WorcsWuss

I agree [with Peter Griffin!] that it's an unbelievable thing to have been printed! Make the editor responsible for his columnist's actions, that is afterall the legal standpoint. It is up to the editor to 'edit' submissions and ensure the press stays within legal boundaries. This mag has sailed awful close to them and I'm pretty sure that a quiet word in the editor's shell like to point this out will be sufficient to put a swift end to it and instigate a full retraction.

What a monumental tosspot. My two penneth worth Ben. 1. Don't get too worked up about it, he's quite clearly a jumped up pillock with nothing to do in his retirement other than count his money. And logs. 2. Contact the editor, explain how you feel and that it could be construed as libellous and while you wish to rermain anonymous, to avoid legal action being taken against his publication, you expect the magazine to print an editors note something along the lines of the following: "We have received comments regarding Paul's article in the last issue relating to firewood. As editor of this magazine and a satisfied customer of the same supplier I am duty bound to point out that the firewood supplier used provides an excellent service and Paul's comments, which are perhaps skewed by his own limited personal experience of free fuel and bear little relation to the situation of people who must buy in fuel, are not an accurate representation of the quality and value offered by individual log suppliers. This publication apologises for allowing an individual columnist to use the magazine for his own personal agenda." End of the matter. Paul looks like a berk, for those who can identify you from the article, you get a good testimonial from a customer on a public platform, and best of all, no solicitors are paid in the making of this apology.

I'm trying to get my daughter into climbing to give her some options for when she grows up, I reckon she'd make brilliant tree surgeon....

Have bought quite a bit off ebay, 2 Disco's, X type estate amongst others, never heard of this situation. Avoid like the plague if I was you, tell them cash on collection. Have you seen enough photos of the vehicle to be sure it genuinely exists and they haven't just pinched them from somewhere else? I always ask for photos of specific things to make sure it's the genuine article....

Very very slow progress at the moment chaps! We've suddenly become VERY busy on 'proper work' so I've been burning the whole candle all in one go, haven't had a spare second to focus on this properly. I think the same has happened at the engineer doing the prototyping, not heard anything for a while, must kick this on, deadline is approaching! Have also got a couple of other things on the drawing board as well.... Keep watching!

ha! My sister rolled our parents Freelander and that was the first thing the copper said to her when he arrived on the scene.... needless to say she didn't find it as funny as I did later on...!

Can of worms! If I get a few minutes I'll write out what I have found. Briefly, PPE needs to be CE marked to sell within EU. Rope not classed as PPE, pulleys are. There is an EU standard [which basically covers being safe & fit for purpose] which is untested & self certified which applies to everything, it's one of the few EU things which is actually sensible, it essentially means that any product has been designed, tested and manufactured to be fit for purpose, or, to put it another way, 'I'm selling it in good faith, if it fails, my name is stamped on it and I take full responsibility for it'... As it goes, I don't think I need to get my widget CE tested / marked because it doesn't fall into a category requiring it, although a couple of my other things will need it. So if you buy something not CE marked, it's not the end of the world, unless it's PPE, in which case it should be, especially if you're hanging someone else off it... Have a look here, may be something which helps you... CE Marking Association – CE Marking & Product Compliance Specialists

You're limited how far from base you can drive and how fast you can go. A friend of mine re-registered his old Foutrak pick up as agri and just uses it up and down the lane to get round his farm. It's not a great idea if you still want to use the vehicle in a conventional way, it's quite limiting...

I've noticed this and wondered how it would work in the event of something going wrong and an HSE investigation, because the HSE guidance all points towards CS module training with no mention of IRATA qualifications... Anyone know if there's ever been a case or precedence...? One presumes not or there would likely be some mention of it in the AFAG or HSE notes...

FOOM! Ace....

You DEFINITELY made the right choice there... Can't beat a Honda, which is why they have over 50% of the UK market while everyone else squeezes into the other 40 something percent.... I'm a touch biased too though....I used to sell them and still dabble in the business.... Bill Davies Honda Open Day November 2011 | Facebook

Even selling Drew's hat?!

You could pick up a 3 strand rope off ebay for around 20 quid [search 'polysteel rope'] & a 50KN ISC pulley for about the same and there's a basic lowering kit. 3 strand poly rope doesn't like heat so not great on friction devices [that said I used mine on the portawrap without incident, but it's not as good as proper double braid or whatever] but will do the job happily in occasional use... my poly rope's used just for tag lining really.

There's always the old fashioned way of learning by doing. Assuming you are of reasonable intelligence, understand trees - including how to spot a rotten bit - and have a healthy self preservation gland then there's no reason why you can't just 'have a go' at recreational climbing. There's plenty of information out there [and here] on how to use the kit, the AT knot guide is excellent, and so long as you start low & slow you'll be pretty safe. My daughter started this weekend, she's 10... Here she is in action in a tiny little willow in our garden!

I use Longrake Spar - Decorative Aggregate Suppliers - Garden Stones - Cobble Stones - LONG RAKE SPAR, Derbyshire UK

Yup

Yet again a bunch of idealists think they can have someone executed by creating a global internet campaign. I'm pretty sure that when the same concept is turned against us we don't very much care for it.... Back to that old debate of what gives us the right to prescribe how other nations deal with their own problems. Once more, the civilised west thinks it has all the answers. Leave them alone for heaven's sake, we ain't perfect by any means! When they want our help, they ask! I disapprove of this whole thing on many, many levels, but I've discussed it enough today already, I've had enough of it!

As above really... what do you use this most basic of arrangements for and how often...? Is this kind of old school rigging obsolete now with all the new techniques or do we all still need to rig a pulley mid line every now and again...? Simon

Cobblers! Dusk till dawn is a brilliant film, it's no masterpiece, but it is just great fun. Kill Bill has a brilliant soundtrack & some ace locations / set pieces / sequences. I'm no film snob but I do really enjoy those films for what they are. Now, pulp fiction on the other hand, I really can't be arsed with that, yet everyone claims that to be a brilliant film... I disagree. I think it's a bit average...!

Love Inglorious Basterds... but best Tarantino film...? If not Kill Bill then Dusk Till Dawn which he just wrote & cameo'd in.... classic... George Clooney's brilliant in it...!

The yellow one an Oshkosh...? Big stuff, like it!

That's a little bit concerning!

Get to a dealer. Who's local to you? Jonesie's within driving distance for a morning out I reckon...

Don't get me wrong though, I like Christianity! I've said it before & I'll reiterate it again, I live in a rural parish and support our church. I just don't believe in god or Jesus. I can be a good Christian without having faith can't I...? Or am I not allowed to? Or worse still, am I like that because deep down I know god exists or I'm scared he might? Honestly, I'm not, I'm just a nice bloke!

Which bit old man...? Surely not ALL of it...?! Because some of it is personal to me so no one can tell me that's wrong.... Is it the bit about some people of faith insisting that good can only be done in the name of a god? Because I've met people of that delusion. And in the same way I'm fairly sure that many people who do believe would find that, actually they were just as inclined to look out for others even if they didn't have faith. So we don't need any god to do good, and for believers to suggest that non believers who do good are, without realising or understanding, doing it because of a god they know does not exist, is nonsense [and I use that phrase carefully, and in the same way I would to suggest that believers know god DOES exist]. Or is it the bit about Christians not respecting the faiths of others? Because capitalising the words god & him and insisting that the gods of other faiths are lower case seems pretty arrogant to me.... The Christian 'tolerance' & 'acceptance' of other faiths is a bit like a patronising pat on the head for a child who believes in the tooth fairy... I could of course be wrong!