Rich Rule

Not buying the knives from the factory and trying to save a few squid is like buying a super car and putting a set of remoulds on it. Just pay for the Pirelli’s.

Does laurel not give off the marzipan smell when you burn it? it is a bugger when chipping and an almost instant headache if your in the back of a truck with chipped laurel.

I have never owned a stove without one so I don’t have experience to make a fair comparison. Even though the stove was installed when we purchased the house... I would have gone for one as I think it sets off the stove due to the modern design. So aesthetically it gets a thumbs up and the heat retention properties are a double bonus.

Prussic loops can't be used for Blakes Hitch mate. You will need a split tail for that. I am not sure as I haven't used one for about 16 years but there is a recommended cordage diameter in relation to the climbing line. I used to use 13mm split tail but that was on 13 mm rope.

Sunrise from my living room in Feb this year. Sunrise from my kitchen table. Taken April ‘18 ish.

I have the same stove as the articles with the soapstone on the top. Holds the heat very well once the stove has died down.

Hence the question I posted in the other thread.

I would like to pose a question in this thread as opposed to the new one... The scenario of self rescue after an accident was brought up by a few and Pete explained what happened in an accident a few years ago. Near fatal and self rescue was required in a time critical situation. So, on one side of the argument you have the HSE and the new directions for safe working practice. If there is a fatal accident and it was deemed after investigation that the company owner hadn’t enforced the new requirements... I guess they would be liable to prosecution if found guilty? The other side of the argument, if the company and climber had followed the directions for safe working practice. An accident occurs and it is time critical such as Pete’s. I.e. severed artery. If the climber is unable to self rescue due to requiring to manage both systems and use both hands, whilst panicking and bleeding out. If they die due to the increase in time... will the writers of the ACOP and the HSE be held responsible for their deaths?

Not sure about the secondary flip line style you considered but I agree 100% on the last point.

A young girl begs her mam for a pet. His dad thinks long a hard. A dog would be hard work, he doesn’t like cats, his wife doesn’t like birds he was a bit stuck but said they’d go to the pet shop and have a look. Once at the shop pet shop owner says he has just the pet, a hamster. They don’t live long, easy to look after & are cheap. The girl is very excited with the idea so the dad agrees. While the girl looks at cages the pet shop owner takes the dad to one side & shows him two different types of hamster. “There’s these for £5 or for £3 more you can have one of these”. “What’s the difference?” Asks the dad. “Well, as you know hamsters only last a few years but if you get one of these you can make jam from it afterwards” said the pet shop owner, then proceeded to give cooking instructions. The man agrees & buys his son an £8 hamster. Life went well but then in a few years the hamster died. Whilst the girl was in school the dad thought about what the pet shop owner had said & thought he’d give the jam a go. He put the hamster in a pan with a load of sugar & a bit of water, simmered it for ages then put the resultant “jam” in jars feeling chuffed with his efforts. The next morning he thought he’d try some of the jam on toast. He spread it on thick & took a bit bite. It was disgusting, as he retched he threw the whole jar & his toast straight out the kitchen window where it smashed in a stone in his flowerbed. He thought nothing more of it until a week later he looked out if his window & saw a whole host of gorgeous daffodils. They took his breath away & he couldn’t explain them. He went to the pet shop later that day & explained everything to the pet shop owner. The man recognised him & listened well but then when the dad had finished looked all confused & said “that’s strange, normally you only get tulips from hamster jam!”

I have a friend up in Manchester who have a pretty successful family business. My friends dad is retired now and the 3 brothers have been running the show for as long as I can remember. He had a 911 at 26 years old, plus the family had a string of nice motors. They sold shit to wholesalers, who sold to market traders. You know, stuff like Christmas wrapping paper, the tatty Santa’s and snowmen that do a song and dance. Baubles, tinsel and fairies. I walked into his showroom once and it was like being in a small Tesco Express. Not an inch of space on the shelves and full of cheap tat from China. But it made them money, lots of it.

Cheers Josh. i thought the Isuzu’s were NQR’s and names like that. i can say though, the VW doesn’t handle weight that well and I am sure the single wheel axle and weight combination can’t be good for longevity.

