It was a warm start for the three wise Goodgym-ers; Gary, David H and Ady to tackle the holly trinity of a Hawthorn, a Holly bush (tree) and a whole lot of Ivy.

Gary took the first unexpected task of clearing up a cat's (fox) welcome gifts from the front yard whilst we got talking to the travelling relatives from the North, and found out all about Ms D and her house and garden history. Whilst she was at church, we would clear her a space to sit out and enjoy the yard.

After clearing up the starter pile of Hawthorn that the relatives had already tackled, we borrowed their tools and builders bags and began working on the rest of the still-standing Hawthorn, and a possibly 1930s Ivy...

Gary and David took the hacksaw and loppers to the holly and ivy and expertly downsized it to just it's main root. Meanwhile, we tried thinking up puns but Gary was stumped.

The friendly relatives pitched in too by helping us play the little known game of 'drag a bag' (through Ms D's many narrow doorways and avoiding obstacles such as the rubbish bin & rocking chair), making four trips to the tip, and providing muscle pulling up bricks and house-attached ivy.

Gary took on the ivy monster in the side alley and pickaxed the roots until it gave way.

Twelve one-ton builders bags later, and a very bright and light back yard and ivy-free side alley, we bid Ms D's relatives farewell, and left them to finish up with the new pile.