Mrs Down's Diary: September 15, 2005

He needed a test amount to judge against the bigger quantity he will require to drill a ten-acre field this afternoon. The rapeseed, which is tiny, is mixed in with slug pellets and they go on at the same time.

The weigh-in was followed by a number of careful (or less) reckonings on the office calculator with a final decision '“ that's good enough for agriculture '“ being reached at the same time as Jessica's fairy cakes came out of the Rayburn. A dual success.

The next job was to recalibrate the drill correctly. John had already had one attempt at reading off previous calibrations from his farm diary. The problem being that he had read the wrong page. The one relating to grass seed.

Fortunately something rang 'wrong figure' in his mind before he set off for the field so that was why he required some technical assistance in the kitchen.

Full column in West Sussex Gazette, September 15