TREELINE

Doh! website is http://www.treeline-treesurgery.co.uk

ok those that dont have paypal can send me a cheque to Treeline at the address on my web site. ignore the bullshit and head for the contact page and there is my address. A very brief letter explaining the purpose of the cheque should satisfy the vat man if he ever asks. I will post a picture of the donated cheque (from treeline) so all know its been done and how much etc after i have visited chris. If you cant afford anything then wear your chin stap in honour of a good dude who wasn't wearing his.

Hi all, Latest news on chris is that he is out of ICU ; eyes open and body able to move. He is in a persistant vegetative state which i am assured is normal at this state of play. Bodily injuries are healing but there is a worry about brain damage that no-one can tell at the moment. I will be going to see him soon and will post further when i have it. Family are coping a bit better too after the initial shock ; however it is still a long road. Thanks to all for the donations; over 500 raised so far which is great. If you do not have a paypal account you can pm me for how to donate. paul

jusrt to clarify. He lowered himself off the end unknowing that he had cut the rope. He had a flip line and was seen using it prior to that as a second anchor. My belief is that he was moving after taking off his flip line and perhaps had trapped the previously cut end against the trunk with his body which is why it didn't drop until it was too late. The groundie has 10 years exp too. I was on my way to site having taken the van to get serviced when the call came. Police, ambulance crew and air ambulance were fantastic as were the zoo staff on site.

Hi all, got a call from Lee today as he mentioned and this is the situation. I'm happy to answer any questions although please be aware that I may be limited as to what I can say due to the HSE investigation. there are obvious thoughts that all will think when I relate the story but for now be nice as i'm sure you will. We've all had close shaves, incidents or 'moments' of madness and Chris has 10 solid years in his harness. Reliable, nice as pie good egg and sometimes grumpy in the morning.Top bloke. Firstly I am very touched by all of your offers of help for Chris and his loved ones. The accident happened last Friday at 10.45 in the Bear enclosure of our local zoo. He was rope dismantling a smallish 30-40ft scots pine (bread and butter job) and got the top caught up on a stub he had left previously. He came down to get the branch out and as he was cutting severed his rope below his prussick. The head keeper on site saw the rope drop alerted the groundsman by saying 'does he not need that rope then' and by the time Dan had turned his head and looked up Chris was already on the way down. He landed on a concreted bank and suffered two broken (one shattered) arms, broken pelvis, 4 broken ribs and a punctured lung. One eye socket has been smashed and serious head injuries. He had a blood clot on the brain which was removed after a craniectomy(removal of top of skull) to ease pressure. So far (as I know) he has not really improved and they cannot treat his injuries until his head injury is stabilised. He is on life support. Latest news (recieved as I write) is he is responding but still serious but stable. I would describe this as a freak accident that could happen to anyone if we're not careful. My insurers advised me today that 92% of serious accidents from height are at 20 or 30ft. I'll leave it there for now and I will keep you posted. BTW the local environmental health people arrived after the police and made some seriously bad comments and were looking to lynch me. They cracked some inappropriate jokes and acted like terriers before gathering any facts - they were told to F-off . I am writing a letter of complaint despite their profuse apologies and should anyone wish to add their name I will duly add into the letter as I'm sure Chris will consider you all friends. Paul Take care out there. I have passed on your thoughts to Chris' nearest who appreciative.

lockjack,spiderjack??? well behind the times here obviously

best- thrills,money,well deserved beer,free workout (no poncey shorts to wear and sweat bands), never met a girl who didn't like the 'thought' of a tree surgeon (wife has since learnt the downside) worst-underpricing,big leaners, sawdust in the eyes, dogs eggs, thorns, no tea and biscuits

but then theres always the unexpected. had an ash branch fail on me the other day after i'd wedged me foot on it for 5 mins or more. glad i had 2 hands on the saw but it was a slight surprise. Silkys account for more injuries but i'll have 100 cut fingers to only one hand left any day. Just stick a rope up - its just as quick as you can rig bigger than you can hold. (reminder to self)

Ok i see the bat roost thing now but still think theres too much intervention with trees when simply replanting might be better after felling. More than happy to leave a pile of brash and logs behind for the same money though in the interest of ecology of course. (and they criticise fly tipping!) oh yeah just to be really picky aren't they monodendrons not monoliths (lithos being greek for stone) its all greek to me

i don't like the idea of coronets. i quite like natural fractures though - you just can't imitate them properly; maybe with a hammer and chisel though. Whats wrong with just leaving the deadwood on the floor? Do the bugs have to climb? Pretty good attempt though monkeyd one of the best i seen

I'll be at westonbirt from 29 sept with treelife. considered the home study but decided i have too many distractions; plus there will be things to look at sample fungi bits of wood and trees etc. did 5837 today at treelife in leicester and there were quite a few good things to look at (inc. daves daughter in a black dress) sorry dave

Thats exactly what i'm talking about Tim. Why get sloppy when the gears all there. There is never any rush on my jobs for the lads; I'm no bread head tyrant. Take the point though about being on the job so I'm back on the tools now after two weeks in the office and i'm spreading my work out for myself and employees. I've even fixed up a contact for the subbiesto get more work. I'll let you know what I break LOL

cheers all i'm feeling happier now some good sensible replys got me thinking rather than wingeing. I think i've decided to get my ass back out there myself and use the subbies for dragging brash for a few

uktc i think or just bumbling around on net. Like it a lot - seems its true arbs are pretty much the same countrywide; you London types are a bit more advanced with all yer fancy bling gear though. I am trying out that there french prussik me dad in law gave me though tomorrow

Cost nothing but the pride; i made em pay and sent them home for half day.

i like the sound of that, day off for em tomorrow then

Put it like this they dont give you 100% of the profit why should you be liable for 100% of the damage. you don't put in the 100% to make the company run though so you shouldn't expect the profit. Wages are bad at this end of the country too.

not yet still in pipeline. just completed the paperwork. I love the hard work though makes the day disappear

Hes a good climber with 10 years expeerience. The thing that bothers me is why the dont use the gear when its all there. Guess we all get a bit complacent and its not the end of the world but we may have some rail work lined up and that kinda thing don't go down so good or a railway. I'm more worried about expanding too quick , giving away the fortune i've created and then being left with knacked gear and bits of broken guttering than a healthy bank account. Looks like its time to get out of the office.

I tried Nfu they said they don't insure tree surgeons.??

its all fixed and the client wasn't too bothered by all accounts; perhaps its just me overreacting

I'm with trust and they give good advice (Cameron) but make sure all your docs are in order or its just a waste of money. I think any insurer will try to sneak out of it if poss.

Opinions needed on my subbies. Bit of broken guttering when I turned up on site today:thumbdown:; small hand held (60mm diam) dropped onto gutter which was on the building under the tree. We've all done something like that i'm sure at one time or other but the worst of it was that there was a dismantling rope in place (unused for this mere twig) and no pulley or capstan in place either. Weve recently had a discussion about how I want things done (including a rescue rope etc) and all the gear was there for use. Response was that it was too small for the rope (weight wise) and that I would have done the same (hopefully not the gutter though). I've got lots of work on at the mo (and lots pending) but am increasingly becoming a manager of sorts which is not what I envisaged. Should I keep the work for myself or take it like a man and just kick arse. Wage bill currently 1200+ per week and everyone wants a job cos business is brisk. Sometimes feel like thats 1200 I could spend on other stuff and if the future work doesn't come in it could be a waste. Be as nasty as you want it might cheer me up:mad1: