Ty Korrigan

Chicken and egg, without the forum there may not be the info to google... Anyway, my baby girl has medication with Aesculus extract for her tummy troubles. I was surprised to be prescribed that. Ty

Hired a guy with a 2.2t digger to help recover the machine and load it onto a trailer then drove 2.5 hours to the Bandit/Carlton dealer for the West of France. They have found the fault, a switch between the manual and radio controls which was corroded. This they say has been the root cause of the problems since we took delivery. However, it is the French holiday season and the machine may not be ready for a while yet. I have since sought legal advice since my last fruitless telephone conversation with the suppliers sales director. In the terms and conditions of the supplier it clearly states. 1. That they agree to supply goods free from material defect 2. That faults should be notified within 3 days (done) 3. That in the case of dispute that under law society rules there will be an appointed arbitrator in case of disputes OR, They could just do the right thing by us and pay for the repairs etc. Ty

For us too, if it is 'our' stump then the price is lower. I'm in this to make money, not to provide a cheap service and to 'get by' with manky old kit. I charge whatever I can get away with, no hard or fast rules. Just bid on the job and normally I win it too. If a digger driver on a site clearance is also bidding then I go cheap, if it is in some precious manicured urban garden then my bid soars skywards. Best grind this year with HB20 was 10 min travel 20min on site and a cheque for 180euro. Ty

We use these for climbing kit, ropes and PPE The saws rattle around on top of them. Buy extra large 80lt heavy duty box | attached lid container | ALC Regards Ty

Hello, A hardwood stump of 1m diameter across the buttresses. Level location, easy access. Looking back through my recent work I would say it's around 2 hours+ 'on site' + travel so I would have bid 240euros (£192) or 300euros (£240) with the chips removed. Regards Ty

Recently, despite the birth of my daughter and all the hope and joy she has brought into my life, I still feel the cold chill of melancholy's hand on my shoulder from time to time. Buying a faulty Carlton stump grinder with my remaining house deposit has brought me very low recently. I felt I have badly let down my family by compromising their future on a business gamble that did not pay off. I felt I had let down my clients as well as my business partner with my poor business decision to go with this supplier. Short term pain, I hope will become long term gain once the fault is fixed at MY expense... Ty

Mr B, If I may be so bold and please do not take offence. Your name is repeated 3 times on several pages not including your header. To me, that reads strange, especially the phrase "Stephen Blair Tree Surgery began his business life" poor sentence construction perhaps? Why mention your first aid kit? Surely your larger equipment might be of more interest? I think your Services page should say more about the individual services on offer. The difference between your Home and About Us pages is vague. Needs a re-write. Home includes subject matter better kept for About Us. Please feel free to have a look at mine and throw stones at my glass house:001_tongue: Best of luck with your relocation. Regards Ty

One thing about Allo Olivier, there are many one man bands on there that operate using small vans and trailers. Compact chippers have a big following on there and so there are a lot of threads about these machines. It is certainly a bargain over a new CS100 which carries a truly eye watering euro price but there again... What if you just ran a used U.K TW125. The chances of you getting pulled up about it's weight are slim to non and it really is a proper machine at the end of the day. Ty

A good place to ask this question would be on the French forum Allo Olivier. Also, consider buying a used chipper and putting it on an old French reg trailer with a 1t ptac. Regards Ty

Yes, the RHS series of books are excellent reference. You'll make errors on timing of jobs like under estimating the volume of earth once dug out or just how much sand is required to blind a surface for paving that is for sure. Start with modest works and get the materials priced right with a decent margin on top. Study your plants and also others works for influences in design and material choice. Take images, make an album even if the jobs are not yours, images which are examples only, just so you can say to a client "I can install this" Ty

We found it just comes hand in hand with tree work. We might take down a tree then grind the stump, after offer to re-sow the lawn, fence, create paths, install gates and plant another tree. We don't advertise this, it just comes our way although there is a little mention on our web site. Ty

On another boot, the simplest form of business registration here for tree work gives you health cover at work in case of an accident or even if you just fall ill at work from existing maladies BUT nothing outside of work. So have your one handed top handle kickback in a tree not at the dinner table. Ty

Does your E111 not cover you for health care? Apply for a free EHIC card - Healthcare abroad - NHS Choices Regards Ty

