Laura and I met outside Mrs G's house on Saturday morning. Laura was early as it was her first mission (give her a cheer!), I was late because I only live a mile away and had vastly overestimated how quickly I could run that mile.

Mrs G showed us around her garden, pointing out the bits which needed tidying. I got to work hacking branches off a tree while Laura got things neat at ground level, raking away dead plants and pulling up weeds. Mrs G provided some guidance on which plants were actually weeds and how to cut back plants so they would flower again. Free gardening lesson!

The highlight for me was when I asked Mrs G if she had a tool to help me dig up some stubborn roots. I was expecting a fork or trowel, what I got was a machete. Mrs G demonstrated how to use it, but I don't think she was very impressed with my technique.

Garden successfully tidied, we threw away our three bags of rubbish and said goodbye to Mrs G.