Gary Prentice

The atom drill? Showing your age there.

That's just bollox!! Absolutely no help at this moment, but it'll come right in the end Sean. Stay positive.

We have a full time position available for a competent climber. What we do: Work is mainly domestic, so the normal connie bashing, hedge cutting, dismantles and pruning. Site clearances now and again. Qualifications & Experience: We'd like the normal tickets/Cscs cards etc, but lack of wouldn't be a barrier to the right candidate. Driving/towing licence preferrable. What we need: A 'can do' attitude. The ability to manage and run the job site A level of climbing ability sufficient for run of the mill jobs in the private sector. A team player, but one who is prepared to lead from the front and by example. What are we offering? What do 'you' want? We'd like to think that we're reasonable and recognise everyone's aims and goals. What we don't need: Attitude and social media addicts. Bottom line is that the successful candidate will have work to do every day and get paid at the end of every week. Work load/expectations are, I think, reasonable and realistic (No-one has died from over-work anyway ) and this position would probably suit someone who is working as a second climber who wants to do more, climb daily and just get more experience. PM me or email [email protected] Don't bother compiling a cv with your work history since your paper round at 14 yr old etc, how you spend all your free time feeding the homeless and stray cats etc and how you yearn for world peace - Not important. Just be reasonable in your claims of ability, aptitude and attitude and we'll go from there. As you can tell writing adverts isn't my preferred occupation, but such is life.

A stump grinder? Used to see it a lot on elms, can’t remember noticing on eucalyptus. I think they’ll stop after a while.

Talking of wrong’uns, this thread reminded me of a couple of lads going round robbing grows a bit back. One of them thought that an air pistol would a useful intimidation tool. Until kicking someone’s door in to find a gorilla with a sawn off shotgun waiting.

Male and breathing?

If you're gonna have a weapon, make it a big one

We have a couple of pretty big rotties. They're really great big teddy bears of animals and I don't know how they'd react if they perceived a threat to me - but they look the part. There was a fellow dealing from his car on the street outside a while back, so after several nights I took one of the dogs out. The dog was interested in who I was talking to and put its paws on the open window and peered in while I was having a little chat about @ing off and doing business elsewhere. I was reasonable in my approach, not looking for an argument and just saying that we didn't want him there. With the dog peering into his eyes and drooling into his lap (really wanting a fuss) the fellow seemed to decide that he'd be better off elsewhere. Maybe sometimes it's more about appearance that encourages people to stay away than anything else.

Arb exemption applies though

Fixed that for ya, Mark

Or the antagonistic and bloody minded!

I wondered how you'd got on with that situation when this post started. So there's no over riding extenuating circumstance, what soever?

That's a surprise

Is that scenaria being added to the highway code?

Probably cos the tree business is small, soft, target, without the case complexity and big legal that chasing someone like Balfour would involve. Google and Amazon comes to mind. If you're going to do battle, human nature is to choose a weaker opponent.

But you’re one of those people who want to get on and to try to succeed. And is prepared to put in the effort to do so. It seems now that although people people still want that, they have to be given it and are even owed the opportunity. Its become a strange world where respect and reward is perceived as a right and not something that has to be earned.

Let us know when you find the £10 an hr one.

Ouch, way to spoil your day. Revise your risk assessment?

I get really peeved when I've completed the task of notifying, or applying, job done then it comes back for some reason and I have to spend more time on it. Maybe that's why I always get so pedantic and argumentative. But stepping back, I then think that maybe I've been a bit lazy in providing information accurately and correctly in the first place -instead of doing the job properly and acting professionally. The regulations are written as they are for a purpose, which is also to provide evidence to support prosecution where there has been a contravention by establishing empirical heights/spreads. Maybe all of our first concerns should be to do our own job properly and professionally, before getting stressed about what are really minor issues? Then argue until we're blue in the face when LAs misapply the legislation

It’s odd that grafting appears common, or at least not uncommon, yet this is the first root sucker I can remember ever seeing. Bit more reading methinks.

That info rings a bell. I’ll have to nip back to try to various the WB I.d. Maybe it,s an unusual variety and I overlooked it.

Don't get peeved, get even There's a planning officer at a LA that outright refuses to deal with me any more and has done so for several years. If I phone, as soon as she realises who she is talking to, she transfers the call. All I did was listen to her telling me what I had to do in an application before telling her that she was wrong, and the quoting chapter and verse as to why she was wrong. (she must have been right, she works for the council ) She cut me off originally, then wrote to me to continue the exact incorrect statements. The letter was abysmal, spelling errors, missing words and barely readable. I sent it back with a note asking that someone with a basic understanding of the English language rewrite it and return it No idea why she fell out with though?

I never noticed...

I know that you don't need permission, etc, etc ,etc. But if you don't provide the necessary information for the LA to judge the notification, they have two choices; ask you to renotify with the correct information (normally under the threat of a TPO if you don't) or to TPO it. Acknowledging that 'validate' is the incorrect terminology

I pass a small suppressed whitebeam regularly which always catches my eye as a bit odd. After doing a survey at the property I now know why. The stem and most of the crown is whitebeam, its decaying and declining now but through the canopy are mountain ash leaves stems and branches. These originate as suckers and basal stems from ground level, leading to a conclusion that the tree is grafted and the Rowan parts are from the rootstock. But, I've never been aware that whitebeams are/can be grafted trees. (Don't know that much about grafting). The whitebeam hasn't flowers or berries, but doesn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary. Have I been unobservant for the last three decades?