twobob

I am looking for an experienced Climber and Team leader to work with my team carrying out domestic tree work in the Brighton area on a subcontracting basis. My company has been going for 5 years, we have a good local reputation, are fully insured and all our work is done to a high standard. I ensure all legal and health and safety measures are in place before any work is undertaken. If you have a suitable skill set and are interested in working with us please PM me. thanks

Thank you Mr Humphries, much appreciated.

I have taken photos but for one reason or another can't post them. I'm really just after general information about this particular fungi and peoples experiences of it as opposed to a plan for this particular tree. If it is what I think it is, it was first sighted in Britain in 2008 so there is relatively little written about it.

Found this brown/grey velvety stuff which I think is Fomitiporia punctata on an Ash that is the largest feature in a domestic garden on the south coast that is opened annually to the public. The tree has been pollarded numerous times over the past decades so has a fat trunk and relatively small crown, I'm just curious if anyone knows how quickly Fomitiporia punctata can seriously undermine the stuctural integrity of the host, is it something that would be prolonged by something like re-pollarding or crown reduction to reduce the risk of limb failure or is it gonna cark it pronto? Any advice gratefully appreciated

sizing up building a new back on my 3.5t canter using Ali box section and GRP sheet, wondered if anyone could point me in the right direction for a good GRP supplier or any advice on this material as even though its commonly used I've never worked with it before, specifically thickness/strength/weight ratio and if it can be painted. any suggestions and preferences for other alternatives and lessons learnt from past experiences of this kind of thing all appreciated. Much obliged

much nicer than a prussik in many ways but it does have its problems, the spring went in mine not long after I bought it so the clutch doesn't always grab when you sit back on it which keeps it interesting, and it eats up all the slack when you climb above your anchor point. other than that it turns you from sloth to slightly quicker sloth in a couple of days

thanks all I don't generally go for anything companies contact me with and I shall adopt the same policy on this I think, thanks janey too, sound advice from someone with inside experience of councils shinanigans is valuable.

I've been approached by a comapny called dotgov who claim to work alongside council procurement officers to find small to medium companies (SME's) to carry out relatively small contracts in schools etc. Does anyone have any experience of this lot or any other company offering a similar service, it all seems fairly sound and its a low annual cost to register but could easily be an elaborate scam. Is going through a private company/agent an accepted way of winning small council contracts? any advice on this would be appreciated

Lippy, mascara and wet wipes, so even if all else fails you still look gorgeous

I eat a healthy well planned packed lunch, tins of makeral and the like, most days but my kryptonite is the introduction of Marks and Sparks in petrol stations which has to be said is a different class of petrol station crap. I'm now quite partial to a proffiterole pyramid or a trifle and their belgiun chocolate cheese cake is good, the lemons not bad either. Pricey and you can't do much for half an hour afterwards but it warms the soul and I like the fact that I have standards. (Aged 30, weight 14 stone)

Can anyone help me with the name for the aluminium that comes in sort of linkable box section that I often see used for truck sides, I think steve referred to it earlier as 'planlink' but I can't seem to find it anywhere. Is there another common name for it?

nice job I love coronets, leaves an old stick with dinity in its old age. I had the opportunity to experiment with them quite a lot working on English Heritage sites. Plenty of sketchy moments with big rip cuts but the result is excellent. have read of people ripping whole tops and limbs off with winches creating a beautifully natural effect. Also a good way to keep dead wood in trees whilst making them safe.

I'll work out how to do your fancy quote boxes at some point too

a bigger chipper will chip small stuff with ease but a small chipper will struggle when you start putting bigger stuff through I guess we all wish we had a bigger one sometimes.... thanks for the advice, all very useful, I shall scout around and see what I can find

I appreciate all the advice, thanks to everyone. I have been offered a 2004 kwikchip 222 for 3k. its meant to be 6 inch but the apperture is about 8-9 but it weighs 1100kgs and i'm not so sure my old tranny will pull it with a load. also looked at the Entec Trukloader, saw one for sale for about £2500. It deffinately looks like its got lots of spirit! and I can see by the threads that I was lead to on here that they come with bags of nostalgia for alot of people. even though I am tempted, not sure the gravity feed'll do much for my arthritis....