IronMike

I can confirm, John has done a grand job on this! Just need to to get the RB running again now mate..... ?

RIP Luna, Loon Ball, Goon, Goon Ball, Sausgaes, Rausages. You will be missed ?

Hello Rick! All is grand buddy, cheers. Got a wee lad now who is 6 months old so rolling back the parenting skills haha! Hope you and the family are all well too? If you’re ever passing Richmond call in for a brew, I’m still on the same number if you have it. Good luck rounding some troops up!

I did a few days subbing for Rick a year or so back, top guy. The work was good, the banter was good, he paid me no problem, all round decent fella. Hope you're well Rick!

Once you get used to how they handle, they’re fine. At first I found it to be a bit like steering a ship! But they’re no different to much else really after a while.

Of course!

Expert photographer skills!

I don’t know you Big J, but I wish you the best of luck and have great respect for what you’re doing. Seems like you have the drive and ambition to make it work mate, very commendable!

Posch Splitmaster if I’m not mistaken.

UPDATE!! Having recently unretired from tree work, I had to do something to remedy my slick footwear situation. So I nipped up to see Altberg Boots who are a mere 2 minutes drive from my house. A week later, and for the very reasonable price of £49.50 my Haix boots are back in the game! Top quality workmanship and service, would absolutely recommend them. Hopefully these soles will last a good while longer than the standard ones. They seemed very confident they would.

And most importantly of all John....... IT'S BRIGHT ORANGE!!! ?

To be fair, he does his share of hedge cutting. It's just I like to moan about doing it!

I think the most stupid mistake I ever made in my tree work career was showing some panache for hedge cutting........

Check your fuel filter. Most likely cause of cutting out I’d say.

Haix Protector Ultra. After owning a pair of Haix Protector Pro boots for best part of 2 years, I was very excited to try out the impressive looking Protecter Ultras. I’ve been lucky with my footwear in my time working in the Arb industry. 5 years service, and only 3 pairs of boots in that time. The Protector Pros were undoubtedly the best pair I’d had, and seemed to fit my feet very well. So, the Ultras had a lot to live up to! After trying on lots of different styles and brands, I found myself lacing up a pair of the Ultras and thinking to myself, yes, these are the ones for me. I have quite skinny, low volume feet and Haix just seem to fit me. I had been desperate to try a pair of Meindl Airstereams but there is just too much volume in there for my foot shape. First impressions were excellent. Comfy, light, not to warm. As a ground worker only I don’t need to worry about how they perform with spikes on. I was more interested in whether they kept my feet dry and warm, and kept me on my feet. As expected towards the end of the Protector Pros life grip was non existent, and they were no longer watertight. I had had trouble in the initial stages of wearing both styles (Pro and Ultra), with there being no flex in the ankle area. Thankfully I was taught a trick to get around this, namely missing out the eyelet for the laces where the flex point is. This allows the initial rigidity to soften quite quickly. I must say though, the Ultras were much quicker to mound to my feet and I was happily working away in the them in a matter of days. The Pros took a solid fortnight to get comfy! The Ultras looked the part, in a vibrant red colour and I thought they complemented my SIP trousers nicely (you’ve got to look professional). The lacing system was slick, and the lock off eyelets made keeping the tension on the laces a doddle when doing them up. The insole was cool and comfy, and stayed put unlike some others that can move about. The outers seemed fairly tough and resistant to oil, dirt and grime. Overall I was very happy with them......for the first 6 months anyway. Now as was mentioned, the Protector Pros I had before these were outstanding. The lasted for well over 18 months and performed admirably. Unfortunately the same can not be said for the Ultras. The sole had lost the majority of its tread after 6 months, and on the left boot the sold had split at the front of the boot. The sole has also started to come away at various places on both boots. This is such a shame as the uppers are still in very good condition, and remain watertight. I’m going to look into the possibility of getting them resolved as they do still have plenty of life left in them I feel. So to summarise, Haix do make some very good, durable and comfy boots. It’s just the Ultras don’t quite cut it for me in terms of durability. I’d not be deterred by these though, and would recommend the brand to anyone who asked. The attached photos are a stock one of them brand new, and what mine look like now after 9 months use. View full review

I present to you our extreme pets! Brown one is Mr Sniffles, grey one is Mr Pickles.

My first thought when I knew we were doing it was what mechanical device could save our poor bodies from the punishment of strimming! But it is honestly too steep for the Robo Climber type of machines. It's hard to get perspective from photos, but it was near vertical in places. If you dropped concentration for a split second, your expensive machine would be cartwheeling in no time!

After three days of doing said strimming, I can confirm the above statement is 100% true!

Yes I had hoped there might be someone here who can help! Sounds like fairly straightforward work to be honest. They're back out there in November if anyone wanted to meet up on site for a look.

Two very good friends of mine are moving to France, and have bought a place near a small town called Axat. They need some felling done, and brash chipped or removed otherwise. I think they are keen to keep timber for firewood. About 14 trees in total. So I’d imagine there is a few days work potentially. Is there anyone out there who could be interested in the work? Or can anyone recommend good and trustworthy help in the area? I’d be over there myself to do it, but latest offsring is due in a month so a jolly to France may be frowned upon. Please get in touch if you can help.