Many of you must have felta huge sense of relief when, in his last article, John Jeffrey finally revealed that the inept bunch of idiots farming next door to him actually exists.

“The neighbours” often opened paragraphs describing some of our perhaps best–forgotten farming moments.

But I recall the maxim that “He who laughs last, laughs longest“. So I look forward to keeping you up to date with what the neighbour has been up to. You will know to whom I refer.

I love January. I can see my desk’s wooden surface and I am excitedly anticipating a week’s skiing, which can be a bit like my farming.

I get to the mountain top (the start of the year) and, faced with the option of a nice gentle meander downhill (growing spring barley), I take myself and the kids (the future) down the steeper, bumpier and altogether riskier route to the bottom (growing broccoli).

My body aches (overdraft maxed out), but unless I have fallen and broken something (gone bust), I will enjoy a very large beer at the end of the day (a smaller overdraft).

So I hope that as you read this I’m in the bar, or the omens are not good.

At the end of last year we marked a significant milestone by completing 80 years of farming at Caverton Mill as tenants of the Duke of Roxburghe.

Ihope we don’t have too many calamities in 2008 that might jeopardise that position. Well maybe one or two small ones,just so I can tell you about them.