Craig F-J

Can't tell you where to buy one although I'd be starting to look at the Swedish & German sites. Can't recall if they sell them or if I have the name of the website correct but Freeworker.de may be worth a try.. I can say how good they are on the right site though, I used a pair of them to fell a lot of hefty back-leaners near powerlines in Sweden.

We've had a good level of response to this advert so thanks to those who have so far got involved. We still have plenty of work available with us across North Wales, for experienced or inexperienced workers, so if you have thought about getting in touch but haven't yet then please do. You simply need to be: Reliable Hard working The type of person who gets a kick out of doing a good job In return you'll: Get a good rate of pay Work with a great team using some very modern kit Be encouraged to learn from/with us on a daily basis Get in touch via P.M. here on Arbtalk or email [email protected]

Fergus-Jones Tree Specialists, The Snowdonia National Park's only Arboricultural Association Approved Contractor, have climbing and groundsman work available in North Wales on a self-employed basis, starting immediately. You will be working with us on Arboriculture and Woodland Management contracts for domestic & commercial clients, and government organisations. Contact Craig Fergus-Jones through Arbtalk via p.m. and include details of your experience and qualifications.

I think you are right there. Unfortunately I'm looking at a 2 hour round trip before I enter a shop in cases like this so it is useful to me that I can make a call/shop online if I need to. Most of my shopping is done this way now as you can imagine. I very rarely have a problem, and never before on such a scale as this.

Crikey. I had thought they'd shown me every trick, not quite! As I've mentioned I called EE and cancelled my contract yesterday. I did this 13 minutes after a previous call to EE, during which I was informed that my replacement handset was not infact going to be delivered as, according to their system, no order had been placed. A (now slightly bemused) courier has just arrived at my door with a replacement handset. They can't arrange to get one delivered when they agree, but they can deliver when I cancel my contract. I'm now off to see if Vodafone will have me back

I want to add that I ordered a phone/tablet combo for my partner at the same time as I placed my order, this turned up on time as agreed. Apart from her monthly bill going up by £10 per month to that agreed (now sorted after spending more time on the phone...) she has experienced no problems during the process.

Like it. This is a new one on me

Hi Folks A quick heads-up to anyone who may be considering a move to the EE mobile phone network, if my experience is anything to go by you may end up regretting it. I do not have long enough to detail the catalogue of errors which I have experienced whilst dealing with this company in the last 7 days, but it has culminated in me cancelling my contract and returning the phone in due course. Do yourselves a favour if you are tempted: Record every call if possible. Ask to see everything in writing as you may well be told 1 thing only to experience another. Do not take time-off work to receive a phone on a given day - it may well not arrive as promised.... Do not take time-off work to exchange a faulty handset for a replacement with a courier - it may well not even be on its way! Whilst this is a difficult one, do not believe that the person dealing with your enquiry is actually putting notes on the system as they would have you believe (notes are incriminating when things go wrong), they most likely will not be there when you call to try and work out why things have gone wrong (again). Do a search on the internet to see what other customers are experiencing when dealing with this company - after doing this I feel glad that I have cancelled my contract within the 14 day cooling off period. I hope by posting this I will save someone wasting as much of their time as I have done over this last week. Cheers

Hi Does anyone accept woodchip in and around the Altrincham/Timperley area? Clean conifer & willow amounting to roughly 2/3 cubic meters. Cheers Craig

Hi Paul, A gem alright! Are you familiar with the Ancient Tree Hunt website which was setup to allow people to record the location and provide information on trees such as this? The Woodland Trust | Take part in the Ancient Tree Hunt with the Woodland Trust This needs to go on!!

I would echo David on this. Easier said than done in my experience but very definitely worth trying hard to keep on top of the assignments, and getting hold of as many of the books as possible is a must. Enjoy

Check out the Pentax range. 'Waterproof' models available at lower end of DSLR budget

Give Noddy a shout over at Treeworker. He has some dynamic rope in stock that fits the Cinch nicely. I have a dynamic lanyard en route from him with stitched eyes - to be used with a Trango Cinch - as my lanyard. The Cinch originates as a belay device for sport (rock) climbing AFAIK, therefore I'd guess was designed with dynamic ropes in mind. I've not found a static rope that runs smoothly through the cinch when under load - they all seem to result in the device releasing quite "quickly"!

I stumbled across this whilst following links to info on Meripilus. I've only skimmed through it as yet and prob won't get around to it anytime this week but looks very interesting and well worth a read. Apologies if it has been posted before, a search of the site brings up no results. The Hidden World of Carnivorous Fungi

I have now sorted this out, thanks to those above for their input. The Tree Advice Trust are having problems with their website at the moment so I will pass on what I now know. The following info (applicable 10/12/12) comes from a conversation I have had with the Tree Advice Trust (Alice Holt Lodge): £30 + VAT for a single analysis £100 + VAT for 5 analyses - Known as the "High Level" Package Fruit bodies - wrapped in grease proof paper and then packaged in newspaper (and in my case sent by parcel). Payment: Cheque - download the Diagnostic Service Report Form from here Forest Research - Tree Health Diagnostic and Advisory Service and if you wish to take up the offer of the "High Level" package include a note saying words to that effect. Cheers!

The pieces are coming together! Upon opening the contact page of the TAT I see that it is Alice Holt I will be contacting anyway:blushing:

Thanks. The TAT site rings a bell now that I have had a look, but I am unable to open their Services link thingy.

Your noseyness is of course excused Nothing wrong with AH but the org I have in mind offer(ed) a package whereby for a set fee, 'X' amount of FB analysis would be carried out. I have had it in mind since being made aware of this service that when the need arose I would take it up.

Also: Does anyone have experience of sending desiccated fruiting bodies through the postal system? Alice Holt state they require sample be sent as follows "Send in dry packing material in a stout cardboard box. Please do not use polythene bag since these specimens will putrify quickly" A dry packing material that is readily available - newspaper or similar springs to mind, but I envisage breakdown of this material during transport. All input gratefully received.

I require laboratory analysis of a desiccated FB. My search so far has brought up Alice Holt but I seem to recall the service is offered by another laboratory. Can anyone shed some light please?

Blimey! I didn't for a second think that it might actually be frog spawn. Very interesting

And the trees listing on the "Ancient Tree Hunt" website can be viewed here: The Woodland Trust | Ancient Tree Hunt | Tree details

I carried out some work on this tree last week and took the following shots... If I can upload the pictures in the correct order/way then they will go: Pic. 1 - what I think was the cavity the ffb were taken from. I'm not 100% as it had been a while to say the least! It is very likely to have come from this cavity though Pic. 2 - a new ffb that has appeared in the last 12 months...??? Pic. 3 - Something new to me, I have no idea what this is. As you can see, it looks very similar to frog spawn.

I would second this. I find it hard to believe that candidates suitably qualified for these positions are only worth a wage of £19K to the employer

That's my application in the post. Looking forward to a top weekend!