Big J

I think in all honesty, I'd probably opt to take Jennifer Lawrence to a desert island with me. She's got a great mix of beauty, sex appeal, ballsiness and functioning alcoholism and I think we'd have a blast. Plus the boobs. They are quite something. There was that interview on Graham Norton where they were effectively credited guests in their own right:

That's out of context man! ?

I'm off out to check out a site that I'm extracting in a couple of weeks near Glastonbury. Ash dieback, country estate, no traffic to get there

I had the TTS 800 standard, but I imported a couple of TTP600 standards too. TTP-600 Standard WWW.OLDSTATIONYARDSAWMILL.CO.UK Everything comes down to accuracy with sawmills and accuracy is largely determined by the squareness of the base. A heavily constructed mill bolted to a concrete pad is always preferable to a mobile mill. You can bolt on as many track sections as you like with the Trakmet, so no length limitation other than what'll fit in your yard and on the lorry. We cut up to 7.5m as standard off our sites.

Very interesting thread Firstly, your location is going to be a bit of an issue unless you're prepared to deliver further afield. I don't use the terms "arse end of the south west" or "middle of nowhere" every day, but I think in your case they apply ? Anyway, beams, cladding and rough fencing are a good entry point into the market. Rustic oak beams can be very lucrative, but require a lot of drying and it's stock tied up for years unless you sell green. I'd do both. As regards softwood, I'd cut beams out of either douglas or larch, or even western red cedar so long as it wasn't structural. If you're ever offered lawsons cypress, it's rather hard to cut, but has a beautiful colour and aroma and it's strong and dense. I'd get a lorry load or two of good softwood in, mill it to a small variety of standard beam sizes and I'd put them into stick. I'd mill all the cladding at 18mm and stick that too. In addition to the mill, if you're intending to focus on cladding, get a board edger. It'll allow you to sell straight edge cladding (larger market) and the offcuts from that are your stickers. As regards the mill, if it's going to be kept at your yard, I'd seriously consider a static mill like the Trakmet. They are much more solid than the mobile mills, and you can't really have too much steel in a sawmill. Their smallest mill isn't expensive and I've seen them personally and they are heavily built. Also, electric mills are much more pleasant to use as they are quieter and there are no fumes. They also cost buttons to run. I presume you have three phase? Look out for an old school edger as the new ones tend to be quite flimsy unless you spend a lot a money. In your area, I'd look at being able to supply all the parts of something like a field shelter or stable. It'll invariably work out cheaper for your customer to buy from you and they'll have the satisfaction of building something for themselves from scratch. If you're in need of some inspiration, I've a friend over near Crediton with a long running sawmilling business and I'm sure he'd be happy to show you around and chew the fat with you about it.

Likewise. Our lane is like the Promenade at Exmouth at the moment. A constant stream of walkers/runners/cyclists.

I'd be very surprised if that spruce became an issue in the coming decade. As Matty says, the ash to it's left is in an awful state and that's where I'd be directing their attention.

I'm very sorry to hear that. With covid 19 increasing the daily death rate by 30% in the UK, this is going to be something that directly affects most, if not all of us.

Two thirds aren't obese. It's 28.7% in the UK, with a further 35.6% technically overweight. This is according to BMI, which: doesn't work for tall people. I'm 6ft 8", fairly skinny at the moment at 107kg but still technically overweight with a BMI of 26. doesn't work for muscular people. Muscle is denser than fat, as skews the figure substantially. So whilst I reckon most that are obese according to the stats genuinely are, many overweight people probably don't belong in that category. So on that basis, overweight and obese people are overrepresented in the figures for severe Covid 19 cases. I'm doing a lot more exercise at the moment than usual, both cardiovascular and resistance. As such, I'm hoping to get myself properly fit over this lockdown period, which is something I've been needing to do for ages, but will also stand me in good stead if I do become ill.

Again, I agree, especially on the animal rights side of things. I was vegan for 8 years through my late teens and early 20s. It's something that I find particularly awful. But following on from that, the best way to enact sustained change is by education and not by humiliation and shaming. I do not know the best way to tackle this issue, but it's also an issue in the African subcontinent too, with bushmeat being the primary source of ebola and other such horrifying infections.

I agree. I think we're missing the point here. I'm not trying to say we all carry the guilt of the exploits of the British Empire, in quite the same way that almost everyone in Germany alive today had nothing to do with WW2. What I'm saying is that we shouldn't be quite so quick to look down our noses at other cultures because they don't adhere to our cultural or moral norms. I certainly don't for a second agree with live food markets (quite vehemently the opposite) but it pays to take a broader view of the historical context, and also to be cognisant of the fact that our culture has plenty to be ashamed of in our not to distant history. So rather than resorting to racial slurs and dengrating entire cultures, lets look at this as the start of a learning experience for everyone. Hopefully the Chinese (with diplomatic pressure from other countries) will look at the live food markets as something unsustainable and bring about their end. That can't be something that is simply legislated against though, as it requires a cultural shift to avoid the industry being pushed underground. Either way, it's above my pay grade! ?

