nepia

If the knot referred to is what I think it is (lorry driver's hitch, trucker's hitch, dogleg) it does work: my CS31 instructor used it to get an entire tree down that was lying horizontal 10' off the ground after one of us felled in the wrong direction. (On that occasion it wasn't me). Jon

Ha ha. When I was a kid my dad sold one tree a year to Gray Nicolls at Robertsbridge. They didn't take from anything smaller than a 100' tree so the rest was left for firewood. Dad made the mistake of sectioning the trunk (G/N only took 16') and leaving the sections lying on their sides for 6 months. He had to use a crowbar to move them. Talk about an instant forest...

I've e-mailed someone who could be interested: I'm sure he'll contact you if so. Jon

As it's such a small place you won't miss much if you hire a car - definitely do that and make it a small one; drive the north coast road (spectacular) and you'll see why. Make sure you get into the middle of the island too; the yomping is brilliant. You get mountain scenery in a warm climate. The plants obviously have much to do with the place but don't expect drama from the named gardens; we were very disappointed with them. Stick to the wild. Old Funchal is beautiful but not large. Leave the car on the outskirts and walk in. You'll love it but you'll probably feel like the youngest one there.

They come every winter without fail, spend two days stripping the same large shrub, then move on not to be seen in the garden again. Given the weather I'm surprised not to have seen siskin this year as they move south to avoid the harshest of the Scandinavian winter: had a breeding pair a few years ago. Am definitely going to peel my eyes for waxwing though as they're so widespread it seems.

If you have any problem try asking ebay seller kaaz24 (Somerset). I've always found her very helpful and competitively priced. She's a Husky agent.

Brilliant. Haven't seen them in this country since I was a young lad in East Sussex (i.e. a long time ago). Just had the redwings stripping the cotoneaster as usual - in Caterham, not too far from you.

There is TER - The National Plant Register - already, as well as Immobilise. My concern would be too many registers and databases; police, HMRC, dealers, manufacturers etc couldn't be expected to check them all. I have the same concerns over the number of systems already in place for marking stuff - datadots, stickers, Smartwater... How is any agency recovering stolen gear to know what to check for? Passing an object under UV light will show Smartwater but oh dear - I marked it with micro datadots! Without wishing to stifle any private enterprise I think the best chance here lies in a co-ordinated single register run by, unfortunately, Government. ('Unfortunately' because we see all too often how Government runs things). But that doesn't address the problem of marking via any one (or more) of multiple systems. I don't know the answer to that one; pressure from insurers could certainly help (via incentives such as reduced premiums). Lord knows they could do so much more to make life difficult for the industry in stolen goods that exists presently.

Caught me short there. I was joking actually but you sort of called my bluff. But as it's not quite the dumb suggestion I thought I was making couldn't a very good price for shipping be forced (in a recession) by an English buyer rather than you as the seller? Just (another) thought. Fetching my coat now.... Merry Crimble, Jon

Big boat, Swansea docks mate! They'll be waiting for you!

This should go down well in certain parts... A Leeds man walks into a High Street bank & asks for a loan. He tells the bank officer he is going to Australia on business for two weeks & needs to borrow £5,000. The bank officer tells him that the bank will need some form of security for the loan so the Yorkshire lad hands over the keys and documents of a new Ferrari parked on the street in front of the bank. He produces the log book & everything checks out. The loan officer agrees to accept the car as collateral for the loan. The bank manager & its officers all enjoy a good laugh at the rough-looking Yorkshireman for using a £120,000 Ferrari as collateral against a £5000 loan. The bank manager then instructs an employee of the bank to drive the Ferrari into the bank's underground garage where he parks it. Two weeks later the man returns, repays the £5,000 and the interest of £15.41. The bank officer says to the Yorkshireman "Sir, we are very happy to have had your business and this transaction has worked out very nicely but we are a little puzzled... While you were away we checked you out further & found that you are a multi-millionaire. What puzzles us is why would you bother to borrow £5,000?" The Yorkshireman replies "Where else in Leeds can I park my car for two weeks for only £15.41 & expect it to be there when I return?" Ah, the mind of a true Yorkshireman... This is why they survive.

