More pottering outside. When my friend came over to do the shopping I got him to take the loppers to the thickest bits of hedge that I couldn't manage, so I've been stripping the 6 foot plus privet branches of leaves and side twigs. The woody twigs will be stacked and left to dry for use as kindling and firewood. The thickest ones are nearly an inch across.

The hedge is no longer growing through the conifer, so that's another step forwards.