Fantastic weekend for the Guernsey Boys

Picture: The Guernsey Boys before the start

As most of you know by now, I am a keen shooter and assistant game keeper on two local estates in Newbury. This weekend we had a visit arranged for the Guernsey Boys, who we have known for many years who love to come over and shoot a few pheasants, get drunk and party hard.

This week was no exception!

They arrived on Thursday afternoon so Chris, my game keeper friend and I popped down the pub for a quick one and to meet some of the other guns in the team who we didn't know. As usual, this turned into a bit of a session, however both Chris and I made a carefully planned exit as we had to be up early to sort out the final arrangements and prepare for the day's sport.

Lucky for us we did go early, as the guys arrived at the beaters hut looking a bit worse for wear!

After a few cups of coffee and a carefully planned wind up for one of the new guns who had never shot at live game before (this involved an imaginary game licence which was required, which of course everybody had except Andy, who has been looking forward to this trip for months. After a few moments searching himself for something he knew he didn't have, we could not hide our amusement any longer and he twigged....this really broke the ice and settled him down to the job in hand!).

Picture: Andy looking for the licence he never had!

I wont bore you with the blow by blow account of the day, but they all had a few shots and enjoyed themselves.

The next day, we went off to Thame to Chris's dad's shoot - a much smaller but nevertheless enjoyable shoot, with very different scenery and different type of drives. Again a great day had by all.

Chris also managed to convince me to bring Jasmine, my Labrador pup, out on the Friday for the first time. I was a little nervous as we were still bonding, but as usual he was right.

Jazz performed very well and really got the message of what she will be doing in the future - Holly and Amy did the business as usual and Chris's daughter Becky and her dog Holly were brilliant working with me to pick up dead and injured birds.

I am now on a "no drinking" week - my liver is groaning under the strain of 3 days solid booze, but it was really great to see our old friends - we will of course have to have a re-match away in Guernsey in the New Year....

Good weather at last!

Following my last post, the weather has made a huge improvement. I don't mind cold, its just rain I hate.

Last week saw a return to normal activities. It gave us a chance to catch up on the week before - we actually managed to do 2 days work in a single day - not that I want to repeat this too often as we were totally knackered after this feat.

We also finished off a really nice job in West Ilsley just outside Newbury, which has been ongoing in phases over the last 6 weeks or so. The final bit of this job was to create a raised veg garden where once there was nothing.

The most effective way of creating a raised bed is by using treated softwood sleepers. In days gone by, people used old creosoted sleepers but I would not recommend this as there are too many toxic chemicals which could get into your food.

This particular veg garden was to be built on a slopping bank, so we staggered the beds one above the other, fixing with cemented posts and then securing the sleepers with Timberlok screws to form the raised bed. Once done, several tonnes of blended loam, compost and soil are added to ensure the veg patch has a great start.

On this particular job we also cleared the front garden of old and overgrown shrubs and turfed an old area which had been used as a builders store area. As normal, when working in a village , just about everybody walks past to see what you are doing, passing judgement on your work and enquiring about the plans etc - this always works well for us and generates several further enquiries.

We also cleared out the middle garden to give the owners a blank sheet to start a new planting scheme in the spring - this involves removing old shrubs, digging over borders and generally getting it all sorted out.

We love these types of jobs as they are interesting and very rewarding to all parties - its a shame I didn't take the before pictures....note to self - make sure camera is in van before starting job!

I think I might have cursed us...

There's me saying what a month November was and WHAM - the weather has gone mental!

It's about the one thing we can do nothing about. This week has been a disaster.

Normally we work through rain showers and the like - it really is not much fun but all our gear is designed to work in all weathers and we just get togged up in the waterproofs and get on with it.

This week has been a bit different - cold strong winds blowing in freezing rain - it makes hedge cutting to dangerous and even things like weeding is impossible as the ground is water logged. I had even planned for a vine removal from a house - not on your Nelly in this wind.

The boys are really fed up as Christmas is only a few weeks away and we are not working, therefore not earning....so we have managed a few jobs - a bit of hedge cutting, a small garden clearance, a few maintenance contracts and yes I even final cut some grass today (when will it end!)

One good thing about having time in the office is that my paperwork is right up to date, I have carted off a few broken and in need of repair bit of equipment off to Kalehurst Garden Machines and of course this week spent some quality time with the puppy.

Our house used to be calm and the dogs no trouble - now this puppy, which I am sure has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), seems to be everywhere at the same time!

I bought her a toy pheasant from the pet shop and it seems to stop her chewing up everything else in the house (she ate a load of quotes I had prepared yesterday!) but now constantly wants to give it to me - its wet and smelly and I don't really want it Jazz!

Picture: A moment of peace - No I didn't shoot her (yet!)

PS we had to change her name too as she didn't take any notice of Casey - its now Jasmine, or Jazz or Jazzie for short - she is already responding to it - probably because I say it more than anything else at the moment - usually followed by NO!

The patter of tiny feet once more.....

As readers will know, I am passionate about working my Labradors. I am working 2 shoots all the time and helping out a few others when they need me - so consequently I am pretty busy at weekends etc.

Working dogs tend to get very tired after a few weeks of constant work and are also prone to injury. Luckily so far this season I have not had any injury (and fingers crossed I wont).

I have a 10 year old black lab, a 5 year old white lab (the black ones daughter) who both are incredible. My intention was to breed from Holly (the white one) but Alas she will not stand and so the clock has pretty much run out. This leaves me with a real problem.

Amy, the older dog, is just about knackeredat he end of a full day's work and the afternoons are a struggle for her (she was without doubt one of the best dogs I have ever seen). Holly is really at the top of her peak now and works superbly, but without a puppy to follow on I am in the mire as I have nothing coming on in the future.......until today that is!

