5thelement

It’s not like no one has used both Honey Brothers and Fr Jones for purchases, its not like your cheating on the wife, so both already have your customer details anyway. All I know is my next order is going to cost me 25% less 👍

PM Sent

The 661 carries the same chain (pitch/gauge) as those other machines. You can order the chain per drive link from Rob D at Chainsawbars, so you can have it made up in any length you want.

Robinia and Hornbeam for me. Readily available from jobs, splits easy, dries quickly and burns slowly.

I certainly don’t climb with anything unnecessary on my harness or overcomplicate the job. Until you have used some of the kit that is currently out there you won’t believe how much easier the job can be made though, your body will certainly thank you and it may even extend your useful working age.

When I was looking at houses in France, one place owned by a Brit family had one of these installed. Not sure which model but it ran 6-8 cast iron radiators, the build quality and the royal blue enamel finish on the appliance was absolutely fantastic.

If you have been out of the climbing game for a while and still climbing old school, before I bought any new kit I would do a climbing refresher with a reputable company, have a good look around. The training provider should have a whole range of rope types/mechanical devices/friction hitches/ascenders etc etc for you to try out. If your getting on in years some of this kit will blow your mind in regard to making climbing more efficient and easier on the body. You will have to climb to current regs on the training, what you decide to do afterwards is up to you.

Back in Blighty to see the old folks, first rain I’ve seen in six weeks, I don’t miss that at all but a well kept barrel of Harvey’s Best Bitter and a pub lunch is hard to beat.

I am really struggling to imagine a worse evening, fantastic 👍

When we used to do them regularly we where operating as a team consisting of 4 full time climbers, 2 climbers/groundies and 2 non climbing brash draggers. The company did a mix of around 70% domestic, 20% street trees and council land, and 10% on large commercial sites like universities. We wouldn't conduct them on domestic jobs where the customer may think they where paying for us to practice this, street trees where early start, job and knock and get out of dodge, so the university campus work, which was usually conducted outside of term time and quiet, is where we would do them. Usually a group of trees requiring all staff present, we would choose a tree to finish on, break the back of the job, then ease up on the last day, do the rescues and use up the short dated First Aid kit. Minimal cost if any, but may not be possible for everyone.

Although competition climbing and work climbing differ, the aerial rescue practice scenarios in the competitions could be used as a template for recording your own work based practice data. The AA quite often sponsor these climbing events so I can’t see why the scenarios couldn’t be replicated and recorded in the same manner. Not just time in minutes, but a point score system for implementing the emergency plan, first aid in the tree, once on the ground etc etc. I can’t see how a list of information recorded this way could not be deemed “comprehensive”.

People respond differently under pressure though, I worked with a climber that would feel faint and hit the floor like a lead balloon at the first sight of blood.

Probably just a case of experience and time in the saddle really, although you could get a calm and collected groundy doing a better response than a second climber in a bit of a flap.

There is nothing worse than a performer who really lets you down. A mate went to watch Neil Young after he had been off the scene for a good while and had come back touring a new album. He played the whole new album, then re-entered the stage to do the encore and told the audience “he was going to play them something they had heard before”, he then played the new album again! Peter Gabriel or PGAB as they like to call him, is massive here in France.

I’m talking about the subject of the thread, and how people are doing it. You mentioned how you used to do it a a group of several small outfits, simply asking if you have continued in this vein or are doing things differently now? Its the most straightforward, virtually cost free, easily manageable and enjoyable option put forward so far.

Are you still doing this then?

So the Emergency Tree Work Operations assessment required trees 18” up to 30” with an assisted fell no more than 15”. I can’t think of any reason why this wouldn’t be acceptable to cover you for Individual Windblown. My only concern, and this is why I recommend you contact NPTC/ City and Guilds, is that the Emergency Tree Work Operations no longer exists and the Individual Windblown certificate is relatively new after being completely rewritten, there may be some areas where the criteria don’t overlap (but I don’t think there is). I would just get them to confirm and clarify this in writing before proceeding.

I would email City and Guilds for clarification on this as the Emergency Treework Operations (CS50) has been removed from the suite of qualifications. I would think it would cover you for the Individual Windblown (the pre requisite for this is now CMCC) as long as the trees are under 380mm (15”). Can’t remember if the old (CS50) covered Assisted Fell but all the trees would have been under guidebar on the CS50 assessment, what’s the diameter of the trees you are going to be felling?

Madness played the show at the opening of the restored Hastings Pier a few years back. Turns out Suggs is from Hastings, he screwed down the last plank, pointed from the stage at the house on the hill he grew up in, then they blew the place apart, a great live act.

Must have been someone else in the thread, certainly can’t be arsed to look through to find out.

I was heading over, got to within about 10 yards of you…then thought better of it.

I’ve never been an NPTC Assessor for any Aerial certification. You must have got the impression by now that most people involved on here couldn’t give a monkeys what TG1 says? They certainly aren’t going to open up when the OP won’t even be straight up wether he is even towing the line, why should they? I had a chat to a few guys Ive known in the Industry for years in the UK earlier, I asked them about it, they laughed their cocks off. So it’s pretty simple to be compliant, it’s up to you really.

I’m pretty sure I saw a spectacularly drunk you at a Kaiser Chiefs gig at Bedgebury a few years back?

Although I dislike the modern way of watching gigs through the screen on your phone, rather than the gig itself, I do wish I had taken more photos of a lot of bands I’ve seen over the years. The Sugarcubes in Iceland circa 1988 where fantastic, fresh faced pixie Bjork at her finest sonically. Living in Manchester I got to see a lot of bands on my doorstep, Iggy, Lou,Bowie,Smiths, Happy Mondays, Stone Roses, James, Blur on their first tour of the Uk at Warrington Rugby Club,(Daman Albarn introduced the band as ‘ we are from from London’ and immediately got hit with a can of Holsten Pils in the face) welcome to the North! He took it well, Mazzy Star and Sparkhorse on at the same venue, and probably my most watched band, The Fall, I’ve got quite a few photos of those guys other the years.

Personal opinion aside. TG1 doesn’t apply to me as I don’t climb commercially in the UK, so I haven’t given it much thought on how I would be compliant if need be, but it really wouldn’t be that hard. This will surely depend on your status, employed, sub contract climber or employer, with many variables. The large operators like Gristwood and Toms will have HR departments, internal trainers and the financial clout to tick all the boxes effectively, job done if your employed there. Employed elsewhere, your at the mercy of the employer, good or bad. They will either take this seriously or not, you could pressure them, they see you as a shit stirrer and you get the chop, or they could see it as a simple exercise and get on it. Contract climber subbing for different companies. The companies may take this seriously and do regular practice with employees without your involvement, may involve you as a regular part of a team, or ignore it all together, you need to be proactive on this. Self employed/owner operator, it’s up to you to decide how best to manage your compliance. There have been several ideas put forward in this thread, none are hard to apply. At the end of the day, if you can’t rely on any of the above you could self rescue and just do what Dan Blocker suggested earlier, rec climb, bbq, beer and most importantly, make a record with as much detail as possible. Photos, various kit and scenarios, with or without safety line, with or without belay system and timings of all rescues etc. Post a first draft on here and tag one of the AA in on here, see what their response is, if positive crack on, if not, edit and review the information.