Chris Head

You're just a kit jockey JJ! Best think for the leyly thingies is to 'trim' them 10cm from ground level![:D] Looks like fate isn't being very kind to my pair a knees trip.

But what about having a vice? You've gotta have a vice or we might have to start a nuns and monks section (watch the pervies emerge here)! I've been told not to give up at the mo so there! 

Well done Taffy & the rest of you, can I join the club?

Smug self-righteousness kicks in and you think, "What plonkers!" I carved a bench in September at a yearly local event over a couple of days and the booze flows freely there, there was one older chap who was slurring and I didn't want to talk to him; actually I just looked at him and felt horrified that I had been like that, he must've thought me strange 'cos I just stared at him, he had the physical appearance of an alchoholic, he was charming but it was tough to witness....the other happening was a group of perhaps four or five lads who were drunk and gobbing off to me about chainsaws and other stuff....I felt threatened and had to be 'assertive' in order to get them to back off. It was interesting to see the effects of the alchohol on both age groups. The evenings there are traditionally a riot but unfortunately no longer for me! You're aware Sweet; don't let the awareness turn into paranoia.

 My personal circumstances have changed and I'll soon be living alone in a house bought by my father, how do we legitimately arrange for rent to be shown to be paid on that property? Is a written and signed agreement between both parties sufficient? If scrutinised by the law would I be able to carry out works on that house which I am not registered to carry out and could my father pay me for those works? Thanks.    

They just don't look right either, like they're some horrible mutant result created by CAD designer who's been on drugs too long! Agreed tho; if it's safe and it works then.......

Good looking work JR: I guess the engineering background gives you the patience to gain the tolerances you're after? The danish oil doesn't contain anti UV or fungal inhibitors, a good quality clear lasure would only need redoing every 5 to 7 years depending on how much you're prepared to spend. I'm working alongside a smithy (forum member too!) at the moment trying to develop work in metals that are symbiotic to my projects; and vice versa, mixing the two has always fascinated me. Like medieval doors, furniture & chests & that sort of stuff; and Oak sculpture and bronze or copper were just born to be together! Hope you're getting used to the loss of the eye...if the round was what I think it was you were a lucky bunny JR! Keep up the good work; great to see it.

At the risk of ruining my tree cred I've pm'd you ZJT.

Me too, gutsy lass.

Yes Gary. Hey Sweet, at least you're aware...follow your conscience and it'll be fine. Like you said; the stuff seduces and envelopes you and then one day you wake up and think 'oops'.....

Cheers ([:D]) coops; the layout of the event looks cool; it's in faves & I'll get in touch with them nearer the time....et t'es trop gentille.

Thanks Maricopa! I'm planning for next year anyway but doing the groundwork now:

That was a truly valuable post because it identifies some of the real issues to be dealt with If you were my shrink and said that to me Wooly; you'd get a slap! Thwackkk! [:D] Bet you got a couch?

Not too far all coops; i'll travel anywhere; the larger European capitals & towns are my target. Any details? Thanks for the thought.

Can anyone think of any large events; foires or expos that they've been to, heard of or know of? I'm trying to research it on the net but without much success, I want to show furniture & carving next year but haven't got the knowledge of appropriate events here. The UK equivalent would be the county shows and interiors events. Thanks.  

Thanks Twinks; I was enjoying boiled eggs. edit; need any help with the lingo gimme a shout eh Twinks?[;-)]

If you say so SD, I find French kids have a slightly better grasp of the language than I do tho! Got a cd now, might dare to look at it later. Thanks.

Fair comments 5

What's that well 'ard sniper cat shooting at Moggy? Orange Jaipur for me at the mo and the d'or is delish; still seems wierd wacking the tea down on a Sat night and even wierder being up at 5 on a Sunday morning. [blink]

