Steven P

Shouldn't have mentioned the ponds, suspect you will get 2 or 3, 4 max good answers before they get distracted by them.... Just from loitering on here long enough I'd say you are good to get rid of it. The main house foundations were built long before the tree so should be OK. Neighbours extension 20+ years old with no sign of damage, the tree might be younger than that so the foundations should be OK too. Cost - you could reduce it in height a few times but each time it will cost as much as just felling it - need someone to climb it to do that. Depends on the garden and how much you value the lawn it might be able to be felled with no climber - cheaper - but get expert advice first. Now... back to the ponds.....

For transport I'd also say Hydrogen, drivers - cars, trucks, planes, boats - are used to liquid fuels, the technology is there to make hydrogen. You can almost plug a windfarm straight into a water supply and get hydrogen fuel (I have seen plans for a couple where the electrical substations have a hydrogen pump for the local council - buses and refuse trucks).

I don't think anyone is disputing that there are well paid jobs out there but they are the minority, a manager on 50k is 1 person, the team they manage could be what, 6 to 12 people? Cannot all be managers, someone has to do the work. I have always taken salary, job, workload and lifestyle as a sliding scale. Earn nothing and you have all the time in the world to do what you want (not necessarily the money to do it though), earn 100k and more and you have all the money in the world but no life to enjoy it (OK nice house, but if all you do is sleep in it what is the point). Somewhere in the middle there is a happy point for us all, the trade off between wages and no life, or a life but no wages equalises with job satisfaction. 12 hour days, or working away from home and you never see the kids grow up and develop, you are just a lodger to them, regardless of the cash you bring in.

(and noting the average salaries I quoted above are irrespective of hours worked, they include all)

OK If that is what you say then it must be true

that is OK, I will forget oil and gas (UK average £50,000, Forbes), Construction (UK average 38,000 Reed), Welding ( £32,000 Reed), Lifting Ops (£38,000 Glasssdoor), Aerospace engineering (45,800 checkasalary), IT: (£44,733 statistica) and Finance (£48,197 statistica) With the UK average salary around £34,900 (2024, Forbes) most of the people you meet will have a salary of under £100,00 and even £60,000, in fact half of them it will be under £35,000, in fact most couples will be under £60k combined salaries.

Yup, if you bring all the kit with you then you need to be paid for that, but that is on top of your wages (might be you include all that in a single rate to the client for ease). "I wouldn't work for less than £60k anymore" - to me that is the wages portion and not including any kit expenses.

For 60k are you bringing any kit to the party? or is that just for your time alone? £30 to £35 an hour, your charge out rate would need to be about £65 an hour for a company to make a profit from your time, plus kit expenses, say £70 an hour. If I assume work 80% of the time would suggest a company would need to charge £700 a day. Sounds a bit steep - say a domestic tree job, 3 person team, £2100 a day. I might be in the wrong business.

As above, put yourself on the tip sites but remember they work if it is beneficial to both sides - unlikely that someone will pass 5 other tip sites to visit you, but if you are near to a job, easy access then you might benefit. Talking to local tree surgeons can help too, let them know where you are and what you want (but never be too picky). Weird as it may be, not all tree surgeons are on this site. I know!.... Talk an early or late lunch walk if you benefit from being able to work from home, of there is a chainsaw near then you might hear it... and can introduce yourself (so long as the tree surgeon isn't half way up a tree at the time - pick your moment) I wouldn't however advise a silky saw and big rucksack unless you have the landowners permission, but mainly 60 litres (or whatever a big rucksack is) is about enough firewood for a morning. Me, I talked to a friend the other week "terrible storms, brought down one of the big trees" "really....." 5 hours later and a decent load of firewood - keep your ears open too Edit: Collecting from site is probably a PITA if you are just filling the boot of a Corsa - different if you have a transit and can load it too. Might be better to ask if they can drop it off and perhaps offer petrol money

Suspect Mark has seen plenty from your suggestions in his past, he is old enough to remember hedgerows. Also suspect that a photo or 2 of the site, where the power lines are relative to the hedge and where the tree was would quieten down those who doubt you, suspect it was these photos Mark was talking about

