Rich Rule

I live in Norway mate. I just used a rough estimate of 10nok to the quid. So one day onsite with 2 men and chipper was 11500nok plus vat. The second day, 2 men and chipper 11500nok plus vat. It costs a lot more to live here. Wages are higher and at 3.50 quid for a loaf of bread you would go very hungry and very quick if you charged UK prices.

I know mate. I even asked if he wanted a written quote. He declined but I almost sent it regardless, then something came up. He paid and I half expected him to cancel the second day but was all up for it. But yes, next time I will follow your advise and my own intuition. it wasn’t so much the vat issue, more the fact he expected 4000nok approx 400 quid to pay both mine and my helpers wages. He has no excuse as he used to own a Ltd. Company before he sold it to a huge multi national. He knows how much employees cost in this country and taxes etc. He is just oblivious to anything other than sitting behind a keyboard.

I hardly every use my rings. Have the beast rings spliced up in a whoopie config and a couple of eye to eye types. Probably due to the knot on my rigging line being impossible to remove, I tend to plum for the Rigging block and redirect pulleys.

I had a guy last week, who used to rent a flat from me. Had a catch-up, walk around and talked through removing quite a few trees. Estimated at 2 days with two men on site each day. He agreed and asked the price. I told him 500 per man per day, chipper will be 150 plus vat. Total 1150 plus vat at 25%. I got in there last week and cracked on got the first part of the job done and afterwards I explained I would send the invoice so it will be in February’s accounts. He agreed. I get an email that night, offering the advise that if I quote someone verbally it has to be inclusive of vat. So he was expecting 2 men on site for a day for 400 plus vat at 25% making the bill 500. Not the 1437.50. i explained everything that I had said during the quoting stage and his response was he must have missed the plus Vat bit... what about the rest he chose to ingore? Extra man, chipper and plus Vat? Anyway, I am booked in for the second day this Thursday. He seemed ok when I explained the lot to him... But really, expecting two men on Site and machinery for 400 quid and having to pay the wages of the groundie?

I see the petzl / Kit Kat wrapper combo has failed again... Glad the climber wasn’t seriously hurt.

That’s a pie mate. A growler is something totally different where I come from. I thought you meant you had had a bit of the Singaporeans growler at that exact spot.

Congratulations Steve and family.

I would agree 100%. I have trained Muay Thai since the mid 90’s and did BJJ for a few years since I moved to Norway. Nothing better IMO than a sparring session at the end of the week to reduce stress. As for the BJJ being safer, I am still sporting a sore knee I picked up when I twisted it grappling. That was about 2 years ago. Other than that, learning a new skill, especially MA is akin to water and a sponge. I try and soak up as much as possible.

Far too complicated for a knot Luddite such as myself Ben. Ill stick to my single line thanks.

Lawrence Shutltz will teach you every thing you need to know and more. So much content. Subscribe and just stream the episodes. Or download to watch later. The final chapter shows him working a big tree with normal doubled rope and then does the same simulated climb but SRT.

Paul, if you are dabbling in SRT. I can highly recommend the Schultz effect. Best 40USD you will ever spend.

True. TBH I have seen lots of really good comp climbers who are great at getting round a tree. It doesn’t necessarily mean they are good tree workers. Treework isn’t a simulation of comp climbing it is the other way around. So being good at one doesn’t mean they are good at the other. Yes, I am generalising and there are always exceptions. I have never met Jo in person, seen her compete, seen her working or even teaching. A lot of things are taught at college. Basically that is where the learning starts, ie when you actually start doing work. The best for of learning is through experience, unless you are a dunce. The brighter dunce will pickup on titbits if information handed down by old timers. Sadly, there are not that many old school tree workers left. The job still used to get done without all the shiny bling, bling crap.

I dont believe Boel is a world champion.

I’ve got long legs so only seem to catch the back of my leg with a 20” inch bar.

It is cryptic. He was referring to someone being a C yoU Next Tuesday. Bit harsh I feel. To whom were you referring?

