Puffingbilly413

Who doesn't have a shady past (at least in somebody's view)? It's all about, or should be about, historical context. Going back in time and trying to judge people by today's standards is utterly futile. Surely it's about how we act towards each other now? I will always remain fervently anti-racism and anti-bigotry, but I can't help but feel that the the violence and sentiment used in recent weeks has probably done more to inlame the situation and damage progress than otherwise. My parents and grand-parents (white Scouse-Welsh types crossed with Huguenot ancestry) would have all been deemed 'racist' at one point. It's what happened when demographics changed and people moved to a new region; there's a clash of cultures and something kicks back - are we all going to disown our relatives for just being a product of their time? A hell of a lot has changed since the 'no dogs, no blacks, no irish of the 60s and 70s' and quite rightly for the good. Incidentally I did get called an English twat this week but that was by my wife. She's from Arbroath.

Like it. Initially looked like the ship in a bottle in terms of how you get it all on but I guess there's enough stretch in the sling and the pipe to work it all into place firmly?

Is Pakistan a failed state? It still has a functioning government and society (different from a Western model, true, but still there). Pakistan's position on one of the fault-lines of the Cold War has certainly shaped where it is now (the West supporting Afghan Mujahideen during the Russian occupation and relying on the AF-PAK border for a lot of that support 'v' a complete about turn and the Pakistani ISI switching fire to countering Western intervention against the Taliban to present day). The partition of India after WW2 (in the main as a result of British promises to grant it for support against the Axis powers) did leave a lot of wealth in the 'new' states. Granted, the gap between the poor and the wealthly in the Indian subcontinent is worse than in the West, but there's still a lot of wealth there. Whether that has anything to do with a colonial past or nothing at all - who knows. Sorry - starting to disappear down historical alleyways. Pakistan is definitely its own country - it gets on with or without foreign support / interference and can generally choose its own way, even against the might of US 'diplomacy'. Others may disagree. I just like talking about history...

Ah sorry - misread it. But still - it's good to see that public spirited behaviour still exists.

I realise this doesn't help your situation, Gary, but what is the point to anyone or anything of merely maintaining a register of the fact that an application has been made? Why would the legislation have had that as its rationale? It makes no sense. The point of such a register (in my interpretation) is to give a form of database that people can use to inform their own planning and decision making, and not just the LA's. What possible purpose could such a bare-bones register serve? No use to the LPA as they have the original applications and no use to the public as it's just a bunch of reference numbers and not much else. Sounds like a cop out on the part of your LA to me. I often get frustrated with my LA but at least all their stuff is easily searchable online. If you have the details of the applying agent then you could get in touch and ask them - they might tell you to piss off but they might not! Also email your local councillor citing examples of different LAs that do things better / make things more accessible. The householder might have a copy too?

People can certainly be grim. Good on you and your mates for clearing up - that must also have been grim given what they left.

No - ISIS were/are a bunch of fanatical religious fundamentalists. But not fascists. You provided a link to a webpage above somewhere that covered the meaning of fascism. Have another look at it. I realise this might seem overly pendantic, but when one group or another seeks to discredit or shut down an alternative point of view or way of living by using inaccurate and arguably inflammatory terminology, it just weakens their argument at best and makes them seem unhinged at worst. Trump and his ilk are many things, but to consider them fascist is just factually incorrect. Such a perspective even serves in a way to play down the horrors visited upon the world by the Axis powers in WW2.

That wasn't really what I was driving at. I simply don't think Fascism even exists in our times. Antifa as a title for a movement has come about partly due to the fact that 'fascist' is deemed to be a particularly insulting term that aims to give moral superiority to the Antifa movement and the opposite to those on the receiving end. In reality, those people are not Fascists - racists and biogots possibly. But also a lot of the time they are just people who espouse competing views and policies. And I do like Marmite a great deal. But sometimes I don't fancy it. It doesn't go well on my cornflakes, for example.

I think it's impossible to be either pro or anti as Fascism no longer really exists. Racism and bigotry still exist, granted. But Fascism at a societal or governmental level disappeared with the end of WW2. In my view of course. Antifa is not really 'anti-fascist' - it's a loose political movement which seems at its heart to despise all things to the right in the traditional political spectrum (but also many traditional liberal aspects such as freedom of speech if the views expressed don't fit). It does seem the case these days that the term fascist is banded about freely yet incorrectly. The irony is that the further toward the extremes of the political left and right you get, the more in common these competing movements have in terms of intolerance of others' views and a willingness to resort to violence to try to enforce their own.

