We are fast approaching the time of year when we gather around a warm log fire (or stretch out on the beach if you live in the Southern Hemisphere) and raise a glass or two to old friends who are no longer with us or who cannot be with us. The season of celebration and remembrance is with us again.

I often write about Henrietta, Nuffy, Super Sue, Harriet and Dotty on these pages but rarely about the others who make my life easier and without whom I would not get jobs done. My forgotten friends. We all have them and tend to treat them a bit harshly, only going to them when we want something, but then like all good friends they are there to answer the call and help out.

There is a large conifer hedge around our house that needs cutting at least twice a year. We planted it when we moved in 25 years ago because the property was open to the road across the whole of its frontage. The hedge is around 60M long and reaches a height of around 4m. Ann has been on at me to reduce the height to a more manageable level as I have to climb a ladder to trim it on the inside and I am not getting any younger. There will come a time in the next few years when swinging from a ladder with a hedge cutter will not be an option so this year, whilst things are a little quiet waiting for the rush of box building that usually starts in December, we decided to shorten it in our annual garden tidy.

So it was down to the field and collect Tilly the trailer and position it alongside the outer side of the hedge for me to stand on whilst wielding the chain saw and hedge cutter and to carry the trimmings down to the bonfire. Tilly is a high tip trailer which can go up about 3m and is great for this job. Ann drives Nuffy and works the hydraulics and I ride up in the body of the trailer and do the trimming.

So off we go and all is going well until I find myself sinking through the floor with an ominous splintering noise. Whilst standing down on the field since we last used her, the wooden trailer floor has rotted out. With careful placement of a couple of planks over the holes, we manage to finish the job, but you see what I mean about old friends. Tilly has been a good servant for many years, lifting bricks and blocks up onto the scaffolding for the builders when we were restoring the house and bringing home many loads of logs for the fire as well as muck carting and rubble clearing.

So over the last few days I have been fitting a new pine floor, new stringers, new sides and new lighting and a complete grease up. She should do for another 20 years.

Tilly is one of a rare breed. She is actually more rare than petrol Dextas. She was made by a small engineering company J.W. Appleton, Downholland Bridge Garage, Downholland, Ormskirk, Lancashire and the trailer number on the plate has long since worn off but it looks like 32. I had heard that this type of trailer was not well liked because when being tipped at full height, they are easy to tip over as they have a narrow wheelbase. But as long as you treat them with respect they are a good useful tool. When we cart hedge trimmings and muck with two trailers and put it in a heap, it is very handy to tip one load on top of another using the high tip facility.

So here are a few pictures of my faithfull old friend with her new body. Do please remember a few of yours!