TIMON

Couple of years ago we landed a job doing a couple of large removals for a property developer. Big Victorian house, nice part of town, very big front garden, so the trees were coming down and a big drive, some hard landscaping and nice gates going in etc.. plus a big refurb on the house. This was to be the first of many (well paid) jobs with this developer, well respected and doing legit quality work. (No ringbarking) When I first saw the trees, a large mature beech and 2 large silver birch I was surprised that there were no TPO’s on them. The developer showed us the architects report and the planning permission and I also double checked with the council who were very evasive on the phone about whether there were TPO’s or not. We finally established there weren’t. We were just about to start work when a neighbour comes out and starts arguing with us about why we are about to remove the trees, then a guy from the planning dept comes up to us and tells us to stop work. He informs us that the council have just issued a blanket TPO for the area because the neighbour had objected. The developer was understandably furious having gone through the correct channels etc.. (We never got any more work off him) It turns out that the council had been neglecting their duty to provide proper tree surveys in order to be able to designate TPO’s in this area (which is why these trees end up nearly ‘slipping through the net’ ) It’s easy to have a go at the home owner, developer or contractor. If the council did their job properly, these situations wouldn’t arise so often. Important, mature trees with amenity value don’t just spring up overnight. It shouldn’t be beyond the council to provide decent surveys and make quality decisions on which trees should be protected. Surely the TPO should be issued purely by merit of the value of the tree rather than the perceived character of the homeowner! I’m not condoning it at all but you can see why people resort to ringbarking. (Sorry for the derailment, Steve)

Great job Steve. Looked like a lot of picks even for a big tree. Bet you felt it the next day.

Mate sent me this video recently..... crazy contraption but it certainly gets through some knotty lumps. I’d love to see the risk assessment for it......

Of all the hitch cord I’ve tried (before I got a Zigzag) I found this stein stuff to be very grippy.

Daniel Turner: Decades ago, the UN promised climate disaster; so why hasn't it arrived? WWW.FOXNEWS.COM I have been told many times in my life that the end is near, but it never seems to come. Thought this was a fair question to ask..

Just getting ready to fly back to the UK from Cyprus. This is the first holiday in years I’ve really disconnected from work and properly had some down time, it’s been great and really good for me and my marriage . Made sure I removed myself from all work related WhatsApp groups, limited what emails I looked at and responded to, etc. Had someone ‘step in’ to take care of my responsibilities back home, knowing they will probably do it differently to me but it will still be there when I get back. I’ve had to come to the realisation that the world won’t stop turning if I’m away for a fortnight. It’s been a good mix of relaxing and ‘doing stuff’. Wish I’d taken this approach years ago.

[attachment=410302: Great to see that the ‘Extinction Rebellion’ march had such a lasting impact.....

I’m not wanting an argument with you Mark, we agree to differ on these things but I know we have much in common as well. I have strong feelings about anti semitism as I have relatives/ancestors who were rounded up and murdered just because they happened to be Jewish. I’ll always speak out against it when I see it. Enjoy the rest of the weekend. [emoji106]

Is it really ‘absolute *****’ Mark? Jeremy Corbyn has befriended, endorsed and courted groups who spout hatred towards Jews, repeatedly. There are an increasing amount of Labour Party members and MP’s that publicly state that they are sick of what is happening within their own Party. There just doesn’t seem to be anything being done by the main leadership to send any message that suggests otherwise. Or perhaps answer this question, in the last 30 years, have left wing politicians and their policies and rhetoric made Europe a safer place for Jews to live?

It does to me.. I recently worked with a guy who uses SRT exclusively. The thing that caught my attention was the way he traversed the tips of the crown and spread the weight across with lots of static re-directs. There’s no way you could have got to to where he did using DRT. Then he just descended the outer crown without the need for branch walks. (I still can’t get the flaming hang of ascending on it though). [emoji35]

£20 Lidl chain sharpener. Just great for resurrecting knackered chains. I never felt the need to spend £££’s on the more ‘reputable’ brands.

I’m not sure that they can, or at least without the votes of people who actually care about these issues in the Labour Party. It just seems to me like the current Leadership couldn’t care less. It’s like they have taken on board Williamson’s remarks (the ones he got suspended for) and are now blatantly acting on them. Jews only make up about 0.5 % of the population and due to rapidly rising trends of anti-semitism/Zionism, especially among the far left, they are becoming increasingly marginalised... so why should Corbyn care?

Labour have yet another anti semitism row on their hands after re-admitting Chris Williamson back into the Party after his suspension. (Conveniently, just in time for re-selection) It’s now apparent that Labour think they can get elected at the next GE without any Jewish votes at all , so why even bother with the pretence of dealing with anti-semitism. At least they are starting to be a bit more up front and honest about it. Certainly by their actions anyway. http://fathomjournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Institutionally-Antisemitic-Report-FINAL-6.pdf

Twisting the cord itself when forming the wraps and braids can help ‘fine tune’ the characteristics of the hitch. OP takes a bit of wearing in before it gets grippy. Extra wrap or braid helps when new. Transitioning from Prussik to HC can be a bit tricky at first as you will be used to holding your own weight to advance the prussik. Doing the same with the HC means that the hitch isn’t being weighted straight away and slips before it grips. You’ll soon get used to it.

I have to agree with you on this. If the guy can’t be faithful and true to his own loved ones and family to the extent that he has shown, what hope does anyone else have? Up until very recently, I thought that, despite the shortcomings in his private life, Boris was the right ‘tool’ (sic) to get the Brexit job done. I’m not so sure now. It’s getting harder and harder to be optimistic about our political situation these days, given the available options. The British political system is slowly disappearing up its own backside in a vortex of mediocrity.

Interesting bit of info Eggs, I never realised that. Even if the Guardian won’t shell out to the public, I bet a freelance hack would. Apparently, she’s a multi-million £££ heiress so obviously they didn’t need the money. The thing that got on my nerves about it was the fact that they said they phoned the police because they were ‘concerned for her welfare’ I would have more respect for them if they just said... ‘we couldn’t believe our luck in getting an opportunity to stitch Boris up”. [emoji51]

Whatever the going rate is I guess. They must have been so relieved that no harm had come to Ms Symonds.

Boris’’s girlfriend’s neighbours phone the police because they were so concerned for her well being, how very compassionate and decent of them to do the right thing..... then they sold the audio recording to the Guardian.

I see people on a regular basis who suffer really nasty psychosis and drug induced schizophrenia from smoking hydroponic ‘skunk weed’ cannabis. I can’t see how legalising it is going to have a significant impact on people’s health. Naturally or ‘sunlight’ grown cannabis isn’t as strong so there would always be a market for the stronger stuff. Methadone is ‘legal’ heroin and it is really difficult to detox from compared to heroin and much worse from a health point of view.

Because legalising alcohol solved all the problems related to it? If only it were that simple. America’s biggest drug problem right now is pharmaceutical prescription opiates. (i.e legal drugs) Harm minimalisation programmes have very little impact on the wider issues. Knife and gun crime has degenerated from merely being ‘crimes’ to a phenomenon that has totally embedded itself into youth culture. In a society where Hope has been eroded for many young people, joining a gang provides an escape, something to belong to, an income, prestige, etc..etc.. A massive culture change is needed. Heavier sentences and deportation would be a start, but that isn’t going to solve the problem on its own.

Very interesting life journey, Steve. Arbtalk is a rich source of information and a great contribution to the industry. I’ve met some great people on here that have become good friends and I’ve learned loads from spending time on here. Thanks.