So, Jack the gardner texted at 9:20 to say he was going to the tip but would be with us shortly. We sat waiting. 80 minutes later I texted him. His excuse was that the friend who helped him hadnt turned up and as he himself couldn't drive ( ???) he couldnt come to day. We said in that case, leave it till next year. 

We doubt there would be a better day weather wise to do the job, no wind and sunny  and a good day for a walk. We went for a long walk with Fletch up to the sea wall and alongside the marsh. There were a few small patches of frosted leaves but in the sun it felt quite warm. 

M decided that as his leg was a lot better hed have a go at cutting back the worst of the overgrown ivy from the gutter. So we dragged out the ladder and he set to . I stood at the bottom holding the ladder , dodging the odd bits of ivy that fell down around me. After a break the decided he was ok to work all the way along ( 25 ft) It didnt take long. We decided the tree wasnt too bad for now so the job got done within an hour and cost us nothing.  

I suppose eventually,  we shall have to find someone to do jobs like this as age creeps up on us .. but I hope its not for a while as it is hard to find anyone reliable .