Vedhoggar

£35 sound reasonable to me, if you’ve got to get your own breakfast as well as an evening meal you would need all of that.

Employers don't have to pay but an employer should pay employees daily allowances as compensation for expenses incurred while away, often overnight accommodation is provided by the employer and travel time to and from location should be regarded as work time. Subsistence allowances when staying away from home are not taxed, allowable expenses can include cost of meal as well as cost of reasonable level of refreshments both alcoholic and non-alcoholic with the meal. Working in both UK and Sweden (arboriculture and landscape work) overnight accommodation was provided along with a subsistence allowance and travel time regarded as work time. The allowance for meal will be based on average price of a decent meal plus drink with meal. In Sweden max allowance tax-free is currently 290 SEK (£22.14) but in UK not aware of any max allowance, it seems cost just needs to be at a reasonable level as some of the figures put forward by others.

Cost new 12.5k, 3yr old, hrs 450, dealer serviced to date, depreciation 43-48% based on 3000 hrs life expectancy. Current value would be about 6.5K - 7K

It's an Aesculus spp. White flowers, large opposite buds, horse-shoe shaped leaf scar suggests probably Aesculus hippocastanum and in spring it would have sticky buds. Aesculus turbinate is a similar species which also has sticky buds but the flowers on the tree in photograph suggest more like Aesculus hippocastanum.

By what you say from an insurance point of view I would think they will be classed as ‘employees’ as it’s your job and the risk assessment will be your responsibility, you will be the one invoicing the client … if something goes wrong it will be your liability. On tax it sounds like if they have their own kit travel to the job in their own vehicles and raise an invoice you should not be responsible for their tax and they would have to do a self assessment tax return. If for example you got someone in with a specialist machine or skill and they give you a quotation/price for the work and they just basically got on with it then bonafide self-employed subcontract both for tax and insurance. If the climber for example was to give you a price/quotation for a job and got on with it without your involvement then bonafide self-employed contractor, if for example someone was independently working another area and not along side you, say you were felling part of a site and contractor another part for which a price was give at the outset and contractor traveled in own vehicle and using own equipment then not an employee for tax purposes but would need own public liability insurance and if someone helping him/her then they would also need employers liability insurance as well which is a legal requirement if you have ‘employees’ which may or may not be paid, they may be volunteers. Once in my life had I have a visit from tax inspectors and no problem, they were quite helpful actually.

You might also contact Langley Furniture Works, The Old Brickyard, Langley, Hexham … they use a range of locally grown hardwood as well as sell on boards.

Hexhamshire Hardwoods, Whitley Chaple, Hexham sell that sort of stuff so you might be able to do a deal with them.

Ash with dieback felled in June 2024, split and cut into 33cm logs at the same time then stored in slatted sheds is ready to burn now.

Yeh, they don’t look like they’ve missed any meals.

If that's 20 solid tonne of ash then based on a conversion factor of 0.5 solid m3 = 1 m3 bulk then it would be worth £4,800 processed and delivered.

Have a look at the Stihl FS450 Brushcutter (46.6 cc machine) £853 + VAT fitted with Stihl Brush Knife which is a try-blade knife designed for cutting vegetation like scrub and thick grass £27 + VAT. Might be more than you were thinking of paying but will last years, the machine can also be fitted with strimmer head if required. I have no experience of electric brush cutters. Talk to your local Stihl dealer as something less powerful/cheaper may meet your requirements but I use a similar Stihl machine and it clears scrub/brambles no problem. If you can get away with a less powerful stihl machine then it will be lighter and I also expect electric models will be lighter, electric is probably the way forward if machine powerful enough and you can afford it.

If for tree safety just walk through initially and record trees of concern within striking distance of footpaths and other areas used by public as well as nearby roads and important structures with plastic/metal tag and/or identify on a plan of area, if further investigation of some sort is thought to be required for a particular tree just note it on survey form. Where there is a clearly identifiable group of trees of concern, such as say several ash dieback trees, you might just tag one of the trees, state number and record on plan.

For firewood I'm running a 45cm (18") and 63cm (25") on a 77cc saw but a 50cm (20") bar would probably be more useful most of the time, for 562 size saw running a 40cm (16") bar which works well and for small roundwood (7-14cm TD) running a 32cm bar (13") on a 42cc saw as easy on the back if need to cut with chainsaw but normally cut into 2-3m lengths and process with circular saw. It all depends what firewood dia cutting mostly, we get a fair bit of 40-50cm dia firewood as well as some small roundwood at times, it's always going to be a compromise but I like to run the smallest bar which will do the job as less to sharpen and lighter.

What amazes me is out of population of about about 366 million people that’s the two candidates in the running for President, Biden is obviously suffering from a decline in cognitive abilities affecting memory/thinking, can’t see him continuing as the President.

You should be able to extract 2-3m lengths of firewood with a portable winch + skid cone/choker chain in bundles along skid trails.

Visit local Stihl dealer and have a look at the MS 241 with 14” bar. Can’t advise on Husqvana saws as don’t use them these days.

Silvicultural Systems by John D Matthews (1991) covers 20 forestry systems of management and probably the best book written on forestry management systems. Cost £73 paperback new but secondhand copy about half the price likely.

I’ve got 5 people at the moment interested in casual work on an ad hoc basis, 4 of which are retired/semi-retired and one in full-time employment but works in hrs over 4 days, offer is £12/hr basic, which is the Real Living Wage outside London area (£13.15 London) however most prefer firewood or some work done in return for their time.

Lost the plot mate … I need to go on stress leave

Consider removing the tree and planting another weeping willow elsewhere.

My two picked up head-lice at school, one particularly bad, what we found was that hair conditioner (buy the cheapest) and nit comb worked but you need to treat everyone in the household. Short hair is easy to work with/doesn’t take so long. Comb through on days 1, 5, 9, 13 and on day 17 (everybody in house) in case eggs ate missed and have hatched. It’s head contact mostly that spreads nits and children often have heads touching if you watch them at play when young.

They don’t all appear appear to be homeless out there, some are professional beggars, a group living in flats were being dropped off in the morning by taxi, some have props such as sleeping bags and I know of one that keeps a suitcase and sleeping bag out of site behind a wall when not in use and tents not in use for long periods of time, there is a housing shortage for sure with house building not being kept up with growth in population. Some are unfortunately trapped in poverty for various reasons and I can’t see that changing any time soon.

Voles. There are live traps and enclosed traps available but the repellent seems to be working.

You could mark your racks with biodegradable marking tape which comes in various colours (70m roll £3.95 plus vat) or PVC tape which also comes also in different colours (£3.45 plus vat for 46m roll) if tape likely to be on trees quite a while, there is no standard colouring used for racks or marking trees. Trees to be felled can be marked on two sides with tree marking paint being consistent with sides marked, any colour will do be some colours stand out better than others. Trees to come out can of course be blazed with a hatchet but physically easier with spray paint (a dot each side of tree will do), if you change your mind you cannot remove a blaze mark and have damaged the tree where as paint can be normally be scraped off.

Douglas about same heat output per kWh as birch and easy to split, worth >£20 as load Arb waste delivered.