2009, I had just returned from 4months cycle camping across Oz. Proper outback stuff, dingo, camel and wild horses passing close enough to hear them breathing. I saw all sorts of massive snakes, reptiles and amphibians on my journey from Melbourne-Adelaide to Darwin. Once back in France, I was visiting friends in Brittany when their dog tried to attack a viper sunning itself in the garden. I grabbed the dogs collar and the snake bit me on a finger. 2 days and a night in hospital as a result and an arm the size of my leg. Rigid skin like a drum, unable to move my fingers. Now, I am very allergic to bites and stings with even mosquitos causing a serious reaction. Merde alors... Ty

Hello, Probably the most common shredder over here. Most of the general plant hire places rent them out as to landscape machinery suppliers. They are very resistant to abuse although I find them loud and slow to use as normally their internals are well hammered by people feeding beams with nails and fence posts with URGH! through them... I'd quite like one of the p.t.o versions for our wee tractor for hedge jobs. One smaller diesel road-tow version is equipped with a toothed conveyor and a large single roller set in a high sided in-feed tray. Ty

How many invoices though, that is the real tell. Ty

Typing with baby on shoulder. G.M service/tech support is second to none. Ours is 510hrs and 2 years old this month. Will replace with similar but larger. Set up not an issue. Pro's out weigh con's. Ty

There is a shortage of climbers out here as the training placements are limited unlike in the U.K where Arbs are churned out. (I was one of the churned myself!) There is a thread on working and living in France in the International forum if you search it. Regards Ty

Monday, Tomorrow, I am going to try to drag the Yellow Lemon out of the corner of the paddock using a 2.2t Komatsu 360 then drag it onto the plant trailer. Some pulleys may be involved... The hydraulics are on a total shut down and the freewheel mechanism is locked solid. Then once I have got it home I am going to speak directly to Carlton USA about this fault. Then and only then and I going to take it to a repair shop as I have no wish to give any-one a licence to print money finding this intermittent fault. I am furious about this situation and baffled that of the thousands of these machines sold globally no-one so far has the answer. I'm on a week of shutdown to make business premises improvements so no further trade lost fortunately. Ty

Well now. Lucky old us really. The French for the most part are far better mannered and more formal than the Brits, that is clear. We just don't see the same level of yobbish behaviours from either Yoofs or Adults. That is not to say people don't get annoyed with us from time to time though. Like earlier when I was grinding on a Bank Holiday to make up for lost time. This is STRICTLY forbidden here, proper old set of by laws concerning nuisances in built up areas and this day I WAS the nuisance. I polite lady came across and reminded me of this rule. So I apologised profusely and explained the situation about making up time on this site clearance contract as the grinder had been playing up. Lady was sympathetic and let me finish my stump on the understanding that it was the last one of the job. Thank you kind lady! Ty

And so... Our Agricultural dealer who supplied our tractor checked what they could and observed that the electrics had a great deal of verdigrises' probably caused by regular and over enthusiastic pressure washing. The also changed the large 30amp fuse even though it did not require changing and lo and behold the Lemon started and all functions ran normal. When they rang us I was sceptic of their success as this fault is intermittent and totally random in it's nature and certainly nothing to do with a simple fuse. Never the less we picked the Lemon up and once home took it for a spin around the yard before loading it onto the truck in order to complete one of the many jobs it has not made an appearance on. 1hour 30mins of driving to the job followed by 20mins of grinding before the machine cut out and the very same fault re-appeared. Engine will start on manual not remote but no hydro power on any control, remote or toggle switch. On the phone to Graham at Orange in Newcastle who as ever is professional sympathetic and helpful but the fault remains a mystery and tonight the Lemon sits in a paddock by a road covered with a groundsheet to hide it from the local travellers who have a site a few km's away. The freewheel function does not work as before and so will make recovering onto our plant trailer a real trial. Monday, I will call America and try to speak to a Carlton engineer to get another angle on what may be causing this fault. The other choice is to go to the regional Carlton dealer from who I did not buy the machine from due to the significant difference in price and who will rape my wallet in smug revenge. Ty

Use a Henchman platform. It is a brilliant tool, just expensive. We use Stihl 81R cutters and sharpen them twice a year. Read the RHS online guides or buy the book on pruning. Use a tarp on gravel. We do monster hedges over here almost every week. Mostly conifers that have been let go. Last big one took 5 men 2 days. Don't be afraid to tell a client that it may be better to fell, grind, replant than to try turning a pigs ear into a silk purse. At the end of the day, it is all lovely money! Ty

I rather thought that at 36 you had passed your best before date... hhhh! Ty

Here: Single Tree Grows 40 Kinds Of Fruit | IFLScience Ty

Here: BBC News - Beatles George Harrison memorial tree killed by beetles Ty