Arbgirl

That looks like those pesky squirrels with marker pens again, Dean

Bloomin' vermin!

Hi Andy,

Thanks for the info - its a Villager C so none of this chinese toot!

And yes, I do shut it right down and it ticks over happily, all ropes are serviced and restuck/replaced if necessary as and when required. I only have a small living room so I dont need too much heat, and when it burns too hot it just seems a waste of fuel!

The time it got so hot that I thought it was going to glow red hot was when a visitor who thought he was being helpful decided to light the fire using the briquettes! He put about 25-30 in the stove (its only little!) and then opened everything up! I swear if I had gone outside that flames would have been licking out of the top of the chimey!People seem to think that it needs to be roaring like a jet engine with all vents open to get heat into a room when in fact all the heat goes up the chimney! When I burn logs I get it going then shut it right down and leave it to tick over slowly so that the heat radiates into the room and doesnt go right up the chimney! Im also lazy and like it if I can get away with stoking it only twice a night! Also the briquettes arent cheap round here (even with my fluttering eyes and low cut top "discount") - I pay around £3 a small (10kg?) bag! They are brilliant for getting a fire going instantly - as i just bung in a few sheets of screwed up newspaper - add 5 briquettes and 1 log - 20 mins later instant fire with no faffing about! Works everytime!

I shall stop refusing softwood as I have lots of access to it at work - and it is free! I have been converted!!

Dont switch AVG off or anything until you have run a removal tool

Sounds like Antivirus 2009 (thats the name of the virus)

You need an uninstall tool such as this one

How to remove Antivirus 2009 (Uninstall Instructions)

If you dont like clicking links then google antivirus 2009 removal

Piptoporus betulina that sounds like

My birch tree is in a pot and looked like those - until I watered it! It lost a few leaves and they went yellow but it has perked up and recovered now. It just needed a drink. Watering them cant hurt, see if that perks them up. Failing that then it could be Piptoporus or Armillaria as suggested earler.

Here's some squirrel damage - sorry, dont have any close ups

You soppy lot:lol:

There's ladies watching you know:001_tt2:

I'd certainly pay up if you turned up in Lycra:001_tongue:

An old tree surgeon in Sussex once used a novel tactic to get paid

He had supplied and fitted a large Christmas tree for an outside display in someones large garden. The tree was delivered, decorated and covered in Xmas lights (240v mains)

When the customer refused to pay - he went along with his saw and felled it complete with decs!

The customer paid up next day and then asked him to put the tree back up!!!!

Needless to say , he nearly became the Xmas fairy that sits on top of the tree - with where the TS told him he could stick the tree!!

https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome

You can file small claims court action online

It costs from £25

You need to send a "letter before action" to show the debtor that you intend to file small claims court action - sometimes it helps if you enclose a copy of the completed Small claims documents with the letter before action. Give them 7 days from receipt of the letter to pay - this is normally enough to get people to cough up - as threat of a CCJ is quite a good bargaining tool

Sadly - if they dont pay and it does go to court - you may then have to employ legal debt collectors to enforce the debt - although you can pass all associated costs onto the debtor (including your court fees/loss of earnings to attend court/travel costs/hotel bills if you need to stay overnight near the court etc.). The debtor can apply to have the hearing at their local court and if you incur any extra expense as a result you can add it to the debt

I would try the threat of small claims - send the letter before action by recorded delivery with a copy of your court docs and they will probably pay up!

I have a woodburner that works very well, despite the chimney being unlined, it gets too hot to get near at times! Its in a large inglenook that presumably was an open fire originally. I do burn briquettes that are softwood based, with no problems, but then they are very dry when burnt. I tend to just use them to get it going as they burn too hot and I am worried about the stove cracking or glowing red hot due to the excessive heat they chuck out!

The draw is brilliant, and adding a liner isnt an option due to cost and asbestos fire boarding which will cost lots to remove legally, and would probably cause more of a health risk being removed that it does at present being left alone.

