Yesterday, having finally finished giving the lawn a short back and sides, I decided to change the 2m yagi beam for a more sensitive one. This is the mast once it has been tilted over:

The old beam can be seen still attached to the top of the mast and the replacement is leaning up against the mast. Time will tell whether it has been worth the effort.

As conditions for radio contact are changing rapidly it will take a few days, or maybe weeks, to judge whether it is an improvement.