Bunzena

Bloomin 'eck. If that looks small in the photo...... I think it would look truly horrible after a reduction that's going to have any impact. Understand there may be sentimental value - but there a comes a time to make a hard decision. Remove and replant. The cost of which can be paid for with the savings from not having to have the lights on all day in the house.

Depends. I reckon you'd need to get the temperature of the wood up to 70 degrees [at the core] for at least half an hour. You might be able to cobble together something yourself [ with a heater] that could do the job. Or ask around for timber supplier nearby that has a drying kiln that would do the same thing.

Just about to say the same thing. The best way to deal with the woodworm would be to get the boards in a kiln and use heat to kill the larvae....

Love the fact that you've got personality into each one. Fantastic.

I'd definitely go for cable ties. We use them for something similar [although on a much smaller scale] and join them together if necessary for larger diameters. I would recommend using UV stabilised ones like this - because we do find standard ones [especially colours] do 'rot'. Cable Ties for outdoor use (UV-resistant) T150L (111-15460) | HellermannTyton WWW.HELLERMANNTYTON.CO.UK 111-15460 - Available in a wide range of materials, these cable ties all feature internal serrations allowing for a positive hold onto cable, hose and pipe bundles. The design of the head...

We use Eufy cameras and monitors. Simple to set-up and the batteries last a long time. Extra components can be added easily and the wireless range seems good. Amazon is a good source. I'd also consider one of these. We had one go off a few years ago and I could swear the prowler sh*t himself. Alarm Mine - Trip Wire 12g Saluting Blank Alarm | Freepost UK Legal WWW.ANT-SUPPLIES.UK

'Scum' is too good a word for these people. Sorry to hear your news.

It's a shame that the cost of a full time employee is so much. I can see both sides of the argument. The need to pay a decent minimum wage, a pension contribution, NI, statutory maternity/paternity, etc. - is a good thing for the employee. But the financial commitment for a small [any?] business is significant - and likely to increase. Hence the growth on zero-hours contracts and 'freelancing' across the economy as a whole. Government employment legislation makes the whole thing pretty finely balanced. Our approach has been the freelance route. It does have it's issues - but it does give us the flexibility we need. And that, in the end, swayed things for us. Every situation is different - but it's a really tough call. I think if you can find someone who is honest, motivated, sees the world of work the way you do - then full time employment - and all the investment you will have to make - works. But - in our experience - people like this aren't ten a penny.

Chinese labour is cheap and the Chinese government invests it's huge export surplus in the country. China can make things very cheaply - but also has the capability to make very high quality too [check to see where your iPhone is made]. They've focussed their efforts on building an export economy on technology and basic engineering products. Just wait until they move up the value-added food chain and start making decent cars, aircraft, pharmaceuticals and get into finance. Consumers tend to think about price first and other factors second. If we don't want China to dominate the second half of the 21st Century - we need to act differently now. As for China being the world's-worst when it comes to human rights - that's debatable. Their record is far from good - but take a look at Saudi Arabia, North Korea and others. Is Huawei 'spying on us'? Probably? Possibly? No-one really knows. It does make me laugh when I think about how short our memories are - and that the US was caught 'hacking' Angela Merkel's Blackberry a few years ago. Everybody is at it. The Chinese are different from us culturally. 'Saving face' is important. That might explain why they seemed to cover-up Covid 19 at the start. But it might not. I have a friend who sits on the ONS panel here in the UK. It's a 'closed' group - so what they discuss isn't always published. At a meeting a month or so ago the discussion was around the stats they have suggesting Covid deaths might be 50%+ higher than those being quoted by the Government. Is that a cover up? As I get older - I get more sceptical. especially of so-called experts. Instead, when I hear something I like to take my time and, often, try and see an alternative point of view. Try and get the facts and then weigh-up both [or more] opinions.

Gets even more complicated when you discover that two separate species can have the same 'Latin' name. Ficus elegans is both a fig tree and a marine snail. And that 'Latin' names are sometimes 'Greek'. My head is starting to hurt....?

Looking at the 'exclusions' on Hermes website [outlining things they won't carry - and then things they won't compensate for] is eye-opener. What I Can and Cannot Send - Hermes WWW.MYHERMES.CO.UK Need to send a parcel but not sure if you can send it with Hermes? Check out our excluded items check list to see if you can send your item with us <br/> Caveat emptor.

I'm not convinced that any one of the courier companies is better than any other. If you have a duff driver or someone in the back office or warehouse that doesn't care - that's where the trouble starts. I agree with Spud. Many of the drivers are working crazy hours and delivering too many parcels. We're at the end of the runs - so often don't get a package until the end of the day - sometimes eight-thirty at night. I feel for those guys. Acerforestry - I feel your pain. I can't believe that Hermes can simply dispose of an item without getting in contact with you first. They've acted as judge and jury here. I'd be tempted to escalate. I've used the 'Resolver' service before - with decent results. For Hermes the link seems to be: Hermes Customer Service Number and Email | Resolver WWW.RESOLVER.CO.UK Find Hermes phone number. Resolver can help you raise your issue with Hermes for free. It's easy to submit it via Resolver. We will show you your rights and deliver your complaint to...

