Andy Collins

They will, me and Steve were working at one very swish residence, cooked up mussels in garlic butter sauce on the front lawn, on another occasion on a very wet day I was pan-frying fresh herring in a vicars garage (had to let the smell out of the door!), he thought it was marvellous and even had one himself.

Out in the woods on 1st thinnings, just need to spice the day up with a peppy little chilli

Thanks to all the interested parties who have now contacted me, look forward to seeing you and discussing the move

Nice one Tony, perhaps you'll get a "proper" job now:sneaky2:

I think the criticism re: the choice of colour is important. Some may disagree, but garish colours will put some off buying what maybe otherwise an excellent product. We dont need pretty colour boots to slosh about in mud and slime, we do need boots that last the test of time, do keep the water out and are all the things we need before flippant things like colour.

I went on Sunday, best "Game Fair" type show in East Anglia IMO, even had a Lancaster bomber fly over going into Cambridge airport!! If you've been before its the same layout as for the last 25years, pretty much the same stuff in the ring too. Tim Atkins is up there carving again Have a go on the musket shooting if you get time, its good fun

Hi Darren, have you thought of renovating/re-designing gardens? Ideal time for doing hard landscaping, planting it up with new stock of trees etc. as well as taming unruly hedges and trees.

I know how I'm going to execute this job, it will be a tree spade, Civics or similar. The problem I have is time and timing. Ideally the roots should be pruned back this year ready for lifting next. Hereby lies the snag. A tennis court has to be built/assembled/constructed on the site this autumn, where the tree stands now. Should I prune the roots now, even though it only has a couple of months, should I leave well alone? The tree is a mature Acer palmatum of at least 70years old, IMO it cannot be allowed to be sacrificed for a tennis court, it has a spread of some 4m of canopy and is a beautiful little specimen. Thoughts on a postcard please..... or here. Weliketomoveit...moveit, I'd appreciate your input in particular, but I dont wish to waste too much of your time as the designer has already recommended 2 companies, though I'd prefer to have a third quote anyway, but that I will have to talk to my client about later. Ta for reading

I have broen many pairs of these kinds of loppers over time, on the cheaper ones the ratchets snap, on the dearer ones the handles have snapped. Probably, in all fairness, down to me trying too hard to cut something far too hard for what they are designed to do. Best suited to the hobby gardening types IMO. but i'll never learn and keep breaking them I suppose

Well, another week came and went. Totally forgotten about them now, I thought it would be a lot harder to quit than this. On the beers last week, surrounded by smokers, didnt waver once, a situation I thought I wouldnt be able to handle. I did ask one to blow his smoke the other way as it was right in my face, and he obliged politely and apologetically. So if you're thinking of quitting, it aint so bad honest!

Lovely looking pair of boots, stunning colour too. I'll put them on my Christmas wishlist I think

Believe me, 1st thing in the morning I need rocket fuel

I've tried quite a few locally available coffees, and settled for the Taylors Hot Lava Java

A few weeks ago on one of those cop shows showing how our "boys in blue" beat down the nasty crims every time, a lad was arrested for carrying a chainsaw in public (with a bar cover in place). He was your typical tracky bottomed chavvy type, he actually hadnt committed any offence prior to his arrest, but a concerned member of the public had reported him so they had to follow up. He was released without charge, the saw was confiscated. He had a previous record, so wasnt sqeaky-clean. So if you have a criminal record be more aware, strip the bar and chain, empty the fuel etc and wear a company t-shirt so you look like you're in the course of your daily emloyment. You could buy a chainsaw case to carry up to mid-sized saws about too.

I have to say I am surprised that you didnt like the Oregons. I've worn mine since April (I think) and found them to be very good trousers, good fit, strong and hard-wearing. All in all, good value for money and I would say suitable to supply your labour with. Its not a fashion parade, its the work-place, if they want something better, let them pay the difference.

47 this year, self-employed sole trader, hire in as and when for the bigger, trickier jobs, and bring in the right men with the right skills for each job. keeps the stress levels to a minimum. As many know, I knocked the fags on the head a month ago, changed my lifestyle to walking, cycling and weights to give myself a fighting chance of staying alive and keeping ahead of the young uns

Nice one

Well its now a full month since i quit the evil weed. Not missing it now at all, in fact each day seems easier. Healthwise I can draw a good lungfull of fresh country air, I can cycle again without tiring for far further. Its great.

I currently charge for the service, billing separately from the job, but if I win the job I deduct the fee for the notification/application from the end-price, as an incentive for the client to use my service. Doesnt always work, but I do get paid for my time in the event that I dont win the job.

I do like the sound of a big tree hitting the deck. I enjoy hearing the little birds tweeting away. I do not like the site of a million slightly agitated wasps on an embankment when we've just run a digger over the nest Mind you one was friendly enough to come and gently alight on my wrist, then he shared his displeasure in the only way he knows best. Oh... I really love being at one with nature I really do

oh and last but not least

Bit of a challenge for this job, limited access for anything other than foot traffic, at the bottom of the gulley is a bridlepath. The windblown siccie is obstructing the path and has to be cleared. The regen is approx 40feet tall, so it has been down for a fair while, and as can be seen the sides of the gulley is fairly steep. To the left of the pics at the top of the bank is an 11kv feed, so we couldnt use anything to crane it up, winching would be far too slow, so my mate used his 5ton Volvo and we chained the poles and skidded tha up the bank with the back actor. Hard to get any kind of perspective, the main (horizontal) trunk is about 2foot dia, the root plate is a tad large.

Cute little Hobby hawk chicks, everybody say "AAaaaaaaah" FTR these pics were taken while assisting a licenced RSPB handler in ringing duties.

Giving up smoking is better than viagra, any day:thumbup: