arbogrunt

whilst we are on the subject, does anyone know how I can get a refund on some second hand Nerve agent I bought...bloody stuff doesnt seem to work properly

Great pics![emoji173]️

deffo mate, awkward buggers to prune...it looks like we heavily pruned it, but it was only a 1.5 reduction.

Crown reduction on Holm Oak

I think ours is picking up bad habits from one of our freelance climbers...RICH!!!!

Sadly, on top of this news, Ken Dodds Dads dogs dead....

I had quite a bigger blackthorn/hawthorn hedge to cut back by 20'. I priced to cut it by hand for four days. Got it done with a flail in 3 or 4 hours [emoji16][emoji1360]

me and a mate of mine, took a couple of old veterans to Arnhem, we were supposed to be their carers...it turned out mostly the other way around!. One was about 90, the other was 87. The 87 year old fella was ex-Para and SAS (both British and Rhodesian), he finished his service in the South African SF. He was a truly awesome old fella...he could still run 6 miles and did 15 minutes of press ups, sit ups, squats etc, every day. He could walk as fast as we did between pubs !. He said the only thing he couldnt do these days was drink beer like he used to...his bladder couldnt take it!. It just goes to show, if you keep doing something, you can keep doing it.

getting old...better than the other option....not getting the chance to get old..... I think as an older climber (54 this year), I notice it taking longer to ascend to anchor, my balance not being what it was and my upper body strength diminishing a bit. My stamina doesnt seem to have gone yet...but its only a matter of time before it takes me all day to do what i used to do all day!

I'm always surprised when insurance companies dont ask to see tickets and qualifications before offering cover. The truth is, if they did, they would be turning away custom. I'm sure HSE would be asking after an accident - if there are none, or they are not adequate, then the insurance company have a just excuse not to pay out. Win - Win for the insurance company.

well, we didnt get fined for it!

'Here's one we prepared earlier'

LAs need to take more legal action against bad pruning of TPOd trees. We get lots of 'lopped and topped' TPOs here...and no action taken against the tree companies...there's no deterrent to keep the cowboys in the Leylandii hedges....

"A citizen's arrest is permitted to be made on any person under section 24A of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 for an indictable offence, including either way offences (in this section referred to simply as "an offence"), but excluding certain specific ones listed below; the Ministry of Justice publishes a list of indictable offences on its website.[43] It is thus permissible for any person to arrest: Anyone who is in the act of committing an offence, or whom the arrestor has reasonable grounds for suspecting to be in the act of committing an offence, or Where an offence has been committed, anyone who is guilty of that offence or whom the arrestor has reasonable grounds for suspecting to be guilty of it. A person cannot make a citizen's arrest before an offence takes place (excluding any indictable offence covered by the Criminal Attempts Act 1981), but they may prevent the commission of further offences at the time, e.g. a person arrested to cease further criminal damage.However, Section 3 of the Criminal Law Act 1967 allows any person to use reasonable force for the prevention of crime. This would not allow a citizen's arrest before an offence takes place but would allow any person to use reasonable force to prevent an offence from occurring; for example, restraining a suspected offender who raised a brick in their hand in order to imminently smash a window. "Any person" powers can be used to arrest before an offence occurs as long as the offence in question falls within the Criminal Attempts Act 1981. This act creates the offence of an attempted offence, as long as the offence being attempted is an indictable one. For this to apply, the offence must actually be in the process of being attempted – preparatory steps are not sufficient. For example, putting gloves on to smash a car window would not suffice, but the throwing of a brick at the window would. In order for the arrest to be lawful, the following two conditions must also be satisfied: It appears to the person making the arrest that it is not reasonably practicable for a constable to make the arrest instead; The arrestor has reasonable grounds for believing that the arrest is necessary to prevent one of the following: The person causing physical injury to himself or others; The person suffering physical injury; The person causing loss of or damage to property; The person absconding before a constable can assume responsibility for him. Use of the second power above can be risky if not used correctly as it relies upon the person carrying out the arrest knowing that an offence has been committed, of which in itself needs to be indictable or either way offence. The Act therefore gives a constable additional powers under section 24 to arrest the following: Anyone who is (without doubt) about to commit an offence, or whom the constable has reasonable grounds for suspecting to be about to commit an offence; Anyone whom the constable has reasonable grounds for suspecting to be guilty of an offence which is merely suspected to have taken place. A constable's arrest power is not limited to indictable offences, and conditions different from the above apply. However, a citizen's arrest cannot be made: inside a polling station, on a person who commits or is suspected of committing an offence of personation (that is, pretending to be someone else in order to vote) under article 30 of the National Assembly for Wales (Representation of the People) Order 2007;[44] inside a polling station, on a person who commits or is suspected of committing an offence of personation under section 60 of the Representation of the People Act 1983;[45] in relation to an offence of stirring up racial hatred under Part 3 or stirring up religious hatred under Part 3A of the Public Order Act 1986.[46] In addition to the above, a private person may be authorised to execute an arrest warrant, if the court issuing the warrant has given them the authority to do so. A citizen's arrest may also be made technically for a warrant for an arrest if the offence listed is indictable as there is no law prohibiting a re-citizen's arrest or the number of times they may be arrested for it nor is there a time limit. The warrant would satisfy the requirement for the arrester to have reasonable grounds to suspect the guilt of the arrestee."

as nice at it would seem to beat the granny out of thieves in our yards, the reality is somewhat different. Obviously you are entitled to defend yourself and your property (using the minimum amount of force necessary to achieve your objective). It would be very easy to end up in Court with your own CCTV footage as the evidence used against you. Also, using violence against some people provokes more violence from them and their associates/family. How far would you be prepared to go in escalating violence?. The best option is to respond to an ongoing burglary with the Police in attendance, or if they cannot attend or will be arriving too late to prevent the theft, be prepared to defend yourself within the guidelines of the law. Its all easier said than done, but something we all need to prepare for.

agreed. My missus trained for 5 years to be an RGN. Difference is, she was paid for it. We need to pay Nurses and Junior Doctors more and not make them pay for their training...yes, it will take years....but if we don't take action now, it will take even longer. A points based immigration system would ensure qualified migrants would be able to come to the UK for as long as we need them. Time to accept there is a shortfall for a reason and deal with the root problems of it.

Whatever the debate is, on the subject of the French Army being deployed on its own streets is a fact. There were 100,000 soldiers, policemen and Gendarmes deployed on 'Operation Sentinalle' over Xmas. France has a major, self inflicted, problem https://news.sky.com/story/is-frances-operation-sentinelle-working-10806366

I think they should actually raise the threshold to £150k....just read the comments on here...the current threshold is holding small business back...it you want to, you can always enter the system voluntarily....

It used to be called purchase tax here too, around 8%. When Ted Heath took an ailing UK into the EEC, VAT was one of their taxes we adopted...at the time, I think I'm correct in saying, was 12.5%. It's since gone up in stages to 20%. As we are leaving the EU, it would be nice if it was cut to 10%. What a boost to businesses and everyone's buying power that would be!. I doubt the Govt would turn away a big money spinner like 20% VAT though[emoji848]

Should we be encouraging more young Britons to be Doctors and Nurses?...YES. In the meantime, should we encourage qualified migrants to fill the shortfall?....YES My missus just gave up nursing after a 30 year career, she'd had enough of the NHS and greedy people putting profits and costs before patient care.

unless you live in Rotterdam