John Hancock
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Everything posted by John Hancock
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This cost me £4500...back in '94!! Still ride it every sunday though.
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Mate, you talking to the hard-tail master here! I'd go for a Cotic Soul..steel frame, nice ride. Dont go for a full'sus.
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It was a good day all round! The assessment was postponed a few times before, once because the operators manual was not available for the MEWP and once because the work site was flooded. I chose to do the assessment today in one of our cemeteries (dead centre of town!) All went well, first the actual assessment in operating the MEWP and when all four of us had passed that ,we went on to do the chainsaw cuts etc.. I must say its a bit daft that we have to be assessed on the same cuts that we've all done before on CS39. If you can use a chainsaw from a rope and harness you can certainly use one in a glass fibre basket! I asked the assessor about using a powered pole-pruner from the basket and the answer, as I expected was ‘NO’ I guess if you need to reach with a pole-saw you should be in a better position or have a bigger MEWP. Still, I'm happy, we all passed, the sun was out, no complaints from the residents and I'll still be climbing trees from a rope and harness! :wave:
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I passed!!
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I'll be lopping and Topping like a gud'un!!
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We had the course internally about 3 months ago, and then for one reason or another the test was posponed 3 times! I've also found it very hard to find a suitable tree for the test (4 of us taking the test and each one having to cut at least two vertical sections) I will ask about the pole-saw...watch this space! Might even take the camera!
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Dont forget to pack a nice tree into your kit-bag...
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webbing slings are useful. I'd buy one sling and one cambium saver. (good bit of kit that you’ll find useful when you’ve passed)
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Got my CS47 (Use of a Chainsaw from a MEWP) on Wed.........Wish me luck !!
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I wore a jacket once, I'll never wear one again! I can recommend wearing an arm-protector on you left arm (if your right handed) if you use a Silky saw a lot. Had a really nasty cut once...its so easy to get complacent with a Silky!
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Thought I'd cheer everyone up with this pic.... This is one of 360 Limes on a racecourse I have to do every summer, plus all the highway trees…what joy!
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This one was at Westonbirt, the second one is just a Norway maple in the front garden..
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Covering ones arse has become a major part of my job. Every park here in Worcester has a 'friends' group, even one of the large cemeteries has a 'friends' group. The reason I had the Picus survey done on the Beech wasn't to determine the extent of decay (I knew that already) it was to cover my back-side. Does anyone know of an arborist who has been prosecuted for disturbing nesting birds?
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What a wonderful tree! Excellent example of the right tree in the right location.
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Just out of interest, did you cancel it or did the council ?
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I would suggest a warning/notification in the form of a PM, three strikes....and your out!
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Working in the rain ? What’s that? I remember once, we were doing street pollards on some Limes, we came across a pigeon nest with the biggest, fattest most ugly bird you have ever seen! We carefully lifted the nest down from the tree (with bird still sat in it) and I popped it on the hopper of the chipper (which was still running) while we contemplated on a location to re-position the nest. Upon agreeing on its new location and future home, I turned round and guess what….Its gone! The little bugger had climbed out of its nest and walked straight into the feed rollers! Poor little fella
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Stunning Vid! I was gritting my teeth every time the sections hit the trunk! I shall put one on my 'wish-list'
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Thanks for all your input, been very helpful Nesting birds were on my mind because we've been reducing a conifer hedge all this week (absolute nightmare) The hedge backs onto a playing field and every morning there must be 50 dog-walkers....all walking-on by having a good look at what’s going on. I was getting paranoid about accidently disturbing a nest...imagine it...nest falls, two great fat ugly pigeons fall out...only to be snatched by some demented spaniel, owned by a local councillor! NIGHTMARE! There were a couple of nests, we were lucky to spot them and left well alone. Interesting that in my RFS, ISA and tech Cert courses I don’t recall this subject ever coming up, if it did I must have been fast asleep! I know what you mean about squirrels...nasty little buggers too!
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Very topical at this time of year…Where do we stand regarding tree works and nesting birds? Apologies if this has been covered in previous threads but it would be nice to get a definitive answer, especially now we are in spring.
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You can guess what happens... [ame] [/ame]
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This is the grinder we use here in Worcester... [ame] [/ame]
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Hello buddy, approx 7 years now. I really enjoy the job, the LA has been good to me and I'll carry on being good to them. You have to be a certain type to work for a local authority, I've seen a fair few come and go over the years. You def. have to be a round peg to fit in that LA round hole!
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Mate, I could of written that myself! A position came up a few years ago in my LA. I went for the job but like you the only reason I didn't get it is because of the lack of planning experience. Could you ask your LA if you can 'shadow' your Tree/Planning officer? I'm happy in my post now, running the tree team and inspecting my tree stock, in effect I'm a LA Tree Officer but without the hassle! Plus I get to cherry pick all the best climbing jobs…
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Paddy the Arb' Dog...
