Steven P

Generally yes, can't help but notice more and more recently as I am out and about that things arn't quite right

Yup, more storms and more frequently on the way I reckon. Probably all carbon dioxide related why they are getting worse.. if only there was some way for society to exist and not burn fossil fuels.....

Was this photo this week - up here anyway we had a decent amount of rain in the last couple of weeks - more than normal - so the ground might be wet from that still? Some kind of soak away - can you just dig a pit and fill it with gravel - should work till the trees establish themselves?

All I can ever think about when that comes up is Paul Simon... I should pop over to songs I am listening to, or rather that will be stuck in my head for the next 4 hours

Saw that the other day - interesting show - and without them we'd be waste deep in bits of dead trees and most life would be dead, perhaps you're right fungus and the cockroaches,

Had a bridge like that for years - a road bridge to no where - they did some road building and with some left over cash built the bridge years early for the next stage, eventually it was all linked together but I think that bridge was a posh stable for about 10 years (nothing under it either, just bridge in a field)

That's going to age a few of us! Thanks.

Suspect if you ever had a problem and needed to call the insurers their question would be "Did you get it swept" rather than "did you use soot inhibitors".. Use dry wood, don't have a smoky fire and sweep the chimney annually.

"The October 7 massacre is among the most depraved events in the history of human cruelty."... OK.. sure it is amongst the most depraved. Would barely scrape top 100 I guess (take that '100' as figuratively, I am not going to list 100 acts worse than this, probably get bored by about 30).

A little bit of genocide is forgivable eh Rwanda?

Mine is a fireline, but I suspect there is a potential to list a lot of manufacturers. Looked at most of the above, and came to the conclusion that the £750+ market (10 years ago) were all going to be reasonable. Stove + installation, liner and so on, I can't remember what each part cost but in total about £2500. Over the time I replace the firebricks every couple of years (Make my own from a castible refractory, but you can cut them yourself from a sheet of vermiculite as a bit cheaper, or buy aftermarket ones (the stove manufacturers bricks are nothing special apart from price), a new window, like above when door was shut enthusiastically onto a log, 1 new door seal rope (needs another now), and a new grate (ours is multifuel, pet-coke ate it away). Running costs apart from fuel I would say about £100 a year (parts and annual sweep). When we replace it I am going for one that sits out into the room more instead of fully in the chimney breast, so a chimney further back or an angled piece, I believe this will deliver more heat into the room. (It will extend maybe 6" into the room)

Last night I was doing this with some leylandii - stacked onto bricks (4" off the ground), 2 long logs length ways and the bricks in the 4 corners - loads of air space and air flow under the stack (also off the wet ground, no pooling water). Onto that there are logs cross ways normal style, next row is 2 logs lengthways and on top normally stacked cross ways and so on - creates tunnels in the stack for the wind to blow through.

ash will burn

OP is the owner, neighbour and also going to do the work, so a friendly contractor knocking on the door isn't going to happen.... though can appreciate not seeing the neighbours face might show a different side to her personality ("Sure, help yourselves, that's the best gate to use" type of answer) - sometimes a contractor can soothe things in all lines of work (don't do public facing jobs without learning some people skills). OP doesn't say if things are down to legal letters yet, but sounds like a note through her door saying when the work will happen is going to open op another level of problems apart from the tree. My thoughts are, yes, should be OK if everything stays your side, no damages and so on as planned. What happens though if something unexpected happens? - Dropped kit on her side, (hope not) an accident and so on, is the relationship still OK that she would see sense "Dropped a rope, just picking it up" type of thing?

Yes. Simple answer. Consider that to dry the insides of a log the moisture has to travel through the outer layers to the surface and evaporate. As the surface dries the moisture moves outwards to make it all equal inside. The reverse is also true that to make a log wet then the rain water has to go in reverse. It is a slow process. If you make the journey shorter for the moisture than it will get to the surface and evaporate quicker. However what moisture content you get to depends on a lot - how wet the wood was in September (so how long it has been split for), the species (denser wood is harder for the moisture to travel), where you stack them, and if they get any wind blowing through the stack (wind blows the moist air away, drier air makes it easier to evaporate into) Also note that if the logs were dry in September then it is likely that only the outer 1/2" will be wet, the inner of the log will still be dry, covering the stack in a windy location might be all you need to do - for this years wood - for next winters wood I would just leave it as it is

I guess a happy idiot all the same?

House building is another thing - I like your thinking though, build 660,000 houses nearer to Birmingham and then there is no need for faster trains for those in a hurry to get there. Round here the houses they build are all wrong, this morning I have passed 4 new build states built full of executive homes, double and triple garages, more toilets than bedrooms, balconies... in fact I guess the very opposite of what is needed to sustain a rental market and what is needed for young people to get on the housing ladder.

To be fair, I've had worse and if we didn't have thick skin we shouldn't be online really - I read my comment again and yes, easy to mistake it if you didn't see the reference

Not at all... the reference was to Marks tag line above "talking Bollocks since 1968" - he was doing fantastic football things a lifetime ago - and kept on doing them ever since

86 years old... "Talking Bollocks since 1968".. which was when he won the European cup!

Ahh, I should have been a bit clearer - not the amount per charge but in total over time, are you going to be using this saw daily until the motor gives out or use it a couple of times a year to prune the trees in the garden. Every day use and I can understand wanting to reduce costs but once every so often then buying a new litre or 2 of oil will be a rare thing

For a little saw like this, how much oil are you expecting to use?

Straight after they said "Targeted the hospital because of the bunkers" - words to that effect, then later "didn't do it" and later "Came from within Gaza" - it would appear that they are doing the social media for both sides with this one. Someone knows where the missile came from, probably lots of someones, since I reckon this is within the top 2 conflicts being studied in detail, in real time, from space and on the ground, from around the world. Someones arn't releasing that information (probably to hide what they can find out), but I reckon someone else has had a bit of a telling off on the telephone.

You're probably more qualified to comment than a lot of us, depends on the news source, the reporters or the daily news that you read depends on whose partisan views of this conflict you believe. I don't think we are getting fed an even balance from both sides (The BBC might be - they are certainly trying hard to be seen to be unbiased here). For the hospital - if you take it that there are underground facilities and that Israel has a substation arsenal at it's disposal, any attack on there would be against these underground facilities I think... and yet the pictures and videos don't show it having been hit with anything more powerful than a firework. My view is that the missile wasn't targeted at it, or that someone has been playing the politics of war on their own side (Hamas or one of the other factions there)

Just going to be gossipy here but a renowned farmer type, can do anything with anything, great interpersonal skills demonstrated, probably spends a lot at the dealers (farmer supplies stores). A new part as a good will gesture, probably should make that profit back quick enough in keeping the sales and 20%? off a new saw next year, so the dealer gets another sale (making, what 5 to 10% now?).. plus extras ("So sir will be wanting a couple of chains too, I'll take 5% off each for you if you take them now, will you want a spare bar just in case just now too? lets take a little discount off that. Right and while you are in, you'd better get some 2 stroke oil, sorry I can't discount that.. right I'll put that through - you'll be picking them up in half an hour, grand"). Regardless of the honesty you don't stay in business giving stuff away for nothing or at a loss. Dealer will be as trustworthy as any.