kevinjohnsonmbe

Get over there, get a girl, hunker down for winter. Worry about work later! Build a still, brew some shine you'll be rich & famous (then blind) in no time ):0) 4 yrs in N Sweden, the absolute best place to be in Spring, Summer, Autumn, pretty bloody cold & bleak in Winter but still awesome! Just go, work the details out later!

I don't go out on rainy days, ergo, t-shirt normally sufficient ):0)

http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/members/kevinjohnsonmbe-albums-random-picture6743-img-1162.jpg[/img]

Find a local printing / embroidery shop, scan their catalogue for "breathable" tshirts for summer use and rugby jerseys for winter, find some you like, keep 1 smart (ish) for general wear and wear the "working" shirts while out & about & on jobs! Amazing how many people will ask "do you do trees?" Free, walking, talking billboard! Just the job!!

Like it! ):0)

There's another 'group' that doesn't seem to have been mentioned yet and they REALLY grip my tits! The JSA recipients that are working for cash AND still claiming - they're probably taking home more than the honest grafter who does his work & pays his tax.

David, we haven't met but I've had great customer service from Connor previously. Haven't used your Plymouth satellite branch yet but will do when the need arises! Personally, I prefer to buy from new then I know the usage, history and maintenance schedules. If you buy a "bargain" it's only a matter of time before you're buying someone else's stolen kit and one day it'll come back to haunt you.

Legendary innit!

BBC News - Hampshire Police apology over stolen caravan

I've had some I WISH I hadn't taken on but hindsight's a wonderful thing! I'd say its best to trust your gut feeling especially if the top-end price is fixed, why should you take the risk if the potential reward isn't there. Better to have brains bigger than balls in my opinion!

I had a guy come to view my bike (BMW R1200GS) on a Saturday. He had a big wad of £50's and wanted to pay cash there & then. We sat at a bench in the garden counting 50's and I thought to myself - actually, I wouldn't really know a good fake 50 from a real one and this guy will disappear with my bike and I'll have nothing! I told him, we've shaken hands, the deals done and I won't accept a higher offer in the meantime. If you come back Monday, we'll go together to the bank, they can check the money then we'll go back home and load the bike in your van. He took the BMW & the KTM and I had the money safely banked. He was a nice enough chap, understood my caution and we parted company on good terms although I miss the bike. Take care out there, only a crook would be offended if you're cautious.

The picture quality wasn't so good on the IPhone, think I'll go back with the camera tomorrow- the colour was so deep, fiery sunset orange, a real eye catcher!

Nice one!

You're right there! £6 a net in Homebase (unbelievable!)

Good sense of humour (in the face of adversity!) Made me chuckle!!

I'm not sure the RHI has "incentivised" the massed hoards to instal log boilers. I only know of 2 locally ( 1 domestic 1 commercial.) I know more (including ourselves) that went pellet but still not a massive bow wave of installations. Personally, I wouldn't trust DECC as far as I could raise a smoke stack if I set them all on fire! Empty promises and ineffective inertia!! Perhaps it's as well the take-up is so low given the log consumption for a decent sized installation and I understand the frustration local firewood suppliers are having trying to satisfy demand. The (seemingly) considerable demand for log burning stoves is more than enough to exhaust normal supplies so it shouldn't take an academic study to realise there ain't enough good seasoned wood for high capacity users!

That's the key to the problem of low wages at the "doing" end in my opinion! £7/h is around (not sure exactly) the national min wage isn't it? So why not stack shelves with thumb up Harris? I get the passion & enjoyment OP appears to exude (and good on you!) I'm just saddened that "we" don't think it's worth more than min wage. I'm also surprised (and saddened given that I know what it takes to do this job as I go to bed tonight with a twisted ankle, bruised knuckles and an aching knee) that the labourer on a building site with no passion, no drive, no ambition gets paid as much or more. Can I put my money where my mouth is? I've got semi-regular subbies: climbing £120-180/day, ground £100-150/day and I'm comfortable with that. I can usually get the right guy at the right time for the right job and enjoy working with them. Maybe the mortgage would have been paid off sooner if I was paying min wage though. I don't have anyone "on the books" as I only do 3 days a week now but I appreciate its a different game with additional overheads and admin, maybe that's the part of the puzzle I'm missing??

