janey

:biggrin: It could an interesting debate though: when does sound, tradiditional arboricultural management practice (which this clearli is) cross the line to become topping? Especially in the eyes of the hoi polloi.

Does this mean you are now entitled to put "Loppin and Toppin" on the side of your truck ? It'll be interesting to see how it comes back.

Moving? I'm sure no one would miss you for a day . I've been too much of a coward to do a track day on my '675: the repair bills are extortionate enough from just dropping it while parking .

They're not blessed in the cute department, are they? Work scheduling is going to be a bit of a 'mare for the next few weeks now, what with CROW 2000 etc.

For any of you biker types out there: Triumph Motorcycles - Triumph Experience Don't know which day or venue I'll be signing up for yet, but I will be on one of them Maybe see some of yous lot there as well?

A good reminder, Tony. They are nasty lil' blighters and their potential for damage to our tree cover and human health shouldn't be underestimated.

I've just planted a C... "aurea", so if you want to plan 50 years ahead or so, come to Ealing. Sorry, that ain't much help, issit ? I'm sure I can remember a decent sized one at Kew and it might be worth investigating what Syon Park has, if you are ever in the area.

I read a recent article (no, not on April 1st!) that a "full Inglish" is actually the best breakfast to have as it sets up your metabalism for efficiently using all the food groups, rather than just carbs if you have, say, porrage. I likes that kinda research!

Is it just me, or is it ridiculously early to have fledglings in the garden ??? The robins that have been nesting outside of my patio doors have raised, and buggered off with, their first brood already. Surely that's far too early? Where did they get all of those caterpillars from??? Amazing. I didn't even get a chance to get a camera set up on them, as I thought I'd have loads of time still.

It all depends on how much you like the job!!! I've willing done nearly 2 hours each way before for very little pay, but the work was worth it. A good exercise in cost/benefit analysis .

:biggrin: There are some beautiful things in this world. I've just been for a bimble around Richmond Park and got up close with some similar looking beasties.

Only the comments above, really. I think we are all too aware of the dangers of the Arb industry and any courses / seminars to help manage the risks are always of value. I just thought that the "Engaging..." day was a bit schitzophrenic (I didn't even attempt a proper spelling ) about who it was aimed at. I went there with the assumption from the course title that it was aimed at mid management levels and above, ie, for people in a position of responsibility and with the authority to award and oversee contracts and that didn't necessarily have any practical experience.

Strangley enuff, Treemagineers is now in my favourites - and not JUST because their climber is very attactive .

Training day? It was more like a one day sales pitch for Treevolution I attended the Richmond Park seminar the the lovely Monkeyd was also at. The morning's talk from Frances of the HSE was informative and a sobering reminder of the dangerous industry that we work in, and then there was a quick run through of the major H&S regulations, ie, H&S at work '74 et al. All good stuff, but nothing new. Now, the title of the course was "Engaging Arb' Contractors..." or similar, so I was expecting something pitched at management level. I thought the day would have been spent going over what we should be looking for in a competant Contractor and what we should be looking at if we made an adhoc site visit to assess safe working techniques. I was assuming - possibly incorrectly - that the majority of people present wouldn't necessarily know the difference between an SRT and a fiddle block, as they would be in charge of overseeing the contract rather than actually doing the work! It is not unheard of that someone managing tenders and contracts has never even watched a climber at work before, nevermind having a thorough knowledge of the equipment. So the afternoon's climbing demo left me slightly confused as to it's relevance. The climbing itself was of the high standard I'd expect from Treevolution and, not having been anywhere near a harness for a few years now, a good update on all these new fangled climbing gadgets . But... It would have been better pitched to show obvious "bad" and dangerous working methods and not just an hour or so to show us how great the climbers were. Sorry that I sound so negative about the day, but for the amount of practical information that was new and of use to me, I don't think it was worth me missing a day of work for

You've lost me there... I'm obviosly not as old as I feel

I'm going to jump in and give you even more choices! On the strenght of the Gagdet Show review of hiking boots, I bought a pair the Salomon Cosmic 4D GTX, which they highly rated. I was already a fan of the Salomon brand and these have confirmed that I have excellent taste . They are expensive - the list price is about £150 - but I think think they are well worth it. They are incredibly light, comfortable (I'm often out walking literally all day) and come in funky colours, which, after all, is vitally important for the young arborist about town .

The lenghts some people will go to just to get a few days off work...

Jonesie - do you stock these ?

They look worth a try . It's a bit awkward coz I still need a good level of dexterity for the tablet PC, DBH tape, latte etc .

Bluddy heck, I wanted warm hands, not cooked hands... "Your hands will be as warm as toast (well, somewhere between 59° and 70°C) when..."

It's that time of year again when there's lot of this cold weather stuff about and, as usual, I'm having really bad problems with my hands. This is going to make me sound like a total hyperchondriac, but I've got poor circulation, I'm underweight and have a some HAVS, the result being my hands get tear enducingly painfull and completely useless. Which is really not good for a surveyer who is being paid to be outside! Other than emigrating, has anyone got any advice? I take ginkgo for my circulation, which helps, and I have all the usual outdoor kit. What else can I try?

A bit boring to echo what everyone else has written, but that's fantastic!

Before you get on to the outer layer, how about a gorgeous set of long johns? Deeply unattractive, a constant source of amusement for your colleagues but cheap as and fantastic for stopping your legs going blue . When I'm out surveying in this season, I invariably have some sort of M&S base layer on, even just a pair of leggings. They work as well as some of the more expensive motorbike understuff that I've got.

If you really want to get those extra qualifications, then I think you are either going to have to pay for them yourself or look at working for another company who will invest in you, the latter not such a bad option if my experience of working in house on't' tools for a couple of different LAs was anything to go by. Your extra training just isn't an attractive option for the masters of the budgets, unless you can arrange a little "accident" that threatens to get in the papers ?