Progress. The Calcutta Cup has been successfully knitted into the Vest, Second Version. I have followed it up with a pair of single-colour rounds such as were employed in the first version, and have embarked on the first peerie stripe. Archie came to see me this afternoon, and I was able to go on knitting, to some extent, while he was here, because all was simple and rhythmical.

I have just made myself some rather tasty (I think) wild garlic pesto, which I will soon stir through some pasta for my supper. Alexander brought me some w.g. on Wednesday – he pinches it from the Duke of Argyll: there’s a good stand of it just inside his gate, before you get to Inverary. I know where to find it in Kirkmichael. But what I didn’t know, until I walked around the Garden with Alexander last week, is that there’s an abundance of it in Drummond Place Garden itself. So I shall never lack again.

I am greatly enjoying my kimchi. I wish, as I so often do in knitting, that I had kept better notes. I remember saying here that I was going to use Jamie Oliver’s recipe, so that’s presumably what I more or less did. Next time – not far away, now – I will get in some Korean fish sauce and some rice flour, and employ both.

Thank you for your comments about my anxieties yesterday. A dear friend points out that I could take a taxi the whole way, from Drummond Place to Oban, to join my cruise. I hope it won’t come to that, but it’s a very comforting thought to fall back on.