Magnum Force

Another morning and another dusting of snow, lets hope that's all it comes to.
Went and had a look at a Magnum 310 yesterday. It was a 200 houred ex-hire machine, very tidy, lots of extras and has only been used to pull a set of discs. The cab is a nice, roomy affair and the forward vision is good for the size of machine. It has a lovely sound to it also which, as we all know, is everything...
Just have to sit down now and work out the difference between that and a brand new one as far as the warranty and initial cost goes.
At least I'll be able to go and pull Warwickshire's premier farmer and U-Boat Captain, sorry, ploughing contractor out when he decides to head for deeper water.

I've just had to spend the majority of the morning going through a tender document in order to quote for some work which has gained European Funding. This means that all your method statements for the project are published publicly on the net, meaning that your competitors can therefore see your proposals and try and undercut you. True, in theory this should mean that we can do the same but the reality is that everyone just digs in to second-guess and undercut their competitors and the job becomes financially unviable. So far, the three similar projects carried out using this method have ended in the contractor having to pull out due to losing money and then having to wait until further funding is approved but they cannot receive any money or part-payment until the project is completed.
I have therefore decided to use the document to my advantage and light the woodburner with it.
I've never bought work and I'm not about to start now.

I'm meant to be attending a bit of a bash tomorrow night but I'm considering staying in. The trouble is that a couple of us made a bet a few weeks ago with the giggly, tippsy crowd that we would be able to drink them under the table on Port. The trouble is that although I have no doubt I can in fact do this, I reckon it's going to be a big old table and will take a fair bit of Port before they finally give in. I would probably be okay if they only played fair.
This is going to get messy...


A discarded cling-film tube strapped to a roller skate makes an excellent car for a snake.