wrsni

Absolutely, I don't understand why it's the genuine cases who are the first to jump to the defence of the parasites and wasters when it's them (the deserving ones) who ultimately suffer the most due to abuse of the system. Very few of us I would suggest want to see the welfare state dismantled nor begrudge anyone in genuine need the benefit of it, after all, there but for the grace of god etc, etc. But it's abuse is rife, most of us see it happening day in, day out, and to deny it in the first place never mind not do anything about it, just adds to the resentment among those of us who keep our heads down, work away, and pay for it!

When I was looking for a mower I had a look at the Iseki and they were very keen to give me a demo, but insisted I wait a week for the grass to grow a bit and then leave it until a very wet day! So they must be good in the wet for that degree of confidence.

Presumably the family could now sue the undertaker!

Bollocks, just noticed the date of the original post.

I've been in the same position, unfortunately being in Northern Ireland I can't vouch for what similarities are between your planning laws and ours so details may differ. All my difficulties came from a malicious neighbour, an old bat with too much money and time on her hands whose problem was that she simply didn't want me to be here. What also made it especially difficult was that everything she done, even reporting me to the planning department in the first place, was via her solicitor which made them particularly fastidious as they knew that every move they made would be scrutinised. That having been said, I went through the proper channels, kept my temper, held my tongue, gave it all time (lots of time!), and beat her on every single damn thing either by proving her wrong or getting retrospective permission. All I can really say in brief is don't ignore it as it's very unlikely to go away.

I bought a secondhand 266xp last year and it's been terrific. Starts very easily, runs well, cuts everything I've thrown at it with ease, looks extremely simple to sort if anything does go wrong, and parts seem plentiful. Not suggesting that any of the full time tree men would want to swap their 560's for it but by the same token I'd have no need or desire for the added complication that comes with a 560. Against that when you buy something new it'll always be new to you, a new "old school" saw may be the way to go.

Still using a Dell Vostro 1000, purchased new 1st December 2007 and it's the only computer I've used since. Gets switched on when I get up in the morning, usually anytime between 6 and 7, and gets switched off at night anytime from 11 to 1. Does all the farm and shop accounts, online ordering, workshop manuals, parts diagrams, booking flights, ferries, accomodation, DARD work for the farm, up until last year all the weans course work and submissions to various places, it goes on and on, never cools, and I'm sitting using it now. Running costs up until now have been two new cooling fans which I fitted myself when the old ones wore out. Maybe I've been lucky and there seems to be plenty of reports suggesting that Dell ain't what they used to be but to also suggest that anyone not using a Mac of some form is a clueless numpty muddling through is just bollocks. I'll not waste time on anything that gives me needless hassle but up until now I've seen no need to get away from a pc.

I'd say that's the way to go, and if you're using it commercially don't skimp on the materials either. I'm not a heavy user, only what's needed to heat our own place, but the most of the things I've seen for sale would've been knocked in to shite a long time ago whereas this thing will probably be about here longer than me!

My sawhorse is built with a taper so it'll work with all sizes. I work with a lot of small diameter stuff from hedges or tree thining, so you can load it up, put a ratchet strap around it, run the saw through, and you'll have a pile of firing for maybe a minutes sawing. Also makes it a safe one person operation as I keep a ratchet strap attached permanently at one end and always use it. Will comfortably work with bigger stuff as well if you wish. Took a couple of quick photos yesterday but you can load it well above the arms in normal use.

I HAVE an X27, it's terrific. My confusion was how something lighter and with a much thinner head THAN IT, ..........................could be as good!

I'm confused now, the Fiskars has the "big fat wedge" which you refer to and is what I assumed made it so effective at actually spitting the wood. Also, if the wood doesn't split at least the thicker taper means it hasn't buried itself in as far and therefore comes out much easier. As for the weight, again surely you need the heavier head to generate more force to split the wood. A wee thin light head sounds more like something that would slice rather than split.

Same with the 8kw, but we need a decent bit of proper cold weather to get the taps opened to see what it can really do. A few degrees below freezing hasn't been enough to test it properly yet even after a year, and that's with the heat going through the whole house. Which is actually a bungalow so no benefit from heat rising either. They had a 12kw sitting at the place where I bought mine and I reckon you could easily burn double the amount of wood in it again compared to the 8kw, so although rated at 12kw I doubt you'd find it lacking in the slightest. The Burley also has built in "convection tubes" which essentially increase the surface area and maximise heat output. The wee diagram on their web site details the theory very well, but most importantly, it all works extremely well in practice.

