Squaredy

Agreed. In fact it is even worse than you state. Much of the salmon we produce is flown to the USA. And most of the salmon we eat is from Norway. With cod it is even more bizarre. The best cuts go abroad, the cheaper cuts stay in the UK.

Mmmm now that sounds very familiar......!

I don’t think many people think trade with the EU is a bad idea. It is handing over our sovereignty that people don’t like. When I was young we were members of the EEC otherwise known as the common market. Then without ever consulting the public John Major Took us into the EU. That is the European Union. Quite different from a free trade area.

Personally for me it is not about benefits. Our governments of all colours over the last twenty five years or so have mis-managed most things. But I find this easier to stomach than foreign unelected Eurocrats and foreign courts mismanaging us. But to answer your question, one benefit is we have saved about 20 billion in net contributions since leaving. So maybe our ‘Black Hole’ is a little smaller than it would otherwise have been.

Well I guess the remainers must be celebrating. We are now in effect back in the EU. Here is a quote from Martin Howe KC one of the leading experts in EU law, writing today about Starmer’s reset: Brexit was all about getting back control of our laws, our borders and our money. A Brexit in which we formally leave the European Union but still follow its laws is senseless. We lose our freedom to choose our laws, and we don’t even have a vote on the shape of the laws which continue to govern us. Such has been the political rush to get the Starmer reset deal announced that no actual legal text has been agreed. Instead, there are a series of vague aspirational documents containing agreements of principle. But they are concrete enough to reveal an astonishing series of concessions and surrenders by the Starmer government to the EU in return, as far as one can see, for nothing at all. This pulls the UK back into the EU single market across the whole field of food and agriculture. It is a flagrant breach of Labour’s 2024 election manifesto promise that there will be no return to the single market. The UK will be obliged to ‘dynamically’ apply EU rules. This means that whenever the EU changes its rules in this field, the UK must follow. In addition, those rules will be interpreted under a dispute resolution mechanism which ensures that the ECJ is ‘the ultimate authority’ on the interpretation of those rules. Thus, not only will we be accepting a huge body of foreign law to apply across the country, but we will also be accepting that that law is to be interpreted by a foreign court. And not just any court, but a court with a track record of ignoring legal texts in order to further the European project. Enjoy the EU Arbtalkers!

I am no fan of Starmer or Macron, but on this occasion I think it was just a tissue and a stirrer.

I am a bit late with this, but I happened to be reading about this poor man today. Retired special constable from Gillingham arrested for posting tweet warning against anti-Semitism WWW.KENTONLINE.CO.UK A former special constable had his home searched and devices seized before being cuffed for replying to a pro-Palestine tweet. To save you having to search in the article for what he actually posted online this is it: "One step away from storming Heathrow looking for Jewish arrivals…". That doesn't make much sense, but it was in a response to another post complaining about the then home secretary. The post was only seen by 27 people. and no-one complained about it. Incredibly it was Kent police themselves who spotted it and decided the poor man must be arrested and his house searched.

I sort of don't get how any small firm can offer proper apprenticeships these days. The thought of paying someone £12,000 for you to train them for a year, and then £16,000 to train them again in year two, never mind the relentless paperwork and red tape. I am probably being a bit negative, and I do get that someone who is really keen could actually be useful in year one and two; but many youngsters straight out of school or college won't even know how to tie their shoelaces, and trying to keep someone like that not only occupied but constantly supervised sounds like something you would pay to avoid. Never mind that if after three years of hard work moulding them to be a safe efficient productive worker they leave. In larger companies where there are structures, and well established processes and procedures it might work out.

Yeah thanks Les; I have wondered about pad sanders over the years. But I was thinking more for multiple narrow boards like internal cladding for instance.

Has anyone got experience of using a brush sander on rough sawn timber? I am wondering if this might be a useful service to offer instead of planing when a customer wants a sanded finish but does not need actual planed timber. Most of the information on t’internet is about fine sanding of complex pieces and profiles, whereas I am thinking just a way of finishing simple boards in a rustic way. Thoughts?

