For my last solo mission this Sunday, I chose to help our old acquaintance, Mr R. I've visited him and worked in his vast front garden more than once, and I can tell you that if there is anything in the world more stubborn than the weeds there, it's me.

I arrived a little later than planned, following a 5 km run from my previous task in North Greenford. Mr R was already waiting for me at the front door. And yes, I was right: today's task was once again weeding the front garden! Mr R had quite a collection of tools, from a hand trowel and a bent spade to a mighty mattock and an equally useful rake. I ended up using every single one of them.

Before I got started, Mr R offered me a couple of cold soft drinks. I gladly accepted, as I was extremely thirsty. It seemed as though those two bottles of green juice gave me some extra power, amplified by the shade and a pleasant breeze. After a whole weekend of hot, sweaty tasks, those conditions made a huge difference.

I started with the hand trowel but quickly realised that, as expected, the soil was rock hard. I wasn't going to get very far tackling the weeds one by one with such a small tool. Next came the spade, and I stuck with it for quite a while, snapping and chopping the weed stems just above the ground. It proved quite effective, although it took plenty of effort. I knew the most effective tool would be the mattock - and it's one of my favourites to use. To save my energy, I left it until later for the thickest clusters of weeds. Once I finally got my hands on the mattock, though, I couldn't stop using it. It powered through more than half of the remaining area.

To keep myself motivated and see the progress more clearly, I raked about two-thirds of the cleared area before finishing the rest with the spade. I was pleased to discover I still had plenty of energy left for my final task of the weekend. After two hours of digging, chopping and raking, I eventually cleared all the weeds from Mr R's front garden. As I was scooping the last of the green waste into the green bin, Mr R came to the door looking genuinely shocked.

"What a job! What a job! You stayed longer than you should," he said.

He couldn't express his gratitude enough.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you so much," he kept repeating.

When I asked if I could take an "after" photo of the garden, he smiled and said:

"Of course. Otherwise, no one will believe what you've done here."
"I don't believe it myself, actually," I replied.

The work was done, and Mr R's garden looked neat once again. Mr R told me he was looking for a long-term solution to those stubborn weeds and planned to apply weed killer over the next few days while the weather stayed hot and dry. I wished him luck in the ongoing battle, although I certainly wouldn't mind coming back for another round against the weeds again.

"See you soon," said Mr R as I was leaving - followed by at least five more thank-yous.