Roadside hedges (3 Viewers)

[L' Hobo]

Ok, I bet the councillors don’t scrimp on claiming lots of expenses !

A few years ago, our local Council were voting on Buses, when asked, only 1 had been on a Bus in the past 5 yrs and she only the once because her husband had been delayed!

 

[Paulypaul]

Coincidentally, I've been reading about hedgerows cause our neighbouring, obnoxious wealthy second home owner has turned up from London at the weekend and has a team of fellas cutting hedges, even though there is an abundance of nesting birds around, and I came across this online...

"On top of that, Councils have a duty under the Highways Act 1980 to ensure that the highway is not obstructed. A council or local authority may therefore trim a hedge (or compel a landowner to trim a hedge) as a safety measure if the hedge is causing an obstruction on the highway – for example a road or footpath."

Interesting but clearly a redundant piece of legislation? Perhaps if enough cyclist got together and complained that their lycra was getting snagged and pulled on the hedges, something might get done

I digress so I'll cut and run now ⁹

 

[L' Hobo]

I don’t think so. Rationing ended long before I was born. I agree about the pesticides, but in my lifetime I’ve noticed that the field sizes have increased and that nitrates became the norm. As a boy I cannot remember seeing fertiliser spreaders on farms we worked at. Plenty of muck spreaders, though. Plenty of hedges to cut too.

I think you, or someone, said a few weeks ago that you had achieved OAP status (65) so that makes me nearly 15 yrs older than you.
With this in mind, I am surprised that you can remember so clearly Muck Spreading.

For you to be working on the farms, you must have, at least, been in your early teens, so we are talking roughly early-mid 1970's?

On our farm in East Anglia, we had stopped keeping 100 winter bullocks in the 3 yards (which is where the 'muck' and straw came from) long before the 70's.

The land no longer lay fallow so there was nowhere to spread the muck in the Spring as, by then, it had been ploughed, fertilised with granulated fertiliser and growing Spring Wheat just as the Government wanted.

PS. You may not have seen Fertiliser spreading because, in many cases, it was combined in the same drill as the seeds and went down the same seeding pipes.
This stopped it from feeding the weeds between the drill lines.
You may have seen idiots like me, weed killing with DDT in billows of blue dust and no masks or cabs on our tractors.
No-one informed us it was DEADLY to Humans & wildlife!

 

[L' Hobo]

Coincidentally, I've been reading about hedgerows cause our neighbouring, obnoxious wealthy second home owner has turned up from London at the weekend and has a team of fellas cutting hedges, even though there is an abundance of nesting birds around, and I came across this online...

"On top of that, Councils have a duty under the Highways Act 1980 to ensure that the highway is not obstructed. A council or local authority may therefore trim a hedge (or compel a landowner to trim a hedge) as a safety measure if the hedge is causing an obstruction on the highway – for example a road or footpath."

Interesting but clearly a redundant piece of legislation? Perhaps if enough cyclist got together and complained that their lycra was getting snagged and pulled on the hedges, something might get done

I digress so I'll cut and run now ⁹

Boris is/was a cyclist, perhaps he has some influence?

 

[Jim]

With this in mind, I am surprised that you can remember so clearly Muck Spreading

I remember it very well.

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[jockaneezer]

I'm only early 60's but can remember on a small mixed farm, using a horse drawn tipping trailer (converted to a tractor draw bar) and tipping piles of muck across the field, then spreading it with a gripe ! Then we went upmarket to a Harris muck spreader with "land drive" wheels, but all the sheds and pigsties were still mucked out by hand.
What a job, gave you an appetite and put hairs on your chest !

 

[Jim]

I'm only early 60's but can remember on a small mixed farm, using a horse drawn tipping trailer

I'm 66 and as a kid saw a number of different spreaders. The chain spreader was the one I was impressed with as a kid. It looked and sounded so dangerous. And if the muck was a bit wet, anyone anywhere near it got some.

 

[Larby]

A farmer in October 2000 helps Nat West to grow their business

 

[Tea Bag]

I think you, or someone, said a few weeks ago that you had achieved OAP status (65) so that makes me nearly 15 yrs older than you.
With this in mind, I am surprised that you can remember so clearly Muck Spreading.

