kevinjohnsonmbe

I'd nominate Lord Kerr as being eligible to state a reasonably professional opinion on the matter.... https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/nov/10/brexit-date-is-not-irreversible-says-man-who-wrote-article-50-lord-kerr Or at least I might if he wasn't a prime example of the type of career diplomat that has made a very comfortable and profitable life suckling at the teat of EU breast milk... Those so intimately and advantageously inculcated into the death cult are hardly likely to be impartial commentators / contributors to the debate surrounding the process of extrication. But on a lighter note, and to continue the Harry Enfield theme, just replace the word "women" with "Brexiteer" and you will have a brief insight into a dinner party at the Vesp residence :

It cannot be overlooked that the (apparent) single most important UK factor in the EU referendum was immigration. Without wishing to focus solely on that point - it cannot be overlooked since it touches so much of what follows. The 'people' of the UK (and several other EU countries) found themselves out of kilter with Merkel's (i.e. the EU) policy of open doors. For balance - I am not fundamentally opposed to immigration (a good man once described a points based immigration system thus: "...a nation where they (immigrants) will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character...) and it's as relevant now as it was then. But we still haven't done it. Negotiation with the EU is an impossible dream - it simply will not happen. Imagine trying to quote a single job for a dozen different customers that don't actually like or want you to get the job, dislike you for their perception of you having previously 'got one over on them' despite the reality that all their asses would be in a sling if you hadn't saved them from unimaginable disaster (at immense personal cost) AND that if you did get the job, it would encourage others to recognise how disorganised, inept and corrupt the 'customer coalition' was and not wish to be associated with them in the future thus accelerating the implosion of the 'customer coalition.' Can you imagine trying to quote for work under those circumstances? Just wouldn't happen. This talk of the 'need' for the migrant labour is a nonsense whilst there are +/- 2 million current UK residents not in work. As we move towards the deadline it will be increasingly apparent that there is no chance of any form of sensible negotiation - the Left will use the situation to call the Right inept and incapable but this is playing politics, a Corbyn government would be equally (considerably worse) at the task. Time to stop pretending that it will ever reach a satisfactory conclusion, time to stop wasting time and money trying and to recognise the inevitable. Just walk away, tell them we'll have a chat when they're ready to behave, until then - do one.

Gove confirms continued ban on neo-nics post Brexit - Good man! https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/nov/09/the-evidence-points-in-one-direction-we-must-ban-neonicotinoids

Just unloading pellets, only brief and quite mundane - but much quicker & easier with MO!

You’ve been quiet for AGES! Or I’ve not seen where you’ve been posting? I had some tax questions that would have benefitted from your wisdom. Hope you’re back ‘with a vengeance!’

I go nuts if someone stands on a rope - maybe a bit precious, but why can’t people just step OVER them instead of ON them??

Paint it blue! There's a hammerite blue which is a decent match

The discussion ventured out of the realm of useful / realistic into the realm of academic accuracy back at the point where Ed suggested checking everything with the TO. Meanwhile, the debate will rage on trying to find the elusive finite and definitive position on a circumstance that may (or may not) arise once in a blue moon. It would take longer to read and consider this thread than it would to say "...I'll pass on that job and find 2 others that are likely to pay better than the time this one would take up..." And (as if it needed an and) you'd probably take even longer than the time it took to read and consider this thread to get a definitive answer out of a LA.... (whoops, dropped my axe ) My proposal - Sack the job off, go for a fat boy breakfast, watch daily politics then have a kip on the sofa, job done!

Ah Mr E, good question!! And well remembered!!! I suppose there are (at least) 2 parts to consider... What was she actually doing there, and whether he should have said 'anything' about it.... I haven't bothered to try and understand much about it, tragic for that family no doubt, but it's 1 person incarcerated overseas where as many UK families are equally, or to a greater degree, affected by road fatalities every day, similarly many 1000's will die of cold related poverty in the UK this coming Winter - just 2 examples that happen year on year, so I'm kind of ranking the tragedy of 1 family according to a wider scale of hardship in my 'compassion calculator' (not overly generous at the best of times.) All of that considered, what was she actually doing there? If a former Iranian national ex-pat in UK just visiting home, surely a keen awareness of the potential consequences of sticking ones head above the parapet in a country not unknown for draconian sub judicial procedures would be paramount in every waking moment of consciousness? I would very much like to visit Iran, but if I ever did, I wouldn't so much as J walk or 'look' at an official in what might be interpreted as a quizzical manner (both would take a herculean effort probably beyond my mortal capability!) So what was she 'actually' doing there? Either (a) as an 'unofficial representative' of UK gov, in which case - perks of the job, or (b) a UK citizen innocently on holiday in the homeland and genuinely, unfairly incarcerated by a foreign government, in which case - it's 1 person in the greater scale of things. I guess that's a long way round saying, I couldn't really give a monkeys. The crux of it though.... Should Boris, as Foreign secretary, have blundered into it.....? Probably not his finest moment I'll concede! If only 'knowing when to say nothing' was that easy... But if it was, this forum would be dull as Guinness!! I'm guessing, what you really wanted to ask was (without wishing to preempt)..... "...Come on then, 2 Ministers fired, 1 under investigation and 1 negligently shooting his mouth off, what sort of shower of sh1te is this...?" (side note - would very much appreciate a chance to talk PC again soon)

I don’t really “do” engines... but what you say seems to make pretty good sense to me (from a nuggets perspective) Legislate for Diesel engine, legislate for wood stoves etc.... Whilst simultaneously seeking to expand Heathrow.... Doesn’t seem to make much sense overall?

