08/01/2023
Really sad to hear the news about the man, the myth, the legend, that is Pip. I had the pleasure of being assessed by Pip in the very early 2000s, and yes, I remember that vice-like grip! 😬
Although I didn’t know Pip personally, I do know he was great at his job. This guy took no s**t from young guys looking to crack it in the tree surgery industry, and I only know that too well. He was good at seeing right through the jokers and the wannabes.
Following my small trees felling (CS30/31) training course with Chris Willett, and about a year or so’s experience on the ground with Pelyn Forestry, I thought I was pretty bloody good (bit of a ‘Jack the lad’)! That is until I sat my first assessment with Pip at Polbrook Woods. Let’s just say he put me straight.
Thankfully, I listened, put my built-up ego in the bin, and took that initial failure as a well earned lesson. I returned a couple of weeks later to undertake my assessment again and when I saw it was Pip, I was like, oh, s**t! But, I knew this time to take it much more seriously and to have more respect for both Pip and the industry I was trying to make a path in. Needless to say, we got on much better and I passed. After the assessment we had a good chat and all was good. He showed me a picture of himself straddling a big branch high up in one of the last largest English elms before he dismantled it.
This man had beyond a wealth of knowledge and experience in the arboricultural industry, and thus will be sorely missed. The legend of Pip lives on through our industry.
A memorial tree should be planted in his honour.
RIP Pip ❤️🌳🌲
