Ty Korrigan

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Hello, This is a dream job for many... However, its full of obstacles unseen. Your tax residency is determined by how many days you live in France, a mere 180 days but you will certainly get away with longer...much longer. Be aware though. Your health care, insurance in case of accident etc all depend on your residency status. In the case of an accident (who is to say...?) the Gendarmes are involved always and awkward questions will be asked and your and your employer may be hauled through the coals in a way that makes the British HSE and the East German Stazi look like a village knitting circle. You should still be paying you N.I stamp in the U.K and being taxed either in the U.K or in France. If there is no tax being payed during your 180days then you are in the mire. After that the tax is due to France and if they get wind of this then every-one is in out of the more and into the foresty shredder. U.K companies often offer to pay guardians of properties overseas duping the guardian into a position of false financial security. Take this position at your own risk, your employer is not telling you the whole story. You would be working 'on the black' as they say here. I'm not telling fibs, just ask at your local tax office first. Ty p.s Its like being in a prison, on call 24/7 for spoilt rich people who have the power to defaecate on you then terminate your non existant contract overnight, so go legal, get paid in Euros and get a Contract Duree Indetermine. or unlimited contract. Best of luck Ty

For your information... This climbing of trees with no PPE and one handing top handles is perfectly normal here in France. Farmers, landscapers, any-one with balls and a love of the land at some point climbs a ladder sits in the crown and at the age of 74 does stuff that scares me witless. I can understand the reason for rules but the punishment was in excess of the crime in my opinion. A bit like overstaying a minute on your parking and getting a clamp and a £100 fine. Not 'pro-rata' really is it...? Tomorrow I will climb with only lightweight outdoor trousers under my harness due to the heat. Go on...tell my Mum why not... Ty

Hello, Where are you off too in France? We are near Rennes in Brittany. Ty

Yes, we aim for a 75% acceptance rate. We could drop our rates and win a higher percentage but then I'd just become what I'd hate to be and thats a busy fool. Having said that, there are times like recently when we had only 3 weeks work ahead of us and it seemed every quote was lost to others. Now I offer a free Lime flavour lolly and a ball point pen with each quote and it's all go go go again! Ty

Hi, We use a Lider flat bed trailer that has removable sides AND grills. It is very low and tips to allow loading of mowers and small plant. To load our CS100 we take a short run up. It isn't hard to load and the advantage is that we can take alot of waste home as well after we have loaded the chipper of course! Regards Ty

Personally, I just rub them on my wifes unshaven thighs, that hones a real edge, she does her bread knife this way too... Ty Oh smile...it is Friday!

Hello there, We are often around Josselin and would be happy to drop in for a tea 2 sugars please! In October there is a one day expo of English speaking businesses in Josselin at the salle de fete. Maybe see you there? Regards Ty

Hello, I don't know the scale of your garden so this may not be good for you. Much as above really except here in France I often use a compact tracked digger to rag out all the roots after I've cut and cleared then use it to decompact the soil by turning it over. This also turns in alot of the surface weed seeds I find and gives a better result for sowing lawns. Easier on the rota and wrists after too! I find lawns sown late in the year (up to December) have fewer weeds than spring sown lawns. Regards Ty

Or get a tree surgeon to chog them all down in 2ft lumps so you can corner the market in stools hhhhh!: Lol: Ty

Oh, I forgot to add. That here in Morocco I am a millionaire...hhhh: Biggrin: Ty

I'm only posting this because in Morocco, Sundays are even more boring than in France... I set myself up in business using my own hard earned cash. My learning curve is of my own creation. I paid for my own education and only ever asked for a short term load once from a friend when life got tough in Central Brittany. I also full well know the value of a coin and hate it when others devalue the trade by working for stupidly low rates. Believe me, I like shiny toys as much as the next man but they are tools, shiny tools when new but tools that are a means to an end. I also dislike it when I see fellow Arbs turning out like tramps in shabby t'shirts, dirty and torn pants and beat up vehicles looking like hobo's from a post holocaust film. Ty

Champion Tree Care Tag line "Tree are the Champions" OR... Non-card holding members of the caravan club affordable tree services. Free cash withdrawal assistance for the over 70's Coming to a previously unspoilt beauty spot near you next bank holiday. Un-processed mulch delivered to lay-bys (Branches...hhhhh!) Low 'initial' rate... Participate in our tax avoidance scheme! Ty

Here, Drink driving is very common and the roads are lined with deep and unforgiving ditches from which no vehicle can escape unaided. The French regularly ignore the smoking bans and the bonfire ban in rural areas and yet the Gendarmes gaily enforce the ban against the wearing of religious symbols. Really, they are as petty as the Brits at times... Ty

Ah, cheers for that Mark! Its an amazing sight flying down the coast of France then across central Spain. I'm good with maps and love to read them so to see so much from the air is better than a cinema blockbuster to me. It is a mere 39c in Rabat...no chance of wearing chainsaw pants EVER! Ty p.s, I'm listening to the news on radio 2, the weather in the U.K is terrible but here near Rennes we are basking...just basking.