Agreed, but as you pointed out, the Brits were more successful in their empire building exploits, so by extension had a far greater impact in the development of India and the African subcontinent than any other nation. Having reaped the benefit of those exploits, collectively and historically, the country has a responsibility to acknowledge that impact. Or you could divorce yourself from reality and be like Jacob Rees Mogg and say that the concentration camps in the Boer Wars were there for the protection of the people in them! ? ?

I agree. But just because they did it too doesn't absolve us of responsibility.

I'll take that as a compliment, but you overstate my prowess. I have a functioning, low level pub quiz type general knowledge. Nothing more!

I disagree. The British empire ruined many an advanced civilisation in it's time. India was a leading economy, an advanced civilisation, before the British decimated country for it's own gain. The Opium Wars with China effectively came about due to Chinese resistance to the British inebriating their population with thousands of tonnes of opium. The British took Hong Kong as a result. I'm not saying that we personally have responsibility for these events - that would be daft. However, the British Empire really did a number on huge swathes of the world and to claim otherwise is incorrect.

Remember folks, important advice from Mitchell and Webb as regards working from home:

I think you are exaggerating the regard with which China regard the west. The Chinese own half of Africa now, and with the African subcontinent developing as an emerging market (as well as 1.3 billion Indians), we in the west are a declining market. I dearly hope that we see an improvement in animal welfare in China. Not simply for the preservation of our own species, but simply for the sake of the poor animals involved. It's just a different culture, with a different moral compass and whilst it's not possible to draw direct parallels with Western Civilisation, it wasn't that long ago that we had concentration camps or America had the institutionalised barbarism that was slavery. Give them time. We expect the rest of the world to develop morality in accordance with our own views on the matter. Quite apart from the fact that such a view is extremely arrogant, we forget that we've had two millenia to steadily form our national identity, our moral compass. This has coincided with a more organic adoption of new technologies and philosophies. And we often conveniently forget that Britain had a spectacularly prominent role in exploiting the world for it's own gain during the 18th, 19th and 20th century, bringing our version of 'civilisation' to cultures that we perhaps not yet equipped to have it thrust upon them. I say this with the proviso that I in no way defend some of the morally abhorant cultural practices found China (such as live food markets) but that the situation is in no way black and white and we have played our role in their histories and we are certainly far from innocent in the matter.

All Timpsons shops have closed, in light of the Coronavirus crisis. Who would have through it? Key workers aren't key workers!

That there is pretty much the end of civilisation Ken. Having to turn down free cake and tea. Also, just think of all that wonderful ale that's been brewed for pubs that are now shut. It's all going to go to waste ?

I'm out this morning to inspect a woodland we're starting at in a few weeks. Have to check extraction routes and other such things. On my own on Exmoor, I'm as isolated as it gets. I'm expecting to get stopped by the Fuzz on the highstreet though. They've been checking a lot of people lately, and rightly so. The site I'm going to is supplying chipwood for heating and sawlogs for Pontrilas, both of which are key industries.

There is apparently a test coming shortly for antibodies. Within weeks, it's indicated. Those who have had the infection (often unwittingly) will have the antibodies and therefore will not be contagious, even if still testing positive. Please do correct me if I'm wrong there. My understanding is that some people appear to be reinfected with covid 19, but it's largely asymptomatic and they are not infectious. Those that have the antibodies would then be able to resume normal day to day life, as they don't represent a risk to the uninfected.

I'm glad you're all doing OK. It's great that we're able to talk so openly about our health now. I'm not sure it'd be the same with a chlamydia pandemic ?

I'd obviously have to see the end cut off, but those bark occlusions just hint at walnut possibly. The bark just isn't quite right for ash. I only milled (I think) 4 or 5 walnut in all my time in Scotland and each of them had bark occlusions like that.

It's OK if: You can value add to your end product. So if you run a timber framing business, or perhaps a fencing company If you can find a niche. Ours was timber for beehives and national sales of sawn elm. If you're very good (and patient) at grant applications. There are lots of grants available. We never bothered. You can combine it with a mutally beneficial business enterprise. So we did a lot of elm harvesting/merchanting (especially veneer grade) at the same time. There are many ways to make it work well, but it's an episode I'm done with. Always happy to help anyone else get going in it, as it's good fun.