I moved a Camelia shrub today. It was in a half whisky barrel. Pot bound. I planted it in the shrub bed. It took four of us. One to pull the trolley (me), one to pull on my belt for added power, one to push the barrel, and one to push the fellow pushing the barrel. Apart from myself the other three were at least seventy years old. It would have made a great photo.

A few days ago my car was attacked by three geese. Vicious blighters. A whiskey storage depot down south, and in years gone by, employed the services of sixteen geese to protect the maturing whiskey barrels from being stolen. This was told me by the guy who was pushing the fellow who was pushing the barrel that contained the camelia shrub.

A superb day for being outside. Very hot. Not such a good day for cake however. Two slices of delicious fruit loaf at 11.05 am was about it. Plenty of orange juice and lemonade though.

New power tool experience: yesterday I used a petrol driven scarifier. Fantastic machine, rips the moss from the lawn with frightening efficiency. Not so good on uneven surfaces, as I discovered: rips chunks of lawn out of the lawn with frightening efficiency too.

Conversations of the day: a good chat with an 87 year old as he leapt about his outbuildings explaining the merits of power tool gardening (he has it all, even a vicious looking petrol driven hoe!), and an equally pleasant conversation with another more sedate eighty seven year old who sat in his garden to keep me company as I pruned, weeded and generally pottered about doing what he once would have been able to do himself.

Tip of the day: Buy a Ross-shire Journal on friday and discover the horticultural benefits of Bulls Dung!