Gnarlyoak

Really sorry to read about this. Wishing you well bud, and hope that you make a full and speedy recovery. Stay strong and be positive mate, by the x-ray image, you look like you will be on a long and hard road. All the best for a positive outcome. Rick

How about 70's porn star "BIG" John Holmes. "Oo.... here's the gear stick, AND.... , here's my gear stick...!" May help broaden the appeal to a wider female audience!!!

Ha Ha Haa. Brilliant. He's not going to insult anyone or let it slip he might be a closet rascist.

Another container load of immigrants on their way to Dover using the "PREMIUM" door to door service.

Hey up Ben, That stem has got to be a good candidate for a stunt fell straight down the side of the house........ and not take the guttering off!

Hahaha, been searching for that thread for the last 10mins. Just about came to the same conclusion. So which of us do you think should be sitting on the naughty step then Mat? Then again, maybe best not to say.

Well I'm chuffed to bits that I've brought y'all a bit of a grin. You are absolutely right felling TPO'd trees is absolutely a gazillion miles away from a heinous crime such as rape. And, I was not trying to compare the two on an equal level. My point was, that the OP was getting a bit of stick for "grassing", and I just felt that if we are not prepared to speak out when we see wrong doing, where do you draw the line. The fictitious examples I used to illustrate this point were deliberately put at the "extreme" end of the scale to try and counter other posters early responses that somehow, the OP's actions of trying clarify the TPO situation were more reprehensible than the possible actions of a tree gang working on a group of trees without having done the necessary checks with the LA. The OP IMO has done the right thing by querying the situation with the LA. And I didn't feel that they should be labelled as a grass for doing so. And yes Huck, whilst is not a hobby that consumes my every waking moment when I'm not up a tree, I have reported people for littering and fly tipping which I have directly witnessed, having first confronted them to remedy their antisocial behaviour. I don't see why I have live is someone elses filth. I've also confronted and reported someone for using drugs whilst on the job, similarly I've reported someone for stealing fuel/equipment from a mutual employer. As another example: You've got two guys working for you, one's nicking bits of your kit and the other one is dead straight and honest. The thief is costing you time, money & resources and you can't figure out why the books don't balance. Eventually Mr.Honest tells you about the nefarious activities of Mr.Thief. Do you then sack Mr.Honest for being a "grass" and reward Mr.Thief for keeping his mouth shut? By deliberately using a few extreme examples, I was trying to emphasise that people who report wrongdoing should not be labelled as a grass or somehow be seen as a more lowlier specimen than the wrongdoer!

I can never get my head around some peoples attitude towards "grassing" on someone who has done something wrong! Ok maybe in this instance, some trees that should have been protected may have been felled by some cowboys. The authorities cannot stay on top of situations like this unless they are informed that something is going on. The worst possible outcome is that some maverick outfit gets a fine but the perception from the general public is that ALL tree surgeons are a bunch of cowboys.............! A dodgy untrained unlicensed gas fitter installs a boiler, a week later carbon monoxide poisoning kills a family whilst they slept in their beds, or a gas leaks blows up a row of house. But, hey he tried his best lets not "grass" on him eh, his next job might be better! You see a bloke you know raping someone in an alleyway. No need to "grass" them up because his victim isn't anyone you know. And they probably won't do it again now they've got it out of there system. Eh? You've just had you're yard raided, they've stolen all your kit. A mate of yours knows whose done it, but you don't expect him to grass up the thieving scum bags....... DO YOU?!? Ok, ok, its only TPO'd (maybe, maybe not) trees, but if everyone turns a blind eye, then we have anarchy and everything and everyone is fair game and screw the consequences if it doesn't affect you directly! People who are not prepared to stand up and be counted and report wrong doing when they see it are spineless IMHO.

Lets hope it hurt a lot. Some gear and absolutely no idea! These are not tree care professionals but a bunch of chancers, who probably operate below the radar, working for cash, not paying for insurance, income tax etc., and probably using tools that have been nicked from decent hard working law abiding blokes. To be honest would have loved the tree to have gone through the roof/wall/window of the property to teach the homeowner a lesson too!

Yep, just about the only way to do it, unless there is a close neighbouring tree to anchor into. Just remember to keep you flip line level with your waist and your mainline cinched fairly tight about mid thigh, knee top level. That way should you inadvertently cut your flip line, you may fall back a few inches but your mainline should bite and stop you falling off the tree completely. As you get more experience it will become second nature.

Reported to MODS as SPAM............

............. And, it wants reporting to the police! Brass neck of some people offering forged documents on the WEB...... no wonder there's an estimated 1 million undocumented illegals flying under the radar in this bloody country.....

