Will

I like trees but the birds keep sitting in it, so it has to come down.

If you ever go and work abroad then latin names are a good way to save making embarissing mistakes. My first week over here I was sent to a job to remove a sycamore. When I got there I found 2 maples next to a London plain tree (Platanus occidentalis). If there had been only one maple I would have taken it down, thinking that a maple and a sycamore are both of the Acer genus so they must mean the maple. After calling the office to ask which maple to remove and they then said 'neither dumb ass, do you not know what a sycamore looks like'. After some more heated phone calls and a look in a north American tree book, it turns out that a Sycamore is also a London Plain tree and an American Sycamore and an American plain tree, but all of them are in fact the same tree, Platanus occidentalis. There are many other trees world wide that have differing local names, but are all actually the same tree. So if you plan to stay in one area to work, who needs latin, but if you want to travel abroad, Nil Satis Nisi Optimum.

Is your UA1 instructor a qualified climbing instructor. I ask, because my UA1 examiner was a Western Power Distribution employee. He is a qualified NPTC assesser, he knew everything about powerlines, trees and correct pruning methods but had never climbed a tree in his life.

Could you not find someone who is going over the the UK in the next few months, and get them to bring it back. Honey Brothers are based in Guilford, just outside London. Most US visitors fly in to London or spend time visiting there. It will save you a fair bit in shipping and insurance.

They are one of the bigger arb supplers in the UK, sponser many arb events and from my own experience are very reliable when sending out gear in the UK. I don't know if US customs will be an issue though, but I wouldn't worry about Honey Brothers side of the deal.

They can be, I was always within sprinting distance of my truck.

Spent most of today in the forest cutting up firewood. I'd been there an hour when a female Moose and it's calf (don't know what you call a young moose) turned up and spent the rest of the time eating the bushes not more than 12 meters from me. I got home, stacked the wood, had two bacon rolls and I'm now going to play pool, drink beer and warm my ass on the first fire of the season. (and tomorrow is a national holiday, you beauty!)

Hi James, I was in the Fleet Air Arm for twenty odd years and got fed up with it too. I did the 30 day Service leavers course at Kingswood Training run by Richard Ollie. From other courses I have since completed, I feel that the training at Kingswood is first class, particulary the safety aspects and correct way things are taught. The course is hard work, both physically and mentally, but really enjoyable. Richard and his team have been doing this for a while now and are very used to the Service mentality and sense of humour. After successfully completeing the course, you will have a sound understanding of the theroretical side of the industry and a novices skills in the practical side. It is then up to you to push on and learn and practice the skills you have been taught. You will not be able to command a hugh wage to start with, as this industry goes on years spent climbing (that means climbing most work days and not once or twice a month). To your advantage, most ex-service personnel have a good attitude to work and commitment and this is often noticed by employers pretty early on. Often responsibility is quickly given as service personnel have completed leadership training and are used to handling situations that not all their civillian colleges have come across. If you haven't already talked to Richard, call him. He's a nice guy and will fill you in on the course and industry as a whole. I'm sorry I didn't change careers years ago. I now live and work in Canada, climbing 100ft plus trees each week and using a huge range of tools and machinery that I didn't even know existed a few years ago. I learn somthing new everyday and slowly over time I'm getting to be a better climber with a wide range of skills and the wages that go with those skills. Anyway, if you want any more info on the Service side of things, just ask. If you want industry information, post a thread on here, someone will know the answer, a few will think they know the answer and everyone else will take the piss out of them. Will

N.Z. cafe serves dishwashing liquid instead of mulled wine, 2 women hospitalized THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 2008-05-06 WELLINGTON, New Zealand - Two women were hospitalized after a New Zealand cafe mistakenly served dishwashing liquid as mulled wine, a newspaper reported Tuesday. Chico’s Restaurant Ltd. in the mountain resort of Queenstown on South Island pleaded guilty to a charge of selling food containing extraneous matter - the chemical sodium hydroxide - that caused injury, the Southland Times newspaper said. Prosecutor Sarah McKenzie told Queenstown District Court that the two women were taken to a hospital after drinking the liquid last July, the newspaper reported. Customer Sarah Ferguson had ordered a glass of "Mountain Thunder" mulled wine from Queenstown’s Old Man Rock Cafe, owned by Chico’s Restaurant Ltd. She spat out the liquid when she experienced a burning sensation on her lips and mouth. Cafe worker Bethany Sim offered to test the drink and suffered a similar reaction. "A check by cafe management indicated that a mulled wine container had unfortunately been filled with dishwashing detergent," McKenzie told the court. An investigation showed the two liquids had been mixed up after 24 litres of dishwashing liquid was delivered in a container formerly used to hold "Mountain Thunder" mulled wine. The court heard Sim suffered burns and possible scaring of her throat and esophagus from the chemical mix. Under New Zealand’s no-fault accident law, victims do not sue for damages. Instead, treatment costs and income loss are met by the country’s Accident Compensation scheme. The company will be sentenced next month and faces a possible fine.