Go back to the beginning then Your tree, your hedgerow. Did you go in the neighbours garden and with or without permission Did anything else go in there - branches etc Was anything damaged Does the tree have any amenity value to them TPO or not - that is for the authorities to enforce, not the neighbours though they can let them know the tree is gone

On topic.... I'll often mow autumn leaves - collects them up and mulches them (same with sticks twigs, broccoli stems, windfalls, saw dust.... the mower was cheap enough to eventually trash but £100 from B&Q si surprisingly resistant) I'd do the cats as well... Australian rules only work if you can catch them in the act, otherwise "You own a cat, this is cat poo, so it was your cat" doesn't work - same with hiding (neighbours cat will scarper pretty quick if it sees me). Passive, the best I found for my neighbours was the electronic cat scarer. I'd love to be able to program a little computer, image recognition for cats and perhaps a spray gun

Victas do heat proof paint and spray cans, their customer services are usually very helpful and the girl who answers the phone tends to know her stuff (rather than being put on hold for ages for a sales rep)

Pet fox. The wild one stopped one cat. Careful consideration of the culprit (for example, I had one regularly go on the front lawn, put a 1m strip of pine branches along the edge, it stopped. Removed 1m lengths of this hedge till it started again - that was the path it used - then just planted a gooseberry bush hedge along there and it was cured). Spiky stuff in the flowerbeds.. but you spike your hands digging. CatAway scarer does pretty well. Human (and male) pee does OK

Fully agree... to the action and also as to being out of sight. When the family were younger potties of pee were a regular addition - but also to the lawn since human pee claims the territory from the neighbouring cats (and if your aim is good... on a cat - they really, really hate that).

I was going to respond but life is too short, however if you cannot take it, don't give it out. I was hoping to build up to being a Cuck this week, cuck might have blown this week.

Coal ash contains a lot of nasty stuff - arsenic amongst it - so not something to be spreading around the potatoes. Wood ash is different, can raise the PH / acidity levels (you can make strong caustic soda from wood ash), any unburnt bits add a nice bit of carbon too. Having said that, my ashes go into a pile, I might add a shovel or 2 into a wheel barrow... but only after 6 to 8 months with the nasties being washed out by the rain.. to give a bit of grit to the mix, breaks up the clay soil slightly.

I am sure I saw a soldier on the TV once No, fireman, it was a fireman, Londons Burning that was it.

Just a fact correction, the Scots comments go over his head - he's a Geordie? or close enough? However the learning English comment still stands.....

Me, it is just a tidy heap that is turned over a couple of times a year - everything goes, plus some saw dust to give it the 'brown' to work against the 'greens'. Edges of the heap are a few scaffold boards with gaps between them. About once a year I dig it all out and sift out the fine stuff into an old wheelie bin for potting / as a slugs nest and the big stuff - sticks and so on, goes back in. I'm finding doing this all the stones and rubbish ends up at the bottom of the pile (it keeps getting returned, is the last to be dug out / first to be returned) rather than in the compost itself.

Should do that, take out what they can and use the rest as a fuel - instead or fresh oil or gas.

older axe should re-shape OK

It -can- be recycled but needs to be separated into each colour, I don't think you can remove the colour from glass. Melt 2 or more colours together and you get a sort of attractive grey sludge colour - not so good for foods, but I guess might work for other things./ Once the glass is smashed the cost to recycle increases and might not be economical to separate broken glass - small pieces especially.

I can't be the only one thinking that when I end up in one of them and garage full of toys gathering dust, I'll get a 2 stroke powered mobility scooter

Is there a flow of £££ notes? That might complicate things. If not, the tree surgeon might be able to add something to the job, a unique selling point to win it by adding in the bowl for free, you get the firewood for your time turning the bowl - but if you enjoy turning then that is firewood for free really? Only so many bowls you can make and keep in the house so got to get rid of some eventually. Customer get a free bowl from the tree, Might need you to knock on a few tree surgeons doors to get one willing to work along with you