Steven P

He says he was approached and about to be attacked - defending himself... but... skipping the country doesn't do him much credit. In the underground station - crawling with CCTV to clear his name. [Suspect that he has a hot line to a lawyer - his line of work sees him close to the legal limit very often - and has been interviewed by police enough to know the system, not be fazed by it, able to put a rational reason forward.. yet still runs away]

Exactly, I watched the video and the main point he made (to me) wasn't that there was starvation in Gaza but the point as made above, that 'we' should be do more than take the world news on the back of 1 image or report. Seen it all over where those trying to make political points only point the camera in the 'right' direction (camera - could as easily be the authors pen) while ignoring what is going on behind them. As far as Gaza, Israel is banning the press from recording images, what we see is of course biased but... if all was nice and rosy, nothing to be concerned by the way Israel is conducting its operations then the press would be welcomed in to report their spin on things.

There was a lad on here Lake District with transport a few weeks ago, he never said if he was happy being rescue climber though:

Last time I was talking to a tree surgeon about biomass, he was storing it in his yard till he got a wagon or a tractor trailer full (big trailer) before he sent it for biomass. If they are out of their usual area a return to the yard and back can cost more that what they get for it, or if they don't have a suitable yard to store that quantity - he wasn't sure a biomass place would accept half a transit load at a time... so back to it being a waste product - to some - unless they spend the hours making firewood... where as the bigger money is working on the trees themselves - so in some cases the finances make sense to use a local tip site.

With the tip sites you have to be aware that anyone based locally will have arrangements generally in place to dispose of their arisings - whether it is a yard, regular tip sites, or a commercial deal (preferential tip rates, selling on for biomass) - as described above. Where they come into their own often is to anyone working outside their usual area who need somewhere handy to tip. As an example, I've seen tree surgeons around here from 10+ miles away and for them to fill a tipper truck, return to their local area, tip and back to the job for another load costs (20 miles van use, 2 hours labour costs for driving, job takes 2 hours longer - could be into a 2nd day, any tip fees) and then having a local tip site becomes a viable option. You are then competing with all other local tip sites. Point I am making is that registering on the tip sites isn't going to bring you a driveway full of logs - people will be in contact as and when it is necessary for them. Great to have an introduction though, someone might be reading this Gloucestershire way and remember seeing your post, Also to note as above, people see logs as a resource, the home owner with the tree sees 2m3 of oak, then pops into B&Q and does some sums, the oak wood will pay for the tree surgery! (yeah....) and decide to keep the wood themselves to sell on for massive profits - you are more likely to be offered softwoods and gnarly bits... I'd guess I'll get 75%+ as softwoods and only a small portion is hardwoods. (note: making a fortune from your garden tree... take away your time to log it up / pay for the tree surgeon to do so, perhaps buy a chainsaw (+ safety gear) and axe if DIY (or log splitter hire), store in the garden for 1 year+, deal with facebook ads / gumtree, the value of your time eats away any profits pretty quick - often far more profitable to do a couple of hours overtime in your regular job.. so a lot of homeowners are keeping their hardwoods with that thought process)

A photo of the full tree would help, I am suspecting that the photo shows most of the tree has broken off this morning? Most fruit trees will regrow after a lot of heavy pruning - often lots of small branches that take a few years to get under control again, but as above, a few more photos of the overall tree would help

Got to be a bit of trust in both directions, the customer has a vested interest most times to be available as agreed - they want the stuff doing and if they are out then the stuff isn't done - and the trader wants to do the job to get paid - but both sides have to trust that the other will do as expected, 90% of the time I think that happens. I expect to pay a small premium to the trader to cover their losses if a customer doesn't pay - included as a part of their rates. I'd also go that the trader has probably more experience at reclaiming fees if they arn't paid - small claims court where as the customer probably has no experience claiming for any losses (hiring someone new, taking time off to be in again and so on), the trader has more chance of getting their money back through the legal systems I reckon. Trader also knows where you live - some traders live in a van and vanish as soon as the cash is paid... so back to my first comment, I would see it as a warning that upfront payment is needed. Could build up a conversation with the trader to build your confidence that they will turn up I guess. But... it all comes down to trust.

The US is a good warning of what the UK will be doing in a few years, well worth keeping an eye on it.

Loads of warning stories about this online - trades asking for full payment upfront - conclusion is usually a red flag warning. Exceptions tend to be if they are a small outfit buying in specific stuff that their trade accounts (30 days payment terms) wouldn't cover. Inspect and test you are only paying for time, trader wouldn't have any upfront fees. Worst case I would accept is to pay cash once they do the job / get here.

The comment isn't about his family of course, it is a lot more that his hero, Trump, has a liking for the young girls. To be fair, I wouldn't be letting any daughters anywhere near Trump either.

Missing the point... under Trump... no one, legal or not... wants to go to the US.

To be honest, if you are a shining example of someone who never drinks, I am glad that there are those who do drink! You do appear particularly grumpy this week though, not sure if it is having to spend family time at home, you have popped your cork too early that your orange god is visiting, withdrawal symptoms that you are not hanging about with other men in your latex scuba gimp suit, or just PMSing. I would try a drink - might lighten you up a little

Still cannot un-see it: May I be as bold to suggest that an ex Met DCI might just have a bit more understanding of policing than an Arbtalk leotard.

Also halting the flow of 'regular' immigrants and tourists to the US... not a policy as much as no one wants to go there anymore.

Oooh, this is going to make a few heads spin: Trump - the orange god - says "Starmer is a good man"... so either Starmer is a good man or Trump is a liar. Hmmmmm