Just a reminder, my dog was bitten by an adder this week where I was working. So far it has cost over £100 and he's still not fully recovered. The vet say's that this is the worst time of the year as the adders are too slow to get out of the way when they feel something crashing through the undergrowth. So instead they stike out. Don't know how well a pair of Type 'C's would stand up to Hissing Sid, and I don't really want to find out, so just take a bit more time if like me, you work in places where adders make their homes.

The Stihl manual says if using bio oil, fill to brim and leave. So I guess I'll find out in a year or so if my two new saws are knacked or gunked up. Cheers guys.

Cheers Steve. Have you actually tried petrol? I thought about that but wasn't sure if the petrol would rot any rubber in the seals. These saws are going to be left for at least a year if not longer. I was thinking white spirit may be slightly less aggresive.

Is it best to drain the oil, or fill it right up, if you store your saws for a year or more? I'm thinking about draining and flushing through to stop blockages. If draining is the best thing, what do you use to clean it out?

I did a pole rescue as part of the training, but just had to talk through the rescue for the assessment. The examiner can, if he so wishes, ask you to perform a pole rescue for the assessment.

We've got a couple of big pines to work on in a church yard which also has infected Phytophthora ramorum Rhododendrons growing in it. We are getting a brief from DEFRA on how all our equipment / vehicles / chippers, needs to be disinfected. DEFRA have said that to do the work without carring out all their precautions will lead to very large fines as South Cornwall is now a controled Phytophthora ramorum area. I'll let you know more when I've been briefed. May be worth checking with DEFRA if you are in a controlled area?

Did you train at Kingswood with Richard?

Count me in too please.

Lee If you need anyone in South Cornwall, let me know. Myself and the 2 guys I work with all climb, have 2 trucks and a chipper etc. We are real busy with Western Power work but try and get a weeks private work in each month. Will

Same as High Scale, my old military gortex. They are much stronger than your average outdoor gortex and nice and baggy. Only downside is the colour, they are meant to keep you hidden in the undergrowth, so your groundy may not be able to see you too well.

I was wearing sthil gloves at the time, it went clean through. 24 hours later and my thumb is still very swollen, but not sore like yesterday. I bathed it in hot water and savlon and took a couple of ivebrufen, it seems to be doing the trick.

Thanks for the info guys, hopefully I'll live! The garden I got the thorn from belongs to a man who makes props for films. His place was amazing. Imagine my suprise when I walked into his garden and there stood a full size resin elephant and horse and half an army of soldiers. He's made things for all the star wars films, his house looks like that bar in star wars, full of strange creatures, but the main prop he makes, are suits of armour. He had about sixty full suits of armour lined up for a film that starts filming in a couple of years and he has to make about 200 more by then. And the worst part, I forgot my camera!!!

Today I got a blackthorn spine in my thumb. I've had a good look and I don't think there is any thorn left in my thumb, but my thumb has really swollen up and its moving into the palm of my hand a bit. I can't bend it very much and it's real painfull, I had to stop climbing on my last job. Has anyone come across this before, and anyone know of a good way to treat it?

Considering the difference in cost between fixed and folding traffic control signs, which do you use and why?

Hi Squisher, the house is in Kimberley. I've not got over to Vernon yet, what's it like there?

I've owened a home in BC Canada for 4 years now and I've done a spot of Arb work over there. I'm hoping to move out permenantly next year, but it is a slow process. Anyone seriously thinking about it should look at the Canadian immigration website http://www.cic.gc.ca and read all the requirements for immigration or work permits. The Canadian dollar is 1.9 to the pound at the moment and house prices are very good. I've got a beautifull 5 bedroom detached home looking over the Rocky mountains in a ski resort. It cost £180,000. If the same home was over here, it would be worth £500,000 in most UK areas. Work wise, most companies run out of the bigger cities or large towns. In BC at the moment, ISA certified arborists are in great demand as the Mountain pine beatle is destroying the pine forests and there are thousands of infected trees within the cities. Alberta, Ontario and New Foundland are the other areas where tree work can be found but once again, only in the cities.