I returned to the UK in Oct 2010, and moved back to NI in February 2011
i had been gone for 38-39 years, and had travelled the world. I had lived in 22 countries (some for months, some for years) and worked in 38. I simply got fed up of speaking every other language than English, and yearned for some English (or Irish) food for once.
So, I simply upped and left. Within a day of taking the decision, I had flown over to the UK, bought a van, flown back, loaded it up, and drove back the 1700km to my mothers house in the UK, where I stayed while I decided where I would live.
so, having decided on NI, and moving here in the January, by March I had decided to start shooting again, and set about getting a gun (new Beretta A400 light field in 12ga) and as you need permissions to get a licence, I got one, then looked for others.
Within 12-15 months of starting with ONE permission of 130 acres, I had over 8,500+ acres of permissions, while others where struggling to get one, and if they had it to hold it.
So, you ask, how did I do it ?
Simple, having spent time in many countries, I had to get any job going to get a roof over my head, and food in my stomach, plus healthcare insurance, so I took any and all jobs that came along, and learnt to do them well.
So, how does this help me ?
I can do a myriad of tasks, from working with stock, driving tractors, and repairing them, rewiring trailers, welding ( stick arc, MIG, TIG, oxy acetylene ), sorting mains electric, sorting building work, paint spraying, plumbing work, fencing, changing tyres, and offering general advice, plus many more things I wouldn't care to mention. On top of this I shoot crows (well all legal corvid species), pigeons (wood and feral), rabbits, wildfowl (duck and geese to you), and foxes.
So I make myself almost indespensible to the farmers, always there to help.
Also, I clean up after myself. Spent shell casings and food wrappers I take with me. Tools that I've used, I put back in their proper places (which the farm labourers and sons of the farmers often fail to do). If I find loose tools lying around, I pick them up, clean them and put them back in their places.
I spend most of my free days going between the farms, moving the birds that are causing problems off the fields. Yep, some days I will only get 10-15 birds, other days, when I set up Decoying I might get 80-300/400 birds
be friendly, be polite, offer to help, if you break something, OWN UP TO IT. farmers hate liars, or people that don't say when they broke something. If the farmer knows it's broke, he can fix or replace it then, not find its broke when next he goes to use it.
I had that much permission, I had NO free time, so I gave away 6,500+ acres, and now only have about 2,000 acres left, which still gives me very little time to myself.
for instance,yesterday I was moving cattle. Today I was moving cattle and testing them for TB, plus repairing a slurry spreader tank. Hopefully have the new pieces for it tomorrow. The farm labourer broke it when he failed to raise the arms and they caught the prop shaft
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If it moves and is legal but also moral, SHOOT IT !!
Thanks for posting, you've open my eyes to a direction I know I'm already heading in but it's just a matter of time really, very unsure of how to do it but I know most things will be clear in time.
Last night I relaid felt on the pool table for the farmers son. During the day I was at another farm, laying water pipe, and using the kango hammer to straight the edges along the new lay laid slurry slats. This week already fully booked, rewire a trailer and straighten the a-frame on it, then back to the other farm and bolt up the cow stalls in the new concrete I laid three weeks ago. Also waiting on my new oxy-acetylene kit to come, then have to weld up a gate, and fit a frame I welded together the other day, for the bolts on the gate to fit into and stop the concrete breaking
-- Edited by Redditch on Sunday 30th of October 2016 06:11:38 PM
__________________
If it moves and is legal but also moral, SHOOT IT !!
Redd, was the felt on a pool table or a snooker table? What was the size of the table? What felt did you use? I have Simonos 360 cloth on my table, it's a fast cloth where you don't have to force the balls around the table. Pool or snooker are both finesse games where touch and control of the cue ball make all the difference between winning or loosing!
it was a kit off eBay, as they wanted £300.00 to cover it. It's a 3 foot X 6 foot pool table. I don't play pool or billiards, and the last time I played snooker was 1973 LOL
the kit contained a small staple gun with staples, a can of spray glue, and pre cut fabric (they don't cut ANY spare,min fact it's a bit shooter all sides by about 2" so you have to be very careful when laying it. It was £60.00 for the kit, and the "felt" is more like a cotton fabric, so quite fast. It also included felt for the side bars
ypu spray rhe under edges, sides, and about I" of the tap sides, avoiding pickets. Then allow the glue to dry for about 5-10 minutes (it's contact glue, if you don't it penetrates the cloth and will show through, and also affect the run of balls)
there is also a DVD with it for those who don't know how to recover,
__________________
If it moves and is legal but also moral, SHOOT IT !!
So, yesterday spent the whole day bolting up cow stalls, and cutting tubing to length. Go that done then went to finish the trailer lights, but the farmers son was working on goose, so I rebuilt the slurry tanker pump and gear box and installed that. Then go back home, weldr up some gate brackets and finally got to bed at 00:00
Had a lie in this morning, and didn't get up till 06:30
Walked the dogs, now if the rain will hold off, got brackets to stall on concrete posts, and two gates to weld up, plus a space heater to repair that doesn't want to suck diesel
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If it moves and is legal but also moral, SHOOT IT !!
Hello Red, the table you re felted they refer to as a beer box table here in the USA because that is the size in most bars. I don't like playing on those size of tables, I much prefer either a 4 1/2 x 9 foot or a 4x8 foot table for pool. I like a 10 foot snooker table more than a 12 foot snooker table.
The photo below is a 5 x 10 foot snooker table with very good cloth.
You are certainly an asset to any farming operation with your set of skills!
Yep, used to play snooker on the big tables, this table being one for the farmers sons in the farm garage, which is why they always end up getting oily spinners and parts laying on it
-- Edited by Redditch on Sunday 6th of November 2016 10:07:01 AM
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If it moves and is legal but also moral, SHOOT IT !!