For you to be working on the farms, you must have, at least, been in your early teens, so we are talking roughly early-mid 1970's?

On our farm in East Anglia, we had stopped keeping 100 winter bullocks in the 3 yards (which is where the 'muck' and straw came from) long before the 70's.

The land no longer lay fallow so there was nowhere to spread the muck in the Spring as, by then, it had been ploughed, fertilised with granulated fertiliser and growing Spring Wheat just as the Government wanted.

PS. You may not have seen Fertiliser spreading because, in many cases, it was combined in the same drill as the seeds and went down the same seeding pipes.
This stopped it from feeding the weeds between the drill lines.
You may have seen idiots like me, weed killing with DDT in billows of blue dust and no masks or cabs on our tractors.
No-one informed us it was DEADLY to Humans & wildlife!

Hi L'Hobo.
SO !! it was you and your kin that spread mud ALL over the roads in the Autumn/Winter HAULING BEET !! to the sugar factories all over East Anglia....... IT WAS YOU that caused the Water shortages . We used so much water in our w/screen washer/wiper bottles getting to and from the beet factories,there was hardly any left for the Public !! SHAME ON YOU !!.... ( Pulp Nuts back to the DERBYSHIRE farms as and when )
Tea Bag.
PS. Traffic speeded up a bit when the JCB co. started selling the " F1 " tractors... RESULT !!

 

[chaser]

This thread is in the realms of fantasy, where the hell do they not spread muck , even we do , got two spreaders here, where do you suppose it all goes.
As to no birds about this is my merlin recording in three minutes down our field this morning, plus although it didn't pick up any sound of these I actually saw moorhen, buzzard, crow, jackdaw, magpie, pheasant all within three minutes.

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[dash300]

Certainly do loads of muck spreading down here and when it's pig manure bejesus we have to go out for the day!!!!

 

[PaulyP]

Coincidentally, I've been reading about hedgerows cause our neighbouring, obnoxious wealthy second home owner has turned up from London at the weekend and has a team of fellas cutting hedges, even though there is an abundance of nesting birds around, and I came across this online...

"On top of that, Councils have a duty under the Highways Act 1980 to ensure that the highway is not obstructed. A council or local authority may therefore trim a hedge (or compel a landowner to trim a hedge) as a safety measure if the hedge is causing an obstruction on the highway – for example a road or footpath."

Interesting but clearly a redundant piece of legislation? Perhaps if enough cyclist got together and complained that their lycra was getting snagged and pulled on the hedges, something might get done

I digress so I'll cut and run now ⁹

As most of the cyclist travel down the middle of the road they are not likely to get snagged.

 

[PaulyP]

I'm only early 60's but can remember on a small mixed farm, using a horse drawn tipping trailer (converted to a tractor draw bar) and tipping piles of muck across the field, then spreading it with a gripe ! Then we went upmarket to a Harris muck spreader with "land drive" wheels, but all the sheds and pigsties were still mucked out by hand.
What a job, gave you an appetite and put hairs on your chest !

“Puts hairs on your chest” and that’s just the women.

 

[Fragle]

Only yesterday we were comparing the beautiful oleander bushes lining almost the entire route between Algeciras and Caceres to the tip we find on English roads.

Having just returned home after 2 months in Spain / France I despair at the state of this country now. I am proud to be British but unfortunately many are not and don't care for this country other than the benefits they receive.

I do wish we had the nerve to move to Spain. We were parked on the way back up at Zaragoza Aire.
We watched as a young student picked rubbish from around the tram station over the road. Very little to be picked I have to say.
Road cleaners that move at a slow walking pace. Unlike the Tasmanian devil ones that Coventry council have.

Early one morning first the guys trim around the trees and post not missing anything. (pride in their work) along comes the grass cutter also careful not to miss anything. Blowers clear the path then later on they actually jet washed the path. Unbelievable.
They also painted the bridge on the way towards town in the time we had stoped on the way down to our return. (six weeks) Excellent job done with very little disruption. Same sort of bridge here 2 years of holdups scaffolding etc

What is really sad is all the Brits that were parked up from all over the country all made the same comments about the state of the UK and that the attention to detail would not be matched.