I don't often defend our current government, but it seems that in reality this is a very common practise and already applies to many countries including all EEA countries, Norway, Canada, Australia, Japan, US, Korea, New Zealand and many others. In other words most of the developed world. Next time I need to employ someone I will look for a foreigner!

I think the problem with the rape gangs is the cover up. Just like Jimmy Saville and others at the BBC it is the fact that the establishment knew what was going on and chose/choose to keep quiet about it. Unlike Saville’s actions however the rape gangs are still active. And as for nationality, the police forces have confirmed that Pakistani men are far more likely to take part than others.

Why don’t you post some photos so we can see what is on offer? Also it might make a difference if you are able to arrange haulage.

Hedgerows are full of elm in much of England and Wales, and sadly they don’t grow very big, but probably plenty big enough for a few bow staves. But I have no idea which elm they are - probably mainly English elm.

Interesting. Certainly the weight is very noticeable - as if the timber is freshly milled.

And is it really resinous and sticky? That is the only real drawback I have found with the pine I have handled recently. It planes fine, but sanding is almost impossible.

It may not be the best firewood, but it will dry super fast, so worth having.

Yes of course there is some value there, and you can cut the stems into helpful lengths so the owner can sell them. If after a few weeks they realise it is rather a lot of effort and not bringing in any cash then they could ask you to quote for their removal. As has already been said, don’t get involved. Transport costs for the logs will make it a fool’s game.

Finally I remembered to take some pictures of the installed worktop.

Thank you for the suggestions. I will look into them. I have never used Osmo oil, but what I hear all the time is that it is good, but pricey. And I will have around 50 square metres of the timber to treat, so the cost will matter more than if it were just a piece of furniture I had made. Research needed. Thank you.

I am currently milling some Norway Spruce which of course is a very light coloured timber. I wish to preserve this natural colour as far as possible rather than let it go golden. Any suggestions of what finish will achieve this? It is for internal cladding so it is a fairly large area and not subject to weather or even sunlight. But of course I do want it to be cleanable. Suggestions greatly appreciated.

What a shame that wasn’t milled about three years ago. But as has been said maybe there might be some good in it as it is a decent diameter. I suggest cutting it in the middle, or into several lengths that would work well for milling - maybe ten foot or so. This will show you what it is like in the middle. If it cuts really easily and it’s a bit soft and pappy right through I wouldn’t even bother for firewood. Looking at the cut ends will tell you how far gone it is. Even the chips from the cut will tell you what the timber is like if you are used to cutting ash.

Why not post a couple of pictures of the log here? Some advice may be given about the viability of milling. Some of it might even be helpful…

I suppose the fundamental question is why are we still allowing our laws to be partly made abroad? Remember the Al Quaeda cleric Abu Qatada whom the government finally managed to deport after 13 years of trying, directly blocked by the ECHR. This one case alone cost the UK taxpayer an estimated £1.7 million. Don’t pretend the ECHR has no power!

The ECHR was established soon after the Second World War. Its aim was to stop the type of massive human rights abuses that occurred in WW2. Clearly it has failed in this objective. Funnily enough despotic regimes simply ignore it. Turkey are still signatories, and even Russia used to be until 2022. Therefore does it achieve anything? Of course it removes the ability of the countries that are signed up to it to govern themselves to a degree; by giving this power to unelected judges. I am sure we have all heard about the ridiculous cases like the man who couldn’t be deported last month because his son didn’t like continental chicken nuggets (I am not making this up). It also gave some UK prisoners the right to vote against our governments wishes. But does it ever achieve anything good? And why did we in 1998 incorporate it into uk law, so that any law now can be challenged by the ECHR? For instance if the assisted dying bill becomes law no doubt someone with an unusual condition will claim they are being discriminated against, and the original purpose of the bill will be amended.