Gnarlyoak

Nice one Hamadryad, tis gilled not pored. Doubled checked specimen with my ID book and everything is a match for Pleurotus dryinus. Except of course the colour, I see that when fresh these are usually a cream colour, obviously my specimen is an old one and very much not cream coloured. Many thanks, Rick

I initially had a WTF moment when I saw the title of this thread. Which subsequently died as the idea was forming when I remembered that just over 2 weeks ago I had a "suspect" lump sliced off the top of my head and I'm supposed to ring the quacks this week to check that its nothing sinister! Its easy to forget how long the various parts of our bodies are exposed to UV radiation as we pootle about our work place. Even on cloudy days we are racking up tons more rads than people who don't work outdoors. Theres certainly nothing unmanly about protecting your skin, skin cancer is an equal opportunities stealthy assassin. After enjoying the sunshine in Cheshire today without, this thread has now prompted me to stick the sunscreen in my bag for work tomorrow. Balding and fair haired, the doctor who excised my lump advised me not to waste money on anything less than factor 30, and to wear a hat when I'm not wearing my helmet. Jeez only 2 weeks ago and after sun bathing today I realise I've already forgotten his words of advise! A timely post alex_m, sorry I can't recommend a specific product but I would definately encourage you and everyone else to slap it on and slap it on thick.

Can anyone assist with IDing the attached bracket fungi pics please, its a bit black, dried up and wizened I'm afraid. Clarity not great either I'm afraid mobile phone pics! Fungi was removed from upper part of the crown of a horse chestnut. Many thanks in advance.

Cheers for the advice lads. I'm more than happy to steer clear of the VAT mire. No one I've worked for has really questioned my "non-VAT" status, just seeking clarification that as a non VAT registered self employed bod, I was'nt unwittingly falling foul of some rule; regulation or law by not adding VAT on my invoices. Thanks again for your time taken and advice given. Best regards, Rick

You could try here:- NHLS - Home page Hedgelaying - How to lay a hedge Or you could try contacting your local councils countryside department to if they offer any volunteer conservation days where you can go along and have a go. My local countryside service does this, and I've been a few times and it makes for a great day out learning a new skill. But I've never done it on my own as a professional service, (as I'm nothing like a professional master hedgelayer) so I would'nt know how to go about pricing such a job, plus your bit out of my neck of the woods. Done right tis a beautiful thing to behold. So keep searching mate, I'm sure you'll find some'at or some one that will help you out. regards.

I work as a sole trader, providing a freelance tree climbing service. I'm not registered for VAT as I'm not earning anywhere near the VAT threshold. I usually work on a flat day rate and usually invoice accordingly at that flat rate. Question is, should I be including VAT on my invoices and in turn am I liable to pay this to HMRC? If I am responsible for collecting VAT, should I be adding it to my rate or subtracting it from my rate for invoicing purposes? e.g. Say for the sake of argument that my day rate to client A was £100: Should I be invoicing:- A) £100 + VAT (@17.5%) = £117.50 B) £100 inc VAT = my rate would be £85.11 + VAT £14.89 or C) Ignore the VAT man and just keep on invoicing at the flat rate of £100

I had a job stopped by the RSPCA once due to nesting rooks. We were dead wooding an oak with a nest in the tree. I was doing my level best to keep the disturbance to a minimum, no dead wood in the crown where the nest was, elsewhere within the crown we were using handsaws to remove the dead. Some nosey neighbour rang the RSPCA, they sent out an officer in a van, and told us to stop as it was illegal to cause any disturbance to a nesting bird in a tree. We had a "brew break" whilst I checked with the office, & the RSPCA dudette went on her merry way. Once the coast was clear and at the offices behest, we attempted to quickly finish what we had started. Nosey neighbour, not happy and reported us again. This time RSPCA officer returned told us in no uncertain terms that if we did not terminate the job immediately we would face prosecution! We packed up there and then and left the job. Customer was sound about it, and admitted he probably knew which neighbour was doing the reporting as he was having an ongoing feud with one of them. But at the end of the day even though we had no intention of harming the nest or birds it definately was'nt a job worth getting a criminal record for. At this time of the year though it is a nightmare. Had a nest of 3 baby squirrels to deal with last week after monolithing a dying Ash, then a nest with a clutch of eggs in the drop zone of a dead roadside tree deemed to be a serious risk standing next to a high speed dual carriageway couple of days later! Whaddya gonna do.......

Defo too late for hedgelaying L&L. Hedgelaying usually done end of Nov to mid March at the very latest. This year you could of got away with upto the end of March with the winter being so cold and spring delayed, doing it now would be bad for the hedge and nesting birds.

Aye M8, I did in my original post but I think they did little to soften my acerbic wit. I'll get me coat and off!

