Andy Collins

As far as I'm aware Honda still stock them, I'll see if I can find out for sure

How much to ask for per cubic foot? Oh and its kiln-dried

Dont forget, Vosa have greater powers from Apr 2011 which means they can now stop you without the assistance of a Police Officer. If you are operating vehicles illegally (maybe not in your opinion) they will catch up with you. Agriculture includes Farming, Forestry, Fisheries, I have been told that Gamekeeping is no longer classed as ag, but is now sport, but not sure if this is 100% correct at this time.

I know someone who wont sell much firewood this side of Christmas, but once all the others have exhausted their stocks, he will shift it all in a month or so, at his price. He plays the waiting game, and allows the market to dictate to the customer how dear their logs will be, and they cant go anywhere else as they've all sold out

Time for an update on things on the wee chipper front. I still have my little jo-Beau M300, and its proved itself time and again, not just on garden shrubby type jobs, but big call-outs where access has been a pig its excelled. The build quality is very strong, the paint is very durable, servicing basic and blade changes on average probably around 30hrs rathe then the recommended 60 in the book. Would I sell it to you? No, its invaluable on many jobs, has saved me the costs of labour to drag stuff out. Do I wish now that I'd bought a GM? Tough one, but I dont think so.

Jo Beau M300, the original and best. The GM is the young upstart, the new kid on the block many have raved about it but it was just a fad, now their enthusiasm has waned, the interest is lost, and the machines lay rusting in the corner of sheds.

So........... did he or didnt he?

As above

IMHO its not just training to apply the correct 1st Aid but mental preparation for the unexpected. To sit in a warm training room, with a mug of coffee, discussing the correct type of hypo-allergenic plaster is hardly preparation for the site of gore as you go across to check on your colleague and find him holding his leg together (for example) in a pool of blood in the middle of nowhere. Its the whole mind-set of this training that perhaps could do with a shake-up.

I wholeheartedly agree with your statement Felix, but the best kit is worthless without the relevent training and re-training. This has been my gripe from the very beginning. I went on "an industry specific appointed persons" course and my expectations were far higher than the reality. I came away with the same attitude that I had felt many years previously, and that is that the window of opportunity is wide open, but the necessary training is just not available. Yes, I will not deny that what I refreshed is essential 1st aid in many arenas and in itself is important, but equally I feel that preparation to deal with the gore of real life situations could be addressed too. FTR I shall still carry the same kit as before, including Celox and other 'personal" additions to the standard kit, but all the training does go against this.

Well, finally I have done my First Aid update. Celox, I was told, should be discarded, it is not approved. Tourniquets should not be used, along with other surgical type equipment (we are not surgeons or paramedics, we are basic 1st aiders whose job is to sustain life until the professionals turn up and take over, which will take 8 minutes (?)) I even asked the worth of such a kit in this thread and the response was negative. We should (as a duty of care to our employees under the H&S Act) supply a defib unit for each team to give them a fighting chance in the event of a heart attack we were told. can you see this happening, really? Now I've made my own choices based on the information I re-learned today, and bearing in mind its something I hadnt refreshed for over 10years, and much of it is inappropriate in our everyday situations. Fine for treating that nasty paper-cut or stubbed toe, but in the real world of tree work I feel it falls far short. There is still little or no preparation for potential real events, and with the advancements in prosthetic wounds, the chance to really prepare staff is out there, but sadly ignored. Anyway, I am once again fully qualified to stick a plaster on your little finger, pull a splinter from your toe, and kiss your knee better if you trip over. You can sleep safely now in this knowledge. Another soul complying to the H&S tick-box mentality.

