Pedroski

I'm sure the elderly client's son is only thinking of his inheritance. We get it a lot around here. Price work fairly, and for people who we've worked for for years who we have a really good working relationship with. Customer gets a bit older, nephews come out of the woodwork and talk them out of having any more garden work done. What these rellies don't consider is that for a massive number of these older clients, the view out of the window to the garden is all they have left to enjoy.

True. I didn't think about the VAT back on the upfront investment for a minute then. I ended up in a different situation importing cars - went from nothing to somehow having a turnover of something like £150k over a 3 month period. I knew turnover would be lower after than brief time but neglected to inform HMRC that I was "liable but no longer liable". I didn't even realise how high the turnover had got until HMRC contacted me to query tens of thousands of pounds of VAT I'd paid on imported cars. Narrowly escaped a £700 fine! Over the following months car sales just collapsed anyway and I jacked it in!

Simon, are you sure you want to register for VAT already? It's a right pain in the arris for a small turnover as you get stuck with having to submit VAT returns every 3 months. If KLIME turns over £73k then you need to register, but it might be worth holding off for now.

I assume, then, that I'm ok with what I do. For the trees I get in a self-employed sub-contractor who has his own team, his own public liability and employers liability, and his own personal injury insurance. I say to him what I want done (or what the customer wants done) and leave him to it. He makes the decisions and runs the tree part, and has me dragging brush and logging.

I did some sampling for heavy metal contamination in an area of Hounslow Heath a few years back..... there were needles, burnt foil, an old tent, and several books of those squares of carpet samples dotted around. Lovely!

£400 is possibly even harder for a couple with kids and struggling to pay a mortgage than it is for an older person, mortgage free with a healthy pension. Not all oldies are hard up. They often play at being hard up, but I'm sure more often they're just tight or frugal!

Whose butt was it? Hope he had good personal hygiene Glad all ok. You're a lucky lucky man! Still want to see pics though

How big was the tree when it was first pollarded 2 years ago? If it was big maybe it was priced reasonably for what had to be done. Two years growth wouldn't leave much for you to do this time round.

No, it doesn't work too well trying to heat seal the OP because of the aramid in the sheath. The polyester core melts ok, as does the polyester in the sheath, but the aramid burns. Made a right mess when I tried it. I think whipping is more reliable than heat sealing in the long term anyway, as the melted polyester is brittle and starts to crack.

Good thinking

Simon, would you need certification? Just thinking that the widget is a device to assist with climbing as opposed to a piece of PPE, so it may be simple.

same here. Just dawned on me got the wrong end of the thread... my friction rope if the OP in minty green....not the Marlow Boa. If I had the Boa I'd prob have just heat sealed the ends as well. Can't do that with the OP. D'oh!

I cut mine with a knife, whipped the ends (West Country style) and then covered the ends with clear heatshrink. They look mint.... in minty green.

Be brilliant if you end up with thousands.... you can put them in for the next raffle

Not really Simon, but I've been registered for a while and now have a few days off so I'll work on it I'd also be more than happy to chat to a bunch of climbers who instruct my kids on the local wall and who climb regularly outdoors.

How's this for a proper knob: Speeding Bexhill death driver jailed - Sussex Police. Arron Nicolaou had been stopped for speeding twice in the days before he mowed down and killed a pedestrian in Bexhill. He'd been stopped for excess speed, then a couple days later got stopped and given a fixed penalty for 55mph in a 40mph zone, then went and killed the pedestrian while doing 49mph (minimum) in a 30mph zone. Two and a half years in prison and a 5 year ban. He'll be out after a year...... so that's all someone's life is worth. If my wife or kids got hit by someone driving like this then the driver wouldn't make it to court..... Here's a pic of him, just so people can keep an eye out for him in case they see him behind the wheel of a car when he comes out

Do a proper test - full bounce on it with a metre of slack and see if it jams.

I'm on UKClimbing

KJJames, the Wildlife and Countryside act, as far as I am aware, doesn't cover domestic hedges. Thinking about it, I don't know if the OP was referring to a domestic hedge.

And a hedge ain't a shrub! Anyway, I'm going into to hospital at 7 in the morning for a cardiac catheterised angiogram..... so I s'pose I better get some kip.....

OK, so you're obliged to notify the local authority of your intention to do the works in the conservation area. Same difference. Just read the following passage, and you will see that you can't just do what you like in a conservation area. "What protection is given to trees in conservation areas? No cutting, removal, wilful damage or destruction of any tree over 75mm in diameter at 1.5m above ground level is allowed without giving prior notification to the LPA (a section 211 notice). The LPA then has 6 weeks to decide whether the tree should be made the subject of a Tree Preservation Order. There are a few exceptions to these restrictions, and it is advisable to seek the advice of the LPA. Any person doing anything to a tree in a conservation area that would normally be prohibited by a TPO can be prosecuted, unless permission has been given by the LPA or six weeks have elapsed since notice of intention to carry out the work was submitted and there has been no reply from the LPA." (Trees in Conservation Areas ) If you're working in a conservation area, then just check with the local authority. Where's the big deal?

But even if the tree in the conservation are has no TPO, you are still obliged to apply to the council for permission to carry out work on it, and the council then have 6 weeks to decide whether or not to put a TPO on. In that 6 weeks, while waiting to hear from the council, you can't do anything. So, in a way, conservation area riles are harsher. If NOT in a conservation area, and there is no TPO then you can do what you want.

They could, because it's a hedge and if it's covered by the rules of the conservation area then those rules need to be followed. As opposed to a standalone shrub which is exempt. Conservation areas really can be a minefield, especially as they often have a lot of busy bodies living in them.

I'm not calling a hedge a tree, but in conservation areas there are rules for hedges and rules for trees. And if you've got a row of stuff, be it laurel, hornbeam or whatever, all in a line and close together it is obviously a hedge, as opposed to a standalone tree or shrub.

And maybe differing opinions