agg221

If you try combining these the results could be spectacular, if short lived... Alec

Sounds like it. Unless you really like your current bank, you could try opening a Santander 123 current account which will pay 3% interest on up to 20k. Check the other requirements though to see if it is suitable, but it gives the best instant access rate I can find. Alec

If you do the work before March you are at no risk of beetles moving so could transport off site, certainly for kilning. It depends how big they are, but if a mobile bandsaw will handle them and you can borrow a telehandler you may get through them in two days, which will be cheaper than big saw plus bar and chain plus mill plus fuel, irrespective of time. Alec

Yes, very much so. Size and situation would determine whether to mill with an Alaskan or hire in a band mill - the latter will cut a lot faster and give better yield. Pictures, size and a rough location would be great - also are they dead or coming out for another reason? I am gradually trying to assess what is still around in the way of surviving elms. Alec Edit: I see they are in Dover. It would be interesting to see if they are true Huntingdon or a hybrid with one of the surviving North Kent strains.

At this time of year, I wouldn't go too much on the colour. Even the yellow ones like Golden Hornet have now gone decidedly orange. Somewhere around October would be the time to look, and if you can get at a fruit, try biting into it. If it is tongue-dryingly high in tannin it is almost certainly a crab. If it's not self-sown then photos should soon see it identified. Alec

Yes - without being asked. There used to be a company called Edward Jones, which offered a good service. They were bought out by Towry Law who started using some pretty unpleasant tactics. Investment Sense set themselves up to offer an open, upfront service of the type Edward Jones used to offer, in the process aiming to pick up unhappy former clients of Edward Jones. The business approach has continued in the same vein. Alec

Fully agree with the points made here - although I would say it is still worth doing if you have surplus and are in your 40s or early 50s - you just taper off the risk according to the timeframe you want to invest over, and accept the reduced returns. So you might start out with a fair number of growth focussed funds, with some in emerging markets or smaller companies, and gradually transition towards a mix of larger UK or US companies which pay dividends, and government bonds. The main reason I use an IFA is about the research to pick the right fund in a class. Say you want some of your money in larger UK companies. There will be half a dozen funds at least which invest in this area. In a given year, they may range from 5% to 10% return. You can never pick which fund will make 10%, but you want to put your money in the one which over the years ranges from 7% to 10%, not the one which ranges from 5% to 7%. You can find this out by looking at past performance, and seeing when the fund manager last changed as they usually determine the strategy so their skill influences the return. You then need to see what the relative charges are - if the best one deducts 2% and the next best one deducts 1%, the second one may be better. You can do all this research yourself if you have the time and inclination, but if you are spreading your risk across 10 or so types of fund it is much easier use an IFA whose job it is to do it, and if they get it right they will get more clients so they have an incentive to. Alec

When we set ours up they offered both options, and worked out which would cost us less. Alec

Some pictures of the fruit would really help, but at that size it sounds very much like a crab apple of some sort. Is it the tree in the other pictures in the gallery? If so, there is no sign of a graft line so it may be self-sown, or it may be the rootstock has grown up and taken over. Alec

There is usually a trade-off between risk and return. The higher the risk, the greater the potential return, but alongside greater risk of losing the original capital. Savings accounts are effectively zero risk to the capital, and have a guaranteed rate of return for a period, so are very low risk, hence very low return. You can slightly improve things by going for a tax-free ISA, but the rates are lower. Premium bonds keep your capital safe, but have a risk of zero return, which means that the capital can drop in real terms due to inflation. Bonds are fairly secure, but are not paying well at the moment. Stocks and shares investments are higher risk - you can lose the capital, however even within these you can vary the risk. Investing in individual shares is the highest risk, funds decrease the risk. Some funds invest in higher risk areas such as smaller companies or emerging markets, others in lower risk areas such as UK or European blue-chip companies. Any investment of this type is likely to fluctuate - growth isn't continuous like it is with a savings account, however the idea is that over the longer term you see larger levels of growth. The other thing that comes into play is a balanced portfolio - you don't want all your eggs in one basket so the normal approach is spreading it around, based on your attitude to risk, how much of it you can afford to lose in the worst case vs how much growth you want to potentially achieve, and whether you can cope with it going down as well as up. I don't have the time or knowledge to construct a decent portfolio, so I use an independent financial advisor. We use Investment Sense, who are national and I have always found very clear and helpful. They are also free for the first consultation, and their fee structure is declared up front with no hidden extras. They do not simply want your money - they form a view as to how much should be where to achieve balance, ie cash type accounts vs. investments; they want to invest the investable bit. They have also done a good job of identifying which funds should be switched when, and do the lot from an annual meeting, sometimes visiting us, sometimes by Skype, and then by email, with email confirmation from us if we want to accept their recommendations. We have achieved significantly higher returns than you would expect from a savings account - the first time round, enough to step up from our previous small house with small garden to this place with 6.5 acres, and when we had got over the first financial hump, we have started a second time around which is doing nicely. Alec

