Mrs Growster and I hoiked out some raspberries a few years ago, and I had to use a pickaxe to get anywhere near the roots! It was a very, old, overgrown allotment, at least ten years un-worked, and unloved as well...
It was well worth the effort though, and the sense of achievement is overwhelming when you see the results only a few months later!
Sorry, GraciesGran, that sounds unworthy of your efforts, (baking and cajoling), but, by Jiminy, you'll feel so much better when it's all done and dusted!
We're not too far from you, so we've had the same concrete weather, and there doesn't seem to be much rain on the way yet...
(And we've had an email from Southern Water asking us to be sparing! Blimey, Bewl Water was finished years ago, surely it's full by now)!
Stay calm and think of England, eh?