We fitted an 8kw Burley just over a year ago based on excellent reviews both here and elsewhere and far from just living up to expectations it has dramatically exceeded them. The design is very different from most other stoves but when I read up on it I liked the theory, thought it made sense, and plainly it does. Don't be put off by their advertising based on efficiency ratings and figures, I don't generally be impressed by that sort of thing as it's usually bollocks but in this case it isn't, they really do deliver ridiculous amounts of heat from a relatively small amount of wood. Operation couldn't be simpler either but again that's all part of the clever design. Only thing is the look, I like it but would fully understand if it wasn't to some peoples taste but that's something that's easy to judge before you buy anyway.

...........and a Kw is 0.75hp so 65w doesn't equate to a lot of horse power.

Samsung seem well sorted on camera tech generally. My daughter took these with her S3 and they're as good as many a camera. I've also just bought an S5610 Samsung "dumb" phone and the camera on it seems very good. Still adjusting after nearly 20 years as a Nokia user but so far quite impressed.

It's a very subjective question. A 6 ton braked load behind it should be fairly well within it's limits, couple it with genuine 4 wheel braking on the tractor and it'll be pretty safe too. As to what you actually COULD pull with it, well 8-10 is well possible but you know, there are so many variables, even the sort of roads you're pulling on. Flat smooth road you'll cruise along with 12 ton on easier than 4 or 5 on a hilly rough back road. When you say "trailer options" do you mean a dump trailer, drop side general purpose, monocoque, low loader, or what? Physical size of the trailer frequently is as much of an issue as the weight it carries as loads can vary so much.

Sadly not to Northern Ireland as it turns out, fireblight regulations. They were good enough however to return my call, even when they knew they couldn't supply, and take the time to explain why, which was very decent. Thanks for the pointer anyhow. Oh, and I now know considerably more about fireblight than I did this morning!

Excellent point sir regarding the presence of the willow. Will also take on board the other point that after being cut back at that age they may die anyway so not to take their regrowth for granted! I'll go and have a good dander through it some day again in the next few weeks with a more critical eye and then have a long hard think. The present owner is a nutter, if approached on a good day he'd give you it, a bad day and you'd be roaded out of the yard at the end of a 12 bore, anything in between all equally possible. So trying to get it in the first place will be a task not lightly undertaken! Nice story of your great aunt, definitely takes a very different, even slightly weird by present day standards, mindset to plan tree planting but I think it's a healthy one. You're forced to think outside of your own little personal sphere and that's a good thing.

Wasn't an issue back then so can't really comment. I'd probably have noticed if it had been remarkable one way or the other but that wasn't the case.

Assuming it's a decent example of one, they're absolutely brilliant. When I started farming early 80's I hadn't much money and anything I made was going in to stock so on the nod of a local farmer who had a 385 Ursus I bought a Crystal. It done everything, cut silage, carted slurry, fed the cattle with a rear grab, road work, cultivation, the lot, never missed a beat. Needed a bit more power in a couple of years and fell in with an 8011 that'd been turbo charged, same again, went like a train. Worked them both for half a dozen years or more and eventually traded them for a brand new 7745T, which turned out to be an absolute piece of shite. Only potential drawback is it's sheer size, big climb in an out of the cab as well if yer footering aboot. Not too many tidy ones about any more, certainly not over here.

On a slightly different note, anyone ever had the "winter vomiting bug"? We all got hit with it (me, mrs, two weans) about a dozen years ago, man it was intense. Totally debilitating for a couple of days, and then maybe another week odd to recover. Thankfully unlike the cold, it's a virus that doesn't mutate as much and once you've had it there's a reasonable degree of immunity. Certainly in no hurry for it again either.

Seen an excellent interview this year with Gary Player, ridiculously fit for a man in his late seventies. His four words of wisdom, "eat less, live longer".

Sad to see so little acknowledgement of why there even is Christmas. Also strange how so many people now protest about any vestiges of christianity in our "modern" society yet happily go along with the exploitation of one of the most sacred times of the year.

Yeah, sorry about that, sort of asked the wrong question looking back on it. I suppose the hub of it is whether to or not 35 yr old willow stumps are worth keeping once cut back. On one hand they're willow, not the most exciting thing to have. On the other hand my "new" woodland, which it essentially adjoins, is two year old, I'm in my mid-fifties, the chances of me seeing anything 35 yr old in it are at best, very very slim, so this would probably be my only shot at having a bit of "mature" woodland. Then again, is willow even a worthy mention as a woodland component, you still have to look long term even though you won't be there to see it so should the aim be to bring more hardwood up through the willow to ultimately replace it and take over.

Double post.