Yep. Defo contact OP. No doubt you'll soon be having a word with the fuzz too. Doubt very much this kind of pond dwelling scumbag low life ever bothered to re-register the truck in his name, so if dibble bothered to investigate this other info about this van properly, they may have traced it to your doorstep, and had some "questions" for you!! Was the reg no. that the OP detailed, the same as the reg on the vehicle when you sold it Dalton? Hopefully with the all the info that's come to light on this thread in a short space of time, this will lead to some scroat getting his collar felt.

Well I hate to be the one that pee's on everyones chips, but considering that this thread ha been going for over 15 hrs, has had over 60 responses and not a single one of them from any Arb Lady (single or otherwise), I fear that any such "ARBROMANCE" thread on this site is doomed. Aye, doomed I tells yer......

Meh............. Zigzag 1 : Broke apart in use. At least one climber using it fell and was seriously injured. No one died. Full recall by Petzl! Zigzag 2: Significant number have cracked at top rivet. No one injured or died! Petzl extended warranty to 10 years! But fingers crossed... hey!?! Zigzag 3: 3rd time lucky for petzl? You're the guinea pig! Who'll live, die or end up in a wheelchair? Wonder if Petzl have bothered to test version 3 properly this time round! Time will tell I guess. I like the principal behind the Zigzag, and the way it works. But, have no confidence in spending my hard earned on this product for at least another 6-12mnths until we know what's wrong with this one....................

Result! A manufacturer of arb & forestry equipment coming onto this forum to ask its members to try out their new products and actively seek their input into their suitability & practicalities before they are unleashed on the unsuspecting professional user & joe public alike. Plenty of threads on this forum about other manufacturers who happily dump new products and replacement models onto the market that are with increasing regularity proving to be not for purpose. Hope the OP has a good take up from members, and shares its results with regular updates on here.

Ouch. Hope it heals quick. Thanks for sharing, love a bit of gore with my tea.....

Cracking picture that first one john.

There is a Portuguese guy who comes on here now & again, sorry can't recall his name or location. And there was Brit, based just outside Lagos, Martin Foy of Algarve Tree Services, use to come on here as "Lurcherman". Not seen or heard of him for quite a while now.

Ditto that, quite superb mate.

Or the Corsavan 1.3 CDTi, as above but even more so. Plus even from a short distance, it looks no different from a Corsa, I like that anonymity, because it doesn't scream "VAN" thus less likely to become a magnet for any scroats thinking that their might be some tools in the back to be "set free"!

Hi TCD, MS Office 365 on a rolling annual lease defo not value for money IMHO. Unless you really really need ALL the upto date bells & whistles, then I would recommend you consider getting a copy of MS Office 2010 Home & Student. Just make sure you are buying a sealed copy with the product code intact. If the product code has already been used the final part of the installation where its synchs up to MS automatically via the net to register, will fail! Plenty on offer at the "bay". Paid £65 quid for a copy myself to install on a new PC in Jan this year. Works a treat for me.

Ditto. Seriously the holier than thou's should perhaps refrain from adding negative comments to posts like these. Usually every "accident" is a situation that could have been avoided. Being honest & open about such occurrences serves as a timely reminder that we are all human and to "err" is within our remit as sentient beings. None of us are infallible! I don't wish to make it personal, but Ty I have always held your posts in high regard, but on this occasion, and on this matter, (IMHO) I feel you have waded in below the belt sir. Making a mistake IS nothing to be ashamed of! Learning from it and warning others should be the proper and commendable approach. The alternative is to wrap ourselves in cottonwool and avoid getting out of bed in the morning............... just in case!

Yoiks! Ouch, looks nasty mate. Wishing you a speedy recovery. Had a similar nasty nip from a top handle end of August, around the wrist area. 4 days in hospital being flooded with IV antibiotics & op to repair damage. A week off to let the healing process do its best. Then a week on the ground not pushing my luck climbing. At the end of the 2nd full week, stitches out on the Friday back climbing the following Monday. 3 weeks from A&E to back in the saddle again, with a luvverly scar to show the ladies.... Its a buggering shite when it happens, but it happens. Thanks for sharing, complacency is a mistress that we all share from time to time, mostly we get away with it, but occasionally the bitch bites back. Heal quick,.

Actually, I think the helicopter gubbins means you're over qualified......... I don't think you'll have any prob's picking up work pretty quickly once you back to UK. Market is generally quite good and on the up in some areas. You should have no difficulty getting taken on full time in that area, but as a stop gap or another alternative you could go freelance and work for yourself. Again in the South East, a good climber should be able to command a god daily rate. Easy option would be to pimp yourself out with an ad here on AT's "Employment" section when you get back and wait for the phone to start ringing. All the best, and welcome home.