On 15/10/2013 19:02, Another John wrote:
A neighbour has asked me to tidy up her garden, which hasn't been looked
at for about a year.

There are lots of weeds (e.g. couch grass) growing up between the
flagstones in the paved areas.

I was going to use Glyphosate, but when I checked on what tools are
available there, I found a weed blowtorch: how effective are these
things, please?

Pretty useless and probably less environmentally friendly than using
glyphosate weedkiller.

It is a bit late to use weedkiller if the trees are already turning
where you are. Best bet is probably something faster acting like Weedol
(which isn't so environmentally benign) but will get the job done even
now. Assuming here you need to do something before winter.

Glyphosate needs another 2 weeks of growing period to work properly.

p.s. Yes, it's the wrong time of year to be dealing with weeds, but
needs must!

--
Regards,
Martin Brown