LynBugLover

Yeah, the pigs are just fab. We have pure-bred Tamworths but I'd love some Iron Age ones - the piglets are amazing. I love the idea of a sustainable woodland with educational facilities. Lots and lots of luck with that one. Glad to have discovered lots of common ground. :-)

Hi Taditional Logger Spring, summer and autumn, I produce fruit and veg and look after pigs in 100 acres of woodland undergoing restoration. During the winter I assist in the hands-on tasks in the woodland; chipping, hoiking lumps of firewood about, replanting etc. Being a middle-aged lady, I tend to leave the chainsaw work to the younger, fitter guys, but can still wield one if necessary. I have worked in areas where the public had a lot more access than the place I work now, and yes, people do ask what appear to us to be incredibly stupid questions. Personally, I have always enjoyed the opportunity to engage and educate people, although this can be massively time-consuming. I figure that's the price we pay for having jobs that make an awful lot of people envious. (Regarding cycle ramps: yes, we had similar problems and had to ensure custom-built facilities were in place to avoid (further) legal action.) The UK comment was a tongue-in-cheek reference to your suggestion that farmers are free of criticism from the public. Farming and food production generate a lot of column inches in the UK, and a lot of discussion on radio/TV, and are the cause of a fair amount of direct action by campaign groups. The population probably discusses farming practices almost as frequently as it discusses what it would like to do to bankers.

What makes you so sure that the public are clueless about forestry? And why do you imagine that people who don't work in the sector have no right to an opinion? Growing up close to Cannock Chase, I understood perfectly that a large part of it was managed commercially, and was happy that the income from timber helped to maintain the other aspects. I would have thought that, as one of the few government departments that has the ability to directly generate income from what it produces, and thus support its research, educational and conservation activities, the FC would be exactly the kind of thing that the Tories would leave intact. Given the increase in demand for firewood (covered extensively in other threads), now would appear to be the very worst time for disposal of publicly owned, productive forests, just as they are about to start making a bit more cash. And, for heaven's sake, which country do you live in? May I be the first to welcome you to the UK, where the consumer continually batters the farmer about pesticide use, GM, greenhouse gas generation, fertiliser use, pollution, animal welfare, zoonotic diseases... To suggest that no-one ever takes a farmer to task about his methods is, I'm sorry, complete nonsense. The reason you don't go into an office to tell clerical staff how to do their job is because it has no tangible, direct impact on your life. Forests and woodlands directly touch the lives of those that visit them. If you can no longer empathise with that, then I feel rather sorry for you. When I first saw your post, I hoped that you were merely attempting to wind people up, or were spoiling for a fight after a bad day. However, if you really do feel this contemptuous towards anyone who isn't in your particular line of work, then I have to say that the public are right to be worried.

Thanks everyone that's answered. I've had a good look through LOLER and it could certainly be clearer (but then I guess that would make it all too simple, wouldn't it?). There's no question in my mind, but I can see how someone wishing to avoid the cost of 6-monthly inspections could argue that a forklift is not 'equipment for lifting persons'. I can feel a frank exchange of views coming on. Ho hum.

Hi. Sorry if this is a bit of a daft question. When it comes to HSE regs, training etc., is there a difference between a dedicated mewp and a telehandler with a mancage attachment? We have both at the place I work, and currently the telehandler is used in preference to the Niftylift because it is perceived not to require the same level of servicing, operator training etc. I can't see the difference, to be honest. Surely a mewp is a mewp, whether it's a dedicated piece of kit, or an attachment. Does anyone know the answer, or where I would find out? Thanks very much Lynette

Poor little girlies, you mean. No blokey bumble bees around til summer. (Bloody typical if you ask me, leaving the women to it all winter then showing up for a bit when the sun's out, mutter, mutter...)

The way it's assumed that everyone in the team can have a pee in the hedge. I suffer from a congenital lack of a penis (something to do with chromosomes).

My mate's family seem to be adapting well. To be honest, his wife's got the telly to herself now, so I don't think she's that upset. And he's gonna kill me when he reads this...

I don't think colleges will regulate their numbers given that their income is related to the number of students they get through. I used to be a learning support assistant to NCArbs. I would say that only very few of them were going to have decent careers because most of them didn't give a toss. They were there because it was fun and they got some cash out of it, and got off with girls and there were people like me around to make damned sure they passed. Because if they failed the college didn't get paid. 100% pass rates were the norm. But quite a few of these guys would have been a liability outside in the big wide world, and it wouldn't have taken any prospective employer long to work out that they knew the square root of bugger all. On the other hand, there were some really dedicated, keen students in the same class. They went on to ND, they got the work done, they made the most of every opportunity that came there way. And it showed. Jim, just do the very best you can. Don't get distracted. Jobs may be harder to come by in future, but dedicated, clued-up people will be the ones that get them.

Hi Jim. I'm new here too. Hope you enjoy life as a mature student. Is it a career change? I was a psychi nurse for 10 years before retraining in horticulture. Btw, Landscapertalk is good too. And Jonesie's not wrong. It's already happened to a guy I know...

Aah, the end of an era. Now I really know I'm old. My first 'proper' boyfriend and I had a bit of a thing about it and spent many happy times at Portmeirion (sp?). Cool gardens. But loads of Rhodi (like Wales needed any more).

Hi guys. My first post since popping over from landscapertalk. Thought the following might be of interest: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jan/14/domestic-wood-burning