Isuzu Crafter? I thought that was a VW model, single wheeled rear axel, tipper truck.

One day in class the teacher walked to the black board and noticed someone had written the word "penis" in tiny letters. She turned to the class, scanned the boys and girls, looking for the guilty face. Finding none that looked guilty, she quickly erased it and began her class. The next day she entered the classroom and noticed, in larger letters this time, the word "penis" on the blackboard. Again, she looked around the classroom in vain for the culprit, but found none. And so, the teacher quickly erased it again and proceeded with the day's lesson. Every morning, for about a week, she found the same word written on the blackboard, each day, written larger than the previous day. Finally, one day, she walked into the classroom expecting to be greeted by the same word on the board. Instead, she found scrawled in its place: "The more you rub it, the bigger it gets!"

I did it with Kingswood years ago. Might be worth a call?

My personal opinion on this whole matter is the HSE don’t have a grasp on the exact nature of the job we do. I have contract climbed for the last 15 years. Some of the trees, the new guidelines would have been a pain, but the work doable. I have lost count of the number of times I have worked a tree where adding an additional anchorpoint would have compromised my own safety and that of the team members. IME, the addition of SRTWP, regardless of terminology has allowed me to ‘back up’ my Primary TIP. Allowing the work to be completed safely and efficiently. Introducing a second rope and climbing system would not only hinder progress but increase the risk of an accident. SRTWP is much more ergonomic on the body and gives a climber longevity. It isn’t for everyone, granted, but it utilises the larger muscle groups so should be less wear and tear on the body. If the HSE are serious about actually looking out for individuals and reducing accident rates in the Arb sector... surely a rewrite of the definitions would be better than making an all together dangerous practice mandatory. (Certainly situations of course) Surely, the need for better training is in order. The more knowledge people have then they can make their own informed decisions. Adding a second rope to a job isn’t going to stop a climber tieing into two crap anchor points. Whereas a better education, should give them more knowledge as to what can handle the forces generated. On the other hand, I have a question for the HSE if they are reading this... How are you going to enforce the gardeners, builders and Bob-a-Job men who carry on working to unsafe practices and keep falling out of trees? I look forward to hearing from the HSE. I must admit, I am not holding my breath though.

Really? Not sure of the exact rule on that one. Thought it was 2040kg unladen or something. Are other pickups able to do 70mph? TBH in Norway you can’t do 70mph legally anywhere... motorway speed limits max is 110kph. LOL.

You have lost me there Steve. Not sure what you mean?

What’s the problems with the new Hilux? I have one and it goes pretty well. Granted, I don’t tow one a daily basis but it handles my ST8 without breaking sweat and I live in a hilly area. Before I purchased I had a courtesy vehicle for 24 hours. I put an Ifor Williams twin axle trailer on the back with a Forst TR8 and drove it for the day between jobs. It was snowing like mad and hard pack on the roads. I didn’t have chains or studs, just winter tyres and there was no problems.

Isn’t that why you are meant to use? Until the bar is too small, that is.

Yes very well. if you are level 3.

Paul, I attended an SRT workshop a couple of years ago now. It was organised by Noddy and Ben Rose. To my knowledge it was to gather information from actual working climbers and how/which systems they utilise on a daily basis. I was also under the impression it was funded party by the AA. I could be wrong in that one of course. I don’t recall anyone stating they thought two ropes would be a good idea. Whatever happened to the research and did the AA/HSE actually take any notice of what was produced? Bearing in mind we were actually working climbers who used SRT on a daily basis and had done or years... as opposed to a group of guys in orifices who hadn’t the faintest idea what goes on on a daily basis? From what I have read of the new guideline, it seems the latter of the two groups were the ones who came up with this.

I would have liked to see a bit of consideration for the ground staff. Nothing wrong with bombing it out, but I like to see a bit of action with the butts. Butts towards chipper so flipping some of those pieces instead of landing basically where they fell... anyone can do that. Either through choice of cuts or flipping with your other hand.

Sorry to hear that bud. RIP