Ty Korrigan

Well, nothing stopping your cousin getting other quotes though perhaps the €3k was the lowest bid. I've just re-counted the last 50 job sheets. 10% are Brits living over 100km away 90% French and are within 30km French pay prices that make Brits eyes water and cost significantly less in travel costs and time. Brits are often retired on fixed incomes tied to uncertain and changing exchange rates. Or... renovating and budget concious. A few Brits of course are insulated by wealth, these fish are rare in Brittany. Regardless, all declared income is subject to high social charges levied on every euro of profit at around 40% plus income tax and a local business tax based on turnover. Employing, we are advised to charge out at 3 times to cover the high social charges and unemployment insurances. Yes, our prices may look high but they are in fact quite modest given the outgoings and risks associated with employing. Accountants typically charge €3k-€7k for a vat reg. 2-3 man outfit depending on turnover. My French speaking wife is the business owner and an accountant so a great saving in admin. I don't advise anyone moving to the West of Brittany, it is already well served with Brit arbs serving the Brit community and none of them turning over much more than €30k before taxes. My advice if you fancy a bit of French living is to choose to be near a city, learn French and work for the locals. I could do with another decent climber, family man ideally for stability, moving within commuting distance of Rennes. Stuart

Have you seen the local builders yards and farm supply stores? All their goods behind an easy climb fence! Pellenc have a big following over here. Many council workers use them. I'm very tempted myself having had a demo. I do enough hedges to know the pain of a heavy 82R on at 4pm on a Friday and would probably re-equiped with their long arm telescopic hedge cutter, strimmer and pole saw all off one battery as my petrol ones should pensioned off before they cost me money.

I did a type of poplar which unlike regular ones had a heart that wouldn't chip but transformed into long fibres, heat and smoke. Same with older picea, abies and pinus. The very centre is tough and fibrous making going tough. Stuart

Could be 'treemanofbrittany.com' He is in this area.

I like working on ours, proud to show our recent work but it is just a shop window in reality, backup to the web site. Most enquiries are via Google then Solocal (Yellow pages online) 90%+ of our work is local French within 30km of base. Stuart

Was the truck an 'arb truck' on French plates? Stuart

I confess that I no longer posses the strength nor patience enough to play at being a social worker for troubled employees or subbies. It saps vital energy from me that I could make better use of elsewhere in my life. Stuart

I've just got in from a RDV with a forestry expert. Valuation of a plantation of hybrid pops in Central Brittany These are undersized being planted too close together. 30m tall and only 50cms DBH around the margins. Had they'd been planted better, at 30years old they'd all be closer 60cm However, the client has an air of desperation about him so will probably want to sell. However, access needs improvement, gate and trees must go, they must be loaded roadside on a swift departmental road so permissions sought for road control. Plus they must be loaded almost as soon as harvested due to the space constraints. Client thinks he is sitting on a gold mine. He has already made it quite clear he begrudges paying in advance for a valuation so he may have an aneurysm once he recieves his cost break down. Stuart

Is an 'arbortist' a failed tree surgeon? Welcome to the whacky and wonderful world of Arbtalk. May your dreams come true because the nightmares of self employment are pretty damn vivid too! Stuart

I wonder how he got along with that footspa he was thinking of getting...? Or if he eventually resolved the dispute with his neighbours over 'rocks' was it?

Well, on the enquiries front it is always a little quiet this time of year though the work already accepted is intense. Everybody here wants their work done before the sacred French holidays season, so tomorrow we are on the coast prepping a Parisian holiday home by smashing the French Connection U.K (FCUK) out of eucs and macrocarpas in order to put sun on the terrace in time for aperitif. This year I intend to have July and most of August off and enjoy quality time with my 2 young kids so if the phone stopped tomorrow I'd be quite content with that. I have full confidence that come September the enquiries will start again and bring in enough work for 3 guys five days a week. Stuart

The machine has a very short track. The it must be on the very edge of known physics when it comes to lifting without toppling. It was designed for mucking out stables, something it does very well lifting light loads on concrete. For tree work, I'd really need a decent few hours trial. What attracts me other than price and compact size is it's ability to run other attachments, specifically a flail. Stuart

My FSI B20 came equipped with genuine Greenteeth which are most excellent. However, some other B20 users recommended QRMS teeth which are copies. Looking at the price and others experience, these seemed worth a punt. I get around 6 hours from the lead 2 pairs of teeth. The genuine Greenteeth do seem to cut faster when new but I cannot detect any real difference in hours between the 2 makes. Stuart

Trying to get a demo organised but emails ignored and calls fall upon deaf ears. Stuart

These seem to be getting a following in France: http://www.micro-pelle.fr/1/upload/catalogue_micro_pelle_janvier_2019_ls.pdf Made in France too. Sorry but the catalogue is only in French but there is always Google translate and no doubt Apple have a point and shoot translation app. Stuart

French will spend €10k on fencing and electric gates for their houses but slightly less than zero on fencing 35 cows (few farmers own more than that) Stuart

Jersey client did. It cost as much to ship as is cost to buy. First, post and rail like this is isn't available here. Second, if we had had it made up having sourced the correct wood, the cost would be eyewatering. Stuart

Idiot, read kw instead of hp, DUH! The online brochure has very small writing and I am almost at Specsavers age. Which brings me back to the question, do geared tractors have more poke at the pto than hydrostatic? Regards Stuart

Hello, Our old JD 1026r had a 25hp engine but only 13hp at the pto. Do geared tractors have very much more power at the pto? Figures seem difficult to come by despite lengthy Google sessions. Stuart

If any climbers wish to escape post brexit Britain and settle in France, you might do well to consider commuting distance from Rennes in the East of Brittany. If you have family with you it helps alot as you find your feet and integrate especially those with young children who easily enter into French life, soaking up the language within weeks of arrival. As I wrote before, single males tend to get bored and lonely quickly here. I'm not offering a salaried position but I've plenty of work for a younger productive climber who wishes to carve himself a slice of French living. Stuart

I can honestly say that your experience does not match mine having fed a CS100 for around 350hrs. Stuart

I rely heavily on 'Wood Pickers' Today, I had a couple approach me as I was sizing up a 7 Lombardy removal and offer to take the wood! I wish there was a similar demand for rakings... Stuart

'Tradegie des Arbres'. As we say with a Gallic shrug... Stuart

I've just installed 120m of chestnut post and rail from McVeigh Parker which was shipped out to Brittany. It was pretty rough, twisted and 'shaggy' and yes some rails required fettling but the client is over the moon with the effect. Stuart