Someone else commented that to equally compare working practices for IRATA to tree work... Get the IRATA climber to install two ropes from the floor, scale to the top. Drop back down a bit and enter a window. Go through a room, into a corridor. Go down a lift shaft into the third floor. Do some work. Back up a stairwell at the other side of building into another room then decent back the first floor for some more work then back out the window, climb back up to the top and decent over the backside of the building... All the whole being connected via two ropes. It is absurd and ludicrous to think it would be a workable solution for IRATA. So as tree climbers, why would we be expected to do it?

Great video. Nice work.

Nice work mate. Looks like you had a good day for it. Been pretty terrible weather here in Oslo area. Bring on winter!

Well I dismantled a dead willow tree today. One stem had failed last week. One stem was pretty rotten and the last stem had a crack horizontally at about 5 metres. The tree was resting in some dead bits in the last stem. I did the tree with a single line. Didn’t even use my flip line for a lot of it in case the compromised stem decided to collapse. Guess what? I lived to tell the tale. Education and experience is key, not throwing an extra rope in there. I tied into the tree on one of the stems that was the most robust. I wouldn’t have wanted to use an extra rope... (as I said at times I didn’t even use the flip line for a lot of the cutting.) ... let alone be forced to. As for the man who doesn’t believe in ‘what ifs?’ The whole safety aspect of the industry is to plan against the what if. You know when and where to cut and when to know to bail out. That is gained from experience. Once again we are back to the education aspect and not another rope.

Of course it could have been rumour or old wives tales... I was informed when I was younger that if a traffic officer got out of his car and tried to do you for driving offences. If he didn’t have his hat on it would be invalid. The hat is part of the uniform and they have to be in uniform for the charge to stick... Another, was finding out how long ago the speed camera was calibrated. Another, if you are flashed by the speed camera if the notice doesn’t appear within 14 days they charge is invalid. As I said, probably old wives tales or urban myths. I only got a chance to try one out. The missus was heavily preggars with my first. She really needed and eye lash. We were in black wall tunnel not far from Greenwich, where we lived at the time. A car accident after the tunnel and between the first and second exits blocked the whole road. Traffic backed up to Bow. They had to get everyone reversing back to the first exit. As the rozza came over to explain the craic, I told him the missus needed the loo and asked was it true that a pregnant woman can piss in a police officers hat? He said yes, called the traffic sergeant over and explained. The traffic sergeant quickly issued us to the front of the queue.

He said no electric chainsaws. It is in the post. As for recommendations. Buy what ever the size you need and to your budget. Any modern saw will be better than the bucket of nails you are running. If you only use a number of times a year then the Aspen fuel will be perfect. It is quite pricey Compared to regular fuel with additive, but you won’t have any worries about stale pump fuel.

The irony of it is... 3 weeks later I received a hand written message from a Rozza at the closest station, 30km away. It asked me to sign the ticket as the issuing officer had forgotten to get my scribble. Also they couldn’t process the fine without the signature, so please sign and return In Pre Paid envelope. I wanted to ask if they wanted me to set up a speed trap as well or better still, just report myself when I go a bit too fast. They wanted to give me points and an overly aggressive but quite pretty female officer kept going on about how dangerous I was and could have killed people... she was adamant I deserved them and both officers were having quite a conversation about it... Luckily, my son was in the car and speaks fluent Norwegian. I also gave them my English driving license... hence the no points and the debate between the two offifices. You make your own luck Eggs

Not a bad outcome. I got pulled in Norway at the end of November. 77kmph in a 60 zone. The 70kmph started about 100m after the Rozzaz. Fair enough says I. Can’t deny I was speeding, you come round the bend after a school, which is 60 zone to open fields and a dead straight road. Most people know the road and just a squirt on the noisy pedal and it isn’t that long before your at 80kmph. 5500 NOk fine for the equivalent of 11mph over the limit, at night, no pedestrian traffic. Well over 500 quid fine, possibly more depending on exchange rates.