Before anyone converts this to Br***t. Its not It's more about having pride and care for your work. Council workers who are responsible for these jobs certainly in coventry. Lets just say if I was in charge. I'd sack the lot.

Roll on the next trip to Spain. Short rant over.

 

[L' Hobo]

Hi L'Hobo.
SO !! it was you and your kin that spread mud ALL over the roads in the Autumn/Winter HAULING BEET !! to the sugar factories all over East Anglia....... IT WAS YOU that caused the Water shortages . We used so much water in our w/screen washer/wiper bottles getting to and from the beet factories,there was hardly any left for the Public !! SHAME ON YOU !!.... ( Pulp Nuts back to the DERBYSHIRE farms as and when )
Tea Bag.
PS. Traffic speeded up a bit when the JCB co. started selling the " F1 " tractors... RESULT !!

No, no, not my kith & kin, in the Cambridgeshire fens, we had a Special Steam trains and Tugs & barges anchored along the Great & Little Ouse.
These delivered the beet to Wissington & Ely.

As for Windscreen Washers, we were lucky if we had a wiper!
You youngsters, think you know everything!

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[L' Hobo]

Certainly do loads of muck spreading down here and when it's pig manure bejesus we have to go out for the day!!!!

But isn't that slurry? Nothing like the Muck of old which was 75% straw, at least ours was?

 

[steve69]

Certainly do loads of muck spreading down here and when it's pig manure bejesus we have to go out for the day!!!!

But that's why your organic farm-grown produce tastes so good.....

 

[dash300]

But isn't that slurry? Nothing like the Muck of old which was 75% straw, at least ours was?

No, it's flung out complete with straw, as my adjacent greenhouse roof will testify! We also have the bovine version as well which in contrast could be described as fragrant!

 

[gus-lopez]

I hope you return the cuttings to the Town Hall, otherwise it's Vandalism or Theft!

Don't laugh, it's TRUE!

Or do what the council do on all the walkways around my nephew .cut and leave cuttings on the ground and grass. Thotns and brambles everywhere. You can't walk yourself let alone a dog.

 

[L' Hobo]

No, it's flung out complete with straw, as my adjacent greenhouse roof will testify! We also have the bovine version as well which in contrast could be described as fragrant!

I'm confused, are we initially talking PIG manure as you commented that COW manure was more fragrant?

We didn't do pig farming, just a few for our own consumption BUT the only two, large scale, ways of PIG farming I have seen in the UK is, OUTDOORS, which produces little spreadable manure or INDOOR that, usually, is on hard flooring and produces slurry?

Tell me more?

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[Abacist]

I'm confused, are we initially talking PIG manure as you commented that COW manure was more fragrant?

We didn't do pig farming, just a few for our own consumption BUT the only two, large scale, ways of PIG farming I have seen in the UK is, OUTDOORS, which produces little spreadable manure or INDOOR that, usually, is on hard flooring and produces slurry?

Tell me more?

I was in a YFC at school and we had sows, fattening pigs, day old chicks grown up to Capons and Calves fattened up to bullocks.

At home in Essex I got taken to an intensive pig fattening farm. Purpose built building with fattening pens over a grid floor so poo went into their own sewage/slurry with no human manpower required. Feeding was also automatic via a train which ran on track above the pens and dispensed the right quantity of food to the right pen, twice a day.

That was back in about 1969!

 

[L' Hobo]

I was in a YFC at school and we had sows, fattening pigs, day old chicks grown up to Capons and Calves fattened up to bullocks.

At home in Essex I got taken to an intensive pig fattening farm. Purpose built building with fattening pens over a grid floor so poo went into their own sewage/slurry with no human manpower required. Feeding was also automatic via a train which ran on track above the pens and dispensed the right quantity of food to the right pen, twice a day.

That was back in about 1969!

I stand to be corrected BUT I'm 99% sure that way of keeping pigs in stalls has been illegal here in the UK for many years now which is why, here in East Anglia, many Pigs can be seen OUTDOORS.