Agreed, the majority (domestic) prob do think that way, for now. But inside emissions control zones (limited - for now, but bound to grow) and as mentioned, on larger site projects / govmt works for example, total project carbon capture may well feature as we inexorably ride the legislative train down the tracks. I’m in the market for a new chipper and whilst trying to consider future proofing elements was just looking for opinions of the AT massive. I may be over thinking it, it wouldn’t be the first time!! PS - where’s TCD when you need some fuel info!! He’d have a view! (As well as stump’s too high!!)

There's a FB page for Heritage Tree Management: https://www.facebook.com/Heritage-Tree-Management-573985506028429/?ref=br_rs It's well worth looking it up and subscribing!

It was the detail I was “thinking” about rather than that which I wrote which I thought we’d possibly be debating. Poor post on my part really, it didn’t get across what I was thinking so well as I might have hoped. Too complex for 2 thumbs on an iPhone!

Liking the rear guard! I’m guessing you don’t use additional back weights of tow hitch? Shouldn’t be too difficult to fab if needed!

I think you’re spot on - looking to the future. S/H value must fall in line with a predicted drop in demand associated with increasing penalties in urban areas. It might be that rural areas are less affected (in the short term) but it’s still taking away a potential market sector for S/H diesel machines. I’d accept the sales (and user) pitch that fuel consumption is fairly equal, surely the biggest negative factor is the loss of access to rebated diesel? Until petrol starts to take over (or folks pony up the extra mullah for Stage V Diesel engine) having a “clean” motor is something that could be presented as a positive sales pitch - particularly to the rich, eco hippies - and could provide the winning edge over an otherwise equal competitor... Just musing....

Great thread! It's way off spec, and kind of out of kilter with my personal perspective (and I reckon there's a fair chance Mr E will take issue with me!)... But I'm minded to think of the John Lewis / Waitrose model (so far as I understand it.) Select and employ above the minimum spec for the job and provide share dividend bonuses on a sliding scale. Where (I think) Mr E may disagree, is that I personally believe some people are employees and some are employers - or to put it another way - some have aspiration, determination and ambition, and some don't. No disrespect to either party, but some people want to know what time to be at work, what to do whilst there and what time they finish - if nobody tells them what to do, they do nothing until somebody tells them. Then they don't think about work again until the cycle recommences. Some people set them selves up for challenge and put more in than is required, these are the people that either move on or get promoted. There is no system that solves the problem because whatever system is introduced, someone will find a way to take advantage of it. One place I worked had a scheme where scrap was weighed in for the Christmas bash - it was a humdinger of epic proportions.... 30 odd blokes, fed watered and entertained like aristocrats. After having been there for several months I became aware that 1 man was constantly engaged in stripping the insulation off aviation grade copper wire and that the wire was being requisitioned by the reel for the sole purpose of being stripped and weighed in. Thankfully, I'd moved on before the Christmas bash - that's the public sector for ya! Another local epic in the SW (and soon to be Merthyr) is Trago Mills. Dear old Bruce is a wiley fecker. There is no 'factory outlet' or 'damaged goods staff shop' because he trusts no one... Reason being, staff member wants a knock down price on the latest gadget - they scratch / bang / whack it, then send it to the staff discount area where they pick it up for a song. I think the question you ask goes to the very heart of the socialism v capitalism debate and there simply isn't an easy answer....

Come on now MrH! There’s no place in this thread for that sort of narrow minded racial profiling....

There is only one way it can be resolved...... Matelot v Bolt - Drop the Mic!! Like this:

A DAY Richy! It just don’t make sense?

Will have a read of this later: https://www.timberwolf-uk.com/fuelling-discussion-2019-engine-legislation-change-whitepaper/

And.... MoD DfE DSS DfEFRA HMRC DCLG etc, etc... Something of a pattern emerging..... Inadequate accountability!

Is that Stoke area in Plymouth? Looks familiar. I saw a Plymouth city council gang street tree pollarding around Mutley a while back. 3 blokes, 2 vans, chipper. 1 bloke up a ladder on his own, 1 sat in the van with his snap box, the 3rd around the corner feeding the chipper. No effective pedestrian / traffic control. Word at the time was that the contractor that had previously been doing it had costed it at £7/tree!

Lots of interesting posts and replies. I like the idea of a scheme that puts the squeeze on poor practitioners... If it really would? I also like the idea of having the 'bar' set and achieved in case it all goes pear shaped (whilst recognising that you're only as good as your last game and if your next game is a bad one, it's still a bad one regardless of what went before it.) I think it's a natural aspiration (maybe an ego / pride thing) to want to achieve a recognised benchmark - but the reality has to be, what benefit does the outlay bring to the business. Is the expenditure going to result in multiples of financial return or is the current business model in need of a boost. Recognising the potential advantages when large scale operations are bidding for large scale contracts, and the preceding comments about big outfits gaining accreditation (perhaps through having sufficient admin / office staff to smash out the paperwork whilst simultaneously not presenting admirable arb output maybe because contract margins are too tight or staff turnover) I've often thought, the scheme, whilst well known within the industry and the associated large contract tenderers, is not sufficiently well known at the lower level - Joe Pub, smaller local government and contract levels etc. If there was a big push to reach out to Joe Pub etc, and they started to demonstrate an awareness and desire to preferentially engage accredited practitioners if might create more of a pull factor? That's probably quite a long way of saying, if more domestic customers "wanted it", more SMEs might do it. Good shout asking the question Paul

Probably best answered by the summary below! For my part, I'm eeking out a meagre existence and maintaining a wholesome state of physical and mental equilibrium.... What's not to like!

You beat me to it!! Can't quite tell if you're an advocate for such "efficiencies" or not though Kriss...?