Billhook

Article in two papers today saying that they believe the vaccine will only work for a couple of months. From the same team that proposed lockdowns until a vaccine was ready. So back to square one, this time try the Swedish model.

Some snowdrops in flower here

Thank you for those links which seem to be a thorough debunking of her more extreme claims. I am not anti vaccinations in general since I have reaped the benefit of polio, smallpox, malaria, tetanus vaccinations and maybe others. I do have a bit of caution around the Covid one in spite of my 67 years. It seems to be very rushed for a start but also all the corona type viruses are not quite the same as the immunity you gain from smallpox/polio as there are so many of them and they are forever mutating. I work outdoors and hopefully have plenty of sunshine and fresh air to keep my vitamin d levels up, eat an oily fish diet with fresh fruit and vegetables, do not smoke, do not drink excessively, take plenty of exercise Live in a reasonably isolated place and do not socialise much in public. I will take the risk and see how far my natural defences work for me.

Trying to put Humpty Dumpty together again. Does anyone perchance have a diagram of the drive assembly for a 1980s JCB 806C. The whole lot fell out so I was not able to see the sequence of parts. I have the outer bearing shells with numbers, but the guy at Anglia bearing said I need to extract the inner race for its number also. This looks difficult as a very long puller is needed with no central point to push on.

They look identical to the Stihl ones I lost, apart from the colour, but since the ebay ones are twice as wide in jaw spacing, I think that they may be better

Elder, I know, the witches will be after me!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ebyNXJy-SU

They are German as well which hopefully means better quality. I have ordered them and will report on their performance

I have often wondered if we need to have a total rethink on public transport. Keep the rail network for heavy goods and rethink the transportation of humans, especially in respect of social distancing. 150 years ago my Gt Gt Grandfather could catch a train two miles from here, the main line from Grimsby to London, the fish train, and be there quicker than I can today. Main line long gone. My option today is a ten mile journey by car ( bus is unthinkable) to Skeggy to catch a crappy little two carriage train to Grantham and carry my sometimes heavy luggage over a footbridge and hang around on the windy platform, usually in the rain, until the crowded express arrives which I have to book. Not surprising that I prefer breathing my own air and listening to my own music in a car in comfort. Of course everyone else thinks the same hence the maximum speed of about 50 mph everywhere and yet we are still encouraged to buy cars that do well over 100 mph and many one and a half times that speed. Nearly 2000 deaths, 25000 serious injuries and 150,000 injuries on uk roads each year. I suggest making totally safe generic electric 4 seater plus luggage 30 mph max cars built for comfort and safety, all airbags no aerodynamics. There would be a network of pylons supporting a lightweight linear electric system. You would mostly live a short distance from a terminal, join the system a bit like a skilift bubble and punch in a postcode and be whisked along at 150 mph until you are released at your postcode terminal to finish your journey at 30mph. Arriving refreshed never having had to carry your luggage after leaving your front door. The pylons could use the current road network without causing too much environmental impact, keep travellers away from the effects of rain,, snow, leaves and ice whilst giving them a wonderful view of the landscape. You need to sit back and have a dream every now and then... Dream on Billhook, I hear you cry as you go to your 140 mph GTI, that has brakes, suspension and tyres better suited to a race track and sit behind a queue of 20 cars doing 42 mph.

I suppose everything is illegal now in the woods without certificates!

I had a pair of Stihl ones very similar, but have mislaid them in my carelessness in the woods somewhere. The ~Stihl ones looked never strong enough for the job but they were fantastic for occasional use and very high quality steel. I can only see hand held Stihl ones on the web at the moment The German ones in the picture look as though the log may be easier to pick up and keep horizontal. I have a hydraulic grapple on a roof crane County but is too much faff to start and run for occasional jobs

Has anybody had any experience with these? They look about the size and capacity that I am after to go beneath the teleporter About 130 cm jaws and 1500kg lifting capacity Perhaps you know of similar superior? A lot depends on the steel quality Log Grapple 1500kg Load Capacity Ø 131cm Wood Lifting Tongs Forestry Tongs WWW.EBAY.CO.UK Made of sturdy steel the log grapple is capable of securely lifting loads of up to 1500 kg. Lightning Turbo Parts Sirens &...

Just posted this on the "is 35 too old to start" thread but it seems more apposite here!

You Gotta realise this before your body explodes! I realised this when I fell out of a tree when I was a kid, so I bought a 17 metre cherry picker with a telescopic boom when I started to work on trees to try and not end up like Steve. You have much the same view without the hassle!

One line in the Pink Floyd song haunts me "And then one day you find ten years have got behind you" Don't miss the starting gun!!

Paddy has a visit from his farming cousin who lives in Wyoming. "Say Paddy, how big is your farm here?" "Well Jo. if you were to go out of the kitchen door and turn right, then walk along the hedge for a couple of hundred yards, then through the gate and turn left and follow the line of trees for another couple of hundred yards until you reach the stream. Turn left at the stream and follow it all the way back to the farmyard and there you have it, that's about the size of it" "Gee Paddy, back in Wyoming on my farm I could start driving my car off in the morning and I would never reach the far end of the farm by sunset" " Bejeebers!, I once had a car like dat!"

I meant if you are normal!

You're only as old as the woman you feel!

Branch logged Ash is a brilliant way to use the brash for kindling

Could be fun in the snow on a steep slope, sort of inverted luge, great while pissed , never knowing where you will end up.

Auger and bucket for me. Auger the hole and lift it out without rotation to prevent smearing and a bucket full of two year old oaks has given a good result on a clay loam with no mulch. Easiest and fastest method I know.

Hidden trailcams are quite reasonably priced atm