Pedroski

Mine's a bit "out there" - 12mm Kingfisher Kingbraid which is a polyester rope with 4550kg average break load (44.6kN). I have two lengths of rope - a 5m and a 3m. It's lovely to handle, works beautifully with my SAR Rocker. Dead simple and reliable set up.

Double fishermans (well, half of it) here - nice, quick, easy, compact and reliable. And it's nice to tie a stopper knot some way in from the end. I like a good long tail on mine.

Chop it down, suggest customer clear up and give firewood to friends to save a few bob. £50.

It's also specified as being used for work positioning.

Why not? With the Rocker you can hold in the lever to stop it grabbing which can't be much different from keeping the RW in neutral. Or does the RW stay in neutral with hands off?

Steve, I'm trying to get my head around all this at the moment, but surely even the "rope wrench system" incorporates more than one device - the rope wrench and the hitch. And the rope wrench on its own doesn't work as fall arrest. With a Rocker, the device will provide the back up and proper fall arrest while descending on the hitch (in the same way as descending on the hitch with a HC set up) or descending on a proper belay device. The Rocker also enables you to ascend and it grabs the rope for work positioning. Just thinking aloud....

I hate bumping my own threads..... but, I've been reading up more about the SAR/ISC/Troll Rocker and it is clearly the best device in terms of arresting a fall without wrecking the rope, and it runs so freely up and down the line if you're just using it for fall arrest, and holds tight on the line when using it for ascending, and locks on the line when used for work positioning. I'll hopefully get a chance to take pics of it in use this weekend. Just wondering why it seems to be so overlooked by arborists, while being one of the best rated devices out there.

Harry, capital expenditures are things like work vehicles or equipment expected to last two or more years. You put the cost of these in the capital expenditure box on the tax return. Business expenses are you day to day running costs - stuff that is not expected to last two years (work wear, fuel, other vehicles running costs, advertising, money that you pay the Mrs for looking after your receipts in her knicker drawer, etc). This goes in business expenses box.

This is where the anchor hitch is a great knot. It cinches down on the krab which keeps it in place and prevents cross loading of the gate. Dead easy to tie and won't come undone (provided, as usual, that it's properly tied, dressed and set).

Crikey, you're not one of them soul traders are you, who trade souls with the devil in exchange for ropes and stuff? Sorry, only kidding - I know you meant 'sole' trader. Seriously though, I don't bother with an excel sheet for my self-employed accounts. I just use an accounts book because my outgoings and income are all pretty straightforward. If I was employing people, and paying their taxes and having loads of materials costs and was registered for VAT then I would look at a spreadsheet for accounts. But when it's only me, perhaps sometimes the odd subby, then it's just so much easier to put it in a book. Then when it comes to submitting my tax return, that's a doddle too because for low turnovers all you have to submit on-line is your total income and total expenditure, and not much else at all. I generally just total this up from my bank statements anyway as I put all expenses on a debit card, and all payments in are usually by bank transfer or cheque. I do keep all receipts and invoices in a box just in case someone wants to match up receipts with my bank statements one day. Pedro

I'm going to have some free firewood here soon. About 25-30 connies, ~40ft high. All you've got to do is cut them down and take the logs and chip the brash.

I bet countersinking the buttons into the gate could made it a right pain to open with gloves on though. Normal three way gate is simple and effective, but they can be undone with the rope fairly easily too. The only 100% safe way would be to have a gate you lock with a key which you then remove so the rope can't open it... and that would be fun. Best bet is to check everything, and check it again, and keep an eye on things!

Yeah, I know how they do fried rice and all, but if Bacillus is in there the toxins can be released, and even though re-cooking will kill the bacteria it won't break down the toxins. To keep the rice for re-cooking it has to be rapidly cooled down and refrigerated after the first cooking. This doesn't always happen with food bought from a take-away. You take it home, eat loads, have a few beers, left overs sit around for a few hours before getting chucked in the fridge at 2am. During the time it's sitting at room temp, the Bacillus cereus endospores germinate and that's when the toxins are released, that aren't broken down by cooking. So, yep, ok to re-cook rice, provided it's refrigerated promptly beforehand..... like the rice had wasn't!

Hmmm, didn't realise Brighton area was so unpopular. Men in harnesses would go down a treat in town!

Don't freeze cucumber in sandwiches. That goes really mank and soggy.

Yeah, I suppose it might not be best practice. But we haven't been ill yet and have reheated chillis and curries for something like the last 16 years. We always give it a proper good boil before eating, and the heavy lid stays on all the time, so it's kind of in a protective atmosphere However, they're always completely eaten after 2 to 3 days anyway, and the chilli/spices and proper heating keep it safe. Once the Dutch oven is empty, we put it on the floor for the dogs to clean out before giving it a wash in hot water and a wipe around with oil. If we want to keep anything for longer, then yep, it goes in the fridge or the freezer. One thing to NEVER reheat is rice. Reheating can cause the release of Bacillus cereus emetic toxin which can make you proper sick. I knew about this, then experienced it first hand when I reheated some egg-fried rice that had been in a foil container all night. I was ill within an hour of eating it

Also, when you leave your phone in your bag, make sure it's on silent. It's dead annoying and distracting when the phone rings and makes noises when texts are received. Shakes hands with your boss and new work mates. Make the most of enjoying being with them. Carry things with you like tea bags and coffee and milk so you don't just drink theirs! If you don't understand anything, then say so. Have sensible fun!

Agree with that too - when we do broth or soup we make several litres at a time in the Dutch oven. It's brilliant being able to heat this up in the mornings and ladle some into a food flask for work. While my mate is sitting there eating cheese sandwiches and Fabulous Baker Boy flapjack, I'm enjoying a nice flask of piping hot homemade soup with a French stick! Same with the casseroles and stuff..... chuck some boiled spuds in the casserole, ladle some into a food flask..... and then you've got a proper hot lunch. Mmmmmm......

Fellas and fellasses, I haven't been climbing many trees, apart from free-climbing, as my mate usually does all that stuff. But I've done walls and rocks, and have all the gear, and 'some' idea. If I were to suggest a place not too far from Brighton - a bit of land with some trees where I've worked before and the landowner has given us permission to camp and stuff, would anyone be interested in climbing here, and showing me the ropes a bit better. Three very large pops, one pollarded pop, and some other not so large, but still good, climbing trees. My daughter is after doing more climbing as well, and I want to be more confident that I won't drop her!

Chilli, curry, bolognaise, casseroles, joints of meat..... all sorts. Just cook more than you need on the first day then it's still good to go several days later. Curry and chilli etc, you can just leave in a lidded pan on the hob and reheat it. Each time you reheat, it gets tastier.

Do they work at night time, like when it's dark?

If you use a DMM Pinto pulley, then you can directly connect to either webbing, cord or carabiner, according to the good folk at DMM.

I have one of these and use it in conjunction with various other things, like Petzl Mini Traxion or hitches made with Prusik loops for ascending. It also makes good back up for abseil/rappel. Why don't they ever seem to get mentioned? They're a great bit of kit. I know rope for hitches is cheap but shiny stuff is nice to fiddle with as well.

You're a right clumsy bunch!

Pocketboy is fantastic. Comfortable to use and too. Bahco Laplander is a great saw too, and I saw a test somewhere where it cut as quick as the Silky, and the blade is less prone to snapping when in careless hands..... BUUUUTTTT being green with a black blade is a pain in the arris when you drop it somewhere.