I was fortunate enough to hear of a dog going to a working home - a 6 month old yellow lab. So I picked up my gamekeeper mate and dog mentor and zoomed off to High Wycombe to view this dog.

I was surprised at it. She really is a good looker and very bright - no training has been done but her blood line is superb and she has a sparkle about her. Needless to say, she soon was in the back of the car heading for Newbury before the guy changed his mind!

I had forgotten how much of a handful a 6 month old pup is, but with the other two to train her this should be easier than normal to sort.

Its first night, the howling hasn't started yet but she has already proven to be a bit naughty with biting tassels off the cushions and ripped up a few quotes I had stacked on the floor for posting off.....

Note to self - take Valium now to get through the next week or so!

Karen (the ever forgiving wife) has taken to Casey already, or is it the other way round?.... this dog is no fool!

Leverage, the Board Game

"Now what are you on about" I hear you cry!

Wife Karen (Irun Solutions) and I were invited over to Nigel and Diane Morgan's of Morgan PR on Friday night to play a Board Game called Leverage. This was devised by Brad Sugars - the founder of Action Coaching and self made billionaire whose seminar we all attended back in October.

The aim of the game is to get you thinking about your business, and business in general in a fun way. This game is quite complicated and Diane had created a spreadsheet to help with some of the calculations required at virtually every throw of the dice (otherwise it would have been a nightmare as the gins got larger!)

We arrived fashionably late....the kids decided that the careful plans we had made for them were not to their liking and so had devised some other dastardly and cunning plans which involved running them the length and breadth of the country ....completely stressing me out!

Nigel quickly picked up on my high stress levels, poured me a "Friday night Special" gin and tonic to get me back to earth! We had a fine fish curry prepared by Diane, then settled down to play.

I turns out that I am the unluckiest player ever and I quickly land on the "oops" areas which basically wipe you out of any profit you make during the game and subject you to all manner of problems with the bank etc. Nigel, being the luckiest geezer I have ever met, romps home to win of course (funny how the banker always wins in Monopoly too!).

Anyway, we had a load of laughs (mostly at my expense), destroyed a bottle of gin and some other strange drinks the Nigel kept appearing with.

Great night guys - I look forward to the return match - I am going to be the banker this time!

This has GOT to be the final cut....

I can't believe we are still doing final cuts on grass in December!

I have been telling customers that this will be the last mowing visit for about a month now - but still it keeps growing!

I was hoping to service and moth-ball the mowing equipment back in November but we are still cutting. The poor machines have had a really tough season and luckily have lasted the course without any real problems, just a few wear and tear stuff like strimmer handles getting broken off and drive belts getting shredded etc but no large mechanical failures.

On the other hand, we did have an unusual one a few weeks ago with the hedge cutter. We were doing "the Hedge from Hell" for one of our letting agent customers in Kintbury which had not been properly cut back for quite a few years. The Council was starting to complain as the hedge had gone 18" over he pavement, making it a bit of an issue.

Basically, we were commissioned to reduce the size by at least 18" on the face as well as about 18" on the top. Instead of a nice hedge, this was a pyrocanthus, a very hard wood bush with nasty thorns which make you go septic if you get impaled. We decided that chipping the waste would be the best course of action to remove the huge quantities created.

As we started, I could see this job going a bit pair shaped as the shear toughness of the stems was proving quite and challenge even for our mega Stihl 30" heavy duty cutter, let alone our Husky commercial one. Chipping was also proving to be a challenge as the branches were so tangled together it was impossible to get them in the chipper without chainsawing them into chunks!

I sent one of the guys to trim the top of one of the hedges with the Husky, when after a few minutes he came back looking very sheepish. I asked him what the problem was and he said I should come and see....well I don't know what had happened but instead of a flat 24" blade, he had managed to bend it like a banana. Somehow, the teeth had got caught under each other and bent the bar! I took it to Kalehurst Garden Machinery and they had never seen the like of it!

Eventually we got the hedge finished and the customer was delighted - even though it cost me dearly in repairs!

Putting it into practice

Regular readers will recall our trip to Las Vegan in October for the Brad Sugar's Billionaire seminar. As with all these things, they only work if you put what is taught to you into practice.

Over this last month, I have been applying various tips picked up to improve the business, as well as our private lives too.

The results have been staggering.

November has been our busiest month ever, with record billings achieved, more contracts won and more quotes sent out - I am also looking to improve our close rates (its pretty good anyway, but always room for improvement!). Furthermore, I have implemented monitoring and quality measurements to ensure our performance is always improved.

My next project is to update our website http://www.garden4you.co.uk/ and improve our conversion and click through rates via Irun Solutions and more google campaigns.

We have had a few set-backs - mostly due to mechanical failure of vehicles and machines, but this also has to be expected with an increase in work load. This obviously has an affect on the business, but my aim is to plan for these and ensure we have a back up option.

In our private life, Karen and I have got more organised, employed a cleaner/ironing service to remove the pressure of constantly having to think about this, attempted to sort out our shopping via the Internet (this really takes up loads of time to sort out initially!) and basically started to manage our time more effectively so we can spent more time together.

I have also managed to fit in more hobby time - I now spend much more time working my gun dogs and doing more field sports.

The law of space has prevailed - basically if you create space it will be filled, by getting more things sorted, I have more time to do other things and spend more time with the family - brilliant!

Neale James's 40th

Another event not blogged was Neale James's 40th birthday. Neale James is a great mate of ours and runs Breathe Pictures - the awesome photography company as well as being a broadcaster on Reading 107 breakfast show.




