nepia

Yup, boards 'n' all. On page 2 or 3 of this thread I put up a really interesting (!) short You Tube vid of it.

What?! You've only just got here. Exercise some self discipline - don't cop out; you'd regret it.

You really shouldn't have a problem. A turner well known in the South East looked in the back of my pickup a while ago, turned his nose up at the 20" rings of Monkey Puzzle I had, asked how much for the laburnum and nearly threw £25 at me in his haste to grab two 4' lengths of 6-8". I assume the wood's in good condition but the one thing that may put them off is the heart; the thicker and darker it is the better. Just put the word out - you'll have no trouble once that's done.

Billy, stop worrying! A load of wet chip just ain't a problem. The hardest part is starting off the unloading: the grip the sheet has on the load means that as you turn the handle the tailgate lifts instead of the load moving but as soon as the chip has some weight holding the tailgate down you're off and running.

Tuck your hands in your pockets to stop them getting bitten off - I hope. Worth e-mailing local clubs with that quantity. I even manage to get money out of them for lab!

The sheet's in perfect order; not even a tear. The open end frays a bit but gaffer tape or some nylon stitching would easily sort that. A lump of wood won't pin the sheet down. The only thing likely to stop it is a rough bed underneath it but my corrugated plastic bedliner is fine. I paid £176 inc VAT about a year ago so I'm guessing £180.

I use it for chip and logs. The only issues (which the seller John Blevins pointed out to me) lie with the vehicle rather than the loadhandler; stuff does get caught a bit on the front of the wheel arches. On average I'd say the handler clears 90% of the load with the vehicle pulled forwards a few feet halfway through. You do get the odd sticky one though (!) where a lump sits at the front of the buck but that's life. Jon

Can't help you there; I've got a pickup, not a muckaway! But I have no problem with a full load of chip or logs. Still liking it.

Do you know what causes it Tony? I know of one in a garden in Warlingham, Surrey neighbouring a client's that I need to visit in a couple of weeks; I'll take pics this time. It's on a conifer too. Jon

Buzzards are doing really well. When I was a kid I knew we'd got to 'the South West' when we started seeing them in Dorset. In the last 10 years or so they've made it right along the south of the country: I regularly see groups of four in West Sussex and they're resident on the Kent/Surrey borders so must be across Kent by now. Mostly to do with the rabbit population isn't it?

A couple of years ago (the time is no coincidence) a relative told me that there had been a Europewide disease in finches that had decimated numbers. I've seen or heard no other reference to it; has anyone else? Jon

Yep - greenhouses, other bespoke outdoor structures, garden furniture as it doesn't rot. For the posh end of the market as it lasts more then five years!

Not sure what you had in mind for it but it is popular for milling. Ideally the bigger the straight wood the better to start with; give the buyer the choice of how to cut it.

Numbers have been well down for a couple of years here. In fact the same goes for all finches it seems; I saw my first goldfinch in the garden yesterday for months. Up to two years back there were several pairs almost resident here. No idea why but we could do with more eh?

Yes it does work but for Gawd's sake use the bio stuff and not plain strawberry flavour as someone I know did on their prize stone garden ornaments! Jon

Just that one tree is a fantastic advertisement for you and your work - well done; what a beauty.

There was an identical thread about this time last year and the most likely explanation arising then was winter drought killing the smaller specimens as groundwater had been locked up as ice. But if larger ones are copping it this time round perhaps it's not that simple unless two hard winters have had a cumulative effect.

This may sound daft but close examination may reveal a small number of large plants that can be pulled/dug out manually. I cleared a patch last year about a quarter the size of a tennis court and it took me a couple of hours.

Telegraph Hill perchance? Looks scary from the top!

I feel your sympathy man...

My take on the price. The trolley will last me at least 10 years and almost certainly longer. That works out as a capital investment of £40 a year to save miles of dragging and hence hours of time and loads of grief to my ageing body. £40 is also the cost of one visit to the chiropracter, which happens every six weeks. As an aside the trolley will also see use moving billets, tools, probably furniture and large plant pots - in fact anything heavy that needs manually moving from A to B. The difference between an 'expensive' £40 p.a. and a ?reasonable £25 p.a. isn't worth consideration given the benefits. Just my take. Of course I may not be here in 10 years in which case it will all have been an expensive mistake! Boogga.

If you're really stuck why not just drive up to a farm and ask if you could leave it as a one off? Years ago I could have helped; I was at school there with the sons of one of the biggest local farmers (Polegate). Good luck.

Thanks for the reply Reg. The price; I'm not complaining. No-one held a gun to my head and said 'buy it': I chose to so no grumbles from me. The play in the drawbar: as long as it's a known feature, catered for at the design stage then fair enough. I wasn't too bothered, just surprised. The handlebars; your description of the trolley's use seems to assume very short journeys only and yes, I'd worked out the trick of loading a big log - easy peasy! I spent Sunday moving a heap of laurel logs 200 yards across good ground, some flat, some gently sloping. I could easily have balanced the trolley if towing with both hands. There are going to be plenty of other jobs too with some distance involved and the action I'd hoped to perform was just like a parent towing their kid on a sledge, though of course there's no balance issue there, but there won't be much of one with a couple of hundredweight of leyland brush either. And yes, my back isn't good but I get the impression that that applies to four out of five folk on here! Hey ho; it's a great invention, I don't regret buying it and I wish you all the best with it and your upcoming venture. Cheers, Jon