"national diploma in forestry and arboriculture, CS30 & 31 and I am being assessed for 38 tomorrow" How can that equate to min wage? A labourer or shelf stacker (not to decry those jobs) equates to min wage. This guy has some experience, some qualifications and surely deserves to expect a bit better than Min wage. It's no wonder wages are so low in this game if we don't recognise the skills those at the beginning of their career bring to the job.

Worth highlighting to your local dealer for TW investigation??

Opened it on the Mac! Really useful document, thank you!

PIP (Poly Implant Prothese) had CE mark and that was a load of t1ts! CE is only the manufacturers self certification whereas BS (British Standard) is independently tested. No BS!

Was it 3 pics attached or 1 document & 2 pics? The first of the attachments doesn't open ):0( What did you clean the weep with? Thanks for feedback ):0)

Maybe (just maybe) the problem is with the tester. I would ask the manufacturer to validate crabs and consider challenging tester's credibility with the awarding body of his qualification to conduct tests. Is the tester also a supplier of kit?

Agreed! In an already "uneven playing field" there is no quality assurance (other than reputation) to encourage the private customer to engage a qualified/competent operator. This even extends to parish councils it seems. I recently tendered for a PC job. They needed 3 quotes, mine & 1 other were very similar, the 3rd was only 16% of the price myself & other had quoted. PC jumped at the cheapest quote. Simple common sense should have rang alarm bells - it simply wasn't possible to even cover costs at that price, I even explained that to them. I knew when the work was due so I went for a look at the outcome. The WRONG TREE had been butchered creating a hazard over the highway and a play park, the timber had been free dropped onto the Tarmac damaging the road surface, the chippings were fly tipped on the verge adjacent to a culvert creating a flood risk hazard and the hazard tree (as identified in the County council inspection report) remained untouched! All of this was done over the highway with no application for traffic management. Then it all became clear... The idiot/incompetent operator was a local guy who is a parish councillor! What hope is there for "ticketed", insured, conscientious and aspiring professionals where price appears to be the only driver?

“…there is NO better skill than experience…” Experience is, without question, a truly valuable resource – but for arguments sake, where does “experience” leave you if you’re doing it wrong in the first place? (I don't mean you personally, but there may be people out there relying solely on 'experience' that is not GOOD experience.) It simply perpetuates the ignorance and error. Far better surely, is a renewable measure of skill and knowledge COMBINED with experience. “…just renewing a ticket every so often doesn’t mean you have any better skills than the one man band who’s been working away and not bothered gathering up qualifications like points on a card…” Renewing a ticket may not, in itself, mean better skills, but it does provide a measure by which one may be confident that industry best practice, safety and effectiveness is assured. ‘Gathering up qual’s like points’ on a card is pretty disparaging attitude towards those that are entering the industry, no offence taken! “…all the "ticket" collectors have been doing is making the various training companies rich…” I’ve no doubt training companies have made their living, I don’t begrudge them that, without them, I couldn’t make mine! “…How many on this site can actually claim to have been active prior to '98…” I prefer to look forward rather than backwards, change is the only constant. “…and less actual "experienced" folk coming up through the pile of wannabes, anybody can do a course, get a bussines card, and call themselves an arborist, lets see them get there arse out onto a remote hillside, clearfell and remove it, in the wind and rain, maybe have to carry your kit in 3 or 4 mile before you start…” Not sure how you’d think anybody could gain the experience without being a lowly ‘wannabe.’ I would have to disagree if you honestly think ‘anybody’ can do a course… and call themselves an arborist. Maybe the entry level tickets, but as you progress through the higher level tickets, PTI, etc – it takes financial commitment, intelligence, determination, ability, capacity and no short measure of guts. Maybe for another thread but are you confusing arborist for forester? “…instead of "renewall" of tickets, maybe a check on your actual skill level with a written as well as a practical exam…” Bit confused by this statement…. It seems to be advocating all that you’ve argued so eloquently against??