Mark Bolam

They’re nice takedowns Mick. ’Giving it a light trim because it’s getting a bit big’ not so much.

I said distant future mate. Dream big! Everyone knows we earn a fortune. ’£500 just to take that tree down, you must be loaded!’

Seriously, I would take the whole thing out now and replace it with a better specimen. Preferably one that’s not a Eucalyptus. Nice trees, but nothing but bother.

So small-minded Will. The weak stem might fail one day in the distant future as you drive past it on holiday, and put a nasty dent in your Bentley.

Just leave it alone. Think about the next generation of arbs.

Do you need the car for family etc., or purely for work?

Winded off?

I like vegans. More meat for me.

Perfectly captured David. That’s Mick Stockbridge on the horse.

It certainly looks pretty sketchy. You can hire a MEWP with an operator. He puts you where you want to be, you cut. Most have 2 man cages. Down here that hire would be £450/day.

Do mate. He may at least be able to point you in the right direction. Arb is a pretty small world.

He may well have done mate, it’s been a while. Still worth a shout though Corey, Dean wouldn’t sell out to an idiot. The important thing is to make the call.

There’s never a good time tbh mate. Just leave a polite message asking when is a good time to call. Don’t swear. He’s Yorkshire, but not THAT Yorkshire!

It shows you’re keen mate, right enough, but he’s also then probably sorting stuff out for the job ahead, and would be a nuisance. I haven’t got 2 mins in the morning, let alone 5 for a chat with someone I don’t know. I’d go 5.30, but that’s just me. Still in work mode, but before shifting into slippers and kids mode. @Mick Dempseymay or may not agree with me, but he’s in France, so allow for the time difference.

Aye, the time you ring him may have a bearing on how many f-words he uses! Quick test, when would you think is a good time to call him?

Dean is based in Holmfirth mate. Give him a shout and say Bolam sent you. You’ll know more in 5 minutes talking to him than the rest of us can help you with. Home - D A Lofthouse Tree Surgery WWW.DALOFTHOUSETREESURGERY.CO.UK Discover the services of D A Lofthouse Tree Surgery, Brighouse

But surely if you have 2 pints of DIET Coke with every meal you can eat what you want, right?

West Yorkshire Joe. The best climbers can also read.

Aye, good jobs need good groundies. All really good groundies have some climbing experience, and every good climber has plenty of hours on the deck.

That’s cheered me up enormously mate.

Young bastard!

Definitely explore every route you can. I’ve worked with some very decent council lads, and some utterly idle cretins who spent more time coming up with reasons not to do a job than working. Botty Cough is half right about the fitness, but no amount of gym work or cardio can prepare you for the ‘work muscle’ that you can only build up on the job. Tree work can be pure graft, but the biggest help is between your ears. When you look at me climb, I’m obviously working pretty hard. When you look at a really good climber they almost look lazy, if that makes sense? No shouting, swearing or grunting, just smooth, methodical minimal effort, then BOOM! the job is done. Definitely try and get some experience before you commit a load of cash though. Worth remembering that a lot of companies will pay for tickets but if you leave shortly afterwards you have to pay for them. Keep asking questions on here, it puts you way above the little gamer pricks who get their mummy to send me an email asking if they can have a job.

@Joe Newton is ok actually.

Wise choice young man. Enjoy Oz, it’s fantastic.

Peter, you don’t work in sales do you. What you mean is ‘The 251 is a fantastic saw for a small woodland owner, and I would reluctantly part with it for the right price.’