The message .com
from "Cat(h)" contains these words:

The week end before last was exceptionally dry and sunny after a wet
period, here in the Eastern part ofthe Midlands of Ireland.
I therefore decided to treat my drive (compacted hardcore) and back
path (concrete slabs) with Pathclear to get rid of all weeds. 10 days
on, and I am practically taking the weeds' pulse for signs of
ill-health... How long does the stuff take to show results this time of
year? Is this a bad time of year to use it?

Did you read the packet first? :-) Some weedkillers are dependent
on temperature , because the plant needs to be in active growth to
disperse the chemical to the roots.

Are there any effective alternative treatments?

I use a flamegun on the drive ( pressurised parrafin)..it's cheaper,
and the results are no worse.

Still on weeds, I took the hoe to the veg patch for what I figured
would be the last weeding session of the year. I did no different from
what I would do during the summer, but instead of withering, the weeds
I topped with the hoe just seem to have recovered... and re-taken root.
Is it because the sun is not about to bake them? Is it because it is
wetter now?

Both. Summer and winter weeding are two different kettles of fish.

Should I just forget about weeds till Spring?

No, but any you hoe off or pull out at this time of year, should be
removed (most can be composted) . It's worth getting on top of them now,
because if you leave them till spring they will grow away at huge speed
and make a lot more work than they would be now.

Janet