey mush of compost beneath a brittle skin...nuts.

I just hoped my gaffs where long enough for the job!

It was a horrible ascent indeed!

I would normally have shot up there like a weasel in a porn stars trousers but every movement had to be carefully done to ensure the gaffs penetrated the bark and into the solid wood below.

The wood was like iron to boot!

In the end, I dropped the branches and chogged down just 2 lumps before felling. I left the branch stubs long in order to have something to rest upon.

The tree moved no more than normal BUT I still had Auld Rab watching the roots for movement.

My first Auracaria and despite it having lost 99% of its leaves I still got well pricked!

When Auld Rab felled it the stem fractured into 3 pieces and the bark leapt off in a black shower!

The whole job took 1h30min plus 30min to pack up before an excellent lunch provided by our hosts who run a well reputed B+B in the centre of town.

[Ty Korrigan]

Now I have a question for the experts here...

What is that strange growth we found beneath the bark on several of the branch stubs?

Last image, look at the bark bottom left.

It looks like a Martian root from War of the Worlds...

Ty

Edited March 13, 2012 by Ty Korrigan
Incomplete post

[Ty Korrigan]

Oops, should be in the pictures forum, blame my flu...sorry.

Ty

[Ty Korrigan]

Evening,

I thought I'd just post some advice for any-one who may be thinking about moving to France for a better life with the idea of starting up an arb business.

Others already here, please feel free to post your own experiences and advice for a more complete picture.

 

Why come here anyway?

Well... to live the dream of course and get away from the drudgery of Crisis Britain.

Many see the advantages in selling up a wee semi in suburbia for a sprawling rural longhouse with an acre or 2.

Low crime rate, cheap wine, every day a holiday, renovation, sun and freedom.

Well, whatever floats your boat!

France has its disadvantages too.

High rural unemployment, the long rural winter too, lack of decent bacon (I'm being silly here)

But the worst thing is the feeling of isolation that slowly creeps up on couples after a couple of years. Eventually (after the 3rd dull winter) the realisation dawns that they are living in a self imposed exile with funds running low and the renovation stalling as a result.

Man finds little work because he has NO transferable skills (formally an assembly worker for a jap car firm or a pen pusher in the city...city of Norwich that is)

and that on the black as he has not grasped even enough French to work at the local abattoir (the usual resort for hard up Brits) The missus, fed up with the local hairdressers making her look like a lesbian and the lack of shops she can relate too throws a wobbly and returns to her mothers in Bexhill.

 

So, to survive here in France you need transferable skills with which to earn a coin or its pig sticking at the local knackery for you.

Tree work, now theres a coin to be had there.

You don't need to justify your certificates or even prove yourself to set up in business.

You don't even need to jump through any hoops with the right advice to guide you.

Insurances are cheap, kit expensive, and taxes high (social charges) around 50-60% depending your trading status.

Warning! There is no future in chasing purely expats, you will need to market yourself to the local Frenchies.

It would be better for your business if you moved to an area of high population rather than seeking an isolated rural retreat from which to launch your new French life.

Learn enough French to be able to answer the phone and talk to clients. You'll do this best just by total immersion sur place rather than wasting hours on evening courses at the local polytechnic.

I would advise those who wish to pursue the French dream NOT to sell up in the U.K but to come here and rent a place first.

You may need an escape route more than you wish to believe.

Most ex-pats return to the U.K within 3 years, less wealthy than when they arrived in France having blown thousands on wine, unfinished hovel renovation and keeping entertained through that dull rural winter.

Now don't think other ex-pat firms will employ you, most just cannot afford to as an employee costs 2.5 times his salary again in social charges and admin costs etc.

The best route is for you to get a job with a large French concern (assuming you can speak French of course)

Go via the agencies, there are agencies who specialise in land based industries and agencies are the biggest employers here after the state.

Right enough for now.

Ty