As we were away in Las Vegas during Neale's birthday, it was decided that the party should happen before we go so we didn't miss it. The usual suspects were there of course looking to get Neale truly slaughtered.

The venue was the Madagascan Gin Palace - always a great night out and so the scene was set.

During the afternoon, Adam, Karen and I popped round to Neale & Sam's house to watch football and so we managed to get a bit of a head start - so before we got to the restaurant we were very merry to say the least!


As the evening progressed, things got pretty lively and we managed to get Neale in "The dentist chair" a really horrible form of torture where you get tipped back and alcohol is administered directly - Neale's eyes did go in different directions after this!



Things get a little blurred after this - there was a disco laid on and so dancing etc broke out before we finally ended up back a Neale's....after this I'm not to sure!

A really great night had by all - many thanks to Sam and the girls for arranging etc.

All for charity mate!

Picture: Karen & Donna before the run

During my lack of PC, several events took place which are very worthy of note, one being a 10K run the wife did.

Karen, the wife, of Irun Solutions Newbury, Donna of WhyNot Jewellery and Carl of The Fit Farm all decided to go on a 10K charity run in aid of Cancer Research (note my absence from this venture!).

Training was a laborious affair comprising of twice a week early morning runs at either Sneslmore or Greenham Commons, with the occasional "drop me in Thatcham" run on a Sunday where I would literally drop Karen off and drive away - something I tend to do from time to time (usually when we are away on hols etc much to her annoyance - but that's another story...!!)

Then the day finally came, so off we went to Eton Rowing Arena near Slough. The weather was less than kind to the runners as it was cold and wet, however with about 5,000 runners taking part, the atmosphere was pretty amazing.

As the time grew closer, a group warm up session broke out and everybody got ready to go. Nerves started to show at this point especially as neither Karen or Donna had ever done this before. The circuit was two laps of the lake, with watering stations at several points along the way.

Carl was determined to put in a good time and so set off with an early fast pace, followed by Karen and Donna at a more sedate pace. After the first lap, Karen broke away from Donna and set about at achieving her goal.

After a grueling run, all 3 finished looking pretty good considering and achieved not only great times but also adding cash to the Cancer Research pot.

Picture: Karen, Carl and Donna during the run

As a spectator to this event, I was impressed with all the runners and there was a really spirit of achievement - many runners did this for a relative either lost to cancer or surviving it - a truly worthwhile cause - well done to all.

There's only one way to get rid of a mole.....

.....according to Jasper Carrott anyway!

Moles are very active during this time of year and so the sight of large mounds of earth are becoming common place in most gardens.

Moles are really fascinating. Not much is really known about them but they are certainly on the increase and they cause a huge amount of damage to both agricultural land and gardens.

Moles are solitary creatures and protect their territory viciously against all comers - even there own off-spring once the mother has evicted them.They can travel up to 300mts in a single day and are pretty much constantly on the move, hunting for earthworks, leather jackets and just about anything else they can find.

This is where the conflict arises. With such activity, they have to push the tunnel earth up somewhere. The biggest problems occur where there are lots of worms - you guessed it a fell cared for and fed lawn!

Our armoury of treatments have been cut to basically two options - gassing or trapping. We used to be able to deal with moles very effectively and cheaply by the use of Strychnine laced worms which were placed in active runs - if applied following proven safety guidelines was far the most effective and safe way to control them.

Today, we will either use Aluminium Sulphide gas tablets (a very strictly controlled substance that will only be supplied to fully trained professionals like us) or trapping using humane mole traps.

Now trapping is an art. Everybody has a go at it but most attempts are futile. We all have learnt over the years "the best" way to trap and the best traps to use, but there are more factors which effect the success than you can imagine. I have to say we get good results based on certain conditions and in may cases trap several moles in each trap (as one is caught, the constant search for food and territory from bordering moles is there downfall).

Gassing is very effective but again conditions must be perfect - everything from soil dampness to activate the gas down to depth of run etc will determine the success of each application.

I do have a fondness for these busy little creatures and do feel a little sad at having to wage war on them, after all we are destroying their habitat by building houses on every bit of land....but that's progress!

Incidentally, going back to Jasper's technique of shooting moles - it does work too! If you see a mole hill being produced and you have your trusty shotgun with you, shoot the mole hill as its moving and you will certainly kill the mole. The shock waves from the impact will kill it instantly - yes I have done this too before you ask!

Expansion of the Garden4You team

Its always great news to hear about business growth - especially when it is to meet customer demand.

We have recently made the decision to step up a gear and add a new vehicle to the fleet, thus creating a second team.

This second team allows us to be more flexible and respond more quickly to our customers demands and requests - reducing our lead times is essential to ensure we grow.

After looking around the market, we decided on a Vauxhall Movano. This seems to fit the bill in respect of refinements and most importantly load space and capacity. It is also very economical to run.

As it happens, the very week we bought it, my trusty Land Rover blew the differential and was off the road for a full week - restricting our movements temporarily - and costing £1,200 to fix!

By adding an additional team, we can now comfortably take on the new contracts we are winning and schedule the work more effectively.

Loads of Gardening projects completed

Over the last few weeks we have been totally flat out with work. The extraordinary weather has made life very interesting as people are calling us non-stop trying to fit in the last job before winter sets in.

We have done some really nice jobs - from the normal garden clearance to erection of children's climbing frames and swings.

Several really nice jobs of note:

Clearance of a very overgrown bank in Whitchurch on Thames for a very nice lady who seems to have had a constant problem with the bank on her property. It a bit of an odd one as there really isn't much you can do with it - but we are discussing a few ideas and hope to do some more work here shortly. I am forgetting to take the "before" pictures but here is some "after" pictures. The bank was covered in brambles to about 8ft tall and all sorts of other stuff too.