Had to go to Brussels this week on business. The chocolate shops are open until 11pm - that is late enough for even me to get round to sorting something. Alec

If they arrive wrapped in plastic they will be fine. They don't really need water to use when dormant, just to not dry out, so I would leave them in a garage or shed for a few days. Alec

What size is it, and how dry? Alec

Cheers - no rush from me but Steve needs his timber Alec

If Felix goes with this I may be able to help - if things work out with getting a decent blank out of the pear I will need to head your way fairly quickly afterwards. I need to pick up a trailer from Geoff (when he gets round to measuring the length so I can sort the lighting board - Geoff, hint, if you're reading this...!) and could probably pick it up then and drop it over with you alongside the pear. Alec

Mick Stockbridge is in Rainham - no idea if he's any good though.... Alec

I needed a router about 10yrs ago when cash was very tight (everything was tied up in the house which I was renovating, hence needing the router - catch 22 situation), so I bought a really cheap one - Blackspur I think. I still have it, it has done a reasonable amount of work - nothing like professional use but I don't feel it owes me anything and everything about it is solid, just basic. The only down side to it is that it has an 8mm collet. In future I would buy a 1/2" - 8mm has worked OK but the range of bits is more limited which has been a bit restrictive. I like Trend bits - very good range and quality has been excellent. Alec

This thread has become an excuse for pictures, so a couple of my favourites. The paring chisel is a real pleasure to use and I like the attention to detail in the butt chisel, grooving the ferrule and faceting the hoop. I paid less than a fiver each for these, including shipping (as part of a job lot). Alec

If you're just doing it to sell, I would take the £10/cube happily. There is a lot of time, effort and wastage otherwise, which will take your yield down, and then you have to market and sell it - not all of it will show the quartered grain. I reckon you will end up with more in your pocket selling now at £10/cube than you would selling it green/milled, and unless you are kiln drying it you won't get much more selling it seasoned unless you give it a good while. Everything is different if you plan to use it yourself though. Alec

You need one of the three ripping chains. All have their pros and cons. Oregon is cheapest and works fine; some find Stihl lasts longer between sharpenings but it costs a bit more; Granberg is more expensive but cuts a bit faster, leaves a slightly smoother finish and takes a bit less power from the saw, however you need a grinder to sharpen it as the cut down teeth are often too hard to sharpen by file. Alec

I would echo Big J's comment about bringing it into the house. It's quite a board so I can imagine finding somewhere to put it might be tricky, in which case I would rough cut the components and bring them in - behind the sofa is where I went for. Stacked up for a month or so will do a lot of good. Alec

I've posted this link before on another thread, but I think it's pertinent here: [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Bl1HQg7aCo[/ame] I would plant hazel, for its ability to form an understorey and, coppiced, its versatility. Alec

Have you considered a small froe and beetle? Alec

I was thinking along the lines of fell and stack cord by the stump Oct-Jan, then move the cord to a processing area in ~April-June when the ground is firm and it has dried a bit and cut/split/stack, ready to drive up to the pile with a trailer and extract in August when the crop is cut. It would mean slightly less handling as you are only double-handling cord, rather than logs. Alec

Not quite true - see my current Avatar (and Graham's). There are the odd few survivors, some of which are interesting. If the elm is around 18" diameter, with a clear length of around 6' or more, I would be inclined to fell it, see if it's sound, and if so consider milling it as it's an attractive timber. Alec