Big J

We get very, very little ash from our fire. I empty about 15-18 litres of ash per month from it with an average of 3 cube of firewood and all the waste put through it.

Agreed. Unfortunately we don't have much of a reuse culture here. In Germany, most liquids are sold in bottles with a deposit payable at the point of sale. You get it back when you take it back and it's just the done thing. Makes sense to me.

We burn absolutely everything that is combustable from October through to April. Our 20kw burner is on almost all the time, and even tetra paks go in there. It reduces our recycling output to 20% of summer level (just glass and cans) and our general waste reduces by about 50% too. I only burn cardboard when the fire is cold. Has to get up to temperature before I put anything else on it.

One thing that is worth noting is that the auto boxes fitted to pickups tend to be pretty basic compared to those fitted to less utilitarian vehicles. There are obviously better ones and worse ones. I test drove an auto Navara a year and a half ago and it wasn't great. Nor were the Ranger 3.2 (with the 6 speed auto) and the Ssangjong Musso. I imagine that the VW Amarok is better and the 10 speed auto in the newer Rangers too. That said, the Touareg's auto box is pretty slow to respond in normal mode, but it's snappy in sports mode. The DSG gearbox in the Seat we have is miles better though. But just to be clear. I would never buy a manual again. I love driving. I regard myself as being pretty good at it and enjoy it as a hobby (just not in the West Country with the stupid f*cking farmtrack-esque, covered in mud/cow shit/potholes/ice/standing water, ridiculously narrow, pointlessly indirect 18th century lanes) but modern autos make driving an alltogether more pleasant experience.

I get better than that with my 5 litre V10 Touareg! 🤣 31mpg is the best I've had on a long run. 16mpg the worst on heavy towing on back roads.

I tried to resist the temptation to post in the Youtube comments, but failed. There really are some olympic level cock wombles there. Firstly, do the public not realise that the English countryside is almost totally artificial? It's a managed environment. There is virtually nothing that is natural or ancient. Secondly, do they all eschew the usage of timber products? Thirdly, are they all total morons? Any idiot can educate themselves as the benefits of a sustainable forestry industry if they drop the notion that felling a tree is always wrong. Fourthly, why does the rest of Europe understand the need for forestry but the UK is so hostile? Fifthly, why is Nigel Farage such an insufferable cnut?

I think that I just got some bog standard lights from eBay for my Logbullet and they've been great. Loads of extra light.

Auto every day. I have a Berlingo van and I wish I'd stumped the extra grand for the auto box. The touareg I have is auto and it's so much easier to tow with. Modern autos are faster, more efficient and much easier to drive.

Before I properly advertise them, I thought it prudent to let you guys know that I'll have my Komatsu 840tx and Valtra N92 forestry tractor for sale in the new year. This is due to me downsizing my machinery lineup to a single small/midsized forwarder, as that's the direction my work is going. The Komatsu is: 2014, 8030hrs Excellent condition, fully serviced tracks, front and back. The second set of tracks is brand new 850 litre grab tank spare (new) tyre and wheel various spares, track tensioners etc £115k plus VAT It's a very productive and relatively compact machine. Fairly low running costs and equally at home in thinnings or on a clearfell The Valtra is: N92, 2010, just under 4000hrs Botex 560 crane, which was installed new at 2000hrs Fully serviced, excellent condition Spare rear tyre Taifun 65 winch, fully rebuilt in summer £42k plus VAT It's a very compact, nimble tractor which is ideal for tight access arb and forestry work. These will be getting prepped for sale over the next 3-4 weeks, with both machine fully inspected and any outstanding issues rectified. Please get in touch if either machine is of interest to you.

The Woodland Trust do seem to draw a fair amount of ire from a certain type: https://www.facebook.com/saveraincliffewoods1 I had a go at educating the woman that runs the page, and whilst I feel it wasn't entirely pointless, it's not really done anything to change her mind. With the historic lack of a forestry industry in the UK, there are quite a number of people for whom cutting trees down is always wrong. Nothing will dispell them of that belief. Additionally, there is no understanding that productive woodlands can also be amenity woodlands. Look at just about any country in Europe. In the case of the woodland Mr Farage is complaining about, it's likely to be partly safety (infected ash by public rights of way - it's remarkable how quickly the Commission will approve a licence for that) and partly habitat improvement. Wider woodland rides is the standard policy for the Woodland and National Trust. We've done plenty of it ourselves.

Continuing the SNL Christmas theme:

When is a door not a door? When it's a jar.

If you can't beat them...... 🤣

Got fired from Bisto the other day. I'm gutted - I really thought I was on the gravy train.....

Jesus, what have I started here? It's like you were all itching to get your dad/6 year old jokes out and I opened the bloody floodgates!!

I'm not sure if it's a little too close to reality to be comfortable, but I love this sketch:

A couple my 6 year old daughter told me today: * what do you call a sleeping male cow? A bulldozer * why did the spider use the computer? To check his website I'm not sure which are worst - dad jokes or 6 year old jokes!

Well, firstly, I'd stop having sweaty sex parties in there 😎 Secondly, I'd consider a dehumidifier. The other options is insulating it.

Serious uncertainty regarding forestry. Almost all machinery is made abroad. What will the import tariffs be? What will the delay on parts be? What will the exchange rate do? Many will talk about it being good for the industry that we might not import so much, but the UK isn't anywhere close to having the volume and quality of timber required to support it's own needs. 80% of timber is imported, and we're not able to grow the quality of contruction/joinery material required by many market sectors, as most species grow too quickly here. Some of you might have noticed that I'm a little anti-Brexit, and that is very much the case as regards forestry. Coupling all the Brexit issues with the covid 19 issues, and you've got huge problems. Then add an inevitable Indepedence vote in Scotland next year and you've got the plot to a really boring Hollywood disaster movie - "The Breakup of Brexit Britain - a Covid-magedon"

We work with Bryan Elliot and purchase the eucalypts we plant from him. We've (in conjunction with Bryan) also set up a local nursery here in Devon growing them too, and have 41,000 euc. nitens growing there. They however won't be suitable for Warwick though due to frost risk. Give him a bell though and say Jonathan put you in touch: About us – Eucalyptus Renewables EUCALYPTUSRENEWABLES.CO.UK

I really like GQT. Always a giggle. They were talking about fertilising a ladies (holly) bush in full knowledge of the 'oooh errr missus' implications today

You can thank Gardeners Question time for that. It was pun-tastic today!

How does a tree get online? It logs on. I'll get my coat ?

I'm very, very injury prone. Grew too quick in my teens and ligament strength is pants. I'll have a pop at getting fit for it. It's an interesting challenge that doesn't take up too much of my time.