Stoatally

Just do it. Get whatever tickets you can and crack on. I was lucky to get a redundancy to make the transition easier but I was going to go regardless. It's why it's taken so long as I had to wait for all that to be processed. Getting plans in place for the new year now

Bugger me I feel too old at the mo! Bit of reduction on a Beech yesterday and felt like a tough old climb. I felt about 90 this morning!!!

Well. I left the civil service on the last day of September. Took a month just fannnying around doing whatever, ie bugger all. Then spent some of November getting jobs done on the house and a bit more bugger all until my wife said I'm obviously not happy not working, why not see what's out there. Ended up getting a short term (until new year with option to extend) job with Bath council tree team. Currently doing 3 days a week, bit of everything really, pollard, deadwood, wind blown call out, fencing and so on. They haven't asked me to stop going so either I'm. Or doing too badly or they're desperate! Loving it mostly. Been climbing, been grounding. Happy with it all. Looking for possible new ventures in the new year. Living the dream

It's that time of year - anyone got anything I can process at home on a weekend to warm me up, whilst the wife sits on the sofa warming up in front of the fire! Can collect in pickup, happy to go anywhere round Bristol / South West to collect

Same here. I took advantage of the cheap zigzag, expecting it to be delivered sometime next week only to the have to explain what I've been spending my money on to the wife when it popped through the letterbox at lunchtime!

National Trust?

I had a 2.2 Frontera for a good few years - awesome piece of kit. 4x4 was pretty decent on it, went anywhere I wanted it too. Towed well, dragged a caravan all the way up to Pitlochry, also tooled around with the in-laws plant trailer and dragged a number of different horse trailers around. Father in law is a farmer/contractor and he was impressed with it and how it would get places. Fuel economy never seemed too steep. I did look for one before I bought the Ranger, I only went for a pickup in the end as the wife said I couldn't put my saws and stuff inside a car.

Cheers Darrin

Will do, cheers

Any links please?

Knut or distel maybe. I can't see there's much difference between a standard prosaic and a hitch climber - it's still basically a friction knot. I don't see how an assessor can say anything as long as the system is attached correctly and used safely, and all other hits like the 3 knot system can be demonstrated. Even mechanical systems should be ok, providing it's all used safely.

Seems to be a lot of discussion that this vote will be mostly based on who the electorate hate the least, meaning a lot may abstain instead of making the big decision. I don't think anyone can predict this one. I'd like to think Hilary wil just make it

Are you selling them? How much for the snowman in the first picture?

There's a horse chestnut up the road looks like it's budding, and the magnolia in my front garden is really on the go too.

Watching it now on iPlayer. Fascinating :-)

Not sure the idea of a 'lesson' from a local is a good idea - would you want the kiajikity coming back of 'he told me to do it that way' when something went wrong? Courses are set the way they are to cover the more boring aspects like ppe, forces, cleaning etc. Sometimes you just have to put up with those bits to get to the better hits. As mentioned above you need some of the more basic tickets to do the more hands on courses. You may even learn something you didn't know relating to maintenance or cross cutting etc, especially if you always use a saw horse. I'd say you're better looking into who's a good training provider and delivers good, hands on courses. I always recommend Roland Heming as the courses he and Mart deliver are very hands on, cover just enough theory without being boring or OTT. Might be worth doing the basics, or asking a provider for a short course with assessment fir maintenance and cross cutting allowing you to progress to other courses

From C&U regs: dual-purpose vehicle a vehicle constructed or adapted for the carriage both of passengers and of goods or burden of any description, being a vehicle of which the unladen weight does not exceed 2040 kg, and which Initla requirement to start the selection of DPV either— (i)is so constructed or adapted that the driving power of the engine is, or by the appropriate use of the controls of the vehicle can be, transmitted to all the wheels of the vehicle; 4x4 pick up, single, king or double cab or (ii)satisfies the following conditions as to construction, namely— (a)the vehicle must be permanently fitted with a rigid roof, with or without a sliding panel; (b)the area of the vehicle to the rear of the driver's seat must— (i)be permanently fitted with at least one row of transverse seats (fixed or folding) for two or more passengers and those seats must be properly sprung or cushioned and provided with upholstered back-rests, attached either to the seats or to a side or the floor of the vehicle; and (ii)be lit on each side and at the rear by a window or windows of glass or other transparent material having an area or aggregate area of not less than 1850 square centimetres on each side and not less than 770 square centimetres at the rear; and ©the distance between the rearmost part of the steering wheel and the back-rests of the row of transverse seats satisfying the requirements specified in head (i) of sub-paragraph (b) (or, if there is more than one such row of seats, the distance between the rearmost part of the steering wheel and the back-rests of the rearmost such row) must, when the seats are ready for use, be not less than one-third of the distance between the rearmost part of the steering wheel and the rearmost part of the floor of the vehicle. ANYTHING that isn't a pick-up That is what MOT testers have been told for the last 15 years, to sort out the issues with what is and isn't DPV and what is or isn't Class4/7

Nope. All pickups, single or dual cab with 4x4 are dpv if under 2040kg ulw

The rear seat and glass part is only applicable to stuff like transits. The pick ups are dpv (providing the unladen weight is under 2040kg) because they have permanent or switchable 4x4

Wee chipper thread

Gps.com is a good site for creating running / cycling routes. Has a lot of different maps and you can quite often set it to follow footpaths. Gives distances and elevation

Its illogical as it was introduced many years ago to deal with (I think) a Landrover issue, and was never removed. It was put into legislation and therefore became illogical. There was no appetite to actually remove it 7 years ago (when that special notice was issued) but it was debated a lot.

One years extra warranty on the machine that Rock Machinery but a years less on the engine. Strange how its listed as £1449 (inc) on Hyundai site but £999 on eBay (and maybe others). Out of the Hyundai or Rock Machinery what would be best? Or a third option?

That was, IIRC, the intention at the time. The message given out to the trade was that we would be changing to the Euro style M1/N1 passenger / goods classification and DPV would be completely removed making it 'easier' to determine goods vehicle as based clearly on GVW/DGW. No - not true when you consider the commercial side of Dual Purpose e.g. pick-ups, crew vans mess vans etc. If a commercial vehicle meets the requirements of DPV then it is a class 4 NOT 7. This would lead to a potential issue that the vehicle has an incorrect class MOT test in place and could be a point to argue its not valid.

It should have been made clearer, as that special notice suggests in that the test regs were supposed to have been amended to remove dual purpose. Hat would leave us with up to 3000kg gross as class 4 and 3000-3500 kg as class 7. No-one had the balls to make the change so we're stuck with the old dpv. I also imagine that brexit will mean we're unlikely to adopt the easier European classification either.