Scarification of lawns

We had a scarifier on hire from A4 Hire in Hungerford for a week and went around to loads of our customers just getting the lawns scarified. We recommend this is done at least once a year to ensure all ther old grass mass and moss is raked out before winter ensuring new fresh grass can come through in the spring. People are amazed at what comes out of the lawn in respect of the shear quantities of rubbish. One of our customers has a massive lawn and it literally took us all day to do - but it has made a huge difference.

Fencing has really kicked off again and we have already done quite a few fences in the last month - everything from replacing damaged panels to picket fencing for a dog friendly area on a new development in Thatcham.

Garden Clearances

We are still doing loads of garden clearances for letting companies or people who are selling their properties - some of the jobs are just unbelievable - but the difference after we have been is incredible. I have been negligent in capturing photos but this tend to happen with us so busy.

One really nice job we are part way through at the moment is a really pretty cottage in East Ilsley. This property has had a load of work done to it recently and so its our turn to sort out the garden. The existing garden was not really in character for the cottage and the front garden had become a real mess of plants. We have now re-turfed and cleared the front - all the villagers who walked past gave the comments and approval!

We have started on the back garden and cleared most of the borders ready for planting and will be building a raised vegetable garden over the coming few weeks to finish off this great project.

Maintenance contracts

We have increased the number of contracts quite radically over the last few weeks. This involves basic closing down the garden in readiness for the spring - pruning fruit trees and weeding boarders etc as well as hedge cutting etc.

Where has the time gone!

Hi Readers,

I have had a few technical problems with my new PC which has prevented me from blogging for a while so sincere apologies - the fault has now been rectified so its time to try and catch up!

What a few weeks its been! In the next few postings I will run over the major highlights (and low spots too!) for your information and entertainment.

Biggest highlight was undoubtedly our trip to Las Vegas. Back in June Karen (the wife) of Irun Solutions Newbury and I attended an evening run by Brad Sugars - a self made Billionaire and founder of Action Business Coach, the largest and most successful franchise of its type. We went with the intention of picking up a few ideas for our businesses and our private life too and using them to improve - we never expected to be booking up to go to Las Vegas!

I have avoided America like the plague for many years - I once worked for a very large American corporation who couldn't make me go either and I gave away a trip to New York a few years ago such was my desire to avoid going - so to be persuaded to go by this larger than life Aussie proves how compelling and convincing he was.

Nigel and Diane Morgan of Morgan PR also signed up to go too - which also added to the overall value we expected to get from this trip. It just so happened that my birthday fell on the dates of this trip so we booked a helicopter flight through the Grand Canyon as well.

Grand Canyon Trip

I had never been in a helicopter before so really didn't know what to expect. After a safety briefing, we headed off to meet our pilot and board the helicopter. I had not realised they were so basic - it looked like it had done a flight or two and seemed to be held together with baler twine and wire....I was a little nervous to say the least especially when it was started up and shook like crazy!

The pilot was a bit too laid back from my liking and continually made wise cracks for the hour long flight as well as playing his MP3 player containing Country and Western etc rounded off with the Wagner tune from Apocalypse Now - the one they used for the helicopter attack scene on the beach before surfing......you must have seen it!



Anyway, nothing can prepare you for the views of the Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon - simply stunning! My pictures don't really capture it but its a "must see".

We also landed at a private ranch, had lunch and did some horse riding before flying back to Vegas - unfortunately the lunch didn't agree with me and 10 mins before we landed I filled the "comfort bag" much to the dismay of my fellow passengers!!

Later that evening, we met up with the Morgans to go off to New York New York casino where we found the famous "Dueling Pianos" bar. What a great idea! These guys simply got the crowd to pay them money to play a song from an era or genre and then get somebody else to bid up to get the other one to play something else - a real fun evening! Could it work in the UK? I think so!

Nigel managed to stitch me up by telling them it was my birthday - very entertaining for everybody else but not so for me .... I have a long memory Nigel so watch out mate!

We also went for a steak - actually it was more like a cow - all washed down with loads of booze etc - a perfect birthday night out.

Anyway, the Brad Sugars seminar was very intensive and packed full of ideas to improve not only your business but your life, health and wealth - 3 days later we were completely exhausted but very please we went. We have made some simple changes already which have made massive differences to our businesses and our lives - these things only work if you implement them - we still have lots to do but small steps and all that.

As for Las Vegas - it sucks! Everything is plastic and designed to remove as much cash from you as possible - the food was awful, the service was second rate and despite being in one of the top hotels in Vegas nothing worked......God bless America!

I could have easily stayed out in the Nevada Desert and spent the week on the Ranch - now that's my idea of a trip!

Getting ready for Winter

We are now just getting past the grass cutting season and into the pruning and preparing for winter season.

Yesterday we were at Nigel Morgan of MorganPR doing just that.

Nigel persuaded my to do some more video blogging whilst there - never one to miss an opportunity to add good content to our blogs is Nigel so here it is:



A big thanks to Nigel and Di for the bacon sarnies and gallons of tea!

As usual it rained - it always does in Hungerford for us!!

Garden Restoration for one of Newbury's Flood Victims

Image taken looking up the garden

This week we provided a garden restoration to one of the unfortunate flood victims in Shaw. Since the floods, all the houses in this small cul-de-sac have been pretty much empty and so now work has begun to get the poor people back to normality once more.

This particular job was quite difficult as access to the rear of the property was only available via a kind neighbour - otherwise it would have been through the house. The garden was in a terrible state - all the extra water and the sun made excellent growing conditions and brambles, weeds grass etc took over very quickly. There was also an old pond which had never really been sorted out and some unusual brick work created by a previous owner which really served no purpose which had to go.

