Peasgood

In the last 30+ years I can only think of 3 times where I needed recovering. Once in a supermarket carpark when the fuel solenoid failed on my diesel Orion. RAC disconnected it so it would start but you had to stall it to turn the engine off. Ran it like that for weeks before actually fixing it. I was in a 12 ton wagon when some of the pistons became disconnected from the crankshaft. Uncle dragged me off the M56 with a Merc van, handballed the load onto our other wagon and never saw the broken one again. Another time was a puncture on a Vauxhall Movano in Manchester and I couldn't undo the wheel nuts, I bent the wheel brace in half trying. Point being I would have been much better off over the years just pay as you go rather than RAC, AA etc. Having said that, if I was doing a lot of travelling and motorway miles far from home I think I would go with the cheapest of RAC, AA or Green Flag for peace of mind. ps. I have been lucky I guess as I certainly haven't been running around in fancy vehicles, most of them if they broke down they'd be best left where they were, same as the wagon.

Any of the comparison sites would get me truck insurance for a third of what the NFU renewal was. I couldn't justify staying with them, if it was just a bit more I probably would but 3 times more expensive? No.

That's sad. RIP I know she did loads of stuff but Sister Morphine is one of my favourite songs.

Have to say that is the other issue, signs left out long after they should be. How many times have you seen Road Closed signs out when the road isn't closed? I'd say at least 80% of the time the road isn't closed at all. There are currently such signs outside my house, road has been open since 3pm yesterday. Temporary traffic lights when the only obstruction is the fat feck asleep in the transit that brought the lights in the first place, you can't say you never saw that.

The nanny state has resulted in the complete erosion of self preservation. Cyclists getting into arguments with cars and joggers running towards oncoming traffic in dark clothing, at night, in the rain seem to be a national pastime. I 100% do not understand it.

Your wilted leaves look like fireblight to me but could be due to canker. Either way they are nothing to do with the aphids, woolly or otherwise. Best thing for woolly aphids is to paint them with methylated spirits, it breaks down the wool (which is actually wax) and dessicates the aphid. Earwigs are what eat them rather than ladybirds and I have yet to see a woolly aphid population controlled by natural predators. Ants in your trees are not good but not as bad as ants in your pants. As said, they farm and protect aphids but the non woolly sort.

Can't think why it would be complicated to sweep an unlined chimney, they were all unlined until relatively recently. Get a recommended sweep in if you don't want to do it yourself, otherwise just undo the stove pipe, lift it up and drag the stove out of the way. There's likely to be soot on top of the baffle plate inside the stove and possibly fallen bricks on the register plate. None of that is hard to deal with either diy or paying a sweep.

I measured the tree lying down behind my tractor with a tape, it was 82'.

This particular hedge was cut off at about 4’ when it was well over 60’ tall, it’s actually in my garden This is the one I am working on. The low bit was cut off maybe 10 years ago Same hedge, different view Different hedge, also cut off at 3-4’ when well over 60’ tall One I cut off yesterday at about 9’. You can rate my hinge at the same time. . These were cut off about 7 years ago and allowed to grow up again. The wood from these is what I am currently heating my house on 3’ high stump within the above hedge, they are all like this.

Diameter varies a lot but I will guess at 18-20" on these. I will take some measurements and pics tomorrow. Pot luck on how trashed they get but they do come right, again I will take some pics of ones that have been done in the past to show what they turn into. On this occasion it is me on the saw. No, not a nice place to be and I have said all along I am not particularly brave and certainly not a have a go hero. ps. didn't think you were being a twat and glad of any advice offered on here by you and everyone else. That's mostly why I am here.

Actually makes a good hedge believe it or not. They can get a bit wide if not side trimmed regular but still a tidy enough hedge, same as any leylandii hedge. We had miles of them and I am talking from experience, sometimes you get a stretch that dies but 99% of the time they thrive. The only difference this time is it is me cutting them. I have 400 metres to do, I don't want to buy or plant that many new trees.

In that case I can use the telescopic handle off my Stihl turbocut. An absolute godsend for non climbers like myself, amazing what trees you can dismantle with one of them. That should get my rope high enough to pull. You are correct but you also assume there's a suitable accessible branch, the trees I want to use it on don't have such branches so much better to grip the pole. Nice winch and I like how smooth it is. Can tell it is well polished from use. I'm just tying off to a tractor and pulling. Thank you for all of the answers, they are all food for thought and helpful. What I am cutting down is a row of leylandii that are 90'+ tall. They are grown as a hedgerow so are mostly single stems. The catch is I want them cut off at approx 8' high so I retain the hedge and the privacy it provides. Not really a great challenge for a young, fit, experienced and brave person, unfortunately I don't really possess those qualities apart from being just about fit enough. I have done half a dozen of them today while it was still, all went well and not as challenging as I had anticipated. Pulled one, pushed one and the others just straight felled. The pushed one was short and skinny, not something I would do with the big ones.

Yes, I have done that bit. I already have hand tongues that are possibly a bit small and skidding tongs which would be way too heavy. There are quite a range of sizes out there and I think the larger Husqvarna hand tongues are about the right size but not sure the arms are long enough for a spring to work. Suck it and see I guess. I think cobbling together is probably the way to go, not easy to figure out how strong they are from internet ads though. As well as the link you posted I have seen some designed to lift cameras up to heights, whether they are strong enough I don't know until I try I guess. I've seen ads for various size aluminium poles that will slot together but no ads for the locking connectors unfortunately. Might sound daft to some of you guys but there is no way I could climb up there as I am completely hopeless with heights no matter how I try.

Thank you. I best get tinkering.They look useful for some jobs I have in mind.

Finnish Lumberjack on Youtube. I take it nobody has even heard of these things.

Has anybody seen/used felling tongs as in this video? Anybody know where to get some and the pole or is it a case of modifying some timber tongs from Chris Forestry for example? From 50 seconds in the vid

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I don't want to jinx my luck nor dismiss others advice but I have never had any long term storage regime. Sometimes the tools run out of petrol sometimes they are left with fuel in. 2 stroke or 4 stroke gets left in cans or fuel tanks for months before getting used. I have never had a problem with any chainsaw, strimmer, or anything with a 4 stroke engine with fuel left in it for months on end as a result. Doesn't matter if it is an expensive Husky/Stihl or a cheap Chinese Loncin. They all start when asked and run fine. My Stihl strimmer can go nearly 12 months without use but it will still start and run on the fuel in the tank if it hasn't leaked or evaporated. The fuel in my can was probably mixed 3 months ago or more but it will run whatever I put it in. Not claiming it is best practice by any means but I can only think of one instance when fuel "went off" and that was probably many years old rather than months.

That's all very well but then the missus can't light it. (I'm sure your response to that would be well meaning but it would be a waste of breath, believe me I have tried)

Scaffolding Protection Foam

I have one inside my shed, it will keep the frost off but takes all day to raise the temp a few degrees. Works well enough, a bit noisy but not massive output if the shed is of any size.

Rotten Ash has a very strong and distinct smell of horse piss. First time I noticed this I was looking around to see where the horse was. I don't suppose everyone would know what horse piss smells like. (it's the same as rotten Ash btw)

Could be poplar, it still burns well once dried though despite what any ancient poems suggest. Wet ash doesn't burn like the poem suggests either and won't warm a kings feet.

Peru, that's where the asparagus in Sainsburys this morning was from.

This