Tom D

Cheers John, Its not a swear word you know. In fact I seem to remember a whole 1970 sitcom based on that gag. Meaow.

Thinking back to the "trees and the law" lecture I was at the other day for my tech cert, I think Highways law "trumps" planning law in this case so just get something in writing and go for it.

:001_tongue:Just got back from rescuing a cat out of a tree. Poor thing had been missing for 2 weeks! It had been found up a tree in some woodland, the fire brigade refused to do it, apparently they don't do that anymore. The rspca have a climber apparently but he said it was too windy so they got me. There's nothing better than climbing a big lime in the pissing rain on a wednesday night, especially when its covered in ivy:thumbdown: My heart sank when after struggling up I realised the cat was in the neighbouring tree, luckily I managed to get across without having to come back down. They were very pleased to get their cat back though, and it didn't scratch me so not too bad in the end.

Nice vid mate, not sure about the two hands thing, and boy is your winch slow. I used to use a 4x4 winch, it was hydraulic and ran off a pto on the gearbox, it was a little faster than that but not fast enough for me. My solution (please note this is not recommended in any fastco guide as rope stretch in a winching situation is not ideal) was to use a rope from the tree to the winch wire the rope would naturally stretch a little. You need a reasonable rope run for this, say 8m, this stretch was preloaded on to the stem, not too much obviously, meaning that as the stem was cut it would go quickly lessening the chance of leaning stems going astray. Like i say this is for experienced users and can be a handy technique under the right circumstances, but abuse it and if it goes wrong things could be nasty.

I'm going to try out the ART positioner at the get together, If i buy it I'll sell you my isc grab for £15:001_smile:

I have a yard at home and I asked one of the planners to come out and take a look as I am hoping to build a shed, he thought I'd be ok for the shed and didn't mention any "change of use" issues. We are out in the sticks though and our nearest neighbours are 200 yards away. If they refuse me permission for the shed or get shirty about change of use I'll complain that they are stifling a rural business in an area where they are keen to create jobs etc. Its hard to tell from the picture what the surrounding area is like, if there are no noise or extra traffic issues there are no grounds for neighbours to complain. For planning objections to be upheld they must meet certain criteria, these criteria are actually quite generous to the person making the application. On the downside though each authority will have a "local plan" this will set out areas which have been earmarked for particular purposes, greenbelt, residential , industrial etc, going against the local plan can be tricky. If you know the status of your area you can approach the council accordingly telling them what they want to hear, ie if its residential the logs are for your own use and you are entitled to keep your van and tools at home anyway, on the other hand if its mixed residential / industrial / agricultural or whatever then put an appropriate application in stressing things your business does in support of the plan. Planning consultants know all this stuff and will know the best line to take with the council, money well spent.

Try TD11 3TX:001_smile:

I don't want to tempt fate Blaster, but not all parts of the UK are like that. Thats bad news Chris, IMO we need a complete overhaul of our criminal justice system. If they did catch these guys I'll bet you'd find they have been in trouble before and either let off lightly or not even prosecuted. They should be locked up already.

Weather forcast: cloud with sunny intervals:001_smile: Gustharts are turning up with some kit to play with around 11:00 I'll be there setting things up from 10, possibly earlier. Feel free to turn up whenever as I know some can't make it during the day, there are also some people coming just for the day and not staying over. It would be helpful if everyone was here ready to play at 11:30 just so I can keep track of who is here and what they want to do etc, as well as show people where to pitch camp. I think mobile reception is poor there so ring before hand if you are not sure where to go. I have arranged to borrow a large tent, its about 6x4m and so plenty big enough for anyone to sleep in if you've not got anything sorted. My mobile is 07801-538-717 if anyone needs to get in touch. See you on Saturday.

How many who have posted on here would have spoken up if we were all in a room together? Not me I don't think, this is a pretty good place to get rid of some baggage. Well done for posting John. My grandad committed suicide, his business was going down and I suppose his pride and shame led him to it, not wanting to let people down. He didn't talk to anyone about it. I think most of us feel a responsibility to our friends and family and running a business connects your income to your life so directly that I can see how we are perhaps more at risk than some. Perhaps this should be a sticky thread just so people can blow off some steam now and again.