The brief was to get the whole garden under control, fill in the pond, remove the brickwork feature, uncover some paviers, level off where possible and re-seed the lawn area. We decided that turfing was not an option as nobody was able to water it regularly at this moment in time.

This garden needed to be low maintenance moving forward. Removal of the shed was also going to be part of this job, however the insurance company had not made the decision on this at the time of us doing this clearance so we will return for this in the future.

After quite a few hours of brush cutting and strimming, we cleared the jungle, then moved our attention to dismantling the brick work and using the rubble to fill in the pond area. Once done, we started the long and painful process of moving several tonnes of topsoil from the front of the property through the obstacle course of next doors garden and into the garden we were working on. This is when we discovered our broken trailer!

Anyway, the rest of the job went very well and we just managed to get the fertiliser and grass seed down as it started to pour with rain - good for the seed mind you!

Take a look at the Before and After shots - its quite a difference!

Image taken looking down the garden

Outstanding Customer Services from Indespension

We bought a new trailer about 6 months ago from an outfit in reading called Indespension - a strange name which doesn't really say what they do and unless you know them its a job to find them, however the service received and the price negotiated was great.

The sign of an excellent supplier and one that I would recommend is how they conduct themselves when confronted with a problem.

Monday we had a disaster. We were part way through a major clearance job when I noticed the sides of the trailer wouldn't fit as they should. One of the lads noticed a small crack in the metal framework, which on closer inspection was a major crack in the welding of the chassis of the trailer - rendering the whole thing unsafe to use.

I was pretty much dreading making the call to Indespension and expected the worse, however I was soon put at ease. The call was taken and the manager located in Welwyn Garden City. I was promised a replacement trailer to get me working again within the next 4 hours - sure enough, Ron the manager personally delivered a new trailer for us to use and took the other one away for inspection.

The very next day, I had a call from Ron saying the manufacturing plant had authorised a replacement trailer without further need for delay. I was a bit shocked and surprised at the speed of decision, but also delighted with the way it was sorted.

Being a cheeky git, I also asked if we could have a different model of trailer as the one they brought us to use was actually better suited to the type of work we did (and a newer model too) - again, this was agreed and so I collected a brand new trailer that day!

I have no hesitation in recommending Indespension - especially the Reading branch with Ron and his team. If you want a trailer of any description, these guys do it - a great price and outstanding customer care - nice one chaps it all helps to lower my stress levels too!!

A Rave Review about Garden4You

Its really nice when you get an email out of the blue from a supplier which a review of your service on.

I subscribe to The Best of Newbury which is part of a national web directory type of service who provide me with quite a lot of good customers and enquiries. Part of the service they offer is that customer can review your service and post it against your advert - a really cool idea (if you do a good job of course - not so good if you screw up!!).

Well one of my long standing customers did just that - I thought I would share it with you.

As a bit of background, we first met Kim whilst we were doing a fencing job on the side of the road in Newbury. She got our number off our roadside board and called me. I attach her review for you to read- its quite funny:

"Driving along the Oxford Road on my way back from Waitrose, I spotted these men at work. Well actually, it was their advertising board that I spotted, however it took 4 drive-bys for me to actually be able to read the telephone number that I would definitely be calling!

The thought of another weekend tidying up my garden spurring me on to do yet another drive-by (there's a message here Graham - the board works, but please make the telephone number bigger!).

So, having made the call and the necessary arrangements, I tried them out. I think I had in mind that it would be a one-off, but I’ve continued to use them and with this strange summer, they’re here each week.

In fact, they are now working with me to redesign and rework my existing patio and bank (something of a mammoth task!). Graham’s actively chasing other suppliers that he will manage too. Nevertheless, Graham’s not one to let the grass grow under his feet (pardon the pun!), so he’s got on and cleared the patio space whilst waiting and in preparation for the house painter to arrive (who sadly didn’t arrive when I thought he was coming!). There’s nothing like being ahead of the game!

So, who are these miracle workers you may be asking.... if only I knew all their names (however they respond really well to "erm excuse me.....", "hello thingy", "hi whatshisname", and even "OY!").Notwithstanding my lack of formality with names (or is it a memory thing, I wonder...), it is an absolute delight having Graham and his team of enthusiasts (thingy, whatshisname & OY), working in our garden. Each and every one of them are conscientious, honest, friendly and are always happy to help in any way they can.

The gardens are fairly large, so the new addition to Graham’s workforce in the shape of a ride on mower, has saved them hours of time, and me some money! So, thank you to the team, I’m so glad I found you."

I have some before pictures, but will publish them separately in another posting once the job is completed.

Its Fencing Season Again!

Its really funny how jobs seem to come in batches - over the last few months its been grass cutting and jungle busting, now its moving back to more seasonal things - like fencing.

We actually love fencing, strange as it seems. The before and after shots are pretty spectacular and the look on customers faces is even better (note to self - try to capture some on video to add to blog).

Its been pretty quiet on the fencing front since the Nigel Morgan fencing marathon earlier in the summer, thankfully the boys seem to have forgotten the rain, wind and general nasty weather that surrounded that particular job.

Now all of a sudden, the flood gates have opened and I have done a load of quotes over the last few days for fencing - the great news is stock levels of panels and posts seem to have returned to normal and now lead times do not cause us the issues we had.

One really nice job we did was for a letting agent we do some work for. The tenant had no fence for about 9 months and so was overjoyed when I called him to measure up. He was even more happy when I said we would start the following day!

