After Mr L’s last mission couldn’t be properly fulfilled thanks to a Great British Deluge, we were relieved that the rain had come yesterday and today was set fair for some gardening.

The lawn that we’d been unable to mow last time was completely hidden, as the giant magnolia tree had shed its leaves and created a carpet that covered the lawn. Mr L had a fancy leaf blower thing but it didn’t blow Samia (or any leaves) away: the rain had soaked them so they wouldn’t budge easily and so it was a matter of raking them up instead. It’s like mobiles: sometimes the Nokia 3310 is the most reliable of phone friends and this was the case with garden tools today.

It was lovely to chat to Mr L during the mission, hearing all about his career and his family. Time flew in his company and enjoyed chatting to him.

We filled the wheelie bin and three dustbins, and fortunately Mr L had a load of bin bags for us to bag the remaining leaves up into. 5 bin bags full later, we were done - and the green grass has been revealed again!