Yes, there is a member from Slovakia who's posted here a few times now. With luck he'll be along as I don't think you can Search for him!

Cracking reply. I was going to suggest just the above bit! Most farmers would relish the opportunity to make a few extra quid while helping out another 'rural' worker. If you don't ask you won't know but make any agreement detailed and written and then stick to your side of the deal.

Prince William's stag do is going to be a surreal affair isn't it. I mean how do you fancy tucking pictures of your gran down a lapdancer's knickers?

I mix a little conifer in with the rest too but I have customers that are happy to pay 2/3 normal price for pure conifer if that's all that I can supply. But I suggest making it very clear that they are getting much lighter wood than hardwood that will burn up a lot quicker. Most people are intelligent enough to live with their decisions when presented with the facts; ensure there are no surprises for them when they burn the stuff. Good luck with it; with the right spiel you'll sell the lot.

If you stopped to help every numpty who's got into difficulties because he insisted on negotiating the bad road conditions in an inappropriate vehicle you'd never get your groceries. If I scream 'muppet' at one more of them I think I'll get stuck on repeat.

Not guilty - honest guv'nor. Couldn't they have spread over the three lane ice rink pm? If it was anything like the side roads every bit of grip would have helped. I was finding ever more ambitious routes round Warlingham and Woldingham that didn't have pirouettiing 2-wheel drive estates on them. Muppets!

...or we've seen it before!!!

Must be Whiteknights... noticed exactly the same with a large oak at Bristol Uni last week; full leaf, healthy looking tree except it should have been September.

...Wouldn't have found mine unless you searched for 'Tifor'!

Thanks so much; I was hoping you might be about. For the money being asked I'll buy the thing; it'll be a once in a lifetime investment and if I don't use it... no problem (or put it on ebay). Cheers, Jon

Again, does anyone know for sure what this is and how it fits into a Tirfor setup? Thanks, Jon CABLE BLOCK for Tifor Tractel Habegger Winch Puller on eBay (end time 17-Dec-10 19:48:59 GMT)

A lady walked into a Police Station and the desk Sergeant said "Can I help you?" "Yes" she said, "I'd like to report a case of sexual assault". "Where did it happen?" the Sergeant asked. "In the park just down the road" she replied. "Can you describe what happened?" "Yes, I was walking along the footpath in the park near the trees when a man jumped out of the bushes and dragged me in there, removed my underwear then he dropped his pants to his knees and had his way with me". "Could you give me a description of him?" "Yes, he was wearing white shoes, long white trousers, a white shirt and he had these two big long pads from his feet up to and over his knees, one on each leg". "Sounds to me like he was a cricketer, most probably a batsman", said the Sergeant. "Yes", said the lady, "He was an Aussie Cricketer". "That's very observant", said the Sergeant, "You worked that out from his accent?" "No", she replied. "I worked it out because he wasn't in for very long".

The medium-sized stuff is excellent lightweight firewood - the sort of stuff to put on the kindling before the big stuff. The big stuff is good but a bit short-lived as you'd expect; dry it out and it's feather light. But don't pass on the opportunity to use it; I love it. Removal: I don't know your circumstances but if you've got large shrubs, verging on tree size, I'm guessing that one of them will be covering a large ground area. A Tirfor winch will pull the stumps with no problem at all as rhodos are shallow rooted so a few minutes setting up and tweaking and you've cleared a good area as well as grabbing yourself decent firewood. I'm at exactly that game myself in a large garden next weekend. For onsite disposal rhodo burns fast and furious once you've got it going.

I believe hawthorn is a favourite host. Ian, your link leads to a page that does not exist! Jon