I also have one of these. Absolutely brilliant. Works well with the Mirka sanding disks - so you could have the best of both worlds. I had to buy the plastic piece that links it to a vacuum cleaner as that wasn't included with the original sander. Bought the part from Germany via ebay.

Covid has made me realise that many of the 'so-called' experts - aren't. From Chief Medical Officer through to Politicians. But then we've grown a culture in the UK of promoting the wrong kinds of people up the ladder. A mixture of sensible precautions [lockdown] undone by idiotic omissions [providing support to Care Homes]. There's no clear communication. About what this virus 'is', what it can do or how to behave. What the hell does 'Stay Alert' mean? On top of that, we have plenty of the people that have no direct experience of the pain and grief it's brought to tens [if not hundreds] of thousands behaving as if the problem is over. A vaccine will come [wonder if Novak Djokovic will make an exception?]. But until then, brace for repeated flare-ups and more appearances by Matt Hancock on TV looking increasingly worried.

We have a two-wheel tractor [Pasquali XB40] with a front mounted 90 cm flail. The Pasquali has balloon tyres and that means it’s great over rough, pot-holed ground. I can ‘mow’ around an acre of rough paddock in about an hour. It tackles anything from long grass to brambles. Diesel engine, electric start. However, it is quite hard work man-handling things around. But I have seen people mount a small seat on a set of wheels and then attach that to the back of the tractor to create a sort-of ride on. There are some videos and pictures on the net. You could go this route. A Camon/BCS two wheel tractor would do exactly the same job. I have seen these [including a flail] on fleaBay for under £2,000. The engineering is pretty basic – but there’s less to go wrong. It’s also the kind of thing that if well looked after will lose little value when you come to sell it.

Just sent the article over...

We run both Apple and PCs on our network. TBH - I'm happy with both. I do think that Windows 10 gets bad press - but with the latest major it's better than Windows 7. Swapping over to Apple will take a few days to get the 'muscle memory' for doing things slightly differently - but that's about it. Remember - if you ever wanted to run 'Windows' on a Mac - you can do so through emulation software such as Parallels. We have Macs running Win 7 and Win 10. An i9 is definitely overkill for spreadsheets etc. For a workstation rendering graphics - maybe. We run huge Excel spreadsheets with pivots, macros and VBA code on PCs with Gen 8 i5s and they snap open. Spend the money on a better screen [or screens] and external Hard Drives for backup. Or a comfy office chair if you spend a lot of time sitting at a desk! Office for Mac and Office for PC aren't entirely compatible. For instance, PowerPoint presentations created on a PC can often look different on a Mac. And I'm pretty sure that Office 365 on Mac isn't updated as often or is as current as the PC version. It's no big deal - but just take care if you want to transfer things between the two. There was a very good article in PC Pro magazine [April 2020 Edition 306] that covers the story of moving from PC to Mac. Outlines most of the issues and offers solutions. [I may be able to get the article scanned if you can't find it]. I love Apple. It's intuitive and fun to use. But iOS is a walled garden. It's deliberately pretty tamper proof. So if you are a 'tweaker' or an upgrader - it's limited. Most PCs are much more customisable [try adding a Graphics card, a new hard drive or a new CPU to a Mac] but can, occasionally, be hard work. A MacBook is 'sexy' - but have a look at a Dell XPS or an HP Dragonfly and you might see things differently. ALWAYS buy quality - but don't confuse that with a rip-roaring spec. People tend to keep Macs longer [partly, I suspect, because they can cost a lot more to replace that a PC] - but we have laptops of 10+ years still in service. Both Macs and PCs will do the job. Depends on what that job is.

Elm. Plant those that have some proven genetic resistance to Dutch Elm Disease. Occasionally I'll see a mature specimen alone in the landscape - and what a magnificent beast it is.

Have Pasquali XB40 - bought from eBay 8+ years ago. Has a Yanmar Diesel engine and electric start. As I understand it - this, Camon and Goldoni are all essentially made in the same factory - or to the same spec. I have the rotovator and a rotary plough as attachments. The rotovator will tackle most ground - but prefers something that has had some work in the past. As others have said - it will leave a 'pan' so you may end up with drainage issues. The rotary plough will tackle virgin ground. In - fact - it seems to relish it! Compared to the rotovator it cultivates a much narrower strip of land at each pass - but goes much deeper. The XB40 is a pretty versatile machine [also have a flail and trailer]. It's very strong. A couple of years ago, ran over some 10mm stranded fencing cable and although it got wrapped around the flail - did no damage at all.

