Clearing weeds?   Allotment overgrown?

You could borrow or buy a strimmer.   It will probably have to be a petrol one, so you have a noisy afternoon ahead of you.

Worse, once you've got the oil changed and the plugs cleaned, and the motor is finally going, you daren't stop!   You daren't leave the job until the motor is out of fuel.

At the end of the day, you'll have the satisfaction of completing a job long overdue.   And, to be blunt, you will also be knackered, half deaf, sore back, sore arms, sore head, and sick of the fumes!

Or you could get hold of a scythe.   Yes, they can still be found.   I got mine in Dugdales, an old-fashioned "proper" agricultural merchant in Settle in the Yorkshire Dales (tel 01729 822337).

Or try an Austrian scythe; it's a different tool, with its own pleasures and strengths, - and limitations.

For an allotment size job, a scythe is a joy to use.   It's probably faster than a strimmer - but only if you are prepared to forego the pleasures of a gentle, quiet and leisurely pace.   Smell the new mown weeds and grasses, watch the bugs, spot the frogs.   Sit down with a flask of tea.   Do as much as you want, stop when you want.

It's probably the only job on the plot that also qualifies as a spectator sport.   Older folks will stop and have a chat about times they used a scythe, and younger folks just stop and stare, bemused to see something out of their school history books!

First time out will be a little tricky, but a little perseverance brings its reward.

Some hints to getting it right, skimming cleanly through, only just above ground level, swathes of grass falling neatly over the blade.

• Keep the blade SHARP.   Lay the blade on a bench or equivalent, and draw the stone (use a proper scythe stone) along the edge of the blade.   You'll have to move and turn the blade to get a good edge.   It is worth stopping to sharpen frequently - the cutting goes much more quickly.
• Adjust the blade properly for your height. There are three mounting points for the blade at the end of the snath (the pole). Adjust the handles, - the lower is supposed to be about the length of the blade from the end of the snath (the pole), and the upper handle about the length of your forearm above that.
• Develop a smooth effortless-looking action.   As your right leg goes forward a step, the scythe comes backwards; your left leg follows the scythe's cutting stroke.   Swing from your torso, not from your arms.   Otherwise, you put a lot of strain on your arms, shoulders and back.
• Whatever else you do, NEVER leave it lying on the ground, or leaning against a wall or fence.   Hang it up, out of harm's way.

Not convinced?   Find me some poetry about strimmers!   And have a look at The Scythe Source for everything from Icelandic scything songs, to how to sharpen a blade!