Yea, the head was already off from the last visit, then they "simply" unbolted it all and lifted it out I was impressed. I was expecting them to turn up in a van with a hoist, but no, just 4 arms! They used bolts screwed into the block to act as lifting handles at one end, and the old timing belt at the other.
One other issue was that the timing marks on the pulleys were gone due to corrosion..... so it was done by eye and measuring...and was spot on first time, and I now have some nice tipex marks on there for future reference ( I might cut a couple of slots with the Dremel).
We also found why my sump pan was always slightly oily - there was damage at the bottom of the dipstick housing that was letting a small amount of oil out.
The gravel is a nuisance - at some point I think I'll need a metal detector or a huge magnet on wheels
. For the stands they just moved the stones and I have a decent concrete base underneath. I've jacked the car on the stones and had a couple of " Oh my God" moments when it's moved - mostly when jacking at one side. I also realised that my jack need to be way bigger.... and go way higher, the top of theirs was the size of a saucepan lid.