Once coronavirus cases in the UK reach 2-3,000+ general restrictions on gatherings of any size, schools closing, etc. are very likely to kick in. That's when shows or events are likely to be hit. So keep an eye on those infection figures and be prepared. The impact of this Coronavirus are uncertain. Although the mortality rates overall are low [1-2%] - they aren't for certain groups. Amongst the elderly or those with an underlying heart or respiratory condition, it could be as high as 8-10%. So for anyone with elderly parents, friends or relatives - it's a significant concern. Two other things. Firstly, there is little natural resistance to this strain in the general population. So 30% or more of the population could become infected. Multiply that by the mortality rate - and it could mean huge numbers of people dying. Secondly, because this is a novel human virus - it isn't well understood. It may be it mutates quickly. In which case it will likely morph into a seasonal disease and we'll all have to learn to live with it. That ability to mutate rapidly may also affect it's potency. Being a Coronavirus - it's a close cousin of both Sars and Mers. Mers has a mortality rate of around 30%. To put that in perspective - Ebola is 50%. The more the virus does the rounds in the human population - the higher the chance it may mutate. There is also some evidence that those who have recovered still have the virus in their system and may still have some level of infectivity for the rest of us. All of this is scaring governments, scientists and the WHO. This is all 'worst case' and will almost certainly not happen. But, there is no question that our best chance to beat this thing, is to take the right measures now to stop widespread transmission. So it simply 'dies-out'. So keep an eye on those infection rates.

Have these scientists never watched Terminator???!!!

Generally after-market Routers deliver better Wifi than the box your ISP provides. [To be clear it's probably a Modem Router you're after if you want to completely replace your existing box in one]. TP Link, Netgear, Billion, etc. all produce decent alternatives that you can configure to do things like offer a guest network or kick the kids off at certain times of the day, tweak settings like SNR, etc. It's generally pretty intuitive once you've logged on to the Router [username and password required]. Whether you need a new Router, perhaps a Mesh system or [like Stubby] a Powerline Adapter setup [uses the copper wiring in the electrical circuitry of the house to transmit data] - will come down to how big your house is, whether there are WiFi 'notspots' you need to banish, how technically savvy you are and how big your budget is. You may need to get some advice specific to your circumstances. If you feel the need to have a go yourself - buy off Amazon. If you do and it doesn't offer an improvement - then you can send it back. My instinct is that if you are looking for more speed and a more reliable signal - a new router might be worth a go. You probably know this - but a router that offers WiFi at both 2.4 and 5 GHz bands means you can choose one that works best for you. 5GHz is 'faster' but has less range - 2.4 GHz is slower but has more range. You can mix the two on one Router. Then I'd almost let price be your guide. The more you pay - the more speed you'll get. A bigger box with more aerials is also generally better too. Hope that helps a bit.

We use QuickBooks and have done for nearly 20 years. The learning curve was pretty steep to start with - but now we're 'comfortable' with it. Accountancy - like all professions - has a 'wall of jargon' that you have to get through before anything makes sense. Now I even know what double-entry really means. We've tried Sage and Xero - neither of which we could get on with. But it will come down to personal preference. Most packages come as a trial version. Just set aside a fair few hours and get out the swear box. All have versions that run on some version of Windows and Mac. Like you Scraggs, we didn't want to use a cloud service - and QuickBooks does has a desktop version that doesn't rely on t'internet. We also didn't want to use 'subscription software' - which virtually all accounts packages now are. Pay £x per month this year then £x+10 next year. QuickBooks 2016 is the last version that you could buy outright. Occasionally new-old copies come up on Amazon - so if that matters - it's worth looking out for one of these. Customer support from QuickBooks has always been pretty good too. All this matters. If you do have a package that's not entirely up-to-date [and those will all be subscription based] and therefore won't file VAT via MTD - simply use bridging software to file VAT. We use a very simple package by NJT [Google 'Neilson James Technology' - other software packages are available] - and that works pretty well. People say that bridging software is just 'temporary' - but HMRC will almost certainly accept it as a means of submission for many years to come. I think they have 'other fish to fry'. Overall, my best advice would be - that if you have an accountant - ask them what they use. Then put that package to the top of your list. If you get stuck - they will probably be able to help you. You can also send them a 'copy' of your accounts and they can run 'year end' and send it back to you 'complete and adjusted'. That makes life a whole lot simpler. Most of these packages are very capable. Certainly QuickBooks does have stock control and many other features. Automatically issues invoices from quotes, can reconcile banking, file VAT, highlight ageing debt, etc. etc. It even reminds me when I need to order a new cheque book. I don't ever enjoy 'doing the accounts' - but at least I stay on top of things. It also looks a whole lot more professional to clients - and - heaven forbid - if we ever get a VAT inspection - it should make that slightly less painless as everything is ordered and correct.

Really good end result. 'Freehand' has a lot more charm. If you'd used a stencil/template - might have looked more like a memorial plaque. Incidentally - what router did you use? I tried something similar with a half-inch Triton and I was never in control. Glad I've still got all my fingers! I suspect this is much easier with a palm router....

What a great story. You've really moved things on in the last 10 years. Taken a few risks and thought carefully about the opportunities there are, what you want to do - and then gone and done it. If half the people in this country had a tenth of your drive - we'd be world-beaters. Be proud. Well done.