Replacing an old existing fence can be a mine field - this was no exception of course. The previous fencer had done all sorts of wonderful things to the posts, but a good heavy duty Kango from A4 Hire sorted the problem.

In no time at all, we turned a broken horrible fence into a nice new one - even fixing the gates for the neighbour to make it all secure again (all part of the service!)

Commercial Clearance

As many of you know, we also get involved in lots of commercial work as well as normal domestic and home gardens.

We got a call a few weeks ago to come and price a job in Newbury - basically it consisted of 3 phases:

1. Cut hedges and clear access to a public footpath
2. Clear the garden area at the rear of the property
3. Provide ongoing garden and grounds maintenance

No job is guaranteed, but this one was right up our alley - it really is perfect for us and we love em. We are also highly competitive and at the end of the day the customer will not only go with the right outfit, the prices must be right too.

One of the other factors was that we do go the extra mile - I suggested the main hedge job was done over a weekend to minimise disruption in the car park and also reduce the noise of the chipper etc which was required for some of the larger branches.

As you can see from the picture, it really needed it. Also, working on Saturday brought us a very curious audience - we even had the chap who planted the trees and hedges 20 years ago stop and say hello!

The next phase was the rear garden. At some point in time somebody had cut the grass - I think it was Fred Flintstone by the look of the old machine!

It really was a bit of an exploratory venture into the bushes as they were so overgrown you could not actually see if it was a hedge or shrubs. It was basically hold your breath, get the hedge cutter going and jump in! We did discover some really nice shrubs which obviously need some pruning etc. The pictures show the before and after - there was also a set of steps leading from the Board Room window which could not be used - well now you can!


Some of the staff had never been to the back of the garden and they were really surprised once we had finished - we had some great comments.

The Maintenance Contract is about to start and we look forward to keeping this all up together.


Enjoy the pictures!


Rear Garden - Before and After

Steps from the Board Room

We've gone Green(er)!

My view on the environment is pretty clear - we need to make all efforts to reduce emissions and stop global warming.

We have been using low emission two stroke oil for some time - whilst more expensive I want to make whatever contribution I can to cutting back CO2 and pollution where ever possible.

This being the case, I have now changed over to Bio-diesel (B100). This is made of 100% recycled vegtable oil (chip fat oil) or Vegtable oils like Oil Seed Rape.

Like a lot of people, I was a little sceptical about what it would do to the Landrover and if I would have problems etc - my Landrover dealer didn't comment one way or the other - so I decided to take the plunge and come what may.

I first became aware of Enfuels in Thatcham at a network meeting when they visited my BNI Chapter in Newbury. I thought it was a good idea, but was a bit shocked by the price (very similar to fossil diesel) so didn't really want to take a chance on any vehicle issues. Since then, the cost differential has changed, but this really isn't my reason to change (but it helps).

As to performance, I think the B100 fuel is probably slightly better - I really notice when towing a large trailer loaded with gear. AS to overall economy, its about the same really - I was expecting an improvement but that hasn't really been noticed.

All I can say is, the rumours about the Landrover smelling of chip fat are unfounded and I am happy to be making a difference - the exhaust fumes are odour free and basically water vapour.

One thing I would like to see is our so called committed government making some kind of concession to those of us who want to change - supporting our farmers who produce rape seed oil as a diesel substitute and cut our tax bills - especially those of us who rely on 4WD vehicles - rather than load our taxes, lets see a rebate for green use!

For more info on Bio-diesel, click through to Enfuels

Fruit Trees

We are getting lots of calls from worried customers who have issues with their fruit trees being over-loaded with fruit - so much so that limbs are breaking off.

This year seems to have produced an abundance of fruit on most trees, probably due to the mild but wet summer and the early sunshine in the spring which produced loads of blossom.

This really highlights the problem of fruit trees which have not been pruned properly in the past. Unfortunately, there is not a lot which can be done at this time of the year - only to pick the fruit as soon it becomes ripe to minimise the risk of further damage, then get us in to sort out your trees over the late autumn and winter.

A well pruned fruit tree will actually produce more fruit of better quality. I have recently visited several properties where the only possible solution will be to cut down and remove some really lovely trees which have literally split in two - all the pruning in the world will not bring these back.

Fruit tree pruning is one of our specialities so why not give us a call or drop and email to us so we can get your fruit trees under control and producing for many years to come - just click on this link

Pond Clearance

We recently did a slightly different job to the normal - this was part of a total garden clearance as well but it all links together really in the overall scheme of the look and feel of a garden.

This pond area was designed to be a major feature of this garden, however it had become very overgrown and the plants and weeds obviously thrived on the environment. Before we started, you could not actually see the water - we had to tread carefully to avoid a wet foot etc!

After a few hours of thinning, we managed to uncover a very nice pond feature and some really nice plants, all of which were covered in Bind Weed and Nettles before. We didn't discover any fish, but this pond had become a real haven for frogs, toads and newts which are always great to see.

We are due to re-visit this property in the winter months to do some fruit tree pruning, tidy up a very overgrown fruit area containing Redcurrant, Blackcurrant and Raspberry as well as doing more work on the pond area in readiness for the spring.

Beware of the Dog!

I'm still trying to catch up on all the work and keep my Blog updated on recent events - it's a struggle!

Several funny things have happened over the last few weeks - several of which have been broadcast on air at Reading 107 via Neale James who I call pretty much every day during his breakfast show to give him an update on "The Spuds", my trusty assistants.

One story I have to tell you is the dog attack one. We have a good customer over in Inkpen near Newbury who own two German Shepard's. They have a large 6 foot high gate with "Beware of the Dogs" plastered all over it.

