AHPP

What doobin said. It’s forestry contractors for a load of commercially bought firewood roundwood, probably 3m lengths. 26 tonnes is a normal load. Or ask for oddments like he says. If you’re happy to put more work in, there will be one (very slim chance of two) arb contractor in your area doing the sorts of site clearance that means they have a tractor and trailer to run wood away. It’ll be all sorts of sizes and messy and bent but cheaper, possibly free. You absolutely cannot be a fanny if taking a tip from such an outfit. Being disorganised, time-picky or giving them a difficult place to tip, you won’t see them again, if the first time.

I’m very pro Barnoldswick. That’s where Hope hubs are from.

Quite.

I’ve had a bolt come out of a Petzl harness ring. Lyon sent me a whole new ring so that’s on the harness. Pretty sure I glued the threads. The old ring with an old rusty bolt that fitted became part of the dog rigging. Then it fell off that too. I’d have thought the rust would have held it in but there you go. Quick release things that are slightly too quick to release are a faint but present hallmark of Petzl. I’ll keep asking. Has the Eject killed or paralysed anyone yet?

You can beat them.

Aye. We’re exactly what we look like, middle class kids shouting about various injustices. We did a Rage cover the other night and we’ve got one that sounds so much like Rage, people have to stop and think whether it is or not. The rest of it is garden variety rock/metal/hardcore. IMG_2522.MOV I’d love to do an NWA song but there’s a nice boy from Suffolk trying to look like Zach de la Rocha and then there’s a nice boy from Suffolk trying to look like Ice Cube…

Bob Dylan. There’s another one who writes better than he performs.

Exactly the same for me. Goes nicely over a montage. Nirvana did The Man Who Sold the World better I think.

Don’t just complain about it. Rap about it. My band’s second gig, this week.

Likewise. Bowie for me.

Aye. Good on ya. I pull over to stopped cars. I know what you mean about the jumper to save manoeuvring. I once had to do a U turn on the A1 to get bonnet to bonnet.

I use a coffee grinder for black pepper. Lovely big granules.

Smashing job. There’s (pardon the pun) a whole culture around maintaining and sharing starters. Pizzerias do it too. Same dough since 1965 etc. Cooking coppicing.

I report similar.

I've got a Noco GB70 that I've never managed to use to start anything. Either it doesn't work or I'm too ****************ing thick to grasp the instructions. Anyone care to offer instruction in terms the tech-averse might understand?

Love ‘em. The puff pastry ones are nice but I’m not sure I’d let a subordinate see me eat one. Church hall issue flat ones best dry. Supermarket ones with void: two in a bowl, microwave, double cream, burn your mouth.

What's the craic with covid tests atm? Are they still the "free" NHS ones or are there others commercially available?

The British government pissed on my chips. I quite agree, a child didn't ask to be born and didn't ask to be born into circumstances where they suffer. But. Hastily reaching for dangerous ideology to feed kids in the short term and condemning them to a future of big-state paternalism in the long term is not doing them any favours. They'll get over being hungry from 5-16 a lot more easily than they will being taxed like a rape victim and worked like a dog from 16-85. 'Kiddies shouldn't starve' is an emotional response. Not one that should be ignored because there's always room for compassion but the bigger picture IS bigger. I want to see a massive increase in truly private charity stepping into areas government is trying and failing at. We have a glorious history of it. Miners' widows round my way were looked after by mutual associations that really worked and really cared. I'd feed a hungry kid on my street. So would my neighbours. So would you. You could afford to feed a hundred if you weren't paying for the cxnts in Westminster to go on TV and tell everyone about how they're going to feed kids.

I'd go as far as to say I'm right. And since you mention it, fiscal policy doesn't help. People are taxed savagely. They need to get rid of the money so they have nothing to have stolen so they do things with it they would never ordinarily do just so it can come back to them wrapped in some accountancy. Pointless economic activity causing pollution and taking resources away from more worthwhile endeavours. Residential landlording the most obvious and relatable example (which also chokes the supply of houses that other people need to live in - a bonus harm).

While in danger of sounding like a stuck record, it's once again monetary policy that is to blame. There's £100 in circulation. You have £1. You have 1% of the spending power. Tomorrow, you still have £1 and 1%. But the next day, the government prints another £100 because it wants the money to buy something. There's now £200 in circulation. Your £1 is now 0.5%. You've lost spending power. To avoid losing spending power and wealth, wealthy people spend the money on running businesses so that they have a constantly replenishing source of money and their wealth is preserved. A lot of this business is pointless stuff, generating pollution and expending resources, which drives the cost of them up for other, perhaps better, uses.

See my reply to difflock on economies of scale themselves. Also consider this on the cost of doing something privately vs the cost of government "doing" it. The government way will always be more expensive. The labour, fuel, materials etc all costs the same on both sides of the equation but when government is doing it, you're paying extra for the extra layer of bureaucracy, politicians, civil servants etc. A government administered service is always more expensive, whether you can see the cost or not. Edited to add: The reality is actually much worse when you add in corruption, incompetence, lack of accountability, lack of competition etc. Hence £9 paracetamol, £42 lightbulbs on army bases etc.

I have an early tip on some unusually high-quality magic beans about to come on the market. PM me.

Economies of scale should work but don’t in exactly the same way they don’t work for the nine quid NHS paracetamol. The contractors get the government to sign contracts that ensure they always win at the expense of the government (and in turn the taxvictim) always losing. This is why I very actively discriminate against businesses who work for state agencies. I’m pissing into a force 9 gale but you have to have standards for yourself.

We’re all part of society. Society is not the same thing as government though. People use the words, and in turn the idea, interchangeably. I’ve not got any kids. I’m aware it changes people and makes them quicker to reach for pragmatism. A hungry child obviously needs feeding and to an extent that can’t wait. But there’s pragmatism and then there’s stepping back and considering if something’s actually a good idea. Getting kids hooked on the almighty state is a dangerous path. Parents, if they stop and think, wouldn’t want their children growing up in a world being wrecked by state paternalism. The right man to father a child is his father. And stuff isn’t free. You’ve either paid for it in taxes or in harm to your future wealth. Or someone else has been forced to pay for it. Neither are free.

You are setting yourself up for serious, serious disappointment.