Chap, We recently imported a trailer that did not have a C of C. So we made one! Quite official looking and printed it up on the companies headed paper (kindly supplied) with all relevant info. PLUS we had to supply ALL the C of C's for ALL the parts from the tow hitch to the tyres and the air they contained. THEN we had to make up and install cycle bars even though they where not at all necessary but just down to the bloody minded official. Also added reflectors. We had a thick dossier and a 6 month wait before FINALLY receiving our plates. Thing is, on some older models of trailers the tow hitch is not the correct distance from the trailer body and that seems to be a real issue for some reason. I hope you get your machine registered and it all goes smoothly for you. As we regularly use the Rennes ring road and work in and around town the chances of a shunt or a police check are really far higher than in the sticks so we felt it important to tow a legal machine rather than risk the possible legal ramifications should there be any issues. I've woken this morning feeling great. Normally I suffer an anxiety attack when spending large amounts of money but this has actually taken alot of worry away HURRAH! Next week, I fly to Rabat in Morocco to get married, not thats another paperwork struggle... Cheers Ty

Hello, I can't tell you if your certificate is recognised in France but the examining authority would be able to tell you. We can hire Mewps without a certificate (well we never get asked...) Stumpy, Today I bit the bullet and signed for a new Quad Chip from our local dealer. I had to go and have 4 sugars in my tea after but at least the deal is done. I'm glad I've done it and the dealer is a top notch fellow who is reputed for his good business. We take delivery in a week or so. Still, tomorrows job is a wee chipper affair as its just the best tool for the job. Ty (4 sugars)

Stumpy, I had looked at buying a road tow but I couldn't stretch to one and didn't want to buy a stolen or sold as seen lemon (a mortal fear that haunts me...) Yes, I do admit I have had issues with the CS100 but it has helped my business get to the point where we are hoping to take delivery of a new 6"road tow very soon (as soon as the vat number is issued...) Yes, O.K I concede the point to you IF I could have found a decent used 5"-6" road tow for around the same money I would have bought one. BUT...I have not lost because I bought a CS100 but won all the way. No-one really likes feeding a gravity feed chipper but even fewer like jumping up and down on trailers of brash and trying to drag it out again at the tipsite... Ty

Ah... Here in Euroland I recently paid 240euros for a climber to cover me whilst I had a bad back. I thought that fair for the job in hand but not as a regular employee. After all, subbies only have to turn up and do the work, not price it or manage a team. I was surprised though by the low quality of kit used and wished I'd offered less! What I really want is a young and hungry groundy who wants to climb as well. I'd budget 12.50euros per hour (9euros after deductions) so 100euros per day Then I'd throw the odd cash bonus his way if he or she 'actually' grafted. 120-150 for an apprentice climber with own kit. My own wage expectations are somewhat higher though... Ty

Stumpgrinder... What are you on about? Have you actually used a wee chipper my friend? Have you even ever used a food blender? My Kenwood is great for smoothies and soups but useless at chipping:001_tt2: However, our CS100 earns us excellent money and allows my team to take on serious work that pays well. We know its limits and yes it is hard work feeding a gravity fed machine but it got us into the business as most jobs we took on suited it well enough. Now we are taking on far larger works so the need for a larger 6" road tow but whenever we have access issues with waste to be left in the garden then we will roll out the Wee Chipper:thumbup: Ty

Ah, This happened to me once. My first job after college was with a large tree firm near St Malo. They knew I was fresh out of college but wanted me to be the team leader due to my advanced years har har har. The climbing they threw my way was just too much too soon plus the lack of decent kit made my life hell for 2 months. Now I made it all quite clear who and what I was so I sympathise with you if your being pushed beyond your abilities too soon. However... It would surprise me if you got the job fresh our of college without a test climb to prove your abilities when so many experienced climbers are out of work. Ty

Ah, naming and shaming is not etiquette on the forum... Ty

Ah... Summer, my sap rises and I feel bursting buds and give them my services... Nothing to do with trees, just a dream I had recently... Ty BANNED MEMBER Reason:Bad thoughts...very bad.

A development today in an old story of a lost job. Last year we quoted for the dismantling of a dozen or so 30m lombardy pops in a large garden in the middle of town. Lots of opportunity for people to rubberneck, great exposure for us in our own town. We knew we were up against other companies so we lowered our rates, after all, no travel time on this one. We came in at 2800euros with all arisings evacuated. A week later we got the news via a friend that our quote was one of 4 and over 3 times that of the winning quote. Dismayed, we re-visited the site just to re-calculate and try to find out just where we made our gross error. We tried, but short of working for beans (bearing in mind the 50%+tax rate here) we just couldn't see any decent economy of any size to be made. Today, a chance meeting with a member of the clients family at lunch who told us that the winning quote was just 900euros! That was for a team of 4 for 2 days with a huge Bandit crane fed chipper from another large local company who seems desperate to quash the competition by working for stupidly low rates. Our quote was in fact within 200euros of the others who lost. We are up again against this same company (100+ employees) on another job which we have priced correctly as we are not going to be driven into a price war by big bullies or even small busy fools... We know that the competition are not omni-present nor omni-potent and so cannot pinch every job going. Our healthy work diary proves such, low turnover and high profit. Ty