Quote: Originally Posted by Steve Bullman i think thats a little bit uncalled for mate And Originally Posted by Frank Agreed __________________ Warning!!!! Do not listen to this man. Apologies, had'nt meant to cause offence. had intended it as a tongue in cheek mickey take. But guess it does'nt read quite in the spirit it was intended. Sorry again peeps. Rick

As others have suggested Andy, joint supplements could be one way forward for you. I've been taking cod liver oil and glucosamine for years now to help offset arthritis in my hips and a dodgy knee (the result of an operation to remove my cartlidge when I was a teen). It keeps me mobile and nimble most of the time, but some days I still have to resort to painkillers (usually a double bubble of ibuprofen & paracetamol) to ease my aches and pains after a particularly hard day! It is a sad and regrettable truth that as we get older our bodies cannot recover and replace all the wear and tear we incur over our lifetime. Stem cell treatment may help to replace the parts that have worn out or so I've read, so you could try nipping down to your local maternity hospital and rustle up a nice big placenta fry up! But I bet its not as tasty as pedigree chum and dog bicuits!

Is this a trick question? Still working on 1, 4 & 6 but I do believe that:- 2 - Elephant haemorrhoid 3 - Elephants foot 5 - Dead cows hoof 7 - My mums attempt at bread making 8 - Ferret poo 9 - A conker Am I warm? Have I won out?

Erm... yep. If you watch the clip, "Expert climber Chris Betts" (Who TF is he?) just after half way up (1min 2secs) introduces us to the feet of "Ian" who put the line in! So hail to unsung hero Ian who really "climbed" the tallest tree in the British Isles and yah boo sucks to publicity seeking media bitch nobody Chris Betts who probably could'nt climb a ladder unless someone had put a line in it first for him. Ahem.

I'd second Nepia suggestion about trying to retrieve lost data on your hard drive. If you don't feel confident about installing and recovering yourself just nip into you local PC repair shop and they'll probably be able to recover your data in minutes for a few squids.

He sounds like the perfect candidate for birth control!

Heres one for a website that offers thousands of discount codes and vouchers for hundreds of stores nationwide on just about everything under the sun. Voucher Codes - Exclusive Discount Codes and Discount Vouchers

As the title suggests. All the usual tickets, plus CS47 (MEWP); 1st Aid & pre-97 driving licence. No prima donna either, prepared to roll my sleeves up and get stuck in to all aspects of tree work including ground work. Greater Manchester area preferred but I am flexible and open to offers. Own PPE; climbing kit and saws. So if you need a hand for a day a week a month, here there or anywhere, give us a pm and lets tickle some trees and make some beautiful money together. Thanks for looking. Tricky

Defo just laziness. See it all the time, especially courtesy of local authorities. But at least the stakes are'nt fixed to the tree with rubber tiesin the pics, I've seen examples in my local borough where these ties strangle the tree resulting in skinny stem and overweight crowns which eventually snap of just above the strangulation point. Now that is a waste of public money and the resulting "staked dead stem" is an eyesore!

Welcome to our modest gathering mate. I'm based just down the road from you in Tameside, so if you need a competent local subbie please feel free to get intouch. Best of luck with your new business venture.

Hi Damian, Can you give us some idea of when these short term contracts are due to start, duration of the contracts and is it a rolling program or all to be done in one hit? I would be interested in discussing this opportunity further with but have other work commitments that will probably keep me tied to the UK until towards the end of March. Many thanks, Rick

Yeah, I was thinking that, AAAC = what? Agree with general consensus, joining AA seems to cost a lot of time; money and effort for little tangible benefits. In 10 yrs I've never seen or heard of the AA promoting good arb practice to the un-enlightened general public. Just seem to pop up at trade shows and seminars preaching to the converted! If they did operate something like a scheme & code of conduct that gas installers have to adhere to, it might be a more attractive proposition. But then again there are thousands of dodgy cowboy gas appliance installers still out there!

"I'd avoid you like the plague if you were doing either" Aye, best to step back I might slip and wipe my putrid bubonic pusstules on yer 'ed! Anyhoo sorted now. Rang a broker today, can I get travel and work insurance as a tree surgeon? Er, no! Can I get travel insurance? Oh yes! Can I get Personal Injury accident insurance (PIAI) as a tree surgeon? Yes! Would PIAI cover me if injured working in EU? Yes, both the UK & EU! So I can get two individual policies to cover both but not a single policy covering both? Oh yes! Ah well of course, why pay for one policy when I can get scr£*ed for two and get a few extra pounds poorer whilst I make the multi-billion pound insurance companies a few quid richer. Seems fair to me. Well luckily I already have a Personal Injury accident plan, (through a high stree ins. broker) and yes it also covers me for working in EU. So result. Just need to buy cheap travel insurance of tinterweb and were sorted.

Can anybody out there recommend an insurance company that can provide travel insurance to cover a tree surgeon working in another EU country. What I need is a company that offers all the usual travel insurance which also allows you work in this profession who then is'nt going to turn round and say its not going to cover you for medical costs etc. if you break your back falling out of a tree or if you cut your arm off with a chainsaw! (Hypothetically speaking of course, but hey you never know whats around the corner) I've been trawling the web all day today, lots of "business" travel policys out there but no one seems interested in offering cover to anyone working at height or doing any hard/heavy physical labour on the ground. Of course mincing around in a suit attending meetings with a laptop and a blackberry your sorted, stomp about in a brash pile in a pair of crusty Stihls waving an MS200T in the air and your avoided like the bloody plague.

Ladyboy out on the pull, "me love you long time, you want lide wiv me"

Bloody nice bundle you got there matey. Congrats to you and bravo Tmberwolf.