coppice cutter

I think that was just typical political grandstanding for their own benefit at the time. They were both in positions of power and done eff all with it regarding the state broadcaster. That having been said, I wouldn't have cared one jot if they had. Time was I'd have defended the BBC tooth and nail, but sadly no longer.

It was pretty obvious all along that the BBC's heart was never really behind what they were doing. Most likely, because they all agreed with what Lineker said in the first instance and were only taking action because they thought they needed to rather than wanted to. Just goes to show that trying to act like something you're not, in this case the BBC trying to act impartial when they are nothing of the kind, never works out well. But never mind, seems their true colours are shining through in the end!

Would you not be better making it yourself?

I've no idea what that may have been so can't be specific. However, what does strike me immediately is that the good Mr Corbyn was never in government.

I think it's more about Gary Lineker being a self-important sanctimonious twat, who, because he regularly tops the BBC earnings lists for some unfathomable reason, thinks he is beyond the rules which apply to everyone else that they pay.

Which we could! However, the latter is not practically possible, stopping the illegal crossings should be.

How? If the boats are stopped, the people traffickers easy earnings stops. It's not a complicated equation.

The illegal channel crossings are run by people traffickers, while they continue unabated, the people traffickers prosper. You disapprove of moves to curb them, ergo you support the trafficking. I don't think it's a difficult link to see, but sadly beyond some it would seem.

People trafficking is right up there with the vilest of crimes against humanity and it's quite correct that anyone so openly supportive of it should be taken off air. Hopefully permanently.

What you mean is, they have been free from human interference and nature left to do it's own thing for 30 years. I have a young woodland of my own which occasionally people ask if they can have a walk around. The first thing I tell anyone so inclined is to remember that it's a natural area which I leave to do it's own thing as much as is possible, it is not a garden. And anyone who ventures out in to it expecting a garden like experience will be disappointed because nature does things very differently to how we humans would generally prefer. Your wooded area has gone through a well-documented cycle, from stem exclusion where canopy trees dominate to the exclusion of pretty much all else, to understorey initiation where the canopy trees become tall enough to allow light in below and an understory develops. If you want to clear all or part of the understorey away and leave the canopy trees then that's fine, but be aware that without continuous and ongoing management of the understory in future, either they or something else will just grow back to make use of the light that's now available. There's no right or wrong in this, either you leave it alone completely, or deal with it in a way that achieves what you wish. Going down the route of "we have to do it this way because it's what's right" could leave you with egg on your face because that's just not how management of such an area works.

Use them every day for securing bikes on the bike lifts in the workshop, plus I actually sell them. Much prefer them to the mini ratchet straps and despite what people say I've never had one, or known of one, to let go. The saw horse I use though is about two foot deep and tapered so you're working with more stuff at a time than you'd be bundling to make the pimp. I compress it in the middle with a heavy duty ratchet strap which essentially wraps around it and pulls it down in to the vee of the saw horse. Produces the sticks very quickly and effectively and usually I just put it in a pile for kindling, but I think having it in bundles would allow me to get even more use out of it.

The relevant factor is that it has to be a split mechanism to allow you to tie in the middle. If were just a case of squeezing the bundle then something like a V top and bottom would suffice but the centre has to be open to allow it to be tied.

Anyone made them or have tips for doing so? The actual cutting of the sticks I have sussed, I just load up the sawhorse with the lengths and run the chainsaw down through each section leaving me with piles of roughly foot lengths between pencil and marker pen thickness which I use for kindling. But I think I could get even more use out of it if I had it bundled and tied up as pimps. I've watched the "Pimps, faggots, and benders" video in the past (now removed from youtube not surprisingly!) but it concentrates more on the overall process than the actual bundling of the sticks. I've plenty of used sisal twine as well so that's sorted too, just need to devise a handy way of squeezing the wee bundles until I tie them up.

And how are people embracing this 'green agenda' tell me? Are they giving up their cruises, are they reducing their air-miles, are they buying less disposable shit, are they spending their money on quality longer lasting items even though they may be more expensive in the first place, are they looking for more locally produced food, are they shunning out of season fruit and veg to reduce food miles, are they cutting down on internet usage or messaging apps to help reduce the ridiculous carbon footprint of largely pointless data centres, etc, etc. When the answers to all the above are a resounding "yes", then I'll start to consider that the "green agenda" may be something more than yet another media/corporate buzz word for the gullible.

Poor girl, she'll be protesting against herself next. Plainly the product of a dysfunctional upbringing. I actually do think the way she has been used by the media is pretty shameful. As for her parents.............................!!!

20 inches of topsoil, you sure you've got that correct? If that's the case you probably need to give it a year to settle or at least layer and compact it during the summer when dry or you'll end up with a very uneven area in a couple of years time when it settles properly.

Used to be used for clogs so must be quite durable. Would be concerned about it's longevity though surely? *edit* - maybe treatable with something to stop it degrading in such an application?

Well I do always say that there's a big difference between asking and getting so I can easily accept that as being the case. It does make buying harder though as you need to find a seller that's either desperate or realistic. Furthermore, and absolutely no slight on Iseki, Kubota will always be easier shifted than anything else in the sector, and therefore generally a bit harder to buy too.

Typical, another built in obsolescence product. Never knew that. I'll just stick with the old one and FM.

The weans bought me a DAB radio years ago when it was forecast to be a great thing. There's fewer digital stations on it now than there was when I got it, although to be fair, internet radio has really caught on in a way that wasn't really envisaged back then. Luckily the radio has FM on it as well and that's mostly what it stays on. Classic FM at present for the sheep during housing.

Lovely wee tractor, looks in exceptional condition too, people seem to be rougher on them generally than bigger stuff. I've an ST30 and simply couldn't do without it, indeed would have no trouble making use of something like yours as well. But they're getting up in to crazy money, you've done exceptionally well with that outfit. 👍

Is that why it's so shit?

The problem with cutting thistles during the winter is that you're only removing dead growth and it will have no impact on the plant itself so will just come back next year. You should consider cutting them during summer and it will do much more to knock them back or in some cases kill them. There's an old farming expression for cutting thistles, Cut in May, back next day Cut in June, back soon Cut in July, sure to die Not sure if it would kill them but it would definitely give the trees a bit of growing time without having to compete, and they'd get a bit more benefit for your efforts.

Great film! 👍

Just to clarify, I laughed at this but it's also searingly accurate!