A miserable and freezing Sunday morning didn’t stop Olivia, Michael and I (three-quarters of Ealing Task Force) from battling the sleet (and dodgy address details!) to eventually find Mrs S’s house, on the Southall/Heston border.

“SNOW JOKE”

Mrs S’s garden was fronted by a 10-feet tall, 25-feet wide hedge that was in serious need of TLC. She armed us with multiple shears, a leaf-catcher and, most importantly, a step ladder. Then came the more exciting offer of a chain-saw, which proved to be a life-saver.

“SIGHT FOR ‘SAW’ EYES”

We set to work separately on the top, middle and bottom of the hedge, while the snow continued to fall, with increasing force. Other GoodGym boroughs might have cancelled in such filthy weather but not Ealing!

A solid hour of graft left the hedge a good 2-feet shorter (at least on the house side) and the garden much tidier in general. Another trip will be required but Mrs S was most pleased. After returning the tools (although Olivia wanted to keep the chainsaw) we headed back into the blizzard, homeward bound.