John Russell

Only makes sense if you've already got a PTO-driven hydraulic splitter and occasionally want to use it without a tractor. All those gearboxes, shafts and then a hydraulic pump -- can't be very energy-efficient. I would have thought a direct-driven electric splitter would make more sense if you intend to use it a lot. Best wishes, John Russell

Sometimes when you've been working for someone for a long time, the grass starts to look greener for them and they want to try someone else. However whatever you do, don't burn your boats. Be philosophical and leave the door open -- and don't drop your prices to try to win him back. Some of my best clients went away and then came back stronger -- having learnt the hard way that I do a good job and at a good price. OK, my day job is not in arb -- but the principle is the same whatever the service you provide. Best wishes, John Russell

Don't forget that when a call goes through a switchboard it often come up as a withheld number. If you only deal with domestic customers that's fine -- but you could be missing out on jobs from large companies, local authorities, etc. To get rid of nuisance sales calls use the telephone preference service. Costs nothing and should work. It's illegal to make 'cold' sales calls to a 'phone number signed up to this service. If someone calls you to sell something, just ask, "have you checked my number with the telephone preference service? Well, please delete this number from your data base." They usually ring off like it's a hot potato. Sorry, it's UK only -- I'm not sure whether there are equivalents in other countries. Best wishes, John Russell

Yes, but we (the British public) put them in there.

The UK market is very small compared with non-European markets where -- as I'm sure you all know -- the cost of fuel is often very low (or so it seems to us). North Americans think that diesel is only for trucks -- they are invariably astonished if you tell them as a Brit that your car or even pick-up is diesel. As a consequence the big international manufacturers, historically, have only tended to make gasoline (petrol)-powered equipment. Indeed, I think I'm right in saying that Honda and several other Far-Eastern manufacturers only make petrol-powered quads and lawnmowers for instance, and it's only recently that a few have started to make diesel versions as it's slowly dawned on them that there's a market for them. Another reason diesel tends not to me used for small equipment is that petrol 2 strokes are a lot simpler (hence cheaper) and produce a lot more power for a given weight compared with alternative engines -- which is of course crucial with hand-held equipment. The only reason I can see why a campaign to reduce the tax of alternative fuels for hand-held ag. or arb. equipment might fall on politicians' deaf ears, is that if as a result it becomes cheap, the treasury might be concerned that people will put it in their cars instead of their chainsaws. And the introduction of 'red petrol' might create a whole new tier of cost if it is to be policed. However I wish you luck with the campaign. Best wishes, John Russell

As Churchill said, "...democracy is the worst form of Government -- except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.… ". Best wishes. John Russell

'Avoiding' tax is legal. 'Evading' tax is illegal. 'Freeloading' is something completely different and wasn't the subject of this thread. Best wishes, John Russell

Maybe too many people are evading their tax responsibilities? Best wishes, John Russell

The heart is considered vital -- the knees less so. Maybe that's the reason? Best wishes, John Russell

Looks like deer. I use these, from this company. Not cheap -- but then neither are fruit trees. Best wishes, John Russell PS: They're available up to 1.8 metres.

Nobody enjoys paying a tax bill but just remember you're paying for the roads you drive round on; the schools your kids go to; the hospital that patches you up when you fall out of a tree; the basic pension your mum/gran gets -- and a lot more besides. It's pretty good value really when you think what it's like living in some countries. Never resent paying your tax bill. Best wishes, John Russell

Interestingly the adverts are not actually louder, as the technical transmission standards ensure that everything is at the same level; however they do seem louder. That's because they use what is called 'compression' to the maximum on the commercials. In essence, regular programmes have a greater dynamic range (the difference between the loud and quiet elements of the sound) but with commercials they electronically compress the sound and then lift it all to the highest level permitted. Sorry to get technical. Compression is explained here Note: if you find the article heavy-going, the interesting bit is at the end. Enjoy! Best wishes, John Russell PS: the Halifax ad drives me crazy too. I just want to smack 'em all round the mouth.

You've dug it at the right time of year. Make sure it's watered regularly. The soil it's in must be kept moist, as its ability to cope with even minor drought will be non existent. You are likely to get some die back -- probably from the top -- but it should come again, though of course it might not then be quite as pretty. I've observed with my trees that silver birches seem to be more temperamental than many other trees. Interestingly, I think you'll find that if you transplant a 7 metre tree and a 1 metre tree at the same time, after ten years you'll probably find that they're both the same size! Transplanting can really knock them back hard at that size depending on how well it's done, while when they're small they don't even seem to notice. As far as its value ('cos clearly you want to sell it), I'd say about £250, but I think you'd have to sell it with some kind of guarantee because it's highly likely to die in the process of transplanting. Best of luck with it. Best wishes, John Russell