I've got loads of lumps of beech knocking around some with the classic elephant's skin bark and some gnarly as hell and everything in between. As Steve says, that stem / root style is by no means rare. Just in case the bark and leaf doesn't convince, you can make out the old dropped beech nuts on the floor (Ctrl+ rather than using the zoom on the photo itself). It could always be Fagus pseudojuglans...or

The B20 is a great machine. It always surprises me just what it can eat up. I think the self-propelled version is a fair bit heavier which makes it not that easy to hump around and heave up steps for example. I do know what you mean about pushing it over chip though. I like FSI grinders a lot - don't own them, only hire them. The tracked one is sound too. Good kit.

Do you not find it spalts quite nicely if you leave it sat about outside for a while? I've got some nice lumps in the firewood pile that have lots of character and are still nice and solid. Almost seems a shame to burn them. But yes it does also burn really well.

Hi Kevin, I do think there has to be an element of fairness about this. I agree we need to live with our decisions but at the same time we're also having to deal with the decisions of others ie our politicians and local councils. If a firm happens to have a rateable premises and that rateable value is fairly low (say small workshop) then where I am the rates will be really low and 100% rebated, so zero. If your area's rates people don't deem your setup rateable (eg works van, admin done from the house etc) then even if you want to become 'rated' they won't do it. So in many cases, there will be two arb firms - one 'paying' business rates at 100% rebate and the other not. Their other fixed and variable costs are arguably going to be around the same for a firm with a similar turnover etc. Yet as the SBBS is the method government has chosen to judge eligibility for support through, firm A will get £10,000 as a grant and firm B will get nada. I'm in the same position as you Kevin in that as the director of my limited company (ie and also its sole employee) that chooses not to take a salary to re-invest in the firm and pay back start up debt (ironically to myself as a private individual). As I'm not deemed 'rateable' I qualify for nothing. I read that this situation might change but I'm not holding my breath. Tree work is fortunately one of three strands of income for me so I'm not destitute by any margin but as someone who has paid a significant amount of tax over the years, I do also feel that the situation is 'unfair'. Not because others are getting what we are not but more because our financial situations are very similar yet the support available is hugely different. I'd think it more sensible to assess eligibility for support on turnover and running costs and do so on a sliding scale. If those firms that are currently not eligible for support then society will end up having to foot the bill in other ways. There is also the other factor to consider that even if you decide you can go out to work safely, for many there simply is no demand currently as people are unsurprisingly guarding their cash and won't spend on 'discretionary' services like tree work (unless it's emergency stuff) I've got no Pimms in the house at the moment but you've given me a thirst for it so I might have to get some in!

Working off the notional 220 days a year that gives a range of a shade under 19k to just over 33k (at £90-150 per day). I think that's more than reasonable, regional variations notwithstanding. Also got to factor in being on PAYE with pension, leave, sick pay, annual leave, etc that goes with a full-time position. Sounds a decent package. There would be a good queue up here for that. As Eggs says, I might expect a higher daily rate for a freelancer coming in to sub but they have their own running costs and liabilities to factor in so the money you pay them is no where near their take home pay, even before tax.

Thanks for posting. I wonder how they would treat sole director/employees when they haven't been taking a salary in order to either give the firm some extra cash or to pay off existing creditors more quickly?

Saw this on FB earlier. The Land Army - Connecting Farms & Workers WWW.THELANDARMY.ORG.UK Our goal is simple; stop harvests rotting in our fields. To do this we're pulling... Could be of use to folk.

Thanks - that’s what I’m working off and why I’ve chosen to cease work. I can’t really work and guarantee I can observe the social distancing measures 100%. I don’t know any other tree firms round here working either but I guess there may be some. Clients to a great extent have made the decision anyway for us all.

No offence meant or taken either. It is a forum though. It would be pretty pointless if we kept our opinions to ourselves. I don’t post that often that’s true. I find myself with a lot more time on my hands currently though.

It’s just an opinion. Why’s mine less valid?

Interesting. I’ve not seen that stance repeated by the Scottish government- has anyone else?

Never said you did. And you haven’t.

I do get that. But surely everyone’s work is essential if you look at it like that?

It was directed at you only - that's why I quoted you. Others on here when explaining their need to continue to work do so with a sense of humility and a wish that they had a different option. I'm afraid you come across as not giving a stuff or directly confrontational when people explain how and why they're not working.

I'm genuinely sorry to read this. We need to keep lobbying our elected representatives so that they more fully understand our circumstances. I know up here (Scotland) there are lots of jobs being advertised in the delivery and agri sectors. Might be worth a look until tree work becomes viable again? I also saw that forestry and other related aspects of the industry that provide for fuel wood and pallets can continue as the need for this is deemed too critical to stop.