The driveway is a little awkward to drive into, so we have to reverse the trailer etc into it off the main road. I always get the boys to just see me back and warn the traffic etc. Well this day, Ric (AKA Alsatian Spud now) decided that it was a good idea to open the gates and let me in, despite the warning signs etc, so opened them and strolled in.

The two dogs thought this was Christmas and came bounding over at full speed barking. All I could see was a blur as Ric thought he would try to out-run them......not a chance!

One of the dogs latched onto his bum cheek as he tried to vault into the trailer and awaiting safety.....Luckily, there was no skin or clothes ripped in the process - the only damage was bruising of the rear and also his ego!

The worst thing was Ric trying to show us the "scars" and wanting first aid to the area - not even with rubber gloves matey!!!

The next few days were hilarious with Ric having to sit on the mower with a load of padding on one side.....Neale had a ball with this on air!

The next funny thing (I can laugh now) was Pete (AKA Landrover Spud) moving the Landrover forward just a few yards so we could get the mower off - a simple enough task you would think - not so.

I was in the yard just clearing up a few things when I heard an almighty crash and gravel skidding - only to look around and see Pete had run over my brand new strimmer!

I went a little mental as you can appreciate, especially when they tried to reverse back over it to get it out from under the trailer!!!

At least I can cut around corners now....again, Neale did a piece on this too - very amusing radio!

Our UK Wedding Reception

As you know, My long suffering partner Karen and I got married in South Africa back in March. Not everybody could come and so we thought we would throw a UK Wedding reception for those who couldn't make the 5000 mile journey.

After the usual issues of sorting out a party, We set the date, Sunday August 5th, ordered the caterers - we went for a Hog Roast as just about everybody likes that (and a good friend of our provides catering etc) and sent the invites out.

As it happened, this was the hottest day of the year and luckily our friends Donna of Why Not Jewellery and Steve her hubby arranged a rather odd shaped but very effective marquee for us.
I must say the day started off really well - so great to see so many friends and family turn up - the usual suspects Neale and Sam James AKA Breathe Pictures, Paul and Cathy Rosier. Adam (what no Emma? - she was in hospital having just had their new daughter!) Hillier AKA Verbatim Call Centres , Nigel Morgan of Morgan PR(minus Diane due to holiday), to mention but a few....

As the day moved to evening, after the Hog Roast had been reduced to a bag of bones (this was probably the best Hog ever!) it was time to cut the cake kindly supplied by my Mum.

After this, things get a little blurred for yours truly - we made a big fire on the patio and all the "die hards" sat around talking the usual bull and getting slaughtered - Louis was pouring my drinks (he worked for me as a work experience the week before and Neale James picked on him everyday on his breakfast radio show) and so got his revenge - "Doing me Ugly" on the Brandy and Cokes (not much Coke me thinks!) until I passed out.

The next day I was done for. I don't think I have ever felt so ill on drink - I still can't touch a brandy after 4 weeks!

What a great party - can't wait until our anniversary now!

Picture 1 - The strange but useful tent




Picture 2 - The Catering Team hard at work!



Picture 3 - Cutting the cake - well on the way to being drunk!

Mega House Clearance!

I had a call from one of our commercial customers which went along the lines of:

"We have 3 cottages we need you to take a look at - I think they might be a bit overgrown, but I am sure you can sort them for us".

So I popped over to take a look.......Well I have a Landrover and I struggled to get into the gate way as the grass was so tall!

Normally, this would be a case of just getting a tractor and paddock swipe and off we go, however access was a total problem as the 3 cottages all had small access and low trees etc making this a real problem.

After walking around the site - hoping not to be captured by some tribe that might be lurking - I came up with a solution to this problem - our awesome Etesia Mower with the windrow attachment and our trusty strimmers!

I was advised that the Etesia would not cope with grass so long, however with limited options we just got on with it. Luckily we had a good break in the weather and so the sun had dried out the grass otherwise I would have thought twice. So Ric D was set off on the Etesia, Pete was dispatched to the hedges (again so overgrown you cant believe it) and I set off with the strimmer to uncover paths and cut the roadside banks and boundaries.

After 5 days, we did manage to get this job completed - and the transformation is simply amazing - the pictures, whilst good, do not show the real difference but they will give you some idea.

We have just gone back and undertaken the first maintenance visit and I have to say that it is really looking great with the new green grass growth coming through - now we will be on a fortnightly visit to maintain the hard work.

Picture 1 - The Orchard - What no trees!




Picture 2 - Spot the Patio (and Path)!!




Picture 3 - An English Country Garden - well it is now!



The only casualty was a damaged drive belt on the Etesia which under the circumstances was pretty much expected - a truly great machine all round.

Its been a while.....

It s been a while since I have posted on my blog - we have been totally mental busy as well as taking a week off with the kids so time has just run away with its self.

On the good side, we have done some cracking jobs - all of which I will up date you on as I get the pictures sorted out.

These include:-

• A massive rockery which had totally over grown and we tamed
• A fish pond which was just simply unbelievable - now you can see the water
• A garden clearance to end all clearances - this nearly killed us but now amazing
• An overgrown hedge on a busy road
  

All this plus:-

• Our big UK Wedding reception
• Our Holiday
• Our YTS (Youth Training Scheme as was - now called work experience) Experiences
• Our Dog Attack victim - poor Ric D!

I hope you enjoy reading the next few blog postings..

What a horrible week!

This week has been a disaster.

Our first job this week was to do a garden clearance in Beedon near Newbury. When we arrived the poor house owner was trying to clear up the 2 foot of water which flooded off the field and into their house. Despite this, she still wanted us to do the hedges and borders that we had agreed to do a few weeks earlier for the party they had planned for this Saturday - nothing damps the spirit really!