It is STILL legal in some EU countries which is why UK farmers complain & rightly IMO argue that they are not competing in the food market on an even playing field!

 

[Abacist]

I stand to be corrected BUT I'm 99% sure that way of keeping pigs in stalls has been illegal here in the UK for many years now which is why, here in East Anglia, many Pigs can be seen OUTDOORS.

It is STILL legal in some EU countries which is why UK farmers complain & rightly IMO argue that they are not competing in the food market on an even playing field!

I would have no idea about the legal and illegal methods of livestock husbandry since school as it was not a career that I pursued.

I did think at the time that it seemed inhuman with them never seeing the full light of day, eat grass, root around etc.

I recalled it only as I thought it might be informative

 

[Abacist]

I will say that at school our sows had their own gardens to root around in and concrete houses for shelter with bars to prevent piglets getting squashed and electricity to power infra red lamps to keep the piglets warm

Thus in the 1960’s far superior to Jeremy Clarksons sow shelters in 2024!

 

[sciac2001]

Having just returned home after 2 months in Spain / France I despair at the state of this country now. I am proud to be British but unfortunately many are not and don't care for this country other than the benefits they receive.

I do wish we had the nerve to move to Spain. We were parked on the way back up at Zaragoza Aire.
We watched as a young student picked rubbish from around the tram station over the road. Very little to be picked I have to say.
Road cleaners that move at a slow walking pace. Unlike the Tasmanian devil ones that Coventry council have.

Early one morning first the guys trim around the trees and post not missing anything. (pride in their work) along comes the grass cutter also careful not to miss anything. Blowers clear the path then later on they actually jet washed the path. Unbelievable.
They also painted the bridge on the way towards town in the time we had stoped on the way down to our return. (six weeks) Excellent job done with very little disruption. Same sort of bridge here 2 years of holdups scaffolding etc

What is really sad is all the Brits that were parked up from all over the country all made the same comments about the state of the UK and that the attention to detail would not be matched.

Before anyone converts this to Br***t. Its not It's more about having pride and care for your work. Council workers who are responsible for these jobs certainly in coventry. Lets just say if I was in charge. I'd sack the lot.

Roll on the next trip to Spain. Short rant over.

Once you’ve experienced Public Services in Spain and the UK, you are puzzled - not to say downright angry - when you know that the latter is economically the wealthier ….. and by far!

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[busby]

Is it just me or are local councils just not maintaining the roadside hedges. We travelled from Dorset to Wiltshire this weekend and many of the roads have fallen debris sticking out, hedges not cut and some trimmed branches that have fallen and are sticking out quite a way into the path of travel. There is nothing worse than that horrible scraping sound as you try to avoid mirror bashing on narrow country lanes. I was physically breathing in this afternoon and jumping every time we caught some foliage. Fortunately the van looks ok but it does make a terrible noise.

Hedges should be cut in the late winter before birds start nesting..should not be touched again until birds have finished breeding and chick's have gone..late July. BUSBY...

 

[busby]

Might also be an opportunity to use those who are having trouble “trying” to get a job?
A few days a week community work to get their benefits rather than tossing it off all day.

Also good for their so called mental health problems..BUSBY.

 

[Hawkstone]

Hedges should be cut in the late winter before birds start nesting..should not be touched again until birds have finished breeding and chick's have gone..late July. BUSBY...

It’s more the debris that has increased. Storm damage leaving loads of branches hanging out into the road. Some of them are really big and could do a lot of damage.
On the note of birds nesting. I have a pair of beautiful goldfinches visiting my garden. I have never seen them here before. They are so tiny.

 

[busby]

No, they make money, strangely these are kept clear!

That's good..they are there for a reason..BUSBY.

 

[Abacist]

It’s more the debris that has increased. Storm damage leaving loads of branches hanging out into the road. Some of them are really big and could do a lot of damage.
On the note of birds nesting. I have a pair of beautiful goldfinches visiting my garden. I have never seen them here before. They are so tiny.

Put out sunflower hearts and you should become popular with greenfinches, goldfinches and even some bullfinches!

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