New Gardener and Handyman

I was up very early yesterday and went to bed very late. Where had I been? To Addenbrookes hospital, A and E, not with Oliver, but with Victoria and her Mum. It was Victoria's turn to injure herself and that was just in the warm up, she banged her knee hard on the floor, which ballooned on impact and two judo coaches said "A and E". She wanted to carry on, but had to be carried to the car by one of the judo coaches! She has crutches for a few days and two days off school, but fortunately there does not appear to be any long-term damage. She is most upset that she will not be able to fight in the London International Judo Competition at the weekend; Judo is a contact sport and these things happen.

Today's picture shows my new Gardener and Handyman, Oliver. Now that he has finished school and his exams he needs to do some work during the holidays. He does not want a 'proper' job filling shelves in the supermarket even if there were any jobs to be had; this would mean that he might not be able to train or fight in Judo competitions. Also, as he is likely to have to work until he is at least sixty-seven it seems very hard and unfair to place him in a working environment if it is not necessary, so he is coming to help me in the garden; he is also going to help someone else during the holidays. He is saving for driving lessons, a car and the insurance!

Today was rather a hot day for him to start, particularly as pulling out stinging nettles means you need to wear a fleece to save being stung. He was a brilliant help although not competent in knowing a weed from a plant yet, except when pulling out stinging nettles, as seen here. However, filling and emptying the wheel-barrows made a significant difference to what I could do. We stopped for coffee and biscuits and for lunch, then when it was even hotter this afternoon he went home and I cleaned the bird bath and refilled the bird feeders. He is coming again on Thursday as tomorrow he is helping out at a school who are having a Judo Taster Session.