They wouldn't do it if people didn't fall for it. Why dont you ask "her" for some nice pictures of herself and get some free porn before you pack her in.

there's a company round here who have a presure washer and water tank built into a van, they go round cleaning peoples wheelie bins. I imagine they can do a lot in a day and just follow on after the binmen when all the bins are out on the street.

Not tried one myself yet, but I think the best way would be to add the swivel to the bridge of your harness is poss. You could keep the ring on for other attachments.

Pretty scary when it happens, did you get it checked out or just the hypnotherapy? Is it something to do with tree work or is it that treework attracts stressy people. I know two other guys who have had stress as well.

Good of you to raise the topic SWB, I had a problem with stress in 07 without realising it. I developed a problem breathing , I just couldn't get enough air in, It was weird, every few seconds I'd have to take a really big breath, and each time I did I just wanted another. I went to the doc who sent me for all sorts of tests, chest xrays and stuff. They all came back A1 and when he said it was stress I didn't beleive him, because I didn't feel stressed. It wasn't like I was sitting worrying abouth stuff all the time I felt fine, it took a couple of months for me to realise I had a problem and eventually it went away, on its own. I also used to have heart burn all the time which has also cleared up. I wish I could tell you what I have done to fix things but I don't know whats changed. Maybe just accepting the stress and recognising it was enough, also having other personal problems, which I won't post here, helped put things into perspective. Just goes to show, stress can be there under the surface without you realising it and can have some profound physical effects, the strength of which can be surprising. Thats your body telling you to sort it out.

When I started out on my own I had a business partner who was a brickie, we used to do landscapimg and driveways etc, I never enjoyed that work and as soon as he left I concentrated on the tree work. I too have been thinking about having other irons in the fire and am in the early stages of an agreement with a grounds maintenance contractor with the aim of providing a complete service, each of us sticking to what we know. I'll let you know how it goes. I am also toying with the idea of getting a processor and doing more firewood with bought in timber, ( I only seem to bring in about 100 - 150 tons a year). The problem with this is as the market for tree work contracts there will be less timber coming in and so relying on the price of bought in stuff could be risky if the price rises too far. Who knows what the best thing to do is, I think my summer will be make or break. A good summer will see me through a quiet winter.

I've been to that beech Jamie, very nice. This is what I see every morning when I walk out of the door, the weather isn't always as good though.

Good effort mate. looked to be in reasonable shape after all.

That sounds sensible, we'll have to get some video of it. You coming SWB?

I hope it will be awesome I'm really looking forward to it. As for the zip what pulley did you seize? I do have a wire type pulley, its the breaking mechanism that I want to sort out. I supose I could just make it a bit lower:sad:

I 've done a couple that dead, and like folks say the timber above ground is usually quite strong but beware of the base and butresses. I once put a tirfor on one that I was felling and pulled the whole thing over with no cuts at all! Best take a spade and have a wee dig around the base to check for rot, especially if you plan to rip bits off with a landy. I'd just spike up keeping to the thicker stuff and fell big lumps out, the thicker pieces will still be quite chewy so you can do a lot with them. Just keep the weight fairly even as you go round it in case the below ground stuff is mushy.

Has everyone got a tent? I can get a large mini marquee type thing and was wondering if i ought to bring it. It might be handy as a canteen / bar if it rains. Also I quite fancy setting up a zipline, I have a 12mm 60m lowering line and a tandem pulley,does anyone know a good braking mechanism to use. I reckon we could get a pretty good one going from the banking next to the campsite.

It is. Just realised its 20 years since I lived there:scared1: My mum now lives at Wetwang so I still get down a bit but with my grans not being in Patrington any more its a long time since I,ve been out that way.

Born in Withernsea, lived at Burstwick, Patrington, Heddon then South Dalton.