Rain had unfortunately stopped play on two occasions before I was finally able to give Miss A's manual mower an airing over her back garden, a week later than originally planned. Not long after starting I spotted a pitch invader - a tortoise belonging to Miss A's neighbour who had decided to do a pitch inspection.

Once the invader was carefully removed, I was able to get the mower over most of the grass, but there was a damp strip to one side for which the shears proved to be the answer, albeit they could've done with being a bit sharper...After a quick rake of the loose clippings, I invited Miss A out to inspect the field of play and after a few sharp eyed observations and a few further trims, she declared it fit for play.