On Saturday afternoon, after spending the morning at a conservation day at Grove Farm, I had a double Acton act booked with Ms B: first gardening and, later, a furniture-moving mission.

When I explained why I had come alone (my second task was the only one confirmed as a two-person mission), Ms B asked me about assembling the furniture. Since I had been expecting to start with the gardening, I probed her about it.

“The garden is a challenge,” Ms B stated.

I love a good challenge, but this one was of a different kind from the usual. The culprit was a large fig tree that, in late September, had no intention of dropping its leaves. With no leaves on the ground to sweep, Ms B decided that the garden was neither a priority nor worth tidying up yet. She apologised for the misunderstanding, as the task had probably been requested and confirmed too soon, but she had an equally exciting alternative for me.

We moved a few items out of Ms B’s new bedroom ahead of the second mission to make space for the new furniture, and carried an old mattress downstairs. Then I built three drawers to complete the partially assembled drawer unit, while the lovely Rosie, Ms B’s dog, sniffed my Grove Farm-scented legs and vigorously licked my bramble scratches. All that adorable tickling made me slow down as I put the screws into the drawers, pausing to stroke Rosie until she fell asleep and I could complete the build uninterrupted.

Even with the pooch intervention, I still had plenty of time before my second mission for Ms B, this time with GoodGymer David. So I unpacked another piece of furniture and checked that none of the parts was missing.

It wasn’t.