I shall consider softwood more in future then, if it is a myth that it will tarr up the chimney - thanks for the advice and interesting thread:001_smile:

not the work of these guys by any chance?

Erm no, mine was built by millworkers about 300 years ago.......its great, in places you can see the hand prints of the men who built it - where it is smoothed by hand

I have always understood that softwood causes tarring up of chimneys unless very well seasoned - maybe this is a myth - although my sweep says I would need the chimney swept more often if I burnt softwood? I have an unlined cob chimney - not sure if that makes any difference?

I only use softwood as kindling

If it isnt true about the resins fouling up the chimney faster then I may burn more softwood!

Just shows.....

Mother Nature was a woman - with a sense of humour:001_tt2::001_tt2:

http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/tree-health-care/18526-horse-chestnut-leaf-miner-bleeding-canker.html

Link to Ruperts Dissertation

"Lancelot, go and change your armour!":lol:

LOl I love the speed that you guys run away at!

Reminds me of the Knights of the Round Table from the Holy Grail!! "run away, run away!":lol:

Forest Research - Horse chestnut leaf miner - Cameraria ohridella

Royal Horticultural Society | Advice Search | Horse chestnut leaf blotch

http://www.forestry.gov.uk/fr/INFD-6YUBY5

yes:lol:

Its pretty much flat out so get good at doing the surveys etc as fast as you can!

I have to say that when I failed a unit I didnt receive any notification at all - they only seem to let you know if you passed! If you did the course through a college the results should go direct to the college who will let you know - as colleges are on holiday the results can be delayed

Contact your college and if no joy, ABC and see when you should expect results - dont think I have seen anyone posting their results yet on here - so I dont think anyone else has their results either...

Good luck

What the f - err Heck is going on there??

I would be straight onto the LA Planning Dept and get a stop notice slapped on those developers straight away

Not in line with BS5837 and the lack of removal of that tree makes me wonder if a tree survey, protection plan etc has even been done!!

That tree should have been removed before work commenced anyway - not sure that tree protective fencing would benefit a tree that should be removed anyway?

Any idea why it hasnt been removed already?

It took 6-8 weeks to get the results from the management exercises held in May to come through - not sure if the written papers are marked faster than the management exercises?

You could try contacting ABC direct to ask?

ABC Chorley Office

Duxbury Park

Duxbury Hall Road

Chorley

Lancashire PR7 4AT

Tel: 01257 241428

Forestry Commission - plant health - P ramorum in South West England

Just found this bit too - might be useful?

I still think you need to speak to the FC as you cant go ahead without the licence and they will be able to give you helpful advice and information on what you can and cant do..

I think the Forestry Commission are the ones in charge of disease control

If burnt it looks like it must be at special waste incineration plants - P.ramorum is rife in the Plym valley at the moment with thousands of larch being felled - they must be debarked before transportation by the looks of it, and require a licence from the Forestry Commission before they can be transported

I would speak to the Forestry Commission dedicated staff about how you can legally go about getting rid of it

I have the same problem at the moment - we will be working on a site on Exmoor where P.ramorum is confirmed (in larch plantation, all of which is to be removed)- so we will have to go through all the boot washing and spraying/tool sterilisation etc after each work day - which will add extra costs and require extra time to take all the disease reductions measures required by the Forestry Commission. As my workers work at many different sites - good disease prevention measures are imperative - as we would not want to spread the disease to other woods we work in....

Contact at Forestry Commission for the SW

Forestry Commission’s South West England office at Mamhead Castle, Mamhead, Nr Exeter, Devon EX6 8HD. Tel: 01626 890666; fax 01626 891118; email: [email protected]

Forestry Commission - plant health - p ramorum in south west england

Also see this

You'll need a special licence to take any off site - speak to the Forestry Commission

Looks like there may be a chance help with the cost of removal for the owner