Mark Bolam

That’s hardly the point Joe was making. I wouldn’t bother with the H&S questionnaire, you’d be better off reading up on employment law.

I’ve got £10m PL and £10m EL and the thought of using my insurance on a job like this gives me the shivers. I’m asked to do quite a few and always refuse unless agreement with the neighbours can be reached. Life’s too short to get involved in other peoples rows, and to leave trees looking utterly shit, which they always will do.

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Absolutely mate. A few years ago I wanted to be a tree surgeon and work with trees. A few kids and a mortgage later and I’m obsessed with hp and l/m.

That’s spot on Mick. I reckon even if on some jobs I could compete financially with 3 of us pissing about with a Transit and a TW160 for 10 days, some of these lads could rinse the job for the same money in 1. Any sane client will avoid the extra 9 days of agg.

That’s not a tender. Do you mean they’ve set a budget? They can’t say ‘how much are you going to charge us for £90k’s worth of work?’ I’m obviously missing something.

Lee you’d be better off mentioning what attachments you have as well.

It’s personal preference really. I prefer a slightly shorter bridge, but some prefer it as long as possible. You can experiment with knotted friction cord or a tape sling (low down, obviously), to get a feel what’s best for you.

The harness explodes and you die.

We had a woodburner installed in our old house and there was no room for an external flue (It was detached by about 1m from next door). The twinwall that ran up through our bedroom proved to be a very effective vertical rad. Almost too effective. It was eventually boxed in with fire board for a fitted wardrobe, but a vent still provided decent heat.

Seriously mate, fair play to you. The only thing you did wrong was getting caught. You’ve held your hands up like the man you are, no excuses. You’re good at your game, and you’re a grafter, you’ll never be short of a job.

Druggie. You should be hanged.

It will be sweet on an 18” for that mate. Get the XPG if you can, your hands will thank you for it.

I can well believe that. They’re a law unto themselves sometimes.

Read the bit in the middle from the LOLER guy.

I would probably retire the rope to light rigging duties or tagline. The ART Ropeguide will be ruined, you’d be best off selling that to me for £20.

Pretty sure it depends on which rope it is.

It doesn’t really work like that in our village. Everyone helps out when they can.

The way Ashford Borough Council operate mate it would probably be some ‘operatives’ with hand saws and the village would be bolloxed for half a day.

Good info Jon, thanks. It’s in Ashford Borough in Kent, the road is the downgraded A2070. I will get in touch with Highways just to see what the situation is. It’s about the sixth time I’ve done this now. Just seem to get a bit of goodwill on Facebook and that’s it!

Tyskie’s a nice drop. Goes down a bit easy, like….

He doesn’t own the road mate!

I’d got in after an easyish but sweaty day and had just popped an ice cold Tyskie lager. My wife Ruth went out for a run but rang after about 5 minutes. She was just out of the village and ran under a 18” dia 60’ sycamore on the verge which started creaking as she ran past. 6.30, dry, no wind. She turned round and it fell across the main road, getting hung up in the trees opposite. She called me so I pulled on my stinking Pfanners and boots, grabbed the 660 out the workshop and headed up. It’s the only road out of the top of the village. I got there as an ambulance was turning round. Pulled into the middle, hazards on, and got to work. Had it flat pretty quickly, managing not to bust the post and rail underneath the hung up side. Ruth and some good Samaritans (there was a fair queue each way) handballed everything into the verges well beyond the white line. Only downside was some gyppos in a Disco who bypassed everyone and drove through near the end, just missing my saw. God how I despise those scum. If I’d seen them coming they would have had a round through their windscreen. Landowner rocks up, nice guy, but a bit of a toff. Didn’t speak to me, which was fair enough, I was muffs down and flat out, but he spoke to Ruth. He basically said it wasn’t his tree, it was Highways tree because it was on the verge. (The butt is up a shallow banking, maybe 4m back from the white line. Backing onto woodland. probably fenced off once, but no discernible boundary now). I won’t be putting a bill into anyone, I just wanted to get the road clear. The thing is, is there a definitive ownership of roadside trees, or does it vary? My local council seem very keen to give up responsibility for every single bit of ground they can get away with at the moment, but roads need verges. Who owns them and the trees that are often contained within them? Saturday night, running into Sunday now, so timewasters and conspiracy theorists all welcome.

Never again Stu! One thing I did notice today was up the yard. In the first vid that little cord pile you can see when Beth is on the loader is what my mate wanted to keep for himself. He handballed it into the trailer behind his mower tractor. The main cord I loaded into the Transit was probably 18” dia in 3-4’ lengths. I ringed it today and got it in the log store. What a mess! Sod cleaning that much dust and crud up on site. Yes, it’s more time up the yard, but I can pick and choose when I do that. Loving the loader life.

Nothing is ever perfect, is it? Different level of machines to my little Cast, but the Klou grab on that has a simple pin I can pull to switch orientation 90deg, front on, side on, or knockabout. I think a rotator on mine would give me a lift height of about 12” and I’d need to put on another couple of stone. Again. IMG_6293.MOV