A little mowing and wedding, it sounded like the perfect first mission for Lindsay to get stuck into. When we arrived it turned out a little more than we'd expected.

When we finally found Mrs M (after heading to the wrong house - three number 2's on the same road?) she showed us around to the back garden and pointed out the huge bay tree at the back. Apparently it needed a good tidy up and she'd already oiled the secateurs ready for our arrival. We wasted no time setting to it, making sure that we kept it tidy, sculpting it around the edges and trying to keep it nice and evenly shaped. Who doesn't love a little secateur work?

It was only when collecting the green bin that we spoke to Mrs M, checking that we were on track, when we discovered she wanted it cutting RIGHT back. To the trunk. We abandoned all care and went for it, creating three enormous mountains of branches as we cut it all down. Covered in leaves and ladybirds (who apparently love bay trees and were lovingly saved from the massacre by Lindsay) we stood back with pride, only to remember that we now had three mountains of bay tree to dispose of. Under strict instructions from Mrs M we stripped back the branches, putting the leaves in separate bags, the area was finally cleared.

Two hours later Mrs M came out to admire the handiwork, very pleased with the light she's gained, and looks forward to hopefully seeing more goodgym runners again.