Minotaur

Fingers crossed he has a positive outcome All the best Chris

As above - nice breakfast, lots of talk, £600 odd quid later and a waste of time, money and effort!

Try any of the following: Landrover conversions by Foley Specialist Vehicles Land Rover Defenders quality used land rover 90, 110 and 130 models They usually have that sort of kit in stock Chris

Drive past the site at Paddock Wood regularly - they are still cutting down the trees and the pile od logs and brash is huge, but surely the longer its left the more chance of some of the beetles escaping!

HI found this in a customers garden - anybody know what it is? Approx. 4 foot across and 2-3 foot high

If you catcha squirrel it is illegal to release, it must be kept or despatched humanely - ie with no suffering. If you remove a dey from a tree,. you have caught them and they become your responsibility! Customers of mine were catching them and dropping cage into a waterbutt - she was reported by a neighbour and prosecuted! Can't remember the exact figures etc, but £500 comes to mind!

Some great photos there, keep them coming

Axe and mattock - sever the larger roots, then dig it up. Barrow it to car or if too big, burn in situ. Where are you by the way?

Hi Mate Snap - been there mate, in remission and always positive. You will wear the badge with pride once its all over. PML - Positive Mental Attitude - makes such a difference, believe me. I will pm you with my contact details straight away = I only live Maidstone way, so just up the road, whenever you fancy a chat. Chris

There is one answer with several options - Answer: Toyota Landcruiser Options: 60 series, 70 series, 80 series or 100 great 4.0/4.2 litre diesels

I agree with Davis, Towa or Showa, tried quite a few of their gloves - some have Kevlar etc, all pretty good.

Owned and/or driven most Land Rovers ad Toyota - always loved the British ness of the Landy but if you were going anywhere difficult you'd be mad not to take a Cruiser. I drove a 130 London to Cape Town, then settled in Southern Africa for a couple of years, purchased a safari prepped 80 series almost by accident and have never looked back - Land Cruiser all the way. Loads of Landie forums out there, but if looking at Cruisers try: Land Cruiser Forum Home • Land Cruiser Club and Forum Also if you need any mechanical or technical advice about Cruisers the man for the job is Julian at Overland Criuisers, imo the best Land Cruiser man in the UK. Overland Cruisers | Overland Cruisers, specialists in preparing and servicing Toyota Land Cruisers Chris

Unimog but its in a whole different ball game!

Arran good on you, for a young man who at 18 has got the quals you have and is willing to work hard, I salute you - wish there were more people in this coutry with your work ethic. Hope it goes well mate. Chris

SMG - good luck boyo!

Connicks also do alot of tree work around London

Perhaps him holding a large Phallus would be more appropriate!

Depends what sort of course you want/need No real prior knowledge 3 days sounds about right If you have prior knowledge with a valid HSE ticket then a more compact/shorter course might be more appropriate. Make sure that you agree the content: will they cover the use of Cellox? Will there be decent practical training including a rescue climb/incident? Ensure you have an agreed price - standard First Aid course to HSE standard, FAW - 3 days, EFAW - 1 day. Max 12 candidates to 1 instructor. Chris

As has been said above - what /who are you doing the course with? Why are you using your own kit, has it been Loler'ed, did Instructor check and/or check kit? So many questions. Answer - as Mark said: Take yours to the Instructor/Company and insist that the responsibility is theirs and you want it replaced or a significant contribution towards a new one!

Mike I really like that reduction, made the tree look good without hammering it - well done.

Totally agree - complete joke!

Hi Button hope the tests and MRI's went well. Keeping it all crossed for you that you have as sucessful outcome. keep you chin up mate. Remember PMA - Positivr Mental Attitude, it can work make a world of difference. I had a very virulent strain of Cancer whrn I was younger. I truly believe PMA can make the difference between lifew and death. So believe. And the miracle waiting to happen - you have the joy of a baby to look forward to, nothing like becoming a father mate. Thoughts are with you mate. Chris

As above, but the Larvae travel all around the area they populate/infest, hence the collapsed galleries in alot of the pictures - they remain as larvae for between 1-3 years, dependent on geographic location and average temperatures. So here in the Uk most would be approx 2 years. They tend to lay the eggs higher up the tree in the canopy towards the top of the trunk or on main branches, often where they join the stem. Adult beetles are generally found/appear between May and August but can appear as late as October. The newly emerged adult beetles fly high into the crowns to feed on green bark and to find a mate. They are not known to be strong fliers but can travel up to a few hundred metres. The eggs are laid in a slit chewed in the bark - approx 10mm across. theyare laid singularly and an adult female can lay between 30-90 eggs in her 2 month life. There may well be a fine frass or what looks like fine saw dust by any holes or cracks in the tree that is pushed out by the larvae as they travel up and down their tunnels. Chris

I went along to the meeting as its only a few miles down the road from me Would like to thank WAZ for posting it up and Bruce Rothnie of the Forestry Commission for arranging the meeting. It was interesting and informative, Bruce and his colleagues from FERA gave us a talk about the outbreak at Paddock Wood. Basically, the beetle arrived on site, a small industrial site, in wooden packaging materials from China. They found the first Beetle there in 2009, and have been monitoring the area yearly since. Unfortunately they have now identified quite a number of trees on site and the localised area - approx 100 metre spread - where it has been identified that eggs have been layed, and larva are eating the trees and at least 1 full grown beetle has been found - think thats right. We were shown some parts of trees with Beetle dmage and then walked around site looking at various trees, again damaged by egg laying, larva galleries and Beetle exit holes approx 9-11mm in diameter and almost perfectly circular - I for one was enthralled. They made it clear that if you find a beetle, or suspect a tree or trees, are infested/infected then to call the following number: 0844 2840071 - immediately The only two options for destruction are to chip any infected wood, it must be chipped smalled than 2.5cm sq, or to burn the wood on site. But please make sure you contact the above phone number before destroying any wood or removing from site. Make no mistake this Beetle is on the UN's 5 most dangerous creatures to trees and plants, in the WORLD! Link to the other post with some photos: http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/tree-health-care/42548-asian-longhorn-beetle.html Hope that helps anyone who couldn't make the meeting.