Every spring, summer and autumn I mow the lawns for the owner of a large country house. Today was the first day of the season, so I thought you would be interested in seeing what I'm up to!
Here is the house, a replacement for the old farmhouse, which was flattened by a stray bomb, as German aircraft returned from a raid on Manchester during the Second World War.
There are two areas of grass to cut, one with a very old Atco cylinder mower like this.......
.......and the rest on a sit down mower like this one, which mulches the grass cuttings. In this shot it is pulling a trailer full of grass cuttings from the Atco cut.
Another tool I use is a lightweight strimmer for the edges.
In the autumn I collect a huge number of leaves using this leaf collector. Rotating brushes throw the leaves into the sack at the back.
I also use a knapsack leaf blower......
So I've got all the kit but it still takes me six hours to cut the lawns.
Sadly, the owner of the property, who is 90, told me today that he is about to put the house on the market, although he won't be leaving until the autumn......so I will have to find another lawn to cut!