Try Lee at Arbor Aeration 01473463207

Sounds interesting, would love to see some pics of it in action though

What an utter disappointment, after many successful years the National Trust has blown it! Now little better than a rich mans boot sale, very little emphasis on the core subject now. The biggest stall was the bar (maybe rightly!!) Endless stalls of over-priced tat that could be bought from a Poundsavers for a fraction of the price. There were a few good stands, Steve Woodley and Rick Lewis showing their fine hand hewn timber beams Tim Atkins doing some chainsaw carving, the steam powered saw-mill and so on. BUT come on National Trust, sort the brain dead toffy-nosed bimbos out on the gates, if I dont want to be a member then dont keep on pushing, I came to see a Wood Fair, not be coerced into a membership of something I'll not benefit from till I get me bus pass and go on Saga holidays.

Where do I start!!! A few months back a few may remember me bemoaning the sure demise of my local. It didnt happen, but it may have well done, Its been turned into a soulless food bar, it is full of cheap tacky chintzy paraphenalia that make it look like a whores boudoir. I asked last Saturday why (at 9pm) the bar was dead, and the reply is that Saturdays are always quiet (never used to be) that they'd been busy every single day. The chef then came out asking what my problem was. I suggested maybe that they had the problem ie empty bar/Saturday night, and his retort was if I wished to drink I should try elsewhere, as they specialised in being a food pub (and he was a lot ruder than this). That answered my question and I took my leave. I assume this stance has driven everyone else away too. Now the problem, its my local of 25 or so years, which I've supported through thick and thin, I loved the old pub (not the new version), its within walking distance, but I simply no longer like it. A pint of Guinness is now 3.50 in there, truly expensive, but I wouldnt mind if I felt the atmoshere were worth it. I've spoken to others about the way I feel about the pub, with mixed reactions, the well-heeled "elders"of the village feel its got rid of the less desirable element (the youngsters, the poor, the tradesmen), others feel that under the present management they will not be going back,

I would never buy a Mewp for tree work, somehow it would never be the "right" machine for each job. I do use mewps a lot, genies in particular (I'm no climber) but they do have limitations (as do climbers!! ) I would always rather hire in the machine I needed for each task than compromise with one machine that isnt suited to all needs.

Lovely pics, decent tree! Whats the story?

Anyway, lets return to a more normal service, instead of trying to wind one another up, intentionally or otherwise.

Ha typical climbers "my trees bigger than your tree" macho diatribe.

You can get a slide in part that holds scrench, files etc, havent seen one lately though

We used to joke about the effect of the boss turning up on site, he would grab a saw rush about looking frantically busy for about an hour, fell everything in site into a tangled mess, then say "I'm off pricing". Another favourite was when he turned up, he'd insist on a Team Talk, we'd all have to stop and......talk....about guff all. Or he'd turn up, stop the foreman from working and have a chat about Really Important Managerial Matters... that werent important, managerial and didnt matter. The polite term we gave this was the Law of Diminishing Managerial Return.

Sorry, I was referring to a "normal" hardwood woodland, one thats been neglected, the +60cm taken by saw, sub 60cm by harvester, then having to run around like mad snedding the wide forked limbs (that the harvester cant "bazz" through the head) so the forwarder can move them.

I'd never lend any of my gear for the above reason, but also for a couple of others. What if he'd cut himself badly with your kit in your abscence? He obviously didnt know how to use a saw! How would you have felt if the neighbour had then gone out and done a tree job with your kit, a job which you could have had and earned money from?

I take it you've never done contract felling, trying to earn a living with ever spiralling costs? Hardwood costs a lot to harvest, if a harvester can be used it cant handle the spready branches of the crown, whereas it can whip through a softwood plantation. A man on a saw wants to earn enough to be worth his while being out in all weathers, doing a dangerous job, then the wood has to be got to the roadside, so a forwarder is needed. More expense and more fuel. Then a timber lorry has to transport the timber to the yard to be processed, more fuel, more labour and more $$$. I'll not bore you further with the processing cost, transport costs and labor cost to deliver to your door. Softwood is ok, but it will burn quicker and you will need more of it, false economy maybe?

Is there more than one Yew? I take it that it would be feasible and responsible for you to recommend a temporary fence until a decision is made by the management/and council, could you provide fencing as the alternative? At least ths way you still earn from it.