Actually, you're right. A very knowledgeable old farmer friend of mine always tells me that oxen are best -- slower but more stamina, he says. And you can milk them and eat them (not that you can't eat a horse -- if you're French). Best wishes, John Russell

Very wise, cousin Jack. If anyone ever asks me what I see as a business opportunity, I always say "get into breeding heavy horses". That's the future! What people haven't realised yet is that without massive quantities of diesel to keep the 60 gallon fuel tank on his John Deere full, a farmer can only grow as much food as me or thee on our allotment. Best wishes, John Russell

Get in touch with your council straight away. The first high wind that comes along will probably have it over. Best wishes, John Russell

I love the bit, " the 'tree-feller' can be slung on poles and carried about by four men...". What's interesting is when predicting the future, invariably people can only think that we'll just have better/bigger/faster/more advanced versions of the same things as exist now; whereas the reality is that 9 times out of 10 something completely unexpected always comes along to change things in ways we cannot imagine. Best wishes, John Russell

Well said, henchard! The world needs the cost of oil to go up now to create pressure to ensure that we start to research alternative technologies like there's no tomorrow. Otherwise you'll be paying £100 a gallon for oil in ten year's time. Sorry if that's not a popular thing to say. And just to correct something said by John Burgess earlier, "The interest on the money we [borrowed] over the last few years is staggering; well over £100 million a year... ", the actual amount the country pays in interest is over £119 million each and every day. See this site for more interesting details.

The government rules on pensions require that a pension fund is managed on your behalf by a pensions management company. This is the one that handles mine. Based on my experience you should allow fees of around £500 per annum (as you see from their website, there are no set-up fees). There is no way of getting round this as the money in your pension fun is tax-free funds and the government wants to ensure you don't get tempted to blow it all. So it's ring fenced for your retirement. Just to clarify; the pensions management company actually owns the asset (woodland or commercial property) on your behalf -- it's their name on the deeds. £500 might seem a lot but this is much lower than a financial adviser would charge for a monetary pension pot where, particularly in the first year of setting up a fund, they could receive commission from the pension provider that could be as much as 50% of your monthly contributions. My financial adviser was really shirty with me when I said I wanted to close all my funds and put the money into a SIPP -- he knew a nice little earner was disappearing. Best wishes, John Russell

I put all my pension into woodland in 2005 as part of a 'SIPP' -- self-invested pension plan. You must be self-employed to do this. The government requires that the wood is purchased by a pensions management company on your behalf and you lease it from your pension fund at an agreed rent. Any rent you pay obviously goes directly into your pension fund and eventually there could be enough in the fund to buy some more woodland. And of course the asset grows in value all the time. Woodland has increased in value dramatically since 2005 (typically x3) and will continue to rise -- because, as they say, 'they don't make it any more'. I would have thought that anyone who earns a living from woodland would see this as an excellent investment for a pension. Better than fancy funds the 'financial advisers' make a killing from. And there's nothing so nice as taking a walk through your pension fund, listening to the birdsong Best wishes, John Russell

How much land do you have? Less than 10 acres and it's not considered to be capable of supporting an agricultural of forestry operation and it will be almost impossible to get planning for a building. It also helps if you provide employment in the local area. It also depends on whether you have any neighbours that could object. The planners get interested if your proposed development is within sight of a road or neighbouring properties. Best wishes, John Russell

I think you'll find that the quote, more accurately, was "an area of rain forest the size of Wales was being destroyed every year". Deforestation is a major issue and I don't think many people think it's a lie. This is a... [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7gpAy4ivZ0]Greenpeace film about the Amazon [/ame] It explains that expiration by trees puts moisture in the air and creates rainfall. As the trees are cut down and the land is turned over to corn and soy growing the amount of moisture in the air drops and thus results in drought. Best wishes, JR

No offence! Of course, unprecedented events are nothing new but some people are asking whether the number of unprecedented extreme weather events in the last years is, well, unprecedented; and is the result of climate change. But don't take any notice of me. it seems even China is realising they need to do something about the problem. It surprised me: US elected politicians (and Australia's) are now totally in denial: but China gets it, and is acting. Best wishes, John Russell

I'm sorry if it offends those who have made up their minds on the matter, but the evidence is accumulating and I for one cannot ignore it. It looks like Richard Black the BBC's environment correspondent is concerned too. As are a large number of the world's scientists. And here's a few more. Now persuade me I'm wrong by providing links to your evidence that what's happening in the Amazon and elsewhere is not a disaster that the fossil-fuel burning activities of humans are making worse.

I hope you're right, Steve. However, there's not much evidence that commenter has on which to base such a ridiculous comment. I would have thought everyone knows that mature trees don't grow back in two years. 2010 and the start of 2011 has been characterised by a significant number of extreme weather events spread across the globe. While any one on its own is not statistically significant, the whole lot when taken together suggests a high probability of climate change. I don't think anyone can deny that, though I'm sure many will.