The next few days were a washout, Tuesday we couldn't do anything so I helped the local horse farmer Cliff Percy of Snelsmore Sheltand Ponies collect some hay from Swindon - hay is in very short supply and nothing will be made much this year. As we left Swindon, Cliff noticed there was oil on the back of the car. I couldn't see where it was coming from so we limped home.

Wednesday morning I went to Lancaster Landrover in Thatcham, where I was presented with a bill for £850 for the repairs to an oil seal from the 4WD transfer box. Luckily no other damage found. We did manage to cut one lawn before the heavens opened.

Thursday was rained off once more - my machines have never been so serviced and cleaned!

Friday was good - we managed to cram in about 10 jobs from last week and caught up on a few from this week - I even did my own grass before it got too dark! We did manage a curry with Adam and Emma and Neale and Sam - the ciders did flow as we all had terrible weeks - Adam had his car written off due to flood damage.

Today, I am going fishing - I could work but enough now - time for some relaxation. We haved no kids this weekend so me and the wife Karen will go into town and check out a few bars -maybe go to the Corn Exchange and probably end up in the Madagascan Gin Palace for a meal - get the table ready Richard!!

Next week has to be better - the forecast is for a heatwave over August - I cant wait!!

Rain DID Stop Play!

Normally, we still do a certain amount of work in the rain, however yesterday was something else - rain on a biblical proportion.

We live about half way down a hill and so would expect not to ever get a problem with rain, floods or anything else like that. There are several springs in the woods above us and many large ditches and water courses which flow from the woods, through the surrounding fields and off to catchment and soak-away pits at the bottom of the hill.

Yesterday morning first thing I had to drive into town to do banking etc and got soaked just walking around the town. When I left home there was a few puddles etc, but on my return at about 10am, it was a different picture all together with loads of laying water and large areas of the road covered.

I was due to pick my daughter up from school at 12:30 and was amazed at the roads. We have 3 ways of getting to our house - the normal way was probably about 4 foot deep and was flowing like a river, the 2nd way has a large dip in the road - also completely full to about 6 foot and the final way is a gravel track through the woods, which without 4WD would have been impassable as this was basically now a fast flowing river too.

Luckily, one of the mums from school gave my daughter a lift to Donnington (which was also under water) and I collected her from there. Meanwhile Daughter nos 2 was stranded also but made her way to a mates house on top of the hill behind us. On arrival, his house was flooded so I spent the next few hours digging out trenches to move the water from his house and ease the flow from the drains.

All roads around us were flooded, the New Oxford Road, the A34 and the B4009. Karen the wife was on a course in Oxford and was stuck on the A34 for a few hours but managed to get off at Wantage and come the back roads - again thankfully she has a 4WD too otherwise she would not have made it through the back roads which were full of abandoned cars.

Now will the government see that people who live in the country NEED 4WD vehicles and stop persecuting us!!

I know people in Thatcham and Newbury suffered a load more than us, but I have never seen anything like this - and hope never to again.

Today its bright sunshine and you would never guess what happened yesterday - whats happening to the world - I think we should be very concerned for the future and our effects on nature.

No pictures unfortunately as my mate was due to return my camera yesterday - I'm glad he didn't even try!

The Dreaded Wasp Nest

Yesterday we took on a new contract in Highclere near Newbury for a very large house with loads of grounds. The family moved in about 3 weeks ago and so the grounds have not been touched for some while.

As with all new contracts, the first visit is the worst as you do not know the ground, the grass is long and thick and the edges have been neglected - so it takes ages. The owner had asked me to destroy a few wasp nests around the garden and outbuildings.

We found 3 pretty much straight away as there were high levels of wasp activity around the property - one particularly nasty one at the base of the house, one in the roots of a willow tree and one in the shed.

Rather than gas these whilst we are still working and risk getting stung, we set to work getting all the grass cut, Rick on the Etesia ride on and Pete and I with strimmers. All was going well until Rick went flying past me on the mower and disappeared down the drive at full speed - arms waving about in the air.

I switched off my strimmer, lifted my ear defenders and shouted to him - It appears he found another wasps nest in the orchard - with the mower! Not only did he go over it once but then reversed over it to get a better cut of the grass, hence making the Jaspers even more angry.

Wasps do attack - I have no idea how Rick didn't get stung as he also managed to suck up a load in the collector and dumped them on the grass heap too.

Unfortunately I have no pictures or video of this event but it was pretty funny. Needless to say it made my job of wasp control even more difficult as the wasps were highly aggressive and not prepared to have any further invasions.

I did give all the nests a really good treatment and will revisit later in the week to check all the nests are clear.

More Turfing

On Monday, we did a garden clearance and turfing job in Oxford for a good contact of ours, Andy Foulds of 0800 Handyman. If you have never come across 0800 Handyman before, its a really great idea for people who don't have time to do the little jobs around the house like putting up pictures, shelves etc.

We don't normally go as far as Oxford, but as it was Andy we made the exception. Andy did the survey for me to keep costs down of travelling and I must say his measurements were spot on (as you would expect from a tradesman I suppose!).

I was warned it was a little weedy, but with all the rain etc this garden was something else. Anyway, we did a load of hand pulling of weeds - approx 2 cubic meter bags full to be exact, then got stuck in with the rotavator to break down the thick clay soil. The development we were working on was typical of getting as many houses on the estate as possible, then the designers realising that access needs to be made to get into the garden so they put a tiny pathway down the back. This causes major problems with getting equipment and materials to the garden.

Despite this, we got the ground prepared and the turf laid and changed a jungle into a beautiful lawn. Good job the rain has been pretty constant since then as turf needs tons of water in the early days to ensure root growth.