Dunno what I think of WB's approach, much of it is way too complicated for me to follow. If I may speak in my language.... Bottom line is that we all find ourselves in situations in life from time to time that have enveloped us, to get ourselves out of them and back to a place that we feel comfortable with, or onto safer or healthier ground seems a whole lot more difficult than what we did to get ourselves into them; especially addictions. In my experience...trauma (such as bereavement, violent death, violence, an accident, betrayal etc), genetic makeup, societal (is that a word?) pressure (professional, social & financial) can all lead to a mental state that leaves a person susceptible to wanting to seek comfort from something....and one day you find yourself up to your eyes in the crap and thinking there's not many places to turn. Getting oneself out of the crap, properly and long term is no way an overnight thing, knowing now what I do I recognise the complexities involved in thoroughly getting well, it has to come from within, nobody can do it for you apart from yourself...the pro's are there to help but can't make you well...and it 'aint gonna happen overnight. There are so many things to address but the first is to be absolutely and brutally truthful to yourself, identifying anything and everything that doesn't fit in your life and that should be changed, relationships for example; marriage, 'friends', work collegeagues...are they right? For example I lived with somebody who had been a heavy drinker since the age of 17 or 18 (I was teetotal up to the age of 29), all of our 'friends' where not of my choosing, I didn't have very much control of who 'invaded' my personal space qnd now in my sober state I wouldn't want to share time with that person again. Work...I took the safe route and did stuff that in truth bored me to tears; but my responsibilities always seemed so much more important than what I wanted to do, after all you don't gamble when there are people relying on you to feed them do you? Time off....I personally never learned how to, that in itself is a disease; I'm a grafter and never knew when or how to stop...that is one of the harder aspects of getting well again: I spent some time the other day with somebody I'm very close to and we did absolutely nothing apart from walk and talk! It was one of the best days since I can't remember when, it was like spiritual food and I learned masses that day. Physical health & mental health....the biggie...I could write pages on the subject; but it's the same as the rest of it, brutal truth and honesty have got to be the starting point, hard work, discipline, advice and persistence are absolutely paramount. I don't personally see the point, for example; in giving up something that has made you feel crap for a month or two to make yourself feel a bit better (losing weight for summer is a good example) to then go and put the weight back on. I personally use exercise and nutrition as my main approach to improving my day to day feeling of mental and physical wellbeing and hopefully to try and correct some of the damage that's been done, I still smoke but have been told not to stop that just yet. After what amounts to just a few weeks I've dropped 13kilos; have a good body and coudn't possibly imagine poisoning it again and undoing all that work.   Tip...take off all your clothes and stand in front of a mirror and ask yourself if you like what you see? The whole thing is like tabbing up a mountain, sure you might stand at the bottom and look up and say "F*** me" I'll never get up there, but if you want it bad enough, you"ll do it; you'll need rests, it'll hurt from time to time, you might need someone dragging you along sometimes, but imagine turning around halfway up and quitting and how you'd feel about yourself?  The world is full of theorists and talkers like the Woolly one, it's the doers who will always prevail...well in my world at least.    

Anyone done it here? I think I recall someone on here has a husband/partner who took goods or passenger vehicle training and was successful...I was just wondering how they found it? I'm more or less decided to chop in my Brit licence and do the bike licence here, I just can't be arsed to trip back to the UK to take it, it seems like a cop out as well. Failing that; anyone wanna double for me? [:D]

Well if they don't adversely affect your landscape or the views out and you need a remedy to counteract your perception of a future problem then why not? At least it's guaranteed future income for the surgeons![:D] What size are the trees going in? Has the unit cost been stated? What type of earth etc? Anyone fancy a treehouse? I wanna build one!

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/chrishead/IMG_4176.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/chrishead/IMG_4173.jpg[/IMG] Not the L word tree but they get to that sort of maturity, this fir was about 35 metres whatever that is in feet and has reached maturity...I've climbed Leylies of similar proportions, they do keep on going and going! The costs of remedial surgery or take down on trees of that size are not insignificant. That's alot of the little bruggers to put in wjt and alot of future maintenance...if I was closer i'd happily pop out...I got a wee bit of time on my hands at the mo! P'raps I should take my saws and climbing gear down to the Pyrenees and make a few stops on the way? [:D] edit; i'm toward the top of the tree in the top pic to give ideas of scale

Oh god Ernie...don't do it! Even the very word Ley... sends shivers down the spine! No chance of mixed deciduous hedging or something else? Leyl... do get out of control quickly ernie... got a piccy somewhere.....

As Twinkle says Chris has the correct professional help Not too sure about that RH; I reckon the shrink is more of a looney than I am...the last few sessions were about the connection of the poor ceps this year and how it's connected to lunar cycles, Pink Floyd (he recommended that I listen to Floyd more) and Candide cultivating his garden. I genuinely don't see the physical or mental 'challenges' as being much of a problem, thanks to a past life I have the discipline levels required to achieve my objectives. I also feel an enormous reponsibility to those folk who dragged me along these last few months, both private individuals and proffessionals...and to my two sons.  The real challenge is re shaping life and moulding it into my perception of  what I want it to be, learning how to relax, accepting that it's OK not to work 7/7 without big guilt trips, choosing who I want to spend time with, meeting new people, more travel & working away from home, tabbing out. Learning how to manage finance (jeez!), run a home, have the time be a father...the list goes on but has to be confronted as equally as the physical and mental stuff, it's crucial to affront everything or it'll come back and give you a slap just at the wrong time! Work for example, I have many options but just don't have much of an idea which way to go forward....chainsaw carving? furniture? tree climbing? restoration? landscaping? all or none of the above? I love them all but don't want to do one thing all the time. When you don't know the right thing to do it's difficult to head in the right direction...and confusing, the Chambres de Metiers and shrink are being great in that respect, both have enormous patience and don't seem to mind me bugging them like I do. If anyone needs help, ask for it, the pro's are there for that, they won't judge you or divulge confidences...there's alot more to lose by not talking than there is by hiding. The system here has been nothing short of stunning, BUT; had I not been properly registered I'd really have been in the doodoo big time. Have a great day![:D]