devon TWiG

A joke from Matelot's Christmas cracker .......What is the only thing to have settled in this country recently and not claimed benefits ??...................SNOW !!!

Guy top left looks a bit camp !!!

Always a hard question , as retirement is a bit like going on a holiday but you have no idea how long for !!! therefore no idea how much money you will need ...having a job in the public sector seems the best way to a guaranteed generous pension but obviously this is not for everyone . ISA's are a bit redundant now as interest on any savings up to £1000 is now tax free , and almost all "safe " investments have very poor returns at the moment . If you are mortgage and rent free by the time you are in your 50's then you should have plenty of disposable income , but the temptation to dispose of it is high !! Buying commercial property or land is one option , especially if it is of use to yourself . Really though how much money will you require for a reasonable standard of life ?? the state pension is not enough but topped up by savings / some investments and perhaps some part time / temporary work should suffice if your lifestyle choice is realistic , however if you are sold the retirement dream of endless holidays / cruises / dining out / classic cars /lady boys etc then ask yourself do you really believe you will want this when you are 70 plus , even if you are lucky enough to still have good health or even be alive ???? it is all a gamble really ???

Be suspicious that it is not stolen ????

As well as offering your self to other tree contractors you could also contact landscape contractors etc and also seek your own jobs , simple felling , ground clearance etc and on occasions you could get jobs and hire in a climber , I am pretty sure if you were determined enough you could keep busy , but the maths may vary from your example ...

I guess it is a sort of "pole climbing" really !

I have never seen this method of climbing before

Utterly bewildered by your comments !!!!! "Stinks ", " highly unprofessional " "sue " for what ?? and have no idea what you mean by "privileged" information ?? This was in about 1990 , I was working next door to the property when inquiry was made , called Arb officer the next day to inquire about the trees status and was surprised it was not protected . I do not know how you think trees have become subject to TPO's but it is often as a result of them being under threat , in the past local Arb officers often would not let us know if a tree was protected after an inquiry until they had, had a look and see if it is worthy of preservation ., this was quite common in planning applications for construction sites particularly .Do you think Arb officers used to drive around looking for "nice " trees to TPO ?

Was asked for a price to remove a nice big Blue atlas cedar that owner felt was spoiling his view , phoned Arb officer to see if it had TPO , and he said no ....I suggested he goes to look a it , next day he tells me it does have now !!! good result I think !!

Seeing as nearly everything for sale in this country seems to be made in China ...do we have to pay for the "right " to buy from them ? and can their citizens come to the UK and live , or us go there to live ? I am not sure I would like to live under their " human rights " ... however they are not trying to impose them on us are they !!

We rarely prune trees for the benefit of the trees ... more often for the whims of the owner , or it is in the way of space some one wants to use for something else .....also flush cutting from a few decades ago provides nice cavities for habitat now ...just not ideal next to a busy road !!

Cut it to the lengths that the weight is such that the horse can shift !!

One thing with insurance that seems odd to me is ...say for example I was pissed and crashed my car in to another car the insurers pay out to the 3rd parties car but not mine ... this is not the reason I do not drink and drive !!!!

Equally you will not see a Guardian headline about how much theft gypsies are responsible for !! if you only like to hear what you want to hear then you may as well be deaf .....

Aside from the immigration issue , how many people really think our continental neighbours are truly friends ?? It would seem they are the type that will be your best mate as long as you keep buying them drinks !! One of the reasons for the leave vote was that they simply do not listen to our concerns and just continue with their own grand plan for Europe . The free movement of people seems a good idea but it seems to have been a one way thing , how many Brits ( or other nationals ) have moved to work in Eastern Europe , very , very few I think , more have come to the UK and Germany purely for financial gain and have no vested interest in our country or ways of life and are of the opinion " what can my ( host ) country do for me ? in effect we are just using them , they play a small role in local communities and tend to stick together , as do most Brits overseas , multiculturalism may sound nice but in reality it will lead to dilution of cultures until they are lost which will be a shame . Financially I think most of us should be prepared for an economic downturn ,mostly due to "confidence " in markets and consumer spending which I personally think is not all together a bad thing as we just cannot keep getting richer for ever and when is enough ,enough ??

From what I have read recently only 6% of the UK is developed ( houses , factories , shops, roads etc ) and 12% is woodland and approx 50% farmland . Just look on google earth and see how green this country is , I do not wish to see more development but as the population everywhere increases and people always seem to want bigger houses , second homes etc etc it is inevitable ...sadly ....

I do not think safety standards need to improve , the existing standards are more than adequate they just need to be more closely adhered to and complied with , on the whole they are , and risks can only be reduced not eliminated . ..... even paramedics / Ambulance drivers must crash or hurt them selves on occasion .

If doing the latest nptc for aerial pruning etc is it acceptable/ permitted to one hand a saw ?

Whenever there was jobs in or around water I was always the one in it .....once whilst working on a river bank there was no real option other than to fell leaning trees in to river , then I was the one who would wade in ( no trousers , old trainers ) and cut major limbs so they could be pulled out , on one as I stepped forward the water was a lot deeper and my mates ??? said it was hilarious to see me disappear beneath the water but keep my saw above my head !!!! another time whilst working next to a stream I accidently knocked my own saw ( still running ) in to the water , jumped in after it but made the water cloudy and could not see the saw so was crawling / swimming around and eventually found it by feel !! that was in winter ...Another time whilst working on an estuary bank we were burning up below the high tide line but the tide came in before all was burnt and tried to stop large lumps of charcoal from being washed away was messy to say the least .

I am very dubious of the claims made by sellers/ users of Aspen , firstly even if the fuel is cleaner burning than petrol it is still mixed with 2 stroke oil , and it is the burning of oil with fuel that gives 2 strokes the reputation of being "dirty " also the way a 2 stroke works means that fuel is burnt less efficiently compared to 4 strokes , also consider the fact that there will be atomised lubrication oil flung in to the air form the chain , also not to mention DUST , from the saw you are using , the chipper ( plus it's fumes ) and the blower ....also background pollution from traffic , industry etc etc when all this is considered as potential hazards to health in this industry then the level of reduction of potential harm overall to the users respiratory system by using Aspen must be so small as to be impossible to quantify , and the cost /benefit to me is ridiculous , I have never felt I have suffered from fumes or had saw problems that could be positively attributed to the fuel ..........however if others are convinced and are happy to pay such a premium then it is of no concern of mine ...

Will the RSPCA be prosecuting for cruelty ??....or will the man sue the eel for sexual assault ??

Could not agree more !!!! life is for living, not being in the rat race , although being realistic that a living needs to be earned , this profession on the whole is a satisfying and enjoyable way to supply life's needs . Not many people in the grave yard wished they had worked more in their lives !!

I know for a fact after speaking to some potential workers that the excessive level ( and cost ) and timescale , of certification and kit , is a big obstacle , also moving to different areas due to high housing costs is a real barrier and also this industry is just not viewed as a serious career compared to many others .

This is a heavy reduction !!!! 90% ? a 70ft beech tree reduced to 10-12 ft on main stem leaving one low limb to form a new small crown ( hopefully ) this tree is in a woodland , has major ustilinia , and the "aim " is to create a future veteran specimen this was the first job with a new ms661 , climbing with it !!

That is a good example of how a skilled and dedicated arborist can make a silk purse from a sows ear .....with a chainsaw ...well done !! I have had to do some real hatchet jobs recently for ignorant customers and can well imagine other arbs driving by and shaking their heads in disbelief ....