Ivy Been Bamboozeled

Steph and Sevan resisted the hearty breakfasts on offer after Acton Junior parkrun to instead help Mrs M tidy her garden. It was Sevan's second visit, after tidying, chopping and climbing ladders last month.

Mrs M's daughter cares for her mum, so had a list of tasks ready for the GoodGymers that she didn't have the time for herself. The garden was becoming overgrown with ivy, which was to be trimmed back and the bamboo shoots were shooting up and crowding around the washing line, meaning it couldn't be used. There were a couple of other problems to solve, getting the back gate to close (spoiler alert, this was due to ivy too) and similar to Sevan's last visit, cutting some climbers, in particular the branch that was winding itself up the cable to the TV antenna.

Steph took the lead clearing ivy from the back fence. He found that the gate wouldn't open because the ivy had grown around and through the door, including binding itself to the hinges. Once removed, Steph gave the rest of the dangling ivy a haircut, while maintaining Mrs M's privacy.

Meanwhile, inside the garden, Sevan was trying to find the right bamboo shoots to cut to give the washing line enough space and still maintain the screen between Mrs M and her neighbours. After some strategic chops, he moved on to the internal ivy problems, then at the end, climbed up a step ladder into the branches on the pergola. He was trying to free the antenna cable without cutting the cable itself 😰. With that last job safely completed and normal TV service continuing, they left Mrs M and her daughter to enjoy the garden in the afternoon sun.