Tomcantwell

Where is Mike?!? Seemed to remember that paid off well last time

After a fairly large shop at the local tescos I used a self service till as all the others had queues. After meticulously packing ALL my shopping into bags I realised I hadn't scanned any of it. Had to unpack all of it and try again. Was so annoyed at my mistake I hurriedly left the shop and forgot my card in the card reader.

First day of secondary school I remember, all the kids from different schools trying to make themselves look the big dogs of the year. My attempts failed, got jumped by a group and help face down in a fairly deep puddle, and had a knife held to my throat by another lad, who later turned out the be the librarian.

Customers!! All day long. Spent 2 weeks on the most awful, difficult fencing job, only for the customer to come back, complain about bits that hadn't been finished yet, shake the posts that weren't fully set, and tell me he wasn't going to pay me. Had a rather heated discussion, I took all my panels off, and left him with, literally, a ton of concrete in post holes to remove. Lost a grand, and now I have £800 worth of panels at my yard.

I cheat, one of my local grounds is run by a good shooting coach, turn up when it's a bit quiet and he can't help but wander round and help you out. A singular round of 50 took me 3 hours once, he was offering that much help and advice I think my £12 of shooting was worth 20x more! On the flip side, was having a bad few months, couldn't seem to hit much so went for a lesson with a different instructor. £75 later he told me I had good form, and he couldn't recommend anything. Next time out I hit nothing.

Had one keep buzzing round the hide today, 32g 6 is more effective than raid.

I'm not sure about anyone else, but by the time I'm at a point of binge drinking, I couldn't see straight enough to read the label.

I've always wondered about the birds seeing my span. She's mainly white with a bit of liver, and it makes me think I'm spending all this effort on camouflage, only to take a bright (ish) white dog with me, thoughts? Edit: not that it matters at the moment, I could dress her up in tinsel and lights, I don't think I could see less pigeons.

I'm in Glos too mike, Forest of Dean, and I've seen barely any, and even less that want to commit to the decoys. Sat in a field that I shot same time last year, had birds coming in when I was stood in the pattern and this year I've had 3 shots at far passing birds. Where are they all?!? Edited as I can't spell where I live.

Going out with a friend for them tomorrow night! Can't wait. Cheers all, I'm convinced this site is to protect pigeons, everytime it goes quiet I check PW, only to look up and spot a pigeon going just out of range!

Been on here for years but never had the time to sit down and say hello. I'm a landscape gardener from Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire. Love pigeon shooting, beating, wildfowling and getting back into the air rifles. Spent so many hours on this site I should probably have it as my homepage to be honest. All the best, Tom

Having been on here a while, and knowing what lovely, generous people you all are I thought I would post this up. 2 years ago today I almost lost my best friend. He was driving to meet family at a farm to go pigeon shooting (I know you can all relate to that) when his vehicle hit a patch of standing water, he aquaplaned and lost control hitting several trees. The car was unrecognisable, smashed completely out of shape, and my best friend, Josh, was in the same way. Broken back, neck, ribs, severe brain injury and in a coma. The air ambulance was quickly on scene and the team worked with paramedics to attempt to stabilize Josh. He was taken to hospital and we all hoped for the best, but expected the worst. The injuries sustained were severe and if he ever woke up, his brain was badly damaged and he would never be able to walk again, as a keen shooter and promising rugby player this was awful news. Josh stayed in a coma for a couple of weeks, but finally he woke up. Traumatised, not recognising his own family and still seriously injured. During this period his group of friends and I organised fundraisers, music nights, a pub sports evening, charity clay shoot and a rugby match with his leaque side, school side, and very unfit group of friends. Donations poured in to help a well liked local lad and help his family convert their house and buy specialist equipment needed to accommodate Josh and keep him alive, the pub where he worked helped massively along with many other local organisations. In total over £7000 was raised. However, the tremendous work of the doctors paid off, and not only did Josh walk again, but after a long journey, he recovered completely. He now runs the beating line at the shoot, won apprentice of the year in his new job, and he still beats my scores on the clays. Now his family no longer required the money we had raised, and asked us to donate to the people who saved him. We decided to split the money between intensive care (who helped him to recovery) and the Air Ambulance, who contributed massively to saving his life on the day. We took our cheque, along with Josh's family, a small group who organised his fundraisers, and Josh himself to Frenchay Hospital to present them our money. The work they do is fascinating with a dedicated team of staff who really do put the effort in, and all of them remembered Josh, even 6 months on, despite treating many patients since. Then we took the second half of our money to the Air Ambulance station in Filton and they were hugely greatful. None of us quite realised the work these guys put in. Most of the staff are volunteers, doctors and nurses on days off, and the service is run entirely on donations. Day in, day out these heroes save lives, change lives, and do it from the goodness of their hearts. We left the headquarters speechless, disbelieving such an important service had to find the money to carry on themselves and this is the point I am getting too. (eventually I know) On the 24th of August I am doing a skydive, with a huge fear of heights, to raise money for the air ambulance, in the hope they will save more people like they did with my best friend. Anything you can spare, even a few pence, will get the helicopter in the air and save more lives. https://www.justgiving.com/Tom-Cantwell Thank you for reading. Tom Cantwell Oh, I forgot to mention, Josh has recovered that well, he'll be jumping aswell.

He shot a known gangster, in the company of other known criminals, whilst illegally held firearms were in the car. Am I the only one who thinks its not such a bad thing?

As a landscaper it's amazing how many people ask me to dump tree cuttings etc in the woods instead of the fee to take to the tip. Worrying part is they all look so surprised when I refuse.

I have a 'work uniform' of tattersall shirt and brown jeans. I've got my own landscaping business and find it looks much smarter than the usual scruffy jeans and t shirt. I'm convinced it has helped me win contracts over older most established firms. I've done subcontracting and had to wear a t shirt, felt so untidy. Also all my shooting clothing is work wear, and I've claimed the tax back

My comprehensive list of pointless stuff ive had stolen; A broken mini moto with no wheel I bent bmx with flat tyres Some old cracked fishing rods The bluntest, rustiest saw you've ever seen. (used for smashing the ice on the water butt) A cheapy electric strimmer (no power lead, head, and left outside for 6 months) Half a bag of gone of cement (still cant quite believe this) Cracked bucket The junkies by mine are a bit slow.

Hi all, I was wondering if any of you small business owners on here had ever thought/tried offering finance deals to your customers? I'm a landscape gardener and most jobs I do tend to run into a couple of thousand minimum. Now most of my bills are paid weekly or monthly (basc, tv licence, insurances) etc, and it makes payments a lot less daunting. I'm thinking if I could offer the same services to my customers, interest free of course, then that would make me preferable over competition, and allow people with less savings or income to afford the garden they really want. It would be self funded, I've googled the matter and most places use an outside agency, but I'd like to keep it simple, interest free and between me and the customer. I know it will be more work and hassle, but isn't that what business is about? Ha! Due to my work being very seasonal too, a spread of money throughout the year would be ideal for me, and would stop me spending all my money on nice guns in the summer, and struggling by on beaters wages in the winter. Have any PW'ers tried it? Any tips? Your thoughts will be most appreciated. Cheers

Don't suppose you fancy a P/x for an escort? (hatsan variety, before the jokes come in)

Red hartebeest, feral hogs and black bucks according to their youtube. Oh dear.

I did the everyman racing 3 car day, wasn't great. A lot of waiting for a couple of laps, it started raining and they made is go so slow I could have gone faster in the transit van.

Last year a friend of mine asked me if I could find some work for her 14yr old son during the school holidays, so I got him doing some labouring for me on a garden clearance for another friend, when asking how much I should pay him, my mate said £5 a day!? He worked better than any of the lads Ive employed, and he left with £20 and an job opportunity once he finishes school.

Just flicked on to countryfile, doing a bit about goshawks being poisoned, asking the wildlife crimes officer who poisons birds. Can anyone guess his answer? Gamekeepers and those involved with shooting. Nothing like a bit of good press, huh?

Trying to get some sleep before shooting tomorrow, whilst my brother has a house party and my lodger plays on the playstation far too excitably. On the plus side one of the lads brought round some really tasty homemade cider he'd produced.

I got my licence at the start of the year, so many firsts, but a few stand out. First driven pheasant Getting pigeons coming into my decoys